Division I regional track finals
Fenwick graduation 2012
Ponitz graduation 2012
Home > Blogs > Ohio politics > Archives > 2011 > February > 01
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
House approves JobsOhio plan for economic development
Republican Gov. John Kasich got the vote he wanted Tuesday from the Ohio House, but it took two and a half hours of heated debate before Kasich’s “JobsOhio” won approval.
The vote was 59-37 on House Bill 1, with Rep. Connie Pillich, D-Cincinnati, voting with Republicans accidentally, an aide to Pillich said. The bill now goes to the Senate, also controlled by Republicans.
It would privatize the state’s economic development effort by creating a non-profit corporation run by a nine-member board, headed by the governor.
JobsOhio would not be a state agency and the state’s open meetings law and public records law would not apply to it, although supporters said there would be sufficient public disclosure. Kasich has made it a key ingredient in his plan to make Ohio “open for business.”
It’s what the state needs at a time of unemployment hovering around 10 percent and thousands of jobs continuing to leave the state, he and his allies have said.“We need a different direction,” said Rep. Danny Bubp, R-West Union. “This bill does that….Ohio is at war with other states and countries for jobs.”
The plan lacks accountability and transparency, said Democrats.
“Accountability and transparency are what separates Ohio and America from the Chinese and Iranians and the 18th century English,” said Minority Leader Armond Budish, D-Beachwood, former House Speaker.
“John Kasich does not want to be governor. He wants to be king. We….do not bow down to kings.”
House Speaker William Batchelder, R-Medina, said he thought Budish’s rhetoric was “somewhat extreme.” Batchelder, a former state appeals court judge, said, however, that he also has concerns - which he wouldn’t detail - about the bill. He said that he hopes they can be worked out in the Senate.
He said it’s possible, but not certain, that a final version of the bill could be ready to send to Kasich before the governor submits his budget to the legislature in mid-March.
Permalink | Comments (20) | Post your comment |
TweetGov. Kasich appoints minority affairs director; issues Black History Month resolution
Gov. John Kasich Tuesday named Lynn Stevens, who had served as an aide to former U.S. Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, as director of minority affairs.
Kasich also issued a resolution commemorating February as Black History Month.
“African-Americans have played significant roles in the history of Ohio’s economic, cultural, spiritual and political development while working to maintain and promote culture and history,” Kasich said in the resolution.
The appointment of Stevens, who is black, comes as Kasich continues to face criticism for so far appointing only whites to his cabinet. The minority affairs job is not considered a cabinet-level position.
Stevens will be responsible for minority outreach and act as a liaison to Ohio’s minority communities, a press release said.
Stevens most recently served 11 years as community relations director for Voinovich, who just retired from the Senate, the release said. Before that, she served as a caseworker for U.S. Rep. Steve Chabot, R-Cincinnati, the release said.
She also served on the Ohio Bicentennial Commission’s African-American Advisory Council.
Permalink | Comments (30) | Post your comment |
Tweet
