Who is Ohio Democrat Gubernatorial Candidate Ed Fitzgerald?

Is he possibly a pragmatic problem solver, as suggested by his tenure in Cuyahoga County? Or is he really a stealth progressive in the mold of Andrew Cuomo and  Barack Obama? He announced his candidacy almost a year ago but his specific  plans if elected Governor, are vague. There are however, indications that he is  a  committed Progressive.

Generally speaking, the political philosophy of  a  candidate is revealed by those who endorse and those the candidate endorses. Thus far Fitzgerald has been endorsed by hard left Progressive pols Senator Sherrod Brown,  Congresswoman Marcia Fudge, and State Representative Kathleen Clyde among others.  He is also endorsed by Ohio Civil Service Employees Association AFSME Local 11 AFL-CIO , Transport Workers of America Ohio/Michigan State Conference,  Planned Parenthood and the Ohio Education Association (teacher's union).  Interestingly both of his picks for Lieutenant Governor were people  who appeal to the Democrat Party's Progressive base.

The first,  Eric Kearney, from Cincinnati was dropped after it was revealed that  he, his wife and his company had been hit with tax liens over the past 15 years totaling more than $1,000,000. Fitzgerald's current running mate is Shauren  Neuhardt, an attorney and  pro-abortion activist. Ms  Neuhardt was previously on the Board of Miami Valley Planned Parenthood for 8 years. During an   unsuccessful Congressional bid  she was backed by the National  Abortion Rights Action  League (NARAL) an extreme pro-abortion group. Ms  Neuhardt was also on the Obama Truth team during the 2012 Presidential election. The purpose of that group as stated by the Obama backers was to counter what the campaign considered "lies" about Obama. We now know that some of what were called lies by Obama "you can't keep your health insurance under Obamacare", were actually true. So much for the "truth team"'s veracity.

Fitzgerald has endorsed gay marriage but his stand on other hot button issues is unknown. Those issues include: Obamacare, marijuana legalization, drivers licenses for illegal aliens,  the common sense  restrictions on food stamp recipients now in place, and whether he favors ANY restrictions on late term abortion, Planned Parenthood funding, fracking, what is his position on Obama's war on coal  fired electricity generating plants and does he believe the children of those who entered the country illegally should only have to pay in state tuition at State Universities. 

No matter how far to the left he is on the issues, his personal story is quite interesting.. His biography at Wikipedia portrays him almost as Elliot Ness reborn. It incudes Fitzgerald, as a Federal Agent against the mob in    Chicago. He was also on the staff of moderate Democrat Evan  Bayh, when Bayh was Indiana Attorney General.  No doubt the Wikipedia bio was edited by his campaign, but  is probably  accurate. After the Wendy Davis fiasco it's too risky to lie. if Conservatives don't hold him to his stands on the issues, and let him run on his bio, he could win. That's especially true if a third party candidate is on the ballot. Everyone no doubt remembers how Barack Obama was able to win the Presidential election in 2008 based on his biography . As in Virginia it's likely the left will  fund a 3rd Party candidate to attract disgruntled conservatives . Follow me on twitter: www.twitter.com@stevelambey