Democrat to begin treasurer campaign
Cincinnati attorney Rob Richardson Jr. will formally kick off his campaign for state treasurer with three separate events Wednesday.
Richardson, a 38-yearold Democrat, already has filed to run for the post and has been raising money, but on Wednesday will publicly announce his campaign at rallies in Youngstown, Columbus and Cincinnati.
“The goal is just to announce myself to the voters,” Richardson said Monday.
Richardson is the son of Cincinnati NAACP President Robert Richardson Sr.
Two Republicans — state Rep. Robert Sprague of Findlay and Franklin County Auditor Clarence Mingo — also are running for treasurer. Richardson, who finished third this year in the primary for Cincinnati mayor, has been a University of Cincinnati trustee for nine years.
“As a university, as a board, we’ve accomplished a lot together,” he said, adding that the board has helped keep the university’s financial house in order.
Current Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel, a Republican who is again running for U.S. Senate, has been accused of focusing on politics and neglecting the treasurer’s duties. In an apparent dig at him, Richardson said, “I’m actually going to do the job.”
Richardson does pension work as part of his practice and he said he would focus on the health of Ohio pension systems as treasurer.
“There have been some issues with unfunded liabilities, no question,” he said. “But that’s been due to a lack of leadership.”
On Wednesday, Richardson will appear at 10 a.m. at Laborers Local 125 in Youngstown; at 2 p.m. at Ohio Democratic Party headquarters, 340 E. Fulton St. in Columbus; and at 6 p.m. at Niehoff Urban Center in Cincinnati.