Deteriorating bridge becomes flash point in Ohio Senate race

Democrat Ted Strickland, who is running to unseat Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), on Monday took to a deteriorating bridge to tout his plan to fix the nation’s infrastructure while blasting Portman’s opposition to past transportation bills.

But a Portman spokesperson says there is one problem with his argument: Strickland voted against an omnibus spending bill in Congress over a decade ago that contained $2 million to repair the Brent Spence Bridge, while Portman supported it.

{mosads}It’s the latest flash point in a heated race, which has already seen a fierce battle for labor union voters.

“Since Ted Strickland actually voted against funding to replace the Brent Spence Bridge, he’s going to have to work harder to change the subject from his loss of major endorsements from the Ohio Conference of Teamsters and the Ohio Fraternal Order of Police,” said Michawn Rich, Portman’s campaign spokeswoman.

“Rob is a long supporter of replacing the Brent Spence Bridge and he will continue to fight to get it done in Washington.”

Strickland’s campaign defended the appropriations vote, saying Strickland opposed the overall legislation for fiscal 2004 because it would have stripped overtime protections away from workers and required the FBI to destroy gun purchase applications after 24 hours. He also backed numerous other bills in the House that would have designated funding for bridge improvements.

The response from Portman’s camp “is exactly what you would expect from an endangered Washington insider with a long record of voting against infrastructure improvements,” said David Bergstein, Strickland’s campaign spokesman. “Ted has voted to appropriate millions to improve and repair the Brent Spence, while Senator Portman has a long record of slashing support for Ohio’s infrastructure.”

The back and forth was sparked by Strickland’s remarks outside the Brent Spence Bridge on Monday, where he highlighted some of his infrastructure accomplishments while he was Ohio’s governor, including increasing road construction, investing in water and waste systems and developing public-private partnerships to expand high-speed internet.

He also outlined his “Ohio Families First” proposal to help rebuild America’s infrastructure, which calls for a national infrastructure bank that would provide low-interest loans and other financial assistance to help investors back national infrastructure projects like the functionally obsolete Brent Spence Bridge.

Funding for the bank would be paid for by closing tax loopholes that allow companies to shift their headquarters outside of the U.S. while still keeping their operations inside the country.

“The Brent Spence Bridge in Cincinnati serves as a vital commercial artery for our entire country and is in dire need of repairs. It is a powerful example and symbol of why we must rebuild and strengthen America’s infrastructure at every level,” Strickland said.

“Investing in our country’s infrastructure will create thousands of good-paying jobs, revitalize communities across our state, and help working families start getting ahead. These are the priorities that we need to return to Washington, and that’s what I will fight for in the U.S. Senate.”

The Brent Spence Bridge connects Cincinnati and Covington, Ky., carrying a busy stretch of interstate highway across the Ohio River that is responsible for moving 4 percent of gross national product.

Overcrowding and congestion on the 53-year-old structure has caused serious delays for commuters and businesses, and there is mounting concern about the safety of the bridge after chunks of concrete fell from the upper deck onto the lower deck.

Strickland has bashed Portman for supporting Paul Ryan’s fiscal 2013 and 2014 budgets, which cut infrastructure investments by 28 and 32 percent, respectively.

He also criticized Portman for voting against the adoption of the conference report for the 2012 surface transportation law, known as MAP-21, and a short-term highway bill in 2014.

But Portman’s spokeswoman pointed out that while Portman has a strong record of working on infrastructure issues in Congress, Strickland cut highway funding as governor.

Portman teamed up with Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) to introduce a plan to help pay for highways and infrastructure by overhauling how U.S. corporate profits are taxed overseas.

He also helped include a new program in the most recent surface highway transportation law that provides $4.5 billion over five years for nationally or regionally significant highway and freight projects.

Portman has talked about how the deficient Brent Spence Bridge could benefit from the five-year highway bill, which was signed into law at the end of last year.

“Now it’s time to really put the big money in for a new Brent Spence Bridge and the highway bill focuses on bridges like Brent Spence,” Portman said during a press call, according to a local Cincinnati news station.