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Toledo
Blade...
Lieutenant governor
touts reform plan during local GOP event
Taylor says Ohio will benefit
By Tom Troy
The Kasich administration hit the ground running with dramatic change
because it felt a sense of urgency, Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor told
supporters in the annual Lincoln Day Dinner for the Lucas County
Republican Party Thursday night.
Ms. Taylor, sworn in just three months ago, told the Republican party
faithful at the Gladieux Meadows banquet hall on Heatherdowns Boulevard
that she and Gov. John Kasich believe their efforts to cut taxes and
give local governments more “tools” with revamped collective bargaining
laws will pay off with a boost in the state’s competitiveness.
“We have a window of opportunity to reduce our taxes, cut government
spending, fix our broken regulations, modernize our government, and
make it more efficient and accountable to you, our constituents,” Ms.
Taylor said.
“Yes, the cuts and the change that is coming will be tough at first,
but as we make Ohio more competitive companies will come here, start up
here, and more Ohioans will have good jobs here,” Ms. Taylor said.
The Republican lieutenant governor was met by protesters, about 20
Toledo Police officers who said they were Republicans and wanted to
express their opposition to Senate Bill 5, which scaled back the
collective bargaining rights of public employees, including police
officers.
“We want to know why she turned her back on all these officers who
supported her,” said Dan Wagner, president of the Toledo Police
Patrolman’s Association union.
There was no direct confrontation because protesters were lined up in
front of the banquet hall’s front entrance and Ms. Taylor was taken in
through the back entrance.
Ms. Taylor said the administration values the work of the officers but
that Ohio needs a better balance between the interests of government
workers and taxpayers.
“Senate Bill 5 ... is a necessary tool to help our local governments
and state agencies manage their costs,” Ms. Taylor said.
If a repeal effort goes on the ballot Nov. 8, Ms. Taylor said, “my hope
is that we get the opportunity to make sure that the truth be told.”
She declined to analyze Governor Kasich’s low standing in job approval
polls after the passage of Senate Bill 5 and the introduction of a
budget that eliminates a nearly $8 billion deficit. The
administration’s budget cuts income tax rates 4.2 percent while
slashing state subsidies to local governments and school districts.
“We’re the seventh-highest-taxed state in the country,” Ms. Taylor
said, referring to state and local taxes. “We have to make Ohio
competitive. We have to make Ohio jobs-friendly again. And what we’re
trying to do in Columbus is accomplish just that,” she said.
The former Summit County legislator and state auditor said she has not
ruled out running for the U.S. Senate in 2012 against Democratic
incumbent Sen. Sherrod Brown.
“I’m very busy with CSI [“Common Sense Initiative” to reform Ohio’s
regulatory policies] and the Department of Insurance. We have a lot of
opportunities to expand the insurance industry in Ohio and right now
that is my primary focus,” Ms. Taylor said.
Three Republican candidates who are running for Toledo Municipal Court
introduced themselves to the gathering. They were Mark Davis, Kenneth
Phillips, and Josh Lanzinger.
Also introduced were two candidates for a seat on the Ohio Supreme
Court -- Judith French of the 10th District Court of Appeals in
Franklin County and Sharon Kennedy, a Butler County domestic relations
judge.
They are competing for the GOP nomination for the seat now held by
appointed Democratic Justice Yvette McGee Brown. Judge McGee Brown was
appointed in January by former Gov. Ted Strickland to fill a vacancy in
a six-year term that expires at the end of 2012.
Party Chairman Jon Stainbrook said about 260 tickets were sold for the
event that helps pay for the party’s operations. Last year’s dinner,
which featured national GOP strategist Karl Rove, grossed $19,795
before expenses were paid, according to campaign finance reports at the
Lucas County Board of Elections.
There was no sign of the party strife that sundered the party last year
when Mr. Stainbrook fought off a coup attempt before winning a second
two-year term.
Read it at the Toledo Blade
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