Age: 69

Party: Democrat

Resume: Ohio Governor, psychologist, pastor

After receiving his master’s degree from the University of Kentucky and a Master of Divinity degree from the Asbury Theological Seminar, Ted Strickland went back to the University of Kentucky to earn his Ph.D in counseling psychology. He worked as both a counseling psychologist at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility and had a brief stint as pastor at Wesley United Methodist Church. Strickland ran for U.S. representative for Ohio’s sixth congressional district in 1976, 1978 and 1980, losing all three times; two times to William Harsha and once to Bob McEwen respectively. Strickland ran again in 1992 against Harsha, this time emerging victorious. In 2006, Strickland successfully ran for governor when Bob Taft could not run again due to term limits. Strickland received 60 percent of the votes, with the next closest candidate, Republican Ken Blackwell, getting only 37 percent. Strickland is currently in a hotly contested race against Republican John Kasich for the governorship.

1) What will you/your candidate do to keep college affordable?

When I became governor, I set out to increase the number of college students in Ohio by expanding access and reducing cost. With the help of our Chancellor of the Ohio Board of Regents, we developed a ten-year strategic plan to revamp Ohio’s higher education system. First and foremost, my mission has been to ensure that no Ohioan is kept from earning a college degree because of the cost. Over the past 3 years I have worked with colleges and universities to institute caps and freezes on tuition and fulfill the state’s commitment to the state share of instruction that allows our universities to decrease or hold steady the cost of tuition without sacrificing services. Today, Ohio has over 65,000 more college students than it did when I took office and if reelected, I will continue to work to ensure that cost and accessibility are never barriers to higher education.

2) Under your plan for higher education funding, what will happen to tuition?

Over the past 3 years, Ohio has seen the lowest increase in tuition of any state in the nation. We made this possible by working with our public colleges and universities to freeze or cap tuition. Because of this work, Ohio has seen the lowest rate of tuition growth since the 1960’s. When I became governor I made a promise to students in Ohio that I would keep college affordable in order to expand access to higher education and I have kept that commitment.

3) Will you cut the state share of instruction? (This is a state allocation that is one

of our main funds)

While it is impossible to predict what the next budget will look like, Ohio’s students can judge me by my record over the last four years. As governor, I worked with our colleges to contribute a state share of instruction in order to keep tuition low. Even during these tough economic times, I kept to that agreement and the state fulfilled its commitment to Ohio’s institutions of higher education. Looking to the future, I hope that the state share of instruction will remain an important partnership between our colleges and our state and will continue to act as a communal effort to rein in the costs of tuition.

4) What will your candidate do to help students get jobs after college?

Over the past four years I have worked to grow our economy from the bottom up by attracting new industries to Ohio like advanced energy and biomedical. These 21st century industries and others will continue to create good paying jobs in Ohio that cannot be outsourced, and that are ideally suited for college graduates. By increasing access to higher education, we have ensured that Ohio will have a highly educated workforce to compete in the global economy and will remain an attractive place for companies to locate.

Yvette McGee Brown

Age: 49

Party: Democrat

Resume: Current president of the Center for Child and Family Advocacy, former judge of the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas

Yvette McGee Brown received her undergraduate degree in Journalism and Public Relations from Ohio University and her Juris Doctorate from The Ohio State University. She is the current and founding president of the Center for Child and Family Advocacy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and a former judge in the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas. On Jan. 19, Gov. Ted Strickland chose McGee Brown for lieutenant governor. McGee Brown would become the fourth female lieutenant governor and the second African-American should Gov. Strickland get re-elected.