SPRINGFIELD — Ohio legislators must create an entrepreneurial environment if they want to stem the hemorrhage of jobs, Republican candidate for governor John Kasich said during a campaign stop in Clark County Wednesday, April 28.

“We’re not going to leave any single obstacle in the way of getting jobs,” he said. “It’s all about jobs; it always has been.”

Clark County was the last of the state’s 88 counties that Kasich and his running mate, state Auditor Mary Taylor, visited on their campaign tour.

The pair spoke in front of about 40 supporters that included local and state politicians in the Heritage Center of Clark County, located in Springfield.

“We gotta create an environment where jobs will stay, where companies will expand,” Kasich said. “Over time, we can get people to come in.”

Kasich noted that lowering taxes and scaling back strict regulations are essential to make Ohio more inviting for small businesses.

He also mentioned revamping worker’s compensation, funneling more dollars into education and using facilities like Clark State Community College to train more people to re-enter the work force, especially in communities with high unemployment like Clark and Champaign counties.

Kasich has faced some criticism for proposing lowering taxes when the state is facing a $7 billion deficit in the 2010-11 budget.

He countered that legislators can shrink the budget by eliminating lobbyists and special interests.

“Once we shrink it, we can reduce taxes,” he said.

Kasich and Taylor will face incumbent Gov. Ted Strickland and former Franklin County Common Pleas Court Judge Yvette McGee Brown in the November election.

Contact this reporter at (937) 328-0374 or boutten@coxohio.com.