LIMA — Lima Mayor David Berger was joined by the mayor of Toledo and the former mayor of Jacksonville, Florida, in voicing support for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
Part of a statewide “Ohio Mayors for Hillary” bus tour, the trio held a news conference Wednesday at Veterans Memorial Convention and Civic Center, making their pitch to voters on why they should back the former secretary of state.
Clinton “appreciates the role that cities play,” Berger said. “She has developed plans to help cities continue to be places of innovations, where economies are strong.”
“We know that much of the businesses being developed are being done in cities, and we need someone in the White House who understands that,” Toledo Mayor Paula Hicks-Hudson said. “We want to have opportunities for our citizens to be successful.”
“We want to show people that Hillary cares about cities, that cities are very important and that mayors get things done,” former Jacksonville, Florida, Mayor Alvin Brown said. “She has laid out a clear plan to get people back to work, to support small business and entrepreneurs, creating jobs for the next generation.”
Part of that plan, Brown said, includes a $275 billion infrastructure plan that Clinton aims to implement within the first 100 days of taking office. According to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, Clinton plans to make the plan revenue neutral through corporate tax reforms, although the specifics of those reforms were not specified.
“Her plan is paid for,” he said. “She will make sure we have a progressive tax system, so we’re not creating debt on the backs of the poor and the middle class. She will make sure that the wealthy and corporations will pay their fair share.”
Hicks-Hudson said that, while Clinton is seen as untrustworthy, polling at 35 percent among Democrats, looking at the candidate’s track record should give voters all the reason they need to vote for her.
“Look at where Hillary has been from the time of her public life to today,” she said. “She started off as a lawyer working for children in Alabama and Mississippi. She has worked very hard for the working class, and that’s something you can see consistently.”
Clinton has also focused on investing in alternative energy. While Lima’s refinery harks back to more traditional energy production, Berger voiced support for Clinton’s approach.
“The world is changing, and we have to understand that technology, rather than public policy, is likely going to affect us in a very rapid way,” he said. “We need our business community engaged in innovation.”
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