Governor candidate Kasich promises pro-business administration

8/13/2010

John Kasich, the Republican candidate for governor, painted in broad strokes his plans for improving Ohio's business climate, in a public candidate presentation hosted by the Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce on Friday.

Mr. Kasich, 58, of Westerville, is running to unseat Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland, who is seeking a second term in the Nov. 2 election, with early voting to begin Sept. 28.

He told the mostly business audience of about 50 that raising taxes is not the way to balance the budget, but rather eliminating programs that don't work or that should be done by the private sector.

Mr. Kasich criticized state job training and state education functions, saying there are 52 entities doing job training and that Ohio spends too much money on school buildings and administration and not enough in the classroom.

"People want to know the details of my plan. I don't have the revenues," said Mr. Kasich, who chaired the U.S. House of Representatives budget committees. "In case people are concerned about my values, I've only written 13 budgets. Go and look at them."

He portrayed Ohio's business climate as "a disaster," saying the solutions are to "serve the customer" and to take advantage of the state's assets.

Governor Strickland is to address the same forum in two weeks.