Statehouse potpourri

COLUMBUS

Two more tidbits from the Ohio Chamber of Commerce’s endorsement last week of Republican John Kasich in the governor’s race, over Democratic incumbent Ted Strickland:

Kasich and Strickland did not offer the group any details on how they plan to plug a $4 billion-$8 billion hole in the next state budget.

“If [by] specifics, the question is somebody outlining here’s where tax rates are going to be or here’s the revenue sources or revenue sources we’re going to do without, absolutely not,” said Andrew Doehrel, president and chief executive officer of the chamber. “Again, I think it was the bigger picture in the context of what is the focus going to be. And I think what we’ve heard from John over and over again that resonated with our folks is we need to look at the business climate....”

He added, “Did we see some numbers or something that have been kept from everybody else? Absolutely not. There was a bigger picture here to look at.”

Kasich reiterated his vow, if elected, to remain fully accessible to Ohioans, via regular interaction on the phone or through a new website.

“We are going to follow through with a program where people can get directly to me,” he said. “We are going to use the technology of the 21st Century for people to have unlimited, unrestricted access to the governor, the lieutenant governor and the rest of our team.”

Ad Watch

Republicans and Democrats in the Ohio House weren’t the only ones who took time last week to bash the political advertising of their opponents.

The nonpartisan Ohio Business Roundtable sent a letter to both political parties, asking the gubernatorial campaigns to stop targeting businesses in their political ads and press releases.

The letter stated that both Democrats and Republicans were making “broadside attacks on Ohio businesses — attacks that call into question their integrity for purely political purposes.”

They added, “This sends a message to those companies and their CEOs and employees, as well as other good Ohio businesses, that they are not welcome here, which we cannot imagine is your intent. Our business climate is challenging enough in this state to give any of our companies a reason, other than a legitimate economic reason, to leave this state and go elsewhere.”

The letter was sent the day after the majority and minority leaders of the Ohio House traded barbs over the tone and content of the other side’s political ads.

Republicans are mad about ads calling one of their members a rat and another that connected one of their candidates with the deaths of Gulf oil rig workers.

Democrats, meanwhile, want to point out the hypocrisy of Republicans’ tough campaign talk on spending, given the higher state budgets passed when they were in control of the Statehouse.

Marc Kovac is The Vindicator’s Statehouse correspondent. E-mail him at mkovac@dixcom.com or on Twitter at OhioCapitalBlog.