John Kasich for Governor: Ex-Lehman Bros. Exec Offers History Of U.S. and "The Shirt Off Our Backs"

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- The immigrants gave us the phrase "the shirt off our backs." That was John Kasich's explanation in February 1999 when he announced he was running for president, a very short-lived run in a campaign that went nowhere. Kasich ended up working for Wall Street investment house Lehman Bros., which did know how to take the shirt off people's backs. Lehman's collapse in 2008 helped unleash the Great Recession. Ohio and the U.S. are still feeling the effects. In fact, there are millions of people who can't afford homes, who can't afford to retire, who can't afford college let alone shirts.

Kasich's 1999 presidential announcement speech that threw his shirt into the ring still lives on in cyberspace. His history lesson about how America was settled involves shirts, or lack of them. Read on:

"Your grandmother and your grandfather were living somewhere over in Europe a couple generations ago, and your grandpa told your grandma 'We're going to America.' Your grandma said, 'We're going where? I don't want to go.'
Maybe grandpa had a doubt in his mind, and grandma said 'We're going to America.' But together they made the decision to get in a small boat, it probably leaked, imagine the food, very little water, I would imagine; and they floated across the ocean to a place they didn't know.
And when they landed, they didn't know where they were. When they started traveling across America, they had no clue where they were going to end up, unless they had a relative that made the journey before them.
And you know what they were pursuing? They were pursuing freedom, personal responsibility. They were pursuing rugged individualism and at all times they were compassionate. Because they were the first ones to turn to the person next to them that didn't have anything and said, 'How can I help?' That's when we got the phrase 'the shirt off our backs,' from these immigrants that came across that ocean in search of the American dream. "

Ohio Republican Party: Its Official GOP Blog Echoes Strickland's Iowa Caucus Concern

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Ohio's Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland has been catching flak over a comment that the Iowa caucuses make "no sense." There is speculation that the remark will go down as the governor's gaffe. Now the Ohio Republican Party -- no ally of Strickland -- has linked to a USA Today editorial that seems to share his sentiment that Iowa should not have such crucial power over the presidential selection process. A link to the Ohio GOP blog is here.

The USA Today editorial it cites raises concern that Iowa's voter participation is too low, the voting is too early, and the state is too tied to an agricultural economy to be any kind of stand-in for the rest of the nation when it comes to the serious job of picking a president. The Ohio GOP -- by giving that concern prominence on its partisan Web site -- seems to be saying it agrees with Democrat Strickland. Here's USA Today:

"It seems odd that candidates would spend months, and millions of dollars, in Iowa in pursuit of an election that would barely constitute a neighborhood in some large American cities. It should. Iowa is not tiny, 30th in population according to the Census, but its time-consuming caucus process means that only 8% of the population will participate."

The newspaper said that about 87,000 Republicans will caucus, according to predictions ahead of the voting -- that's not even a full house at a Washington Redskins game. For Ohioans: It's not even close to a full house at Ohio Stadium when the Buckeyes play; it's just a tad smaller than the population of Parma, Ohio.

Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland: Orders Nativity Scene Restored At State Park

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- State officials confirmed today that Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland -- an ordained Methodist minister -- personally issued an order that restored a Nativity scene to a state park lodge. Nativities are traditional at Christmas, as are legal disputes about their placement on public property. Strickland said he wanted the issue handled with "common sense." He also said holiday scenes at other state parks should remain in place.

While there is no threat of a lawsuit of legal action against the state yet, officials said they were certain the Democratic governor would not back down.

The display had been removed by park workers last week after a complaint, or inquiry, asserted a display of Christ in a manger was an inappropriate exhibition and promotion of Christian religious material on public property. Reports said there was a demand that non-Christian items be added. The display was at Shawnee State Park Lodge and Resort, which is in Scioto County where the governor was reared in southern Ohio.

There was a demand that the Nativity scene include a Hindu swastika and a Zorastrian statue. Park manager Bill Griffin took down the display rather than add the non-Christian symbols. Strickland ordered the Nativity put back in place and said he wanted traditional displays to remain in place.

