The digital ads will welcome reporters and families coming to Cleveland for the Republican Primary Debate on August 6th. The ads can be seen below:
“Ohio families still haven’t recovered from Strickland’s tenure — under Strickland’s misguided policies and failed leadership, Ohio lost over 400,000 jobs, was 48th in job creation, and Strickland took a pay raise,” said NRSC spokeswoman Andrea Bozek. “Ohio families sure don’t want to see anymore jobs being flushed down the toilet thanks to retread Ted Strickland.”
BACKGROUND…
Plain Dealer Said Strickland was “Shell shocked by the loss of 400,000 jobs on his watch,” “produced budgets held together with bubble gum and twine,” “treated Ohio’s cities as stepchildren,” “waged war on effective charter schools,” and came up short on his pledge to reform public schools. Strickland, 69, suffers from limited imagination and political timidity; at times, he seems almost shell shocked by the loss of 400,000 jobs on his watch. He told The Toledo Blade last week that his administration should have moved faster to prevent Ohio businesses from fleeing to other states. He has consistently mistaken talk for action, produced budgets held together with bubble gum and twine and allowed his team to adopt a siege mentality. He stumbled badly on gambling, treated Ohio’s cities as stepchildren and, in a shameful kowtow to his union allies, waged war on effective charter schools. Even when his heart and mind are in the right place, Strickland can’t or won’t be daring. He ran for governor in 2006 – with this editorial page’s support – promising to overhaul public education. After more than two years of study, he unveiled a blueprint for Ohio’s classrooms that fobbed off many of the toughest decisions, including how to pay for it all, on some future administration. Add to those disappointments Strickland’s relentlessly negative campaign, his inability to articulate a vision for the state and the ennui that overtakes most lame-duck administrations, and there’s little reason for excitement about Ohio’s future under his leadership. (Plain Dealer, Editorial, October 3, 2010)
Under Strickland’s Watch Ohio was Ranked 48th among states in job creation. Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that between Strickland’s inauguration in January 2007 and his departure in January 2011, Ohio lost 372,300 jobs. Only two states – Florida and California – lost more jobs in that time, according to BLS data. That backs up Kasich’s contention that Ohio was 48th in the nation in job creation during the four years before he took office. (Politifact, October 25, 2012)
Highest unemployment rate in 25 years. [Strickland’s] time of escaping scrutiny over Ohio’s mounting job losses might be coming to an end. State Republicans started turning up the heat on the Democratic governor this week following announcements on consecutive days that General Motors will close one of its Ohio plants and that global technology company NCR Corp. is moving its headquarters from Dayton. . . . Ohio’s unemployment rate has reached 10.2%, a 25-year high and well above the national rate. (The Associated Press, June 3, 2009)
Columbus Dispatch editors blamed Strickland and state legislative leaders for the Moody’s bond rating downgrade. Editors: “At no time in memory has Ohio been so poorly served by its elected leaders. ”To all three [Strickland, Budish, and Harris] goes the blame for the June downgrading of Ohio’s bond rating, from second-highest to third-highest, and an August assessment by Moody’s Investors Service that said the state’s financial outlook is negative because of budget gimmicks and reliance on gambling revenue. At no time in memory has Ohio been so poorly served by its elected leaders.(The Columbus Dispatch, Editorial, October 1, 2009)
“Dangerously irresponsible budgeting” put Ohio on the “brink of fiscal crisis.” Ohio is at the brink of fiscal crisis unless Democratic and Republican lawmakers put a stop to dangerously irresponsible budgeting by both sides. In the Democrats’ case, that includes Gov. Ted Strickland’s $54 billion budget proposal for 2010-11, which relies on 1-time money to paper over a long-term deficit, as well as the Democrat-led House revision that compounds the problem by piling on another $622 million of spending. . . . So far, Ohio’s elected officials have shown they care more about winning that race than securing a stable future for the state.(The Columbus Dispatch, Editorial, April 29, 2009)
A sampling of benefits for Ohio’s public servants: Gov. Ted Strickland fares best: He gets a $144,831 salary [an 11% raise over his predecessor], a fully staffed Bexley mansion, a state car and a driver. He also gets free tickets to the president’s box for Ohio State University football games. . . . As soon as he took office on Monday, Strickland got a $14,539 pay raise compared with former Gov. Bob Taft’s salary. The governor’s salary is set by statute, as it is for all statewide and legislative officials, and Strickland is the beneficiary of playing catch-up for the four years in which Taft’s pay was frozen. . . . The Governor’s Residence is a top-of-the-line perk. The 80-year-old Jacobean Revival mansion at 358 N. Parkview Ave. costs Ohio taxpayers about $400,000 to $500,000 annually for staff, food, maintenance and other expenses. The staff includes a chef, residence manager and groundskeeper. (The Columbus Dispatch, January 11, 2007)