Rep. Kent Smith responds to outsized JobsOhio pay raises

Rep. Kent Smith (D-Euclid) issued the following statement in response to reports that the CEO of Ohio’s privatized economic development entity received a $122,634 pay increase this year for a total salary just shy of a half million dollars: 

“It is no wonder that more and more people in Ohio and across our nation feel the deck is stacked against them and the rules are rigged in favor of the wealthy few. When the state’s corporate CEO gets a $122,634 raise to almost half a million dollars in pay, while working people struggle to make enough to send their kids to college, buy a house and pay their bills – a two dollar wage increase seems fair for working people in our state.

“Unfortunately, Governor Kasich is determined to stick with failed trickle-down economic policies, demonstrated by the extravagant pay raises given to wealthy Ohioans within his administration. With the extra $122,634 a year bump, JobsOhio CEO Minor now earns three times as much as the last Director of Development. Meanwhile, Ohio continues to lag behind the national average in median household income, and over a quarter of all Ohio jobs are considered low-wage occupations.

“I am certain 99 percent of Ohioans can’t recall the last time they got a 36 percent or higher raise, let alone for two years in a row. This really is the difference between Democrats and Republicans in Ohio. Rep. Craig and I want to give one million Ohioans a two dollar raise – Governor Kasich wants to give one man a $122,634 raise.”

Democratic legislators recently announced their “Focus on The Future” economic agenda, which includes a bill that would increase the state’s minimum wage by two dollars.