The Huntington News in West Virginia has a report about the Nativity flap today. Strickland's spokesman, Keith Dailey, said the governor was convinced the Nativity scene is appropriate:

"Gov. Strickland believes that Nativity scenes are an establishes and appropriate part of our holiday season. If someone locally suggests a symbol for Zorastrianism, for example, be included, the governor disagrees. He thinks we need to approach this with as much common sense as we can."

OH-05: Gov. Strickland Says Weirauch Has Ohio Values In New Ad

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio -- Gov Ted Strickland appears in OH-05 Democrat Robin Weirauch's newest TV ad and praises her as "one of us, she is not a person of privilege." The 30-second spot is now on YouTUBE and can be viewed by clicking this link. Strickland steers clear of attacking Weirauch's opponent, GOP State Rep. Bob Latta. Instead, the governor emphasizes her NW Ohio roots and says she won't be the kind of politician who goes to the Capitol and takes on airs.

"This region of Ohio needs someone who will be an advocate for them, not someone who is going to go to Washington and forget where they are from. We all know Washington is broken."

Weirauch's biography is here, and Strickland's words mesh well with her campaign slogan, "Homegrown Values."

Strickland is extremely popular around the state and carried Ohio's 5th Congressional District in 2006 when he was elected governor. It was a feat because the district routinely votes Republican. If Weirauch wins the special election Tuesday, Dec. 11, she will be the first Democrat to hold the OH-05 House seat since 1938.

Gay Rights Measure: U.S. House May Vote Today To Ban Job Bias

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Cleveland and Cincinnati and a handful of other Ohio cities have already adopted local ordinances that protect workers against on-the-job-bias. Today, Rep. Barney Frank's bill outlawing employment discrimination against gay Americans is supposed to come up for a vote on the House floor. The measure has 9 cosponsors, including one Republican, retiring U.S. Rep. Deb Pryce (OH-15) who is leaving a Columbus-area seat when her term expires next year. In fact, it appears Pryce is the only Ohioan who has signed on for the Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2007.

The bill exempts the military and a handful of other occupations.

A Kentucky blogger at The Bridge says the White House has already assured the religious right a veto can be expected if the civil-rights bill moves forward. In Ohio, gays are not covered by laws that ban employment discrimination on the basis of gender, race, religion or ethnic background. Gov. Ted Strickland issued an executive order earlier this year that outlaws jobs bias by state agencies against gays.

The N-Word Is Interred: Here's Hoping It Never Haunts

DETROIT (TDB)-- Of course, it was a publicity stunt. But the NAACP said good riddance to the N-word at a staged funeral during its national convention in the Motor City today. Here's hoping the vile racial slur never returns to haunt the English language, and a stake has been pounded into the its six vowels and consonants.

NAACP Chief Operating Officer Nelson B. Rivers III said the funeral was planned to send a message that neither whites nor blacks should use the N-word.

"The N-word is the most vicious of all racial insults and the most well known example of racist language and self-hatred by African Americans. The NAACP believes the time has come to celebrate the end of its wretched, destructive life. There is international interest in this powerful and symbolic action and we are calling on others to march with us against this word that hurts and diminishes us everyday."

NAACP officials pointed out that C. Delores Tucker, a trustee of the organization, led marches and sued to challenge sexually explicit lyrics in rap music during the 1990s. She said the words were anti-female, or misogynistic, and threatened to undermine the black society moral foundations.

Staging a burial that would put the N-word six feet under in Ohio would be a nice symbolic act. State officials should consider organizing such an event. Gov. Ted Strickland could throw the first shovelful of dirt. The NAACP's presser talks about the organization's battle against the N-word.

Strickland's Speech: Did Ohio Just Declare War On Kentucky?

COLUMBUS (TDB) -- Click HERE for Gov. Ted Strickland's first State of the State speech to the Ohio General Assembly. He's making cuts, and the knife is out. But the governor also seems to have declared war on Kentucky, where a lot of Ohio River Valley-dwelling Buckeyes habitually head for cheap cigarettes and booze in shops and liquor stores just across the border. His pledge to crack down on cigarette smugglers is in the last line of the following passage about his cuts.

