This is the FCB podcast network. Great when they drunk yaws boot change that dot Dog. We don't listen to y'alls the outdog. We don't listen to y'alls to the outdog. Make a scream out down like a sound dog because a rockets in the clown like a blah blah. Tuned into the charge from the outdoor. Tune into the charge from the Outlaw. Welcome to a special Additionally, Outlaws, this is Darvo the King comemorl don't get too Like us on Facebook and Facebook dot com slash the Outlaws Radio, follow us on Twitter and Instagram At the Outlaws Radio. We have a very special guest with us. Uh he's Ohio Secretary of State, Frank the Rose. He's been on this show before, but this time it's a little different because he is running for the United States Senate UM and he chose this show to be his first podcast past interviews since the announcement, So you know, I definitely appreciate that and grateful for that. We touched on a lot of issues. We touched on school choice, we touched on the diversity of our state. We touched on crime and immigration and the whole cult of issues that are impacting us, not only here in the state, but also nationally as well, and we talked about why he wants to run for the Senate and what his priority is and all those sorts of things. So I think it was very informative. I think it would be very helpful for those of you, especially those of you in our state who are starting to pay attention to some of the candidates and you know you're making your decisions, but I think this can help. So we are going to go to our interview with Ohio Secretary of State Frank LeRose right now, all right, we have a very special guest on the show today. He just recently announced that he's running for the United States Senate. He's been on this show before. Ohio Secretary of State Frank l Is, welcome back. How you doing. Sorry, I'm doing great, and it's great to be back on the show. And yeah, exciting news and I'm happy to share with your listeners that I am running for the United States Senate. It's it's a it's a it's a crucial time in our nation and we need to put our country back on the right track. Families are struggling and we need to focus on the issues they're going to help them be more prosperous. All right, and thank you for I know you're you're busy on the campaign trail, so I appreciate you spending time with us. A member of your team told me that this is the this is the first podcast interview you've done since the announcement, So I appreciate that. There you go, This is the best place to start. So let's start from the beginning. Um, what made you decide to run for Senate? Why? Now? Yeah, as I was saying, I'm concerned about the direction of our country. Like a lot of Ohioans, my wife and I have seen the way things are heading. Families are struggling. I mean, the cost of everything is through the roof, and wages aren't keeping up with it. And unfortunately, President Biden and Senator Brown think that the solution is to hire tens of thousands of new irs agents and to spend trillions of dollars. That doesn't fix inflation. It actually makes it worse, and it leaves families struggling to make ends meet. We know how to help improve our economy. It's unleashing human prosperity through the greatest engine of prosperity that ever existed, and that's the free market economy helping Ohio entrepreneurs thrive and succeed. And that's something I've got a track record to do it. I did it in the State Senate. We cut taxes, we streamlined regulations, and we invested in important things like education and infrastructure and public safety so that businesses could thrive. That's exactly what I'll do in the US Senate. There's also a concern that that's truly personal to me, and that's this chaos really that's happening at the US Mexican border, and people think, oh, gosh, that's thousands a mile away, it's here. It's here in Ohio because it's drugs and crime coming across the border that's infecting our neighborhoods and harming our families. I served down there, and so this isn't like a photo op go down to the border and pose for a tough guy picture in front of the wall. I was part of a counter narcotics task force on the US Mexican border years ago when I was in the hundred and first Airboard Division, and I saw exactly the real human suffering that was occurring, but also the real public safety crisis that's occurring down there, it's even worse now. We need to seal the border, we need we know how to do it too. I did that kind of work both on the Mexican border, but also in Iraq. I worked with the Iraqi Border Patrol and trained their border patrol agents as an Army Green Beret to help keep explosives from coming in from my ran. We know how to secure a border if we have the courage to do it. And then, of course we want to have a merit based immigration system where we bring people into this country legally to be part of the American dream, to be prosperous, to work hard, But it starts with a secure border. There's something else that's really been on my mind. And I'm the only candidate in this race who has school aged children. My wife, Lauren and I are raising are amazing three little girls. Got an eight year old, a ten year old, and an eleven year old. And I'm not willing to co parent with the government. I want my children to learn our values in our home and in our schools. And right now we've got bureaucrats that think it's reasonable to come between parents and their