By Jeff Berding

I’m a registered Democrat who voted for Ted Strickland and Barack Obama, and I’m voting YES on State Issue 2.

The future of our state is too important to let partisan politics keep us from doing what we know is right.

As a former three-term city council member for the City of Cincinnati, I saw first-hand the crisis our local communities are facing. We’re gutting vital services and fighting for ways to avoid lay-offs of good teachers, firefighters and police officers because we can’t afford the rising cost of government.

Something has to change. And paying more taxes to preserve the status quo is not the answer.

That’s why I agree with President Obama when he said it’s time for government employees to embrace “broad sacrifice” and be partners in the reform process. Listen for yourself:

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Building a Better Ohio TV Ad: “The Tools They Need”

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Ohio is setting the example for fiscal management and responsible budgeting, while many in Washington continue to play politics.

In fact, several credit rating agencies have voiced warnings about the dire impact that rising, unchecked debt will have on America’s economy.

Meanwhile in Ohio, Standard & Poor’s recently adjusted our credit rating from negative to stable. This is a big win for our state as it will ensure lower costs on borrowing for Ohioans and future generations.

This rating increase was because we filled a nearly $8 billion budget deficit and passed long overdue reforms in the way we provide services for taxpayers. These changes are fixing Ohio and paving the way for job creation.

Governor Kasich was elected to make the difficult decisions and that’s exactly what he’s doing. Are you with us?

(Columbus) – Building a Better Ohio campaign spokesman Jason Mauk issued the following statement today regarding the Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce vote to officially endorse the effort to retain Senate Bill 5:

“Nothing hurts economic development more than a high tax burden, and the people of Dayton learned that the hard way two years ago, when the city’s only Fortune 500 company abruptly moved its headquarters to Georgia.

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Ohio is on the verge of a recovery.

• We can create jobs again.
• We can attract new businesses to our communities.
• We can put the best and brightest teachers in our schools.
• We can make our state a more affordable place to live and work.

Together, we can build a better Ohio, and it starts by returning fairness and flexibility to middle class taxpayers. That’s why we’ve launched a statewide, grassroots campaign in support of the reasonable reforms of Senate Bill 5.

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Why am I not surprised?

Ohio Democrats are joining President Obama by calling for higher taxes to balance our budgets.

Is that their answer for everything?

They want to kick the can down the road and continue to avoid making difficult decisions the way that families and small businesses across Ohio do every day.

Raising taxes in Ohio is not an option.

As we finally begin to see signs of job creation in Ohio, tax hikes will only serve to kill job creation and send job creators fleeing from our state.

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Governor Kasich delivered his first State of the State address on Tuesday and the message was clear: Ohio is in trouble and we must work together to fix it.  Video below.

Also, on Monday, Governor Kasich was in Northeast Ohio to sign H.B.58 and announced the decision of American Greetings to stay in Ohio and save nearly 2,000 jobs.

Last Friday, Governor Kasich was joined by Lt. Governor Mary Taylor to sign the CSI Regulatory Reform bill. This will allow for the elimination of burdensome, job-killing regulations in Ohio.

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