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Strickland attempts to strike upbeat tone during address
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Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland delivered the State of the State address Tuesday to a joint session of the Ohio General Assembly.
COLUMBUS (AP) — The state’s dire economic situation was the focus of the State of the State address, as Gov. Ted Strickland proposed modest initiatives and a number of new committees aimed at pulling Ohio out of the recession.
New spending programs are typically a hallmark of a governor’s annual address to lawmakers. The best Strickland could do was a $40 million investment in green energy technologies funded largely with federal dollars.
Strickland, a Democrat with falling approval ratings who is running for re-election, did his best Tuesday to strike an upbeat tone considering numerous setbacks in the state. Unemployment is 10.9 percent, the highest in 25 years.
“Yes, we have been knocked down,” Strickland said. “There’s no doubt about that.”
But the governor promised things would improve, thanks to the state’s history of invention and innovation.
“I believe in Ohio because we will invest in the things we do exceptionally well,” Strickland said. “And we will create jobs.”
The $40 million Energy Gateway Fund, including $30 million in federal stimulus money, would go to investments in fuel cell, wind power, solar energy and energy storage industries.
Companies seeking the funds would have to match the state investment with private dollars.
Strickland also announced plans to reduce taxes on energy generation, a program to help businesses get better access to credit, and an initiative to reduce red tape for companies doing business in the state.
In addition, the governor announced a new partnership between Ohio’s public universities and Procter & Gamble to help university researchers bring products to market faster.
The program would expand a partnership between P&G and the University of Cincinnati to all of Ohio’s public universities and colleges. In addition to giving researchers more uniform access to the company, it would create a model for other industries. Strickland urged a similar partnership between universities and the state’s auto industry.
“Our universities will get the benefit of unprecedented opportunities to collaborate with P&G on new products,” Strickland said. “And Ohioans will get the benefit of new economic development.”
The initiative is important because universities historically had a reputation of being difficult to work with in creating one-on-one agreements, said Board of Regents chancellor Eric Fingerhut.
In the 55-minute speech that was otherwise devoid of major announcements, Strickland also proposed a plan to improve access to state-grown food to boost rural jobs and make more healthy food available.
Strickland has created the Ohio Neighborhood Harvest, a strategy linking government, businesses and nonprofit groups to make access to Ohio food easier.
Strickland also wants the state to pursue a biorefinery that converts food grown in Ohio into biopolymers used to make goods such as toothbrushes and cell phones.
Area lawmakers were mostly supportive of the governor’s speech and job-creation initiatives.
“I was very happy to see that Gov. Strickland is focused on building the economy,” said Senate Minority Leader Capri
Cafaro of Hubbard, D-32nd, who praised the governor’s initiatives to build small businesses and link manufacturers with university research.
Sen. Jason Wilson of Columbiana, D-30th, agreed. “He believes in Ohio,” Wilson said. “[And] Ohio has a role in the business of creating jobs, which is a partnership in assisting and helping, not getting in the way of business. ... We don’t create jobs, business creates jobs. ... But we can help.”
Rep. Ronald Gerberry of Austintown, D-59th, said he was pleased with the governor’s call for the elimination of tangible personal property taxes on wind and solar energy and on plans for a new Mahoning County turnpike plaza outfitted with wind and solar power that will create 150-plus construction jobs.
But Gerberry said he was stunned by the “deeply rooted partisanship” that was evident during Strickland’s speech.
Republicans seldom clapped as the governor outlined his ideas and afterward made it clear that they were not supporting his efforts.
Sen. Joe Schiavoni of Canfield, D-33rd, said the governor “really tried to drive home the fact that we need jobs and how important that is, and the different ways we’re going to do that. He knows how much Ohioans are struggling and how many people need jobs right now.”
Rep. Sandra Stabile Harwood of Niles, D-65th, said the programs outlined by Strickland will lead to job growth for her district and the rest of the state. She spotlighted Strickland’s work with lawmakers to renew the Third Frontier program, providing funding for high-tech companies.
“For every dollar invested, it’s been a $10 return to the taxpayers,” she said.
Sen. Kirk Schuring, a Republican from Canton, said the governor was “very upbeat” about Ohio.
But he questioned whether the programs Strickland outlined would turn the economy around and create jobs.
“I didn’t get a lot of the details on how he’s going to bring capital into the businesses that need to grow and expand,” he said. “It just seemed liked there was a lot missing on what he’s planning to do to stimulate the economy.”
CONTRIBUTOR: Marc Kovac, Vindicator Columbus Correspondent
STATE OF THE STATE ADDRESS ||
Highlights
Gov. Ted Strickland delivered his fourth State of the State address Tuesday. Here are some of the highlights of what the Democratic governor proposed.
Establish the Energy Gateway Fund, a $40 million commitment of state and federal stimulus funds to grow and sustain fuel cell, solar, wind and energy-storage industries.
Eliminate the state’s tangible personal property tax on wind and solar facilities that start construction this year, produce energy by 2012 and create jobs.
Renew the Third Frontier program, created by ex-Gov. Bob Taft, a Republican, to encourage the development of high-tech businesses.
Establish Build Your Own Business, a program that would offer business training and support to small business people through a mentoring program. Also, the state would offer the unemployed courses and training on starting a business as well as up to $5,000 loans to those who qualify.
Create the Urban Workforce Initiative to provide incentives for companies to immediately put unemployed workers from the state’s urban centers back to work.
Establish Hubs of Innovation and Opportunity in the state’s largest cities. The state would provide money and assistance for planning and development to “further build connections between industry strengths anchored in Ohio’s urban cores and their surrounding regions.”
Source: Gov. Ted Strickland’s office