"That’s why my budget eliminates the Ed Choice voucher program.

"It limits the Student Choice Grant for students attending private colleges to those with a financial need.

"It eliminates financial aid for students in proprietary for-profit schools not in the Board of Regents system.

"It limits the discount on the state sales tax provided to large retailers.

"It ensures that the Commercial Activity Tax applies broadly and equally across all sectors of the economy including the petroleum industry.

"It captures for Ohio the full sales tax revenue generated from residents of other states who come here to buy motor vehicles.

"It prevents shipments of untaxed cigarettes into our state – a dubious practice that hurts small business people, especially in border communities."

In days of yore, Ohio liquor agents and Cincinnati vice cops would stake out the Kentucky shops and follow people across the bridges back into Ohio, where they would be arrested and their illegal imports confiscated for violating tax laws. The late Hamilton County Municipal Court Judge Edward J. Donnellon used to ask the miscreants how much they lost when the revenuers pinched them at the border. He wouldn't send them to jail. He said seeing the smokes, or beer or Jim Beam seized by the State of Ohio was punishment enough.

The stake outs stopped after Kentucky officials threatened to arrest the Ohio lawmen as loiterers & etc. This could get interesting.....

Ohio's Latest Jobless Data: 75 Counties Saw Unemployment Increase

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- State officials say that the unemployment rate rose in 75 of Ohio's 88 counties last month. Seven counties now are over the 10% mark -- Monroe and Pike counites in Appalachian Ohio lead the state with 11.1% of their residents out-of-work.

The other counties with the highest jobless percentages are:

Morgan, 10.8; Huron and Ottawa, 10.4; Adams, 10.3 and Meigs, 10.2.

Overall, the state's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 5.3% in January, the latest month for which a statewide figure is available. The number is slightly better than December's 5.6, but still trails the nation as a whole, which had a 4.6% unemployment rate in January.

Of note is Mercer County at the center of the state's soybean and corn belt, which had Ohio's lowest jobless rate at 4%. Mercer has dairies and frequently is the state's top producing agricultural county in value of crops harvested from its fields.

The Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services press release is HERE. A map with a county-by-county breakdown will appear by clicking HERE.

Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland took office in early January, and the report shows the state lost 12,000 jobs that month. It is too early for the blame to fall on Strickland, who campaigned last year on a theme to turn around the state's poor performing economy. But people are beginning to count the jobs lost -- or added -- on Strickland's watch, and they have started keeping track of the monthly unemployment reports. And if the numbers continue heading South the Democrats will no doubt face withering criticism for not engineering the fixes Ohioans expected.

What is so disturbing about the latest report is the tough straits the seven counties over 10% are in. And they are not all in Appalachia -- Huron and Ottawa are in the north and have had chronic problems for years.

Ohio Gov. Strickland Gets Apology: Christian Cartoon Was 'Low Blow'

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- A scurrilous editorial cartoon appeared recently in the religiously-oriented, pro-life publication Christian Citizen USA that ridiculed Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland and his wife, Frances. Democrat Strickland is an ordained Methodist minister who is not aligned with the religious right. Now the publication's owner has publicly apologized for a "low blow" and is seeking forgiveness.

"The cartoon on our Commentary page was provocative. It was about our new governor Ted Strickland. Gov. Strickland and his wife have a history of not living together in the same location at the same time. Some of our readers thought the cartoon speculated on their personal lifestyle choices. Either way, we apologize for the cartoon. In hindsight it was a low blow and as Christians we did not do a good job of showing the same grace that God has faithfully showed us through our many mess-ups," Pendra Lee Snyder said about the incident.

"Our commentary page is set aside to express what we hope are opinions based on solid facts -- opinions that are helpful, not hurtful. The news pages are just that, news. We work to keep a distinction. And we certainly do not want to come across as throwing out what we might believe is smart commentary when in reality it is just smart aleck commentary."

