060425...R ACTON TOUR 4...Youngstown...06-04-25...Dr. Amy Acton, Democratic candidate for Ohio Governor, left, visits with Youngstown Mayor Jamael Tito Brown outside the Northside pool Wednesday afternoon...by R. Michael Semple

YOUNGSTOWN — Even if other Democrats — including ex-U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown — jump into the governor’s race, Dr. Amy Acton, the party’s lone declared candidate for the post, said she isn’t going anywhere.

Brown, a former 18-year senator who has served in numerous other elected positions, including as a U.S. House member and Ohio secretary of state, is considering whether to run next year for elected office. While he hasn’t made an announcement, he could run for the Senate or for governor.

Also, ex-U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, who represented the Mahoning Valley for 20 years in the U.S. House, is considering a bid for governor.

During a Wednesday campaign stop at Youngstown’s North Side Pool, Acton was asked about other Democrats, specifically Brown, possibly getting into the race and how it would impact her campaign.

Acton said: “Sherrod Brown will probably be making some decisions about his career. What I’m hearing from people is they love us both and they would love to see us both at the top of the ticket. But I’m running for governor and I refuse to look the other way when we continue to go backwards in this state on nearly every measure.”

Acton said there is no scenario in which she will withdraw as a gubernatorial candidate.

“I’m not looking the other way,” she said.

Acton said she is “blessed to have been working with Sen. Brown for a long time” and has a number of his former staffers working on her campaign.

Acton, who rose to prominence during the early part of the COVID-19 pandemic as the state’s health director, said: “I’m a lifelong public servant and it has been an honor and a privilege. It was a bond that formed with Ohioans and it doesn’t seem to know party. Everywhere we go, folks are showing up — Democrats, independents, Republicans. They’re ready for a change. I have a vision of Ohio that we dream of, that I dreamed of as a kid, where everyone born has an opportunity to reach their fullest potential.”

Acton, who was born in Youngstown, visited with those residents Wednesday at the city’s only public pool. That was followed by a roundtable with teachers and then an event at Westside Bowl with local Democrats.

Acton declined Wednesday to discuss the specifics of the state budgets proposed by Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican and her former boss, as well as from the Republican-controlled state Senate and the one approved April 9 by the Republican-controlled Ohio House.

But she said none fully fund public education, which is “under attack.”

Acton said: “We ask that we fully fund public schools. It’s a travesty that we’re not doing that. It will be something I’ll definitely be speaking to.”

Acton grew up on Youngstown’s North Side, saying, “A lot of my roots come from having a rough childhood here in Youngstown.”

Acton spent part of that time homeless.

Acton moved to Liberty in the seventh grade and graduated from Liberty High School in 1984, attended Youngstown State University and received her medical degree in 1990 from Northeast Ohio Medical University.

Vivek Ramaswamy, a wealthy biotech entrepreneur, is the clear front-runner in the Republican primary for governor.

A Democrat hasn’t won a statewide executive branch office since 2008 with Republicans dominating the state. In the November election, Acton campaigned for three Democratic Ohio Supreme Court candidates, including two incumbents. All three lost.