COLUMBUS, OHIO — A new letter to the editor published in the Columbus Dispatch on August 11, 2026, delivers a direct verdict on Amy Acton‘s gubernatorial ambitions: she is not fit to serve as Ohio’s next governor — and no image-rehabilitation tour by Ted Strickland changes that.
The letter, written by a current state representative and former law enforcement officer, centers on remarks Acton made at a June 25 City Club of Cleveland forum. When asked about making Ohio welcoming to immigrants and refugees, the letter states, Acton compared ICE to the Ku Klux Klan. Readers can watch the moment themselves: the forum is available on video. She has not apologized.
“Those weren’t words taken out of context,” the letter states. “They came from her own mouth, on camera. She compared men and women who put on a badge every day to one of the most hateful organizations in American history.”
The letter writer is unambiguous: “Amy Acton has shown she’s not fit to serve as Ohio’s next governor. Having Ted Strickland try to rehabilitate her image doesn’t change the facts.”
The letter responds directly to a July 24 Dispatch op-ed in which Strickland defended Acton. But the writer doesn’t let Strickland off the hook either — noting that Ohioans haven’t forgotten he left the state with an $8 billion budget shortfall and just 89 cents in the Rainy Day Fund.
The writer also draws a sharp contrast between Acton’s COVID-era record and her silence on law enforcement. During the pandemic, Acton shut down schools, businesses, county fairs, and much of everyday life — while having little to say about the violent protests that erupted across cities that summer. That double standard, the letter makes clear, is one law enforcement remembers.
It’s also why the Fraternal Order of Police endorsed Vivek Ramaswamy for governor. As the letter writer puts it: “I’ll always stand with the men and women who risk their lives to protect our communities, not with politicians who compare them to hate groups.”
Acton’s own words — on camera, unedited, unretracted — are the story. No amount of spin from Ted Strickland changes what she said.
