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Williams downplays running-mate rumors
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Ohio Governor Ted Strickland (D-Lisbon)
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Youngstown Mayor Jay Williams
YOUNGSTOWN — Youngstown Mayor Jay Williams says neither the governor nor anyone on the governor’s behalf has approached him to run next year for lieutenant governor.
And it doesn’t sound like Williams is eager to be Ted Strickland’s running mate when the governor seeks re-election next year.
“My passion and my focus remain advancing the interests of the people of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley,” Williams said Tuesday. “It is my belief that I can best do that by serving as the mayor of the city of Youngstown, a position I consider to be amongst the most rewarding and challenging experiences of my professional career.”
Williams’ name as a potential running mate for Strickland, a Democrat, has been rumored for the past few months.
The mayor told The Vindicator a month ago he hadn’t been approached by Strickland or a representative of the governor about running next year for lieutenant governor. He repeated that Tuesday.
The rumors started again because a reporter for The Associated Press recently wrote an analysis article stating Williams is among “the names of potential Strickland picks circulating around Columbus in recent weeks.”
That’s news to Williams.
“While it is an exceptional compliment to be mentioned as a potential running mate to Gov. Strickland, I have not had any conversations with the governor nor his representatives about the position of lieutenant governor,” Williams said.
An Akron Beacon Journal columnist wrote Sunday that Strickland “needs a big-city mayor, preferably an African-American, to be his running mate next year.” The columnist wrote that Strickland and his aides “are mum on the subject,” and that the governor should consider four candidates, including Williams, for lieutenant governor.
Strickland doesn’t have a timetable for announcing his lieutenant governor running mate, said Amanda Wurst, his spokeswoman.
“Meanwhile, we don’t speculate on who may or who may not be considered for any position in the governor’s Cabinet,” she said.
Williams acknowledged there are a number of ways to best serve Youngstown and the Valley, but “I believe being mayor [of Youngstown] is the best way.”
Williams was re-elected mayor for a second, and final, four-year term two weeks ago. He can’t seek a third term in 2013 because of the city’s term-limits law. Williams was elected as a Democrat. He was first elected in 2005 as an independent.
Lee Fisher, the current lieutenant governor, won’t be Strickland’s running mate next year because he is running in the 2010 Democratic primary for a seat in the U.S. Senate.
Strickland will be challenged next year by Republican John Kasich, a former congressman. Polls show the two in a statistical dead-heat.
skolnick@vindy.com