COLUMBUS, Ohio—Battle lines are forming between the right-wing billionaire tech lobby and working people in the race to decide the next governor of Ohio. On Friday, Feb. 13, the Ohio AFL-CIO threw its full and unqualified support behind Dr. Amy Acton to best represent the interests of workers in the state.
Acton appeared at the UFCW Local 1059 hall surrounded by workers and union leaders from across the state to accept the endorsement of the federation. In her remarks, she was uncompromising in her assessment of the current situation in Ohio.
“This election is no longer about Democrats vs. Republicans. It’s about extreme wealth and power against everybody else,” Acton declared.
She rose to statewide and even national recognition as the Director of the Ohio Department of Health under Republican Gov. Mike DeWine in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. At that time, DeWine became the first governor to close schools and limit public gatherings, acting on the advice of Acton, a pediatrician and former public health researcher.
The decision instantly earned Acton praise from health experts and concerned parents but also the ire of right-wing COVID deniers who sought a “business as usual” response. She was personally targeted by protestors at her home and ultimately resigned from her formal position after the Republican state legislature acted to remove her emergency powers.
Acton noted at the time that the situation betrayed her responsibilities as a medical doctor by requiring her to sign orders that she knew were not in the best interests of public health.
Acton is up against a tech billionaire-funded effort that has coalesced around Vivek Ramaswamy. Ramaswamy has built a personal fortune of $2 billion through a series of “pump and dump” entanglements between venture capital and big pharma in which he played the role of snake oil salesmen, swooning investors to devote huge sums into experimental drugs which had failed previous clinical trials but which Ramaswamy promised to turn around.
Ramaswamy cashed out his personal shares ahead of the release of bad results. None of the drugs peddled by Ramaswamy’s companies has ever been approved by the FDA for public use.
His skills of public persuasion and personal preservation served Ramaswamy well in the 2024 presidential campaign, though. Always a long shot for the GOP presidential nomination, Ramaswamy was eager to appeal to the most extreme right-wing elements in the party.
He has described the LGBTQ community as a “cult” and claims that the president has unrestricted authority to rule by executive fiat. Echoing fascist ubermensch ideology, he’s characterized American workers as “venerating mediocrity over excellence.”
“People are working harder than ever and getting nowhere. My opponent says people are struggling because they’re lazy. These are not the Ohioans I know,” said Acton. “I’m fighting for the people who solve problems not make them.”
Acton shared her personal background in the trade unions to a room filled with representatives of United Steel Workers, United Mine Workers of America, United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, Columbus Education Association, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, as well as the AFL-CIO.
“In Youngstown where I grew up, if you belonged to the union, you knew you had the ability to take care of your family and live a decent life,” recalled Acton. Her grandfather was “a proud union organizer in the Youngstown steel industry.”
The room surged with support as Acton delivered an impassioned pitch for government that represents working people over billionaires.
“I feel the meaning of solidarity when I step into this room. I experienced a lot of hardship as a child and I can’t look the other way when I see people struggling. I know why we need strong trade unions.”
Local media covered the event, largely ignoring Acton’s comments on working people and choosing to focus questions on specifics of property tax policies proposed by Acton, the state’s use of funds for the Cleveland Browns NFL stadium, and Acton’s thoughts on the current state of the “culture war” in Ohio.
“I like the Browns, but this is a matter of priorities. What I’m hearing from Ohioans is that they’re exhausted by all of this. They want affordable housing, childcare, good schools. We can build one of the best parks systems in the nation. This is what the people I meet with want to talk about,” countered Acton.
There is no question that Acton enjoys strong and genuine support of union workers from across the state. In addition to the Ohio AFL-CIO, she’s also garnered endorsements from UMWA, UAW, OCSEA, IUE-CWA, OFT, and AFSCME.
Tim Burga, president of Ohio AFL-CIO, summarized the union’s reasons for supporting Acton.
“We believe in leadership that sees working people not as disposable parts in a tech-driven global economy but as individuals with unique talents and a deep commitment to improving their communities. Dr. Amy Acton represents the kind of leadership working people can believe in—leadership that brings out the very best in all of us and strengthens our freedoms and our right to bargain for a better life.”
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