She said Christ probably would not have put such a cartoon in print and closed by saying, "Please forgive us and please send your comments."

Other Ohioans on the right have raised similar smarmy questions about the governor's sexual orientation -- an issue that Republican Ken Blackwell's camp tried to flog without success in the final days of his tanked gubernatorial effort. Mrs. Snyder, at least, demonstrated she has class by confessing online for all the world to see that she had strayed from her Christian principles. She didn't hide or dissemble. Others who jumped on the Blackwell gay-bashing bandwagon have yet to do the same.

There is quite a bit of background about Mrs. Snyder's publication HERE , and it is an important voice and widely read by those active in the evangelical movement. She even had the courage and fundamental decency to print this letter from a critic:

"Dear Editor,
"The cartoon, about Governor Strickland, in the January (2007) edition of the Christian Citizen USA seems out of place in a Christian publication.
"I believe that Christians are to show love and Christ to the world. I do not feel that cartoon does either.
"I feel that Christians should not talk, in a negative way, about people, spread gossip and/or poke fun at others.
"I do not think Christ would have put that cartoon in the paper if he were the editor.
"I am ashamed of the newspaper having that cartoon in it and although I usually pass the paper out to co-workers and friends, this edition will go in my garbage.
"I did not vote for Strickland so my opinion is not because of favor for him. It just seems very unchristian like.
In Christ,
Bonnie Sylvia
West Portsmouth, OH"

Strickland's Green Dream: $250 Million For AltEnergy

COLUMBUS (TDB) -- Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland is turning into a global warming warrior. He's ordered energy audits of state buildings to cut down greenhouse gas emissions, he's ordered the state to look into buying hybrid vehicles, and he's offering $5 million in economic incentives for ventures that manufacture wind-power components. But that's pocket change compared to what he may actually intend to invest in a bold move recasting Ohio as a significant player in the alternative energy universe.

He told the Chillicothe Ross Chamber of Commerce that his twin goals of job creation and building a stronger Ohio economy include an unprecedented -- and costly -- new campaign to lure businesses into the state that are rooted in clean, green energy. He sees an opening for Ohio, an opening created as climate change dims the future for fossil fuels. "I'd like to devote about $250 million a year to encourage investments in alternative energies. We need to promote Ohio as a location for wind power, solar power, ethanol, biodiesel and coal technologies," Strickland said. He spoke at the chamber's annual dinner, an event that was reported in the Chillicothe Gazette. Much of what Strickland said was standard issue -- make higher education more affordable, build the economy on the minds of a well-educated work force, make health care accessible.

The amount of money -- $250 million annually -- for alternative energy is an eye-popping figure. Over four years, it would be $1 billion. That's the kind of dough former Gov. Bob Taft poured into his Third Frontier initiative, an effort to retool Ohio and wean it from heavy industry into new technologies. The Taft program's reputation was of particular fondness for medical research, biotech and fuel cells --a source of electric power that is based upon hydrogen as a fuel. Strickland may be in office to reap the benefits of Taft's efforts -- if they ever get off the shelf. There are those who wonder if the Third Frontier is the real deal.

Strickland tossed out the $250 million figure in a speech that also described Ohio's tight budget situation. "The challenge of trailblazing an economic turnaround is made all the more daunting by our budget situation. Current revenue projection shows we will have between $1 billion and $1.5 billion less. And it doesn't look better in 2009," he said, adding he would only "invest in those things that truly matter in this state."

Earlier this month, Strickland made $5 million available for the Ohio Wind Power Manufacturing Incentive, a program administered by Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher's economic development department. The announcement of the grant money said Ohio ranks second to California "in the potential for new job creation for manufacturing wind components."

The full text announcing the $5 million in grants is HERE. Clearly, the governor sounds like he wants to do a lot more.

Iraqi War Refugees: Gov. Strickland Slams The Door

COLUMBUS (TDB) -- The Bush Administration's plan to resettle Iraqi War refugees in the U.S. ran into a snub from Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, who said the state has helped that nation enough. News reports say up to 7,000 Iraqis may soon be offered shelter in America, but the official transcript of a State Department briefing appears to challenge those press accounts.

