COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Debaters on both sides of the effort to repeal Ohio's contested new public union law are trying to appeal to voters two weeks before citizens will decide its fate.
In a face-off Tuesday in Columbus, former Democratic U.S. Rep. Dennis Eckart accused Gov. John Kasich of masquerading as Robin Hood, taking $350 million from local governments to close the state's massive budget hole.
He says Kasich closed the hole on the back of public workers with the collective bargaining law that limits negotiating rights for 350,000 police officers, firefighters teachers and other public workers.
Republican state Sen. Keith Faber shot back that public employees enjoy pay that's increasing faster than the median household income and have gotten a free ride with guaranteed pensions.
He says the law is necessary to help local governments manage shrinking revenues.