children. As parents, the most important responsibility will ever have is raising our children. And this ideology that somehow government knows better than us about how our children should be raised is really dangerous in its harming families, and I'm going to do something about it. We're talking with Secretary of State Frank L. Rose, who was running for the United States Senate. Now, before you can get to Shared Brown, you have to get through a primary and have a couple other opponents. There are polls that suggest that you're the strongest against Shared Brown, and also that you're the front runner right now in the Republican primary. What makes you a better option than your opponents to beat a sitting long term Democratic incumbent like Shared Brown. Well, first of all, I'm the only battle tested conservative. I'm the one that has proven that I know how to cut taxes, streamlined regulations. I've got the only pro life voting record of any candidate in this race and the only pro Second of Endment voting record of any candidate in this race. So I'm proven on those issues. But as much as I'm a fighter, I'm also, I guess a joyful warrior. I'm somebody that has a positive outlook on life, and I know that what we're fighting for here is human freedom, and so I approach things from a sense of optimism. I know that America's best days are ahead of us if we're just willing to do the work. And I've been all over Ohio. I travel the state constantly. Ohioans know me, they trust me, and they also know that I'm the guy that has kept our elections secure and honest in Ohio over the last five years. Not only secure and honest, but also accessible. We're proud of this. We've seen more voter turnout in the five years I've been Secretary of State than any time in our state's history, not to mention more new businesses starting. Those are the two things we do at the SOS office. We help people start businesses, and we run elections. We've seen records in new businesses and voter participation. So Ohioans know my track record and they know that I'm the one that can really carry the banner for our values and defeat Shared Brown and go to the Senate and do the right thing for our country. Speaking of small businesses, let's talk about something that is part of your record that's near and dear to my heart. I mean in Ohio a key swing vote if you will our black men. As most people may or may not know, you know onety one percent of black man in his re election effort during the last election cycle. And as your work is, during your work of Secretary of State, you address something that helped cut a lot of bureaucratic red tape for black businesses. Talk a little bit about what you spearheaded to help move a lot of that red tape to help black businesses get certified in the state. This is something I'm passionate about. And as you know, the entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well in the African American community. There's a long history of this and people starting and growing businesses is the path to really generational wealth, right. I mean, there's no dishonor in any kind of work, hourly work, whatever kind of work you do to provide for your family. But if you start a business, and if you grow a business, you build something that maybe you can pass on to your children and maybe grandchildren someday. That's how you really transform a family. So I'm a big believer in entrepreneurial and it's the hardest thing anybody will ever do starting a business. We want to make it easy to start and grow a business, especially for Ohio's minority communities. This started with an idea in Cleveland, and I'll just describe it the way this guy did. We did a business roundtable with black business owners at the Martin Luther King Library in Cleveland, and a guy stood up when it was time for questions, and he said, you know, I've been a business owner for fifteen years, and the annoying part is I've had to prove I was black five different times. And I said, I said, what do you mean by that? He said, Well, to get an MBE Minority Business Enterprise Certification, I had to get one from city Hall in Cleveland to do work with the City of Cleveland. I had to get a different one from Cuyahoga County. To do work with the county. I had to get a different one from Summit County. I had to get a different one from Lake County. I had to get a different one from the State of Ohio. All to prove something that's not going to change. And it's pretty self evident. And so what we used to what we started looking at is why not make this reciprocal. Why not make it work everywhere in Ohio. So if you get an MBA certification and listen, we want to make sure that we check things out so people who are phonies can't take advantage of these benefits and take them away from people that really deserve them. So, yeah, there has to be a check in place. But once somebody certifies, hey listen, this is a black owned business and they get the MBE certification, it should work everywhere. Lank and driver's license, imagine if you had to get a different driver's license in every county, it would be a nightmare. Nobody could go anywhere. And so now what we were able to do in the governor signed this a couple of years ago, and we worked with a lot of great groups around the state. We created reciprocal NBA certification that works everywhere. This is just a small step. Another thing is just leading by example. I said on day