Pittsburg Tribune Review
Ohio governor, a McKees Rocks native, rebounds with voters
By Salena Zito
Saturday, July 27, 2013 

CLEVELAND — As a first-term Republican governor, John Kasich takes an unconventional approach to managing Ohio. 

Kasich, who grew up in McKees Rocks, believes “we will be judged by our moment in history, by what did we do to advance the cause of the public.” 

And if “someone thinks differently than me, that's OK,” he told the Tribune-Review. “We can still get good things done.” 

His outlook and record so far are making him a potential presidential contender in some Republican minds. 

His willingness to engage with the other side was on display last week when he announced funding of a highway project in an impoverished Cleveland neighborhood to a supportive crowd of business leaders, community activists and elected officials — most of them Democrats. 

At that event, Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson praised Kasich's commitment to secure fast-tracked funding for Opportunity Corridor, a decades-delayed boulevard designed to link Interstate 490 with University Circle. 

“We have a solid working relationship,” said Jackson, a Democrat. 

He expects the road to spur growth in poor neighborhoods. 

Kasich said he approaches life as he does his job. Less than a year ago, public polling showed voters had not forgiven his support of a failed 2011 ballot referendum that would have curtailed collective bargaining rights for public employees, including police officers. 

Read the rest of the article at the Pittsburg Tribune Review