OHIO POLITICS Akron, Columbus mayors not looking for '06 battle

Plusquellic says there's no need to compete with Coleman in the governor's race.
AKRON (AP) -- The mayors of Columbus and Akron have spoken about becoming Democratic candidates for governor in 2006 but don't plan to run against each other, Akron's Mayor Don Plusquellic said.
"It doesn't make sense for us to run against each other and we won't," Plusquellic said Wednesday, saying he'd talked to Coleman about the race.
Plusquellic, 55, told reporters that he didn't have any major announcements and also said he hadn't considered running for statewide office in the past but now Ohio "is in such bad condition" he is considering the move.
Plusquellic had open heart surgery in June 2003 and was hospitalized two months later with fever and nausea blamed on a possible infection. He has been Akron's mayor since 1987 and became president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors in June. He was elected last year to another four-year term, meaning he could run for governor in 2006 without giving up his job as mayor.
Coleman, elected last year to a second four-year term, also could run for governor in two years without giving up his job.
Other possible candidates
U.S. Rep. Ted Strickland, former Cleveland-area Congressman Dennis Eckart and former Cincinnati mayor and current talk show host Jerry Springer also are considered possible Democratic candidates.
On the Republican side, Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell, state Auditor Betty Montgomery and Attorney General Jim Petro are all running. Two-term GOP Gov. Bob Taft is barred by law from a third straight term.
Ohio's six largest cities have Democratic mayors. Republicans control all statewide nonjudicial elective offices.
Greg Haas, political consultant to Coleman, said Wednesday that Plusquellic and Coleman are "like two peas in a pod."
"They fully intend not to run against each other in the primary," Haas said. "One of them will very likely be a candidate but it's very unlikely both of them would be."