one that we're going to have a Secretary of State's office that looks like Ohio, that serves all Ohios. And so we've been really focused on hiring a diverse group of people to work in our office. And you know what, when my chiefest ab for my HR director comes to me with job applicants and they all look like me. I tell them go back to the drawing board. Don't tell me you can't find more diverse applicants, because I know they're out there, and listen, we're going to hire the most qualified person, but we want to consider a broad range of diverse applicants. And we've been able to grow the diversity in our office, and we've been able to exceed the state's target for minority contracting. We don't do a lot of contracts, but we do it and office supplies and professional services type contracts, and so the state has this goal of fifteen percent. I've always viewed that as the floor, not the ceiling, right like that's just the bare minimum, and we've exceeded that year after year. In fact, last time I checked, we were well into the twenties twenty percent range on our minority business engagement. And that's just a value. It's a value I have, and as the guy whose name is on the door, when I say this is important and we're going to do it well, then it gets done. And that's what it takes. That's called leadership in any organization. If you have that value as I do, then you're going to go out there and make sure that you're working with a diverse group of people. Again, you're gonna hire the best people for the job, and you're going to contract with the best companies for the job. But you need to consider a really diverse pool of people when you make those decisions. Absolutely, and I think obviously as we look forward to twenty twenty four and in the general election, it's it's going to matter how the Republican nominee performs. And some of these diverse areas. I mean, this is you know, Jared Browns is in the Cleveland area, so you know, and you gotta show up. You gotta show up. And this started for me, Well, this is a value I was raised with from my family. And when I first ran for the state Senate, I was working in the Acron area. I was running for State Senate in the Acron area, and I got some really dumb advice from the county party, the County Republican Party said, hey, you're spending too much time in the African American neighborhoods. You're wasting your time. They'll never vote for you. I said, bs, I am going to be the state senator for the whole district. I started building relationships with like business owners, ministers. I'd go to church on Sunday and then go to breakfast or lunch after service with the elders and have a great conversation, and we built some genuine relationships. That doesn't mean we agree on everything, but they knew I was somebody who was accessible, who cared about their concerns and shared those concerns. I remember an African American minister at one point, because I've been to his church several times. He had me up to the pulpit and let me speak, and I remember he said, Hey, you know what you're going to see an R after Larose's name. Don't worry about that. It means reliable. You can support him if you can support him if you want. But here's the thing. If you reach out to people and actually talk about what they care about. There are a lot of members of the African American community that share conservative values. They don't think that government can solve all of our problems. They believe in strong public safety so that their children are safe walking to school and that their neighborhoods are safe. And so you know those are values I share, and so I enjoy working with leaders of the black community. And that's going to continue when I'm in the United States Senate. And so obviously, and that actually tells perfectly. And my next question, I mean, you've you've won statewide before. You know that this is a diverse state. You understand the diverse nature of this state. Talk about how all corners of the state will benefit from a Senator of the Rose, from urban Ohio to suburban Ohio and rural Ohio. So I've got a passion for service, and I've also got a background in working with people from all walks of life. And I'll tell you when I when I showed up on day one of basic training. I know a lot of your listeners are fellow veterans, right, And when I showed up a day one of basic training, I remember something the drill surgeon said, And these guys have a funny way with words, and they said, I don't want to hear any of you guys arguing about who's black and white, and who's Hispanic, and who's Asian and who's this and that. He said, you're all green now. And I remember looking down at my un forms. Yeah, yeah, I guess we're all green. Well. The idea is, we're all in this together. Right. Of course, we all have our ethnicity and our family's heritage, and we're proud of that. It's part of our identity, but it's not the total of our identity. Right. We were serving a cause bigger than ourselves, and we were all soldiers, so it didn't matter what our skin color was in the sense that we were all all part of one team. That's kind of the approach I take in government as well. I love working with people of all different walks of life because that's what makes Ohio strong. We are a big, diverse state. And you know what, it takes our great rural areas that help feed the world. I mean, Ohio's farms are some of the best in the entire world. It takes