From Republican Attorney General candidate, and decorated veteran, Mike Crites:

Columbus – Mike Crites, Republican candidate for Ohio Attorney General, today blasted his opponent Richard Cordray for Cordray’s recent comment suggesting that military service doesn’t qualify as “public service.”  Adding insult to injury, Cordray made the comment on the eve of September 11.

“It’s hard to imagine a worse time to insult America’s military forces and veterans than the eve of the anniversary of the worst attack on American soil in modern history,” Crites said.  “But that’s exactly what Richard Cordray did two days ago.”

Read the rest of the release below…

Crites’ comments came today at a press conference where he was joined by several veterans including

*    Brian Hoyt, Lieutenant, U.S. Navy / Navy Reserves.
*    James Edward Caldwell III, Brigadier General, Ohio Army National Guard, retired.
*    Jim Ashenhurst, Colonel, U.S. Army, retired.
*    Steve Guendert, former Lieutenant, U.S. Navy.

Early in the day on September 10, the Crites issued a statement that merely pointed out that Cordray was using taxpayer dollars to send a different self-promoting press release almost ever other day since taking office.

Cordray’s response was particularly sharp according to news coverage in the Columbus Dispatch.  In a written response to the newspaper, Cordray said, “For the past 15 years, [Mike Crites] has been sitting on the sidelines of public service …”

However, in the past 15 years, Mike Crites served four years – two as president – on his local school board where his three daughters attended public school and nearly eight years as both law director and prosecutor for Granville, and similar positions in Thornville, Commercial Point, and other Ohio municipalities – a job he continues to do today.

Perhaps most importantly, he spent most of his adult life – including during the “15 years” Cordray mentioned – serving his country in the U.S. Navy and Navy Reserves.  In fact, during the time period that was the focus of Cordray’s ridicule, Crites was deployed to EUCOM in support of Kosovo Operations and served as the commanding officer of four different units throughout the United States.

“Richard Cordray apparently believes that there’s only one kind of “public service” – the “run-for-office-and-get-your-name-in-the-news” kind,” Crites said.  “But the millions of American veterans and their families know that public service means much more.  The lowliest private in a desolate outpost is doing public service that is every bit as important – perhaps even more so – than the posturing politicians back home.”

Crites said his time with the Navy and the Navy Reserves helps distinguish him as a more qualified candidate to lead the Ohio Attorney General’s office.  In his final post with the Navy Reserves before retiring after more than two decades of service, Crites helped manage more than 7,300 personnel.

Crites also noted that no current Ohio statewide elected official is a veteran, placing Ohio in the minority of states with no such representation.

A decorated U.S. Navy Captain, Crites was inducted into the Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame and is a veteran of the Vietnam War.  For more information visit www.CritesForOhio.com <http://www.critesforohio.com/> .