Democrat Ed FitzGerald has launched his rebuttal to opponent Gov. John Kasich's first TV ad of the 2014 campaign, a less-expensive but more pointed radio ad running statewide.

Ed FitzGerald has launched his rebuttal to Gov. John Kasich's first TV ad of the 2014 campaign, and the Democrat's is a less-expensive but more-pointed radio ad running statewide.

The ad, called "Not working," is a $200,000, 60-second spot and is the first ad that FitzGerald - a likely November opponent for Kasich - has run as a statewide candidate. It opens by criticizing Kasich's policies as "not working" for Ohio's "struggling families" and doesn't mention FitzGerald until the fourth sentence. Kasich's campaign-opening TV ad was a biographical piece.

In response, Kasich's team pointed out the timing of FitzGerald's ad - airing when new state jobs numbers released yesterday show that Ohio's unemployment rate dropped to a six-year low and that 221,400 jobs have been added since Kasich took office in January 2011.

FitzGerald's ad credits him with "producing a budget surplus" as Cuyahoga County executive. The county did finish with a general-fund surplus of $3.5 million in 2013. But in 2010, the year before FitzGerald took office, the county had a surplus of more than $10 million.

FitzGerald's ad repeatedly accuses Kasich of "raising taxes" for the middle class and seniors while cutting them for the wealthy. It cites an increase in the state's sales tax, the elimination of the state contributing 12.5 percent to new local property-tax levies, and the end of a homestead exemption for seniors who have income of more than $30,000 and have not reached age 65, all to fund a $2.7 billion state income-tax cut.

"As governor, Ed FitzGerald will oppose tax breaks for the wealthy and well-connected and end John Kasich's tax hike on seniors," the ad said.

But by ending the homestead-exemption "tax hike" - or cap - and restoring it to its previous form, FitzGerald would effectively give a tax break to higher-income seniors. FitzGerald has said he would be open to discussing some sort of means test but has never proposed one for the homestead exemption.

FitzGerald has a May 6 primary opponent in Larry Ealy of the Dayton area; FitzGerald is the overwhelming favorite.

@joevardon