these diverse Appalachian communities that provide some of the energy that makes our country great, from coal to natural gas, that it takes to run our economy. It takes our thriving urban areas with their rich culture and strong sense of entrepreneurship. Are those are the things that make Ohio great. And I'll be there and I will you listen to to folks concerns and work with them because we're all in this together. I'm going to be the senator for all of Ohio. The conclusion of our interview with Ohio Secretary of State Frank LeRose is up next here on the Laws. These days, it seems like everybody's talking, but no one is actually listening to the things they're saying. Critical thinking isn't dead, but it's definitely low on oxygen. Join me, Kira Davis on Jeff. Listen to yourself every week as we reason through issues big and small, critique our own ideas, and learn to draw our talking points all the way out to their logical conclusions. Subscribe to Just Listen to Yourself with Kira Davis an FCB Radio podcasts on Apple, on Spotify, iHeart, or wherever you get your podcasts. Fuck True, sir, Welcome back and listening to the allows. Make sure that you subscribe to the show on Apple, podcast, Spotify, iHeart, or wherever you get your podcast And if you listen to the show on Apple, make sure you leave us a five star review and a comment. It's very important for the algorithm and for those of you who have already done so. Thank you oh so very much. And now to the conclusion of our interview with Ohio Secretary of State Frank L. Rose. We're talking with Ohio Secretary of State Frank L. Rose, who's running for United States Senate. We have a few minutes left, so to get to a couple of questions real quick. What is your top priority when you get elected to the Senate. It's our economy. Families are struggling, and it's it's it's hurting. It's hurting Ohioans, and I can't stand by well that happens. This is one of the main reasons why I'm motivated to do this. Listen, when when I was in the State Senate, we were able to balance the budget and cut taxes and streamline regulations and also invest in the things that matter. We invested in public education because this is the great equalizer in our country. Each of us comes from, you know, different background. Some families have more money than others. But if we're going to truly be that meritocracy where every kid has the chance to succeed, we've got to have great public education. So we've invested in that. We've invested in infrastructure, roads and bridges and power and water and all the things that it really takes to run an economy. Those are the kind of things I'll do at the federal level to help get our economy back on track again. The solutions that Brown and Biden have come up with are are actually hurting families and not helping them. And we're going to turn the corner and make America prosperous and strong again. And also another issue that's near dear to my heart because it's something that is impacting us as I know you're aware. You know we've had an uptick in crime and a lot of our cities, not only in Ohio but across the country, but especially in Ohio. You know we're based in Cleveland. You know, there's been a very significant problem with an increase in crime. So I know there's you know, there's limits as far as what you can do on the federal level. But did you become a United States senator, what would your approach be to to kind of help these cities deal with these crime issues that's going on right now, and this is impacting our minority communities more than anybody else. I mean, it starts with enforcing the law. The reason why we have prisons are for violent criminals, right, for people that that hurt our families and our communities. But there are smart sanctions for other kinds of crimes where we can really rehabilitate people. We call it the Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections for a reason. We all fall short from time to time, and you know, we believe in helping people to get back into life after they've been incarcerated. This is why I've led the charge with an initiative that helps people get registered to vote after they get out of incarceration, because we know that one of the best things we can do so that people don't fall back into a life of crime is to get them back involved in their families, their community, their churches, and part of that is being a registered voter. But it also comes down to making sure that we support our police. That means they need to have the equipment and the training they need to deal with all the challenges they face. They end up interacting with people that are struggling with addiction and mental health problems, getting them that crisis intervention training that they need, because when a police officer encounters somebody who's having a mental health crisis, they need to be able to handle that in a way where it's safe for the police officer and safe for the citizen that's having that crisis. And with the right training, they can do that. And also comes down to making sure that our police forces reflect our community. A diverse police force is a focus that I think we ought to have training these diverse police forces to be out in the community, to be present, to go play basketball with the local kids so that they know that, hey, that man or woman in uniform, that's not my enemy, that's my friend, and you know they're there to keep us