The transcript is HERE , and Assistant Secretary of State Ellen Sauerbery indicated 7,000 may be processed as refugees, but not nearly that many could be moved. "The process of processing is a time consuming one because not only do we have a very intense security screening that is in place, but following security screening, there is another health screening. So it does take a matter of months normally, once we have begun the interview process, before someone is travel-ready. So I think it is fair to say that under the best of circumstances, it will be, perhaps, half of the number we actually are addressing in the fiscal year that we'll be ready -- travel ready before the end of September."

The key word there -- half.

Meanwhile, Ohio Gov. Strickland doesn't want anything to do with the resettlement program. "I think Ohio and Ohioans have contributed a lot to Iraq in terms of blood, sweat and too many tears. I am sympathetic to the plight of the innocent Iraqi people who have fled that country. However, I would not want to ask Ohioans to accept a greater human burden that they already have borne for the Bush administration's failed policies."

His statement was carried by The Associated Press.

It looks doubtful that the Bush administration can move large numbers of refugees, not because they would be unwelcome, but because the background checks would be a near-impossible hurdle. Homeland Security officials would have to weed out potential terrorists who might try to slip through the cracks. Worse -- and impossible to guard against -- would be someone who once supported the U.S. and who switched to the other side because of religious, family or tribal ties. Or, they might be subject to pressure or blackmailed by groups still in Iraq, or who kidnaped and threatened to kill relatives.

Right now, federal and immigration courts are stuffed with cases by resident aliens from all over the world who cannot get their U.S. paperwork processed because of security delays over background checks. And U.S. citizens themselves must carry passports to re-enter their own nation upon travelling overseas. The Bush resettlement proposal -- while it sounds admirable -- probably is a pipedream because of the risk a terrorist could slip through.

Ohio's Economy And Budget: Slow Growth, State Surplus

COLUMBUS (TDB) -- The monthly economic report Gov. Ted Strickland receives on state spending shows Ohio has a chance of ending its 2007 fiscal year with a $246 million surplus. It also projects the private job market will stabilize, meaning an end the era of mass layoffs. But there is no hiring boom in the picture.

The latest data show tax revenues are running slightly ahead of expectations, and spending is nearly $683.5 million, or 4.1%, below what was budgeted. Health care expenditures are nearly $500 million under estimates -- accounting for most of the black ink that landed on the guv's desk in the Office of Budget and Management's financial summary. So far, Ohio has collected $93.3 million more in taxes than projected.

As for the overall economic picture in Ohio, the report says labor markets are "stabilizing" but its sees no comeback for the manufacturing sector, which shrunk by 17,000 jobs in 2006. But the tone wasn't bleak, and there was a strong suggestion that maybe things have bottomed out. This would get Strickland's term off to a positive start; he wouldn't be under the dark clouds that dogged Republican Bob Taft, who left office last month with fewer Ohioans working than in 2001.

"In a sign that labor markets are stabilizing, mass layoffs declined sharply in 2006. After rising by 30.3% in 2005, the number of claimants in mass layoffs in Ohio decreased by 29% in 2006, according to the U.S. Department of Labor," Strickland's budget experts reported. They also gave the governor this news -- Ohio should add jobs in 2007.

"Total employment is projected to increase by 0.5% in 2007, according to Global Insight, as a general economic recovery overtakes continued weakness in manufacturing. The fastest growing sectors in terms of employments are projected to be professional and business services, education and health services and leisure and hospitality. Ohio employment is projected to grow at a compound annual rate of 0.6% during the next five years, led by other services, construction and natural resources," the report said.

The full text of the report is HERE.

Pro-life Christians Blast Obama And Ohio Gov. Strickland

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- A group called Christians for Social Justice has launched a new Web site denouncing Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama as a supporter of gay-marriage and says legalized abortion in the U.S. is "black genocide." The group has been extremely critical of Ohio's Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland, an ordained Methodist minister. Christians for Social Justice contends Strickland's policy views about gay unions and abortion rights "don't square with Biblical Christianity."

