Two decades ago, a new name entered the Toledo political arena: Teresa Fedor.

I was living in nearby Bowling Green at the time and had never heard of her.

She had been an elementary public school teacher in the Toledo area for 18 years.

My first thought was that Fedor was giving up a lot -- a good-paying job that she loved and was gifted at that had good fringe benefits and a good retirement program -- for an uncertain future in the Ohio House of Representatives.

She was a protégé of U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur of Toledo, who is now the longest serving woman n in the history of the U.S. House of Representatives.

"Saint Marcy," as the congresswomen is affectionately known, is revered for her political insight and it was never keener than when she plucked Fedor out of the classroom and put her in the Ohio Legislature.

Now, another wise political hand, Democratic gubernatorial candidate John Cranley, has forged a partnership with Fedor by putting her on the ticket as his running mate.

I am convinced that Cranley and Fedor have developed an equal partnership in both running for office and serving in office and are more likely to win in the general election if they win the May 3 primary.

This is important in that Cranley's rival for the nomination, Nan Whaley, has made getting a woman -- her -- elected governor as the antidote for the decline of Ohio that, she says, has been run in the ground by male governors for three decades.

Whaley has in no uncertain terms said, "Vote for me because I am female."

If running the state better were only so simple as changing genders of the chief executive.

Whaley's thesis runs aground because most observers agree that Cranley has a greater chance of defeating incumbent Governor Mike DeWine in the general election because of his documented leading of the "Cincinnati comeback" as mayor and his ability to take it to DeWine. Whaley was unable to get Dayton moving during her time as its mayor, may be a bit too liberal for Ohio voters, and has a problem with dark money taken by a political committee she headed.

Women's chances of electing their first governor this decade rides on the shoulders of Teresa Fedor, not Nan Whaley.

Fedor is the only one among Cranley and Whaley to have two decades in state government, an invaluable resume item because Cranley will need an experienced hand in the halls of the legislature to pass his agenda and get the state moving again.

Cranley and Fedor want to fully fund pre-school-through-12th-grade public education in Ohio. Fedor knows how to get it done.

With Fedor as lieutenant governor and his equal partner, Cranley will be free to pursue national politics such as running for a U.S. Senate seat and even for the presidency.

If Cranley departs for higher office, Fedor becomes governor for the rest of his term and then is positioned to run for governor and -- voila -- become the first female elected governor in Ohio.

Dear feminist friends, consider carefully that your goal of an elected female governor may be more likely accomplished by a vote for Cranley-Fedor.

Here are more things you should know about Teresa Fedor:

One, she and Cranley are endorsed by feminist and Toledo native Gloria Steinem.

Two, the Cranley-Fedor ticket was endorsed in the primary by the Toledo Blade. The newspaper, where I once worked from 1977-1984, does not normally endorse in primaries.

Three, Fedor was a leader in exposing the Coingate scandal in 2004. She further helped unmask the GOP's ongoing charter school scandals.

Fourth, she courageously told her own rape story on the House floor and she has fought hard against human trafficking, all with an eye on giving female victims hope.

Some might argue that Gov. DeWine and Lt. Gov. Jon Husted have an equal partnership. The problem is that their collaborations are not helping people by lowering taxes on the wealthy, cutting funding for local government, providing tax breaks for wealthy corporations, dishing money that public schools need to charters, and orchestrating corruption.

John Cranley and Teresa Fedor, if elected Nov. 8, will be partners in pursuing Democratic values and acting for the public good,  and Fedor will be launched on the fast track to become Ohio's first elected woman governor.

Quickies

-- The next edition of Profiles In Lack Of Courage will feature Gov. DeWine and his four Republican comrades on the Redistricting Commission for their inability to do the public will and their uttering of lame excuses for not doing the public will. How can the majority on the Ohio Supreme Court not hold them in contempt and sanction them for their transgressions against the Ohio Constitution?

-- Meanwhile, the GOP brags that it is the party of fiscal conservatism, but not when control of the Ohio government is at stake. Then our Republican friends will dilly and dally and force Ohio taxpayers to fork over an additional $25 million to hold a second primary election in August for Ohio House and Senate seats. That same GOP used to be ardent opponents of the Communism of the Soviet Union, now Russia. Now, in the wake of the Ukraine war, way too many are Putin sympathizers. Are you listening, J.D.?

-- The residents of Licking County are rebelling against the DeWine-led invasion of their pleasant environment by the Intel factories. Do not be surprised if Licking County folks vote against DeWine and his Republican cronies on Nov. 8.

-- An absented-minded Columbus Dispatch copy editor wrote the following double entendre headline about death of former OSU football star Dwayne Haskins: "Haskins' passing felt deeply at Ohio State.? Please Gannett, save the Dispatch from itself.

-- And who wrote this side-splitter? "More civilians flee east Ukraine after deadly stran tation strike." That's right. "stran tation"

-- In the Sunday April 17 Dispatch there was enclosed a series of post cards asking folks to subscribe. One offered "Sunday and Saturday" print delivery. Didn't the Dispatch cancel its Saturday print edition a month ago?

-- It used to be Gannett policy to not use the front page of its newspapers to exploit crime by Blacks, especially males, but there it is on April 14. One article had a picture of a Black man accused of the New York City subway attack and an adjacent article had a picture of Black man who violated his parole for a third time. Shades of the famous Dispatch editorial that called for the elimination of Black set-aside programs by the city.

--  A careful reader suggests that Ohio Democrats' "Cost of Corruption Tour" be renamed a more catchy  "Householder Five." I like it.

(Please send your comments and suggestions for future columns to John K. Hartman, ColumbusMediaInsider@gmail.com)  

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