COLUMBUS, Ohio — Gov. Mike DeWine, R-Ohio, is urging the state's K-12 schools to mandate masks but he himself is not requiring them. The governor's decision has sparked a reaction from his gubernatorial opponents and candidates running for U.S. Senate.
"He is too weak to take action," said Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley, a Democratic candidate for governor.
Whaley hosted a press conference in Columbus on Thursday blasting DeWine for what she said is the governor putting politics ahead of public health.
"He cares more about his primary election than he does about Ohio kids and Ohio schools,” she said. "He is willing to risk more shutdowns and more chaos and he is willing to get children get sick in order to win an election.”
.@nanwhaley blasts @GovMikeDeWine over mask mandates for schools. “He cares more about his election than kids.” @SpectrumNews1OH pic.twitter.com/1JUhkayM2x
— Josh Rultenberg (@JoshRultNews) August 19, 2021
Ohio's COVID-19 cases are at its highest levels in months according to DeWine. However, DeWine is not mandating masks in schools like he did last year.
On Tuesday, he made a plea to local districts.
On Thursday, his gubernatorial campaign manager Brenton Temple responding to Whaley's comments saying, "It’s surprising that a mayor who supports local control doesn’t believe in local control and parental choice when it comes to Ohio’s children.”
Like Whaley, fellow Democratic candidate and Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley also supports mandating masks. Republicans in the gubernatorial race, like Jim Renacci and Joe Blystone, are against mandates.
Renacci tweeted, "Parents should have the greatest authority over what goes on."
And then there are Republican candidates for U.S. Senate like Josh Mandel who said "masks are a form of child abuse."
Mandel claimed his kids’ and other kids' psyches have been affected by wearing masks.
I asked Josh Mandel a simple question about kids under 12 going to and coming home from school, potentially being a carrier for COVID-19, and how he recommends those at home be protected.
— Josh Rultenberg (@JoshRultNews) August 19, 2021
And for the second time in as many interviews he decided to take cheap shots against me. pic.twitter.com/1fn4rOKvsW
"Kids only get one childhood and it's outrageous that these tyrannical politicians like Mike DeWine and all these school board members and superintendents around the state are trying to ruin these kids' childhood," said Mandel.
Fellow GOP senatorial candidate, J.D. Vance also has equated masks to child abuse on Twitter. Other Republicans in the race like Jane Timken, Bernie Moreno and Mike Gibbons all agree the decisions should be left up to families.
However, Democrats like Morgan Harper disagree. In a statement, Harper said, “We need our kids in school. Mask mandates and vaccinations are the way to ensure that happens.”
Congressman Tim Ryan, OH-13, said he wants to “make sure local school districts are empowered to follow public health guidance to protect students and their families.”
Technically, DeWine can create a mask mandate if he wants to, but the state legislature can override it if it chooses to because of a bill it passed last year giving the general assembly oversight over local health orders.