Strickland leaving his imprint on the Valley

If the whispers turn out to be true, and there are strong indications that they will, an elder statesman of the Ohio Democratic Party whose name is synonymous with Mahoning Valley politics will be appointed by the governor to Youngstown State University's board of trustees.
By naming Harry Meshel, former state party chairman and ex state Senate president, to the position, Gov. Ted Strickland would be making a powerful statement not only about his plans for higher education in Ohio, but his political instincts.
In recent years, Meshel has served as government affairs adviser to Mahoning Valley businessman Bruce Zoldan, a major contributor to Strickland's gubernatorial campaign last year.
The former 6th District congressman -- the district includes Columbiana County and a portion of Mahoning County -- scored a decisive victory over Republican J. Kenneth Blackwell, at the time Ohio's secretary of state. Zoldan was one of his chief confidantes in the region and now has a direct line to the governor.
The president of B.J. Alan Fireworks and owner of the Mahoning Valley Phantoms, a junior hockey team that calls the Ice Zone in Boardman home, has been instrumental in opening the door for numerous Valley residents to be hired by the new administration.
If Meshel does receive the trustee appointment, it will be because of his personal relationship with the governor -- and because of his ties to Zoldan. Indeed, for a long time it had been suggested that the Valley businessman himself was eager to serve on the YSU board. The appointment would have been his for the asking, but he took a pass this year because of his business commitments.
Republican picks
The vacancy on the nine-member board of trustees is being created with the departure of William Bresnahan. All nine members were appointed by Republican governors, George V. Voinovich and Bob Taft. Strickland will have eight positions to fill if he serves two four-year terms.
But it isn't just the spoils system -- remember, to the victor belongs the spoils -- at play here. Meshel's presence on the board of trustees would make it clear to YSU's administration, led by President David Sweet, that the governor is not in a compromising mood when it comes to his higher education agenda.
Meshel firmly believes in what Strickland is preaching, namely, that public universities and colleges must be affordable for any Ohioan who would like to attend. The governor has told college presidents that he wants every institution to enter into a compact with the state that involves a quid pro quo. In return for freezing tuition in the first year of the biennium and agreeing to a 3 percent maximum increase in the second year, each institution would receive a 5 percent increase in state funding in the first year.
The governor also wants universities and colleges to cut spending and to create centers of academic excellence on each campus. His aim, articulated recently to Vindicator writers by Chancellor Eric Fingerhut, is to establish a system of higher education that meets the goal of producing college graduates who are prepared to participate fully in the highly competitive global economy.
As a trustee, Meshel can be expected to push the changes Gov. Strickland is proposing to put Youngstown State in a position to benefit from the compact.
Ohio University has already set the stage for a statewide dialogue with the announcement that President Roderick J. McDavis and 27 other college officials have decided to skip pay raises for the next fiscal year. According to the Columbus Dispatch, the move would save about 150,000. OU is facing an 11 million deficit next fiscal year.
At YSU, President Sweet has projected a 3 million shortfall in fiscal year 2008.
Growing list
If Meshel is appointed to the board of trustees, he would be one of a growing list of Valley residents who have been named to important positions by Gov. Strickland. Former Columbiana County commissioner and state legislator Sean Logan is director of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. John Reardon, former Mahoning County treasurer, is superintendent of financial institutions in the Department of Commerce. Kenneth Carano, state legislator and former Austintown Township trustee, is one of six regional directors in state representing the governor.