Is this the Christian right swinging into attack mode? It sure appears that way -- and the new attack on Obama seems to have been launched from Ohio.

Christians for Social Justice is led by Clenard H. Childress Jr., a New Jersey preacher, but the organization's press release announcing ObamaNation.com, the Web site that attacks the Illinois senator, carried a Columbus dateline. An examination of the site, available HERE, shows that Mark Harrington of Columbus is the group's field director. Harrington describes himself as active in the pro-life movement. The same organization runs the anti-Strickland site HERE.

Childress accuses Obama of supporting the "homosexual agenda" -- which means the senator is going to be dogged by anti-gay rights activists, homophobes and militant pro-lifers in the coming months on the campaign trail. "If elected president, Obama's use of the bully pulpit would be a boost for the culture of death and the homosexual agenda," Childress said. "Also, there would always be a threat on an Obama veto of any significant pro-life or pro-family legislation. Obama would undoubtedly nominate pro-abortion justices of the US Supreme Court, which could etch Roe v. Wade into stone for generations."

There is more HERE. Childress says he's not affilated with any political party, candidate or candidate's committee.

Ohio Budget Director Memo: Contracts Get Closer Look

COLUMBUS (TDB) -- State contracts are already receiving heightened scrutiny under Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland's administration, especially those for major deals that do not go through standard competitive bidding or selection processes. Spending on set-aside programs for minorities and women also are being looked at closely. A memo issued earlier this month by Ohio Budget Director Pari Sabety told agency fiscal officers that the entire spending approval process is being tightened and more questions will be asked about who gets state business.

On Jan. 22, Sabety stopped $147 million in spending requests from reaching the Controlling Board. The state's top beancounter didn't throw a penalty flag to stop the action, but she did use the NFL replay words "further review" in her memo. Agencies wanted approval for $210 million, but Sabety allowed just $63 million.

But the real news is that there is a crackdown under way on "waivers of competitive selection" -- govspeak for contracts that are granted without bids or competition between vendors. She laid down the law in her memorandum.

"There will be increased scrutiny of waivers of competitive selection, Buy Ohio outreach, Minority Business Enterprises and Women Owned Minority Business Enterprises. Agencies can expected to be questioned if they routinely use [the] Controlling Board to disregard biennial budget limits or request increases in appropriation authority. Exceptional and unusual contract terms, such as up front lump sum payments for future services to be rendered, will also be reviewed with special attention," Sabety wrote.

In 2003, the Cleveland think-tank Policy Matters Ohio raised serious questions about the state's contracting policies in a report written by analyst Zach Schiller, who found that waivers of competitive selection were rampant. (Full Disclosure: Schiller was a Plain Dealer colleague, although he worked on the business desk and I was on the news side. Prior to that, when he was the Cleveland Bureau Chief for Business Week magazine, he hired me as a stringer to cover various matters in SW Ohio.).

Schiller's Policy Matters Ohio report said that sometimes there were good reasons to waive bidding because the contractor used may have gone through a bidding process with another contractor "or the product may only be available from one vendor." Still, he was critical:

"With dozens of contracts approved last year, however, it is unclear whether they were competitively bid or not. The result: Millions or dollars in state spending without proper accountability.,"

He noted that some approvals of competitive waivers "strain the imagination" -- including a $450,000 increase in a contract with a Washington, D.C. firm to write the details in how to cut the state Medicaid program. "The firm will be paid more than $300 an hour, more than double the usual state rate," the Policy Matters Ohio analyst reported, adding that it was ironic the fee was so high because the job was to help eliminate health insurance for 50,000 low-income Ohioans.

Sabety's action to ask questions and tighten the spending process is an overdue move. She said she wants to maximize the ''efficient use of state resources."
Her memo can be viewed by clicking here.

A capsule of the Policy Matters Ohio report is found in this Gongwer update from a few years back.

