Kasich: I want to shrink government

April 11, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

Associated Press

COLUMBUS

The Republican seeking to unseat Gov. Ted Strickland told members of the Ohio medical profession on Saturday that he wants to shrink government and reduce taxes, while Strickland noted that some state agencies have already seen their budgets slashed by 30 percent.

Former GOP Congressman John Kasich, Strickland’s rival in the November election, also told those gathered for the Ohio State Medical Association’s annual meeting that he’d work to change regulations and policies that he says inhibit businesses from thriving in Ohio.

“The only thing that matters in this state now is to create an environment that creates jobs,” he said. “We must remove every obstacle that is in our way and throw the politics out the window and get it done.”

Strickland, a Democrat elected in 2006, said Ohio has about 5,000 fewer employees than when he took office in 2007, and that it is important to stay focused on “essentials” such as a strong system of education at every level.

“In Ohio, we have done more than any state in America to constrain the cost of tuition at our colleges and universities, and even in the midst of this recession, we have increased funding for our K-12 system by 51‚Ñ2 percent,” he said.

He also used the forum to point to Ohio’s creation this week of a prescription drug abuse task force and the state’s plans to develop a health information system and to place medical students in residency positions in underserved areas.

The information system, funded by $8 million in state funds and $45 million in federal funds, will allow doctors across the state to access the same medical information about a patient, Strickland said.

“When we get our cars serviced, it’s OK if our muffler shops never speak to the tire shop, but people are not just a series of disconnected parts,” he said. “That’s why we have begun a new effort to encourage health-care professionals to work together.”

Kasich, a former Lehman Brothers director and Fox News commentator, said the state suffers from college graduates leaving for other states and regulations that encourage companies to move to other states.

“We know that if we want to meet an entrepreneurial job-creating Ohioan who’s a charitable giver ... and interested in their community, we have to go to Naples, Fla.,” he said. “That’s where we find them, because we’ve driven them out.”

He said changes need to be made so the state can leverage its medical, retail, research, advanced materials and manufacturing assets to bring prosperity to Ohio.