JobsOhio for All Ohio

May '10: Candidate John Kasich visiting Bionetics in Heath, Ohio.

The JobsOhio bill is now law.  Ohio's approach to economic development at the state level will take on a new approach, one that is more private-initiated and business-modeled than the past.

No doubt.  The old approach wasn't working.  It was time to blow it up and start over. 

I'm confident the Governor is doing the right thing.

One thing I lobby for most of all, though, is this:  JobsOhio needs to be for all of Ohio.

With only eight seats open on the Board for appointments, I'm hoping Governor Kasich won't take the old-style approach of appointing big-city, big-county appointments from the 3C's and the next five largest Ohio cities.

I'm reminded of the ODOT Task Force announced in the first half year of the Strickland Administration.  Only one person on the originally-announced Board was from a non-urban county.  One.  That person was the next door neighbor of the then-director of ODOT.

I'm confident the Governor won't repeat previous Governor's mistakes.

There are tons of very competent business leaders with the sort of background that Ohio and the Governor would benefit from tapping.  Many, many of these leaders are in the suburbs and more rural areas of Ohio.

I'm confident the Governor knows that.

I'm not going to name names, but I knew a few of them from my days traveling all over Ohio's 88 counties.  They exist.  They deserve the Governor's consideration for appointment.

I'm confident the Governor will.