Ohio EPA: GOP Holdover Stays No. 2 Administrator

COLUMBUS (TDB) -- A top Ohio EPA official under Republican administrations since 1991 will become No. 2 at the agency under Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland. Laura Powell, currently the acting administrator, will move back into her old position as assistant director. She will be the chief deputy of Strickland-appointee Chris Korleski, who is scheduled to take over the top spot on Feb. 1.

"Laura's knowledge of the agency and her strong background in legislative and policy issues will be a tremendous asset to the administration, particularly during this time of transition," Korleski said. Powell said she looks forward to working with Korleski, whom she says envisions an "environmentally friendly economic development and a common sense approach to the regulatory process."

Prior to joining Ohio EPA in 1991, Powell was a legislative aide to former State Sen. Gary Suhadolnik, a Cleveland-area Republican who chaired the Energy, Natural Resources and Environment Committee. She is a graduate of Duke University and majored in public policy studies with a focus on health care and hospital management. Powell does have some Democratic credentials -- she interned with the late U.S. Rep. Claude Pepper, a Florida firebrand from the New Deal era who was a fierce advocate for the nation's senior citizens. Powell started at Ohio EPA as a legislative liaison and took over as chief of its Office of Legislative Affairs in 1999.

Former Gov. Bob Taft named her Ohio EPA's acting director on Dec. 29. Powell is one of a handful of high-ranking officials from the Taft years to hang on to her state job.

Ohio Death Penalty: Gov. Strickland Has 'Serious Questions'

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, a Methodist minister and psychologist by training, has told Cincinnati Enquirer Statehouse reporter Jon Craig that he is not entirely comfortable with the death penalty. The governor postponed three executions last week while he looks into the cases, and Craig is preparing a story for the Sunday newspaper that explores Democrat Strickland's views. Strickland granted him an on-the-record interview.

Craig says Strickland told him he has "serious questions" about capital punishment, including concerns about possible racial bias against black defendants. The governor also raised issues about the adequacy of DNA testing, geographic differences across Ohio in how prosecutors treat murder cases, and financial access to skilled defense lawyers.

Those are some of the same issues raised by federal appeals court judge Boyce Martin, who says he no longer believes the death penalty is applied fairly in Ohio or anywhere else in the United States. Martin, an appointee of former Democratic President Jimmy Carter, say he won't vote to uphold convictions. Martin's view is described in more detail HERE.

There is a teaser HERE on Cincinnati.com about Strickland's interview.

Climate Change In Ohio: Guv Wants Hybrids, CO2 Cut

COLUMBUS (TDB) -- Gov. Ted Strickland signed an executive order today that sets his administration on a green course by noting "mounting environmental concerns" and the nation's over-dependence on foreign energy resources. Strickland specifically cited persistent energy security risks because oil comes from dangerous parts of the globe. It was the Democrat's second executive order. His first tightened ethics rules.

He did not try to downplay scientific warnings about global warming.

Strickland said he wants a tool for audits to measure the "carbon footprint" of energy consumption in state government. Carbon dioxide gas from burning fossil fuels is suspected of causing Earth's climate to warm by enhancing the so-called greenhouse effect. He also ordered state agencies to cut energy use soon by 5%, and wants them down 15% by the time his term ends in 2011. Strickland ordered the state vehicle fleet to start acquiring alternative fuel vehicles, including hybrids.

Strickland said the state should lead by example, and these paragraphs from the order, EO 2007-02S, strongly convey his intent:

"iii. The tool for measuring energy consumption will include means of calculating each organization's 'carbon footprint' which demonstrates the impact our activities have on climate change by calculating the green house gas emissions produced by daily activities and reporting those emissions in units of carbon dioxide.

"iv. Each state agency, board, and commission is directed to conduct a statewide energy audit of its respective facilities, both owned and leased. This audit will use the tool developed by the Department of Administrative Services to facilitate comparisons between similar facilities and should be completed by June 2007.

"v. Upon completion of his energy audit, each state agency, board, and commission is directed to achieve and overall reduction of 5% of building energy use for its facilities within the first years or the next biennium and 15% by the end of four fiscal years."

The entire text of the order is HERE.

