Area native named to governor's Cabinet

The Cabinet member is a former Youngstown school board member.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR POLITICS WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Gov. Ted Strickland appointed a former Youngstown resident to serve as director of the Ohio Department of Public Safety.
Henry Guzm & aacute;n, 59, will begin his new job in the Democratic governor's Cabinet on Feb. 12.
"I am honored to have the opportunity to use my years of experience in agency management and public service to keep Ohioans safe and secure and to also maintain an effective and efficient Department of Public Safety," he said.
Background
Guzm & aacute;n has about 25 years of experience in management and public policy. Since January 2004, he's served as director of the Columbus public service department, overseeing about 1,000 employees and an annual budget of about 100 million. In that role, he was acting mayor when Columbus Mayor Michael B. Coleman was out of the city.
Guzm & aacute;n was born in Puerto Rico and was reared in Youngstown. He received a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from Youngstown State University.
In 1972, he was named the first director of the Organizacion Civica y Cultural Hispana Americana in Youngstown. The organization is a social-service agency that addresses the needs of Hispanics in the Mahoning Valley.
Guzm & aacute;n was appointed in 1981 to a seat on the Youngstown Board of Education, and he was elected to the board in 1983.
He resigned from OCCHA in 1984 to be the deputy director of the Ohio State and Local Government Commission. After commuting between Youngstown and Columbus for nearly two years, he resigned from the school board. He was named director of the state commission in 1985.
Guzm & aacute;n also served as director of program development for the Ohio attorney general's office, deputy director of the Ohio Department of Liquor Control, director of Cleveland's Office of Equal Opportunity and director of Cleveland's public service and public safety departments.
Strickland said Guzm & aacute;n "brings a wealth of leadership and public policy experience that makes him exceptionally qualified to lead" the Ohio Department of Public Safety.
His salary is 128,544.
About the department
The department provides safety and security of Ohioans through Homeland Security, Ohio State Highway Patrol, Bureau of Motor Vehicles, Emergency Management Agency, Emergency Medical Services, Investigative Unit, Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services and Administrative, Strickland's office says.
Guzm & aacute;n was among three people appointed Friday by Strickland to his Cabinet. The governor has made 14 Cabinet appointments with more selections expected. Former Republican Gov. Bob Taft had 23 members in his Cabinet.
skolnick@vindy.com