FRANK LEWIS

PDT Staff Writer

Former Ohio first lady Frances Strickland joined Obama for America Ohio Rural & Appalachian Vote Director Michael McCandlish, and former director of Governor Ted Strickland’s Office of Appalachia, on a conference call Monday announcing Obama for America-Ohio campaign’s Southeast Ohio Regional Committee tour of Southeastern Ohio which will begin today and continue throughout the week.

“Several people are surprised that Ted and I are continuing our active front-line involvement in campaigns but they shouldn’t be,” Strickland said. “They should know that we, perhaps more than most people, understand what is at stake in this presidential election. Maybe it’s because of our deep roots in Appalachia and conviction that prosperity here lies in a government that understands that the American dream cannot be realized without opportunity for all.”

Strickland said President Obama knows he would not be where he is today without the opportunities others presented to him during his early years.

“To him, everyone matters,” Strickland said. “For proof we need to look no further than his efforts to provide affordable health care coverage for everyone. During this time of free markets at all cost and budget cuts that take away services to the little guy, the president has never lost sight of his commitment to the future where our children and grandchildren will have a meaningful opportunity to live, work, and raise their families in caring communities like these in Appalachia. All that our people have ever asked for is a fair chance. Our heritage of hard work, fortune and good health, and moral responsibility to look after more than just ourselves takes us the rest of the way.”

Deel said he knows how important it is to protect what he called “the critical investments for this part of Ohio.”

“The president is committed to ensuring that clean energy - coal and natural gas - both have a bright future here in Ohio by making sure they are a key part of the ‘all of the above’ energy approach,” Deel said. “In fact, the president has invested $5 billion in clean coal technology research, and employment in the coal industry is at a 15-year high, and has increased ten percent in Ohio since President Obama took office.”

McCandlish said a strategy to reach voters will be carried out in all of Ohio’s 88 counties, meeting supporters - “where they live, on their turf, because we know that’s what it takes to win.”

“As members of the Southeast Regional Commission, we will be working to ensure that people in southeast Ohio get involved in the campaign,” Strickland said. “And that they have the information they need for success. All that our people have ever asked for is a fair chance.”

Frank Lewis may be reached at 740-353-3101, ext. 232, or at flewis@heartlandpublications.com