I'm John Fetterman: This is why I want Pennsylvania's vote in the midterm election

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Whether it's rising crime or rising costs, we need leaders who actually understand the problems we’re going through here in Pennsylvania, and who have the experience and the ideas to do something about it. I know we need to tackle crime because I live in a community with a serious crime issue. I know that costs are too high because I see it with my own eyes when I’m at Costco. I get these issues because I’ve lived these issues. 

My opponent Dr. Oz can’t say the same. On inflation, crime, and any number of other issues, he just doesn’t get it. This is a guy who has spent the better part of his life jumping between his ten mansions on his private jet. That’s why his entire campaign has been based on spreading lies about me and my record. There's a reason why Oz and his allies have spent nearly $100 million attacking me with tons of negative ads - because Oz has no record and no solutions of his own to run on.

But it’s time to set the story straight—because the truth is I have a strong record of successfully confronting crime, and a real plan to take on inflation.

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Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, speaks during a campaign event at the Steamfitters Technology Center in Harmony, Pa., Oct. 18, 2022. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

These issues are personal to me. This is bigger than politics or even one election. 

Crime is the reason I got into public service in the first place. I came to Braddock, a small, forgotten steeltown in Western Pennsylvania plagued by gun violence, in 2001 to teach GED classes. After two of my students were shot and killed, I ran for mayor and made it my mission to stop the violence.  

As mayor, I was the town’s chief law enforcement officer. I was on call 24/7 and was often the first person on the scene of a crime. I patrolled with my officers, secured grants for surveillance cameras and a new police vehicle, and even paid out of my own pocket if I felt like we needed more patrols. I literally funded the police, if that’s what it took.  

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Once you see up close what a military-grade rifle round can do to a human body, you never forget that gruesome sight. And once you’ve sat with a family grieving the murder of their child, you never forget that pain. Each murder was gutting. That’s why each date is tattooed on my arm. 

Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate John Fetterman holds a rally at Nether Providence Elementary School on October 15, 2022 in Wallingford, Pennsylvania.   (Mark Makela/Getty Images)

I worked closely with the police and with the community to help build trust between the officers and the people of the town. I also worked hard to attract economic development, jobs, and new small businesses.

And it worked. Under my leadership, Braddock went more than 5 years without a single loss of life through gun violence. To this day it remains my proudest achievement in public service. 

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Just as I did as mayor, in the Senate I will ensure that our police have the funding they need to keep us safe. I would have proudly voted in favor of the American Rescue Plan which granted billions of dollars to fund local police. My opponent Dr. Oz has said he would have voted against that funding. 

If Oz actually cared about crime, he’d be offering some real solutions. Instead, he won’t do the literal first thing to keep our neighborhoods and our police officers safe: he doesn’t support a single policy to get guns off our streets and out of the wrong hands.

Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. and Democratic Senate nominee John Fetterman speaks to a crowd gathered at a United Steel Workers of America Labor Day event with President Joe Biden in West Mifflin, Pa., just outside Pittsburgh, Monday Sept. 5, 2022. (AP Photo/Rebecca Droke)

Here’s the bottom line: my priority has been and always will be public safety and justice. Because every Pennsylvanian deserves to feel safe in their community

And it’s not just crime. As a commonwealth, we’re also facing sky-high prices and record inflation. So we need a senator who understands that and has the solutions to bring down costs. Because you can’t fight inflation if you don’t understand how it impacts working people. 

Unlike Dr. Oz, I notice when a carton of milk or a gallon of gas costs a dollar more than it used to. 

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I know that we have to do more to bring down costs and curb inflation. It starts with cracking down on the huge corporations and big oil companies that have spent the past two years price gouging while they rake in record profits. I also have a plan to manufacture more stuff and generate more energy here in America—because when the supply chains start and end at home, we don’t have to worry about our prices skyrocketing every time there’s a crisis overseas. 

Pennsylvanians deserve a leader who will fight for them—not millionaires and billionaires—in Washington. Oz sympathizes more with rich CEOs than he does the average Pennsylvanian. It’s no surprise that Oz called criticizing Big Oil for price gouging ‘reprehensible.’ Does that sound like someone who’s going to take on corporate greed?

Pennsylvania Republican Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz participates in a debate with his Democratic challenger John Fetterman on October 25, 2022 in Harrisburg, PA. (NewsNation)

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How can we expect Oz to fight for Pennsylvania if he doesn’t know Pennsylvania and doesn’t understand the problems we are facing? 

Pennsylvanians deserve a leader who will fight for them—not millionaires and billionaires—in Washington.

When I get to the Senate, Pennsylvanians can trust me to fight for them because that’s what I’ve done for my entire career. I have the experience and solutions to make real, positive change for Pennsylvania’s families. This isn’t some TV show. This is real life. 

Oz simply doesn’t get it. I do. 

CLICK HERE TO READ AN OPED FROM THE AUTHOR'S OPPONENT - I'M MEHMET OZ: THIS IS WHY I WANT PENNSYLVANIA'S VOTE IN THE MIDTERM ELECTION