COLUMBUS, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today FreedomWorks, along with dozens of local Ohio Tea Party leaders, stood united for a press conference at the state capitol to defend the taxpayers of Ohio and to offer support for Senate Bill 5 (SB5). SB5 would remove automatic pay raises, introduce merit-based pay and reform the collective bargaining power of state and local employees. Following the press conference, grassroots leaders from across the state delivered hundreds of letters of support from the citizens of Ohio, urging their state representatives to vote YES on SB5.
FreedomWorks strongly believes that SB5 is the first critical step to alleviating Ohio’s budget crisis and laying the foundation for future job growth. Ohio has a $10 billion deficit for 2011. The state shed over 600,000 private sector jobs in the last 10 years.
“Ohio is in a vicious cycle where the private sector shrinks and the public sector liabilities grow, forcing businesses, jobs and citizens to become economic refugees to the Sunbelt states,” commented Matt Kibbe, president of FreedomWorks. “We applaud Governor Kasich’s bold efforts to reverse nearly 50 years of economic stagnation and to build a foundation of growth and recovery in Ohio.”
Gov. John Kasich is the latest recipient of the FreedomWorks "Legislative Entrepreneur Award," for his dedication to rein in spending and restore economic competition in Ohio. “Legislative Entrepreneurs” are identified by their deep-rooted commitment and unwavering leadership in the promotion and defense of economic liberty.
“Like business entrepreneurs in the private sector, legislative entrepreneurs like Governor Kasich are innovative, enterprising leaders who reject complacency, and strive to make progress every day towards economic liberty through policy change,” Kibbe said. Past recipients of the award include Sens. Marco Rubio and Jim DeMint, and Rep. Tom Graves.
As the debate picks up steam in the Ohio House, FreedomWorks will continue to mobilize members, along with conservative, limited-government activists in Ohio on FreedomConnector- a revolutionary, new online mobilization tool designed to quickly apply concerted pressure on elected officials- to call and email targeted Ohio House Members in support of SB5 and Gov. Kasich.
FreedomWorks will also be organizing numerous events on the ground throughout Ohio in the weeks ahead to support Gov. Kasich and advocate the passage of SB5.
Kibbe added, “It’s our mission to unite and mobilize a grassroots constituency in support of legislative entrepreneurs like Governor Kasich who look for long-term solutions instead of nearsighted gimmicky fixes.”