Peggy Cordray and former First Lady of Ohio, Frances Strickland, came to Fayette County last Tuesday to attend the Women’s Day event at the Fayette County Ohio Democrat Headquarters.
The ladies spoke to a crowded room of women and one curious gentleman, Rev. Jack Witherspoon, who had the honor of starting the evening with a warm invocation.
The event then began with Strickland and Cordray cheerfully meeting and chatting with the women of Fayette County, while everyone enjoyed the tasty treats and sandwiches provided by several gracious volunteers. The first of the ladies to address the audience was Strickland.
Strickland enthusiastically declared her and Ted Strickland’s support for the gubernatorial campaign of Peggy’s husband, Richard Cordray. She then expressed her views on the importance of the women of Ohio uniting behind Cordray for Governor and his work for all Ohioans. Frances followed with an enlightening introduction of Peggy Cordray, including her law degree from University of California Berkley, and her Bachelor of Civil Law from Oxford University, England. Peggy has also taught evidence law at Capitol University in Columbus since 1992, and chairs the Student Faculty Relations Committee.
Cordray then spoke to the captivated crowd about Richard Cordray’s campaign for Governor, his experiences in government in both Ohio and within the Obama Administration as the first director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. She also talked extensively on his passion to serve Ohioans and his goals while in office. She explained about Cordray’s innate ability for problem solving through his inherent desire to fully understand a problem, and then seek out the most effective solution.
Cordray and Strickland both expressively communicated Richard Cordray’s dedication during his last five months as Ohio Attorney General to gathering more than 12,000 backlogged rape kits and having them moved to the state crime lab. Previous to this, the kits had all been held across the state in local precincts, and were being tested in local labs. Cordray found this to be inefficient, and with funding secured by Gov. Kasich, was able to gather them into one place to begin the long task of finally getting them processed, and justice for victimized women.
Peggy Cordray went on to speak about the important issue on the November ballot, and Richard Cordray’s strong support, of Criminal Justice Reform, concerning the opioid crisis and criminal sentencing versus rehabilitation. She explained that Issue 1 would require that first and second offenders be court ordered to enter drug treatment facilities rather than prison, without a life changing felony record. This treatment would also be funded with the dollars that would originally be spent on imprisoning the individual. She also clearly explained this measure is for first and second offenses only, and also does not affect or change the current laws for any persons arrested for the intent to distribute, or deal, these drugs.
The rest of the evening was spent with Cordray and Strickland engaging the room in a question and answer discussion, with several women able to ask about more specific issues, such as Cordray’s commitment to assuring affordable, accessible health care for all Ohioans. Peggy Cordray also made certain to have the women mark their calendars for the three debates between Richard Cordray and his opponent, DeWine. The first debate was Wednesday in Dayton, and the remaining are Oct. 1 in Marietta and Oct. 8 in Cleveland.
Before the evening concluded, Strickland delighted the audience with a few lighthearted campaign songs and displayed several amusing campaign shirts to an amused group. The event was planned and hosted by the local Fayette County Democrat Party. Anyone interested in volunteering, or for comments or questions, the headquarters is located at 153 S. Main St., Suite 1, in Washington C.H., or they can be- reached by phone at 740-620-4101.
