Republican presidential candidate and Ohio Gov. John Kasich was in the village of Solvay near Syracuse on Monday for one of his last campaign stops before New Yorkers vote in the primary. Kasich’s question-and-answer session with a crowd of about 150 people, was heavy on policy and in stark contrast to the massive rallies and lively speeches of the other candidates.
Laurie Howard-Patnode says she is torn between John Kasich and Ted Cruz.
“Both of them have a combination of things that I like. John Kasich has the experience that I really like and he does have a proven record,” Howard-Patnode said.
That record also prompted an endorsement from Onondaga County Executive Joanie Mahoney. Mahoney said Kasich’s experience as a congressman and governor makes him the most experienced candidate to keep the country safe and to lead it in the right direction.
One of the first questions Kasich received was what his plan was for keeping jobs in America.
“You can’t hang on to everything," Kasich said. "Some things are just going to leave because they don’t fit anymore. The question is, our we preparing people for the jobs that are coming?”
Kasich said it is inevitable that some jobs will leave the country such as the recent announcement of Nabisco moving jobs to Mexico.
“So we lost Oreo cookies, but we have computer chips," Kasich said. "If your son works in the computer chip making company, he’s going to make a lot more money than he did making Oreos.”
Kasich stressed the importance of retraining workers when they lose jobs.
“Because it is legitimate that those things are changing but new things are coming,” Kasich said.
Kasich defended his support of fracking and defunding Planned Parenthood and touted his record of balancing the budget in Washington and Ohio.
“How do we bring the prices down in a way that things cost less but you still get decent quality?”
To the side of Kasich at the event was a ticker showing the steady climb of the country’s $19 trillion debt.
"If Bernie or Hillary got elected, that would be $30 trillion," Kasich said. "When those numbers go up, the future for the strength for your kids or even you, go down. When the debt goes down, the opportunities go up."
Kasich said he believes Republicans are headed to an open convention in July.