Strickland also appointed Mark Shanahan, executive director of the Ohio Air Quality Development Authority, as his energy advisor. There is additional information from the governor's office HERE.

Appalachian Commission: Bob Taft Still Guv

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Some federal bureaucracies are famous for operating at one speed: Slow. The most notorious recent example is FEMA, an administrative swamp that was flooded out by Katrina.

Now, we have this example of another federal agency dozing. Ohio has its first Appalachian governor since January 1983 when Republican Jame A. Rhodes -- a native of Coalton (pop. 531) in the coal country -- left office. But the Appalachian Regional Commission so far fails to note Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland's arrival, even though he is from the "Little Smokies" region of Scioto County.

[Update: Tuesday January 16, 2006, 5:21 p.m. Strickland is now the governor on the commission Web site. It was finally changed 8 days after he was sworn in, and notes he is from Lucasville in Scioto County.]

The commission is a Great Society program from the 1960s, and it still says Bob Taft is Ohio's chief executive: "ARC Members, Partners, and Staff Governor Bob Taft Ohio. He was elected Ohio's governor in November 1998 and reelected in 2002. Taft served as the Appalachian Regional Commission's 2005 states' co-chair."

Sure, Strickland is just a week into his term and some might want to give the agency the benefit of the doubt. But New York's Eliot Spitzer was quickly added to the list of Appalachian governors. Spitzer was just sworn in to replace George Pataki. Below is the current list from the agency's Web site. (Ed. Note: Maryland's Ehrlich, a GOPer, is wrong, too. Democrat Martin O'Malley knocked him off last November.)
Appalachian Governors
Alabama: Governor Bob Riley
Georgia: Governor Sonny Perdue
Kentucky: Governor Ernie Fletcher
Maryland: Governor Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.
Mississippi: Governor Haley Barbour
New York: Governor Eliot Spitzer
North Carolina: Governor Michael F. Easley
Ohio: Governor Bob Taft
Pennsylvania: Governor Edward G. Rendell
South Carolina: Governor Mark Sanford
Tennessee: Governor Phil Bredesen
Virginia: Governor Tim Kaine
West Virginia: Governor Joe Manchin III

No doubt the list will be updated soon. There is a lot of information about the Appalachian Regional Commission HERE. And data about the commission's spending in Ohio is HERE.

Cleve Blog + PeeDee: Fingerhut = Higher Ed Czar

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Is higher education reform sweeping in like a Siberian Express? It is on the Doppler as reform isobars appear over Columbus, the Statehouse and the governor's office. But somehow, the news is missing from the Big Media that is supposed to keep Cincinnatians informed. Eric Fingerhut, the Shaker Heights lawyer/politician/Demo insider, could be in line to become Ohio's first super-superintendent.

[UPDATE, Monday, January 15, 9:38 a.m: Gov. Ted Strickland issued remarks on Jan. 11 saying he would support House Speak John Husted's plan to create a cabinet-level office responsible for higher education at all levels in Ohio. Here's the statement from his office: "Ohio Governor Ted Strickland today issued the following statement regarding the role of a higher education chancellor: 'I strongly support establishing a cabinet-level higher education chancellor. Such a position would enable the governor to be a stronger, more effective advocate for the higher education community in Ohio and will create a better system of higher education for all Ohioans. I applaud Speaker Husted’s leadership and his willingness to work in a bi-partisan manner in supporting these efforts. I look forward to working closely with the legislature to establish a more accountable higher education system with the goals of improving our graduation success rate and ensuring Ohioans have every opportunity to pursue lifelong learning.'"]


Meanwhile, you can read the SCOOP and STILL MORE about Fingerhut from Up North via digital samizdat.

Of course, a tip of the Hatlo Hat to WLST, fast-becoming a reliable must-read for anyone determined to follow the twists and turns and machinations of reform. (Is it strange that the Cincinnati Enquirer appears asleep at the wheel? The state's second largest university is in Cincinnati; the newspaper's publisher is on the University of Cincinnati's board of trustees. Oh yeah, the education writer just quit and took a job in Detroit, and so far there is no replacement.).