MAHONING VALLEY Candidate favors tech-job push

The candidate said bringing high-tech jobs to Ohio is among her top priorities.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR POLITICS WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Jennette Bradley, a candidate for lieutenant governor who is making her first visit to the Mahoning Valley since her selection as Gov. Bob Taft's running mate, said the state's struggling financial situation makes it all the more important that it attract and help develop high-technology companies.
Among the many stops Bradley made Thursday in the Mahoning Valley was to the ITT Technical Institute on North Meridian Road to see how the school trains its students for high-tech jobs.
What she and Ann Womer Benjamin, Republican candidate for the 17th Congressional District, heard from ITT officials is they are training students for jobs that don't exist in Ohio.
A number of ITT students are taking jobs in Oregon, Virginia and Florida instead of staying in the Valley.
ITT officials asked Bradley and Womer Benjamin to do what they could to attract high-tech jobs to the Buckeye State, in particular, the Valley.
Third Frontier
Bradley said bringing those jobs is the cornerstone of Taft's Third Frontier project and one of her top priorities. Attracting high-tech companies to Ohio is even more important than it was years ago because of the state's struggling economic situation, Bradley said.
"It's much more of a challenge now, but the economic situation makes it imperative that we move this state in a new direction," she said.
Bradley, the lone Republican on Columbus City Council and vice president of Huntington National Bank, was somewhat of a surprise selection by Taft, who needed a new running mate after Lt. Gov. Maureen O'Connor opted to run for an Ohio Supreme Court seat.
Taft's decision in February angered some in the conservative wing of the Republican Party because of Bradley's positions in favor of pro-choice and gay rights. Some conservative leaders are urging Republicans to stay home on Election Day rather than vote for Taft-Bradley.
"I agree with the governor on many issues and I have to emphasize that the governor sets policies," she said. "Main-line Republicans and other people in the state will see the Taft-Bradley ticket as the best chance for this state."
Black women
Regardless of the outcome of the November general election that pits Taft against Democrat Tim Hagan, a black woman will serve as the state's lieutenant governor for the first time.
Hagan's running mate is Charleta Tavares, a first-term Columbus council member, who is black.
Bradley said she has a good working relationship with Tavares and the gubernatorial race has not changed that.
"We work for the common good of the city," Bradley said. "We're pretty busy running the city to play politics on council."
Congressional candidate
Bradley had kind words for Womer Benjamin of Aurora, saying she is the most qualified candidate running for the 17th Congressional District seat. The district includes portions of Mahoning, Trumbull, Portage and Summit counties.
Womer Benjamin said her working relationships with high-level Republican officials on the state and national levels would prove to be beneficial to the Mahoning Valley if she is elected to Congress.
skolnick@vindy.com