Three local Democrats support a JobsOhio reform plan

Staff report

BOARDMAN

Three local Democrats are supporting a plan by Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald, a 2014 Democratic gubernatorial candidate, to change how Jobs-Ohio operates.

JobsOhio is a nonprofit group created by Gov. John Kasich, a Republican running for re-election next year, to head the state’s economic-development efforts.

State Rep. Ronald V. Gerberry of Austintown, D-59th, as well as Mahoning County Commissioner Carol Rimedio-Righetti and Youngstown Councilman Mike Ray, D-4th, were to support FitzGerald’s proposal at a press conference today at the county’s Democratic headquarters in Boardman.

FitzGerald says JobsOhio should be transparent, implement oversight, develop high-performance criteria, adopt and disclose anti-poaching requirements, and adopt a strict ethical guideline.

A JobsOhio spokeswoman said last week that many of FitzGerald’s proposals are already implemented.