safe. Those are the kind of things that we need to see more of. And you're right, most of that is that the local level, but there's some things that we can do at the federal level as well. Yeah. I mean one thing that I think maybe can be done is, like you said, increasing the resources. I mean, we have a severe problem here in Cleveland the police department is that as the lowest levels it's been since nineteen twenty eight. We need more officers. Um, do you think that at the federal level that maybe there can be more resources putting put into recruitment and retention. And I mean the pay is not good they're dealing with all all the kind of stuff that they're dealing with, and it's it's a crisis level at this point. Sure it is, and there are federal grant programs that we need to invest in that can help cities with the hiring those kind of public safety officers that we need. But you know, there's something else that doesn't get talked about enough, and that is the root of some of these crime problems that we face. Listen, when I was in Kosovo, i was there as part of the peacekeeping operation. One of the biggest problems in Kosovo that was causing violence was massive unemployment. People were bored and they were desperate, and they were sitting around, and so they engaged in criminal type enterprises. We need to work on rebuilding our communities in the way that people have meaningful work and they can build their families and live in good housing and have a stable life, because people are way less likely to commit crimes when they're living their best life. And that means making sure that fathers are actively involved in the lives of their children. There's this really cool program here in Columbus and a friend of mine named al Edmonds, who owns a barbershop out on the east side of Columbus in the King Lincoln neighborhood. He started this thing on Father's Day where they do they do a big breakfast for dads and their kids and they give out the Father of the Year Award. I was a little offended because I had a mug for my kids that said I was the number one dad. But evidently evidently somebody else won the award this year. But I attended that because I believe in father right, and so getting helping men to be actively involved in the lives of their children is just another part of this because kids need role models, and if they don't find it from a coach or a father, or a Scout leader or a teacher, they're gonna find mentorship the wrong way from a local gang leader or a criminal. And that's that's that's problematic for our families, all right. And finally, and I just I believe I know where you're where you're out on this. You kind of mentioned it earlier, but I just wanted to ask you directly for the record. School choice is something that's very important to me. I view it as a as a civil rights issue. I think it's the civil rights issue of our time. Where are you on school choice and parents' rights as far as education goes? This is one of the key things that I'm running on again. Parents' rights are crucial. We as parents have this responsibility and nobody, no government bureaucrat, nobody should step between us and our children. And You're right, school choice is a civil rights issue because where where we have some of the most struggling public schools in our state is in our minority communities, and it's chipping away at that great American tradition that any kid can be whatever they dream of. And to make sure that every child has the opportunity to succeed, we need competition. Competition makes us stronger. We know that it works on the athletic field, it works in the free market, and it needs to work in public education. And until there's that kind of competition and choice for parents about which environment is best for their children, we will not be able to have that great meritocracy where every kid has the opportunity to succeed. I'm a firm supporter of school choice, and I've led on this issue in the state legislature, and I'll lead on this issue in Washington. All right. Let everybody know how to get in contact with you if they want to get in contact with you on social media, if they want to get more information about the campaign, the website, all that good stuff. Absolutely, yeah, check us out at frank leros dot com. That's the campaign website. You can sign up to be a part of the team. You can message me right on there, and then we're also on all the different social media channels. It's just at frank LaRose for me personally and for my campaign team. We've got a new social media handle that's at LaRose for Senate. And I look forward to the conversation. I look forward to the job interview. This for the next year and a half for me is a year and a half long job interview. Every day I'm going to be talking to your listeners, my perspective, employers and asking them to hire me for a job. And I hope that they do because I know I can make a difference. All right, thank you so much for coming on the show spending time with us. We're really appreciated. It's an honor that you stopped by here so early in the in the campaign. I really appreciate it. The honor's mind talk to you soon. One more time. Thank you to Ohio Secretary of Stay Frank L. Rose for coming on the show. I really appreciate. We are out of here. Listen next time. Peace. This has been a presentation of the FCB podcast Network, where real talk lifts. Visit us online at FCB podcasts dot com.
