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Strickland Defends Use of ‘Rainy Day Fund’ As Ohio Governor
By: Associated Press
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COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Ted Strickland is defending how he used Ohio’s Rainy Day Fund when he was governor.
Ads by groups opposing Strickland’s effort to unseat Republican Sen. Rob Portman suggest Strickland “drained” the fund, ran it “into practically nothing,” and “left Ohio in a bad spot.”
Strickland told reporters after a campaign event Tuesday that he used the emergency fund appropriately amid a state and national economic crisis. The ads truthfully reflect that the fund went from over $1 billion at the outset of Strickland’s governorship in 2007 to 89 cents in 2010.
Strickland says it would’ve been irresponsible not to tap the Rainy Day Fund to protect education, police and fire services and Ohio’s overall economy. In his words: “It was raining – it was pouring rain.”