COLUMBUS, OH – This week, the Toledo Blade highlighted lifelong Republican Wood County Sheriff Mark Wasylyshyn’s support of Sherrod’s reelection campaign and their work together to support Ohio law enforcement.
Sheriff Wasylyshyn “commended” Sherrod’s work to support law enforcement and combat the fentanyl crisis, saying “no one has done more” to protect Ohioans from fentanyl.
Sherrod worked with Sheriff Wasylyshyn to write and pass the bipartisan FEND Off Fentanyl Act, which will keep Ohioans and law enforcement safe from dangerous fentanyl by cracking down on the chemical suppliers in China and drug traffickers in Mexico. Last year, Sheriff Wasylyshyn joined Sherrod on a trip to the southern border to hear from Border Patrol Agents firsthand.
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The Blade: Republican Wood County sheriff features in Brown re-election ad
Alice Momany – July 23, 2024
- “I’m a Republican. Have been my whole life,” Wood County Sheriff Mark Wasylyshyn says in the ad. “I don’t agree with Sherrod Brown on everything, but when it comes to fighting fentanyl, no one has done more than Sherrod Brown.”
- The sheriff has never publicly endorsed Mr. Brown before, and in the past, has voted for his Republican opponents. However, Mr. Wasylyshyn said he started working with the senator about four years ago in his role with the National Sheriff’s Association as their borders director.
- In November, 2023, Mr. Wasylyshyn went to Texas with Mr. Brown to tour the U.S. border. During their time there, they talked to border agents about drug cartels illegally bringing in drugs like fentanyl.
- In April, 2023, Mr. Brown and U.S. Sen. Tim Scott (R., S.C.) introduced the Fentanyl Eradication and Narcotics Deterrence (FEND) Off Fentanyl Act, as members of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. The bill, which was signed into law one year later, will expand sanctions on unlawful fentanyl supply chains.
- “Sheriff Wasylyshyn and I have worked together to keep Ohio communities safe — from traveling to the southern border together to hear from border agents and law enforcement to working together to pass the bipartisan FEND Off Fentanyl Act,” Mr. Brown wrote in an email to The Blade. “Together, we’re making sure Ohio law enforcement have the resources they need to keep dangerous fentanyl out of Ohio. I’ll work with anyone to do what’s right for Ohio, and I’m grateful to Sheriff Wasylyshyn for his leadership and his partnership.”
- Although he says in the advertisement that he doesn’t agree with Mr. Brown on everything, Mr. Wasylyshyn also commended the senator for what he has done for law enforcement while in office, such as advocating for the creation of a national Blue Alert system.
- Mr. Wasylyshyn said he also appreciates Mr. Brown’s support for Ukraine because his parents immigrated to the United States from the country.
- “I’ve known Mark Wasylyshyn for many years, and we are in total agreement to support the best candidate for the job and not vote specifically along party lines,” Lucas County Sheriff Mike Navarre, a Democrat, said. “I also support Sherrod Brown because of what he has done for law enforcement during his tenure.”
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