RESTORING PROSPERITY TO MEDIA COVERAGE

EDITORIALS Massive duplication too costly for Ohio 09/12/08 – The Columbus Dispatch Keep politicians’ sticky hands off Third Frontier money By JOE HALLETT 09/10/08 – Cleveland Plain Dealer Ohio conference calls for major makeover A state heavy on government: Report: Ohio should focus on 09/13/08 – Ohio News Bureau center cities, not expanding By JOHN MICHAEL SPINELLI 09/12/08 – The Lima News

Ohio must strengthen its cities 09/14/08 – Cleveland Plain Dealer

NEWS

Ohio’s rules hinder progress, business leaders say 09/10/08 – Cleveland Plain Dealer By TOM BRECKENRIDGE

Ohio must rethink growth, study says 09/10/08 – The Columbus Dispatch By JOE HALLETT

Ohio leaders discuss cities’ futures 09/11/08 – Canton Repository By G. PATRICK KELLEY

Report: Cities building blocks for state’s success 09/11/08 – The Lima News By HEATHER RUTZ

KEEP POLITICIANS’ STICKY HANDS OFF THIRD FRONTIER MONEY September 10, 2008 EDITORIAL

About 1,000 civic, business and public policy That's all about keeping politics out of the deci- leaders will meet today in Columbus to talk sions. It also means there are clear winners about how Ohio can help revitalize its urban and losers -- not a dollop of peanut butter for centers. The conference builds on recent re- everyone. search from the Brookings Institution that iden- tifies metropolitan areas as the keys to innova- So far the administration has twice raided tion, and therefore prosperity, in the global Third Frontier money for other uses. Now it economy. wants to change the guidelines for Third Fron- tier grant-making to give itself a stronger voice. Based on his research, Brookings scholar Bruce Katz says state policies have too often That threatens to invite politics to the table and kept Ohio's cities from reclaiming or sharpen- endanger public support. Ohio's metropolitan ing their natural competitive edge. One big centers can't take that risk -- and neither problem he identified is Ohio's tendency to should this governor. spread development resources "like peanut butter," rather than concentrate on projects with the greatest potential. Let's hope the Strickland administration, which helped organize the conference, takes note. Because it's preparing to tamper with perhaps the smartest development effort Ohio has un- dertaken in a generation. Conceived by former Gov. and fi- nanced to the tune of $1.6 billion by voters in 2005, the Third Frontier invests in technology projects with potential to draw private invest- ment, seed new industries and create jobs. Key to its chances of success and to public confidence has been the Third Frontier's use of experts from the National Academy of Sci- ences to evaluate grant proposals. The Lima News

A STATE HEAVY ON GOVERNMENT REPORT: OHIO SHOULD FOCUS ON CENTER CITIES, NOT EXPANDING September 12, 2008 EDITORIAL One only needs to consider the economic pay for the same services when they could going to do much to sway people who stand to pinch local governments are feeling to under- combine costs and either have money left for gain little or nothing from such a change. stand Ohio has too many of them. Local gov- other services or, even better, to return to tax- ernments compete against one another for in- payers. dustry, for residents and for state assistance - and there simply isn't enough to go around in Lima Mayor David Berger, who was among the Ohio. more than 1,000 Ohioans involved in the study, was understandably pleased with the But, according to a think tank report released findings. However, he and other center city ad- last week, Ohio's policies have left behind the vocates need to temper their enthusiasm. state's metropolitan centers. The 16 largest While state residents would be better served if areas in the state - Lima is one of them - ac- government services would merge, those in count for 84 percent of jobs, 81 percent of the the center city are going to be quick to assume population and 87 percent of Ohio's gross do- their municipalities would be the beneficiaries mestic output. The report was meant as a of consolidation. That might not be the case. method for Ohio to create "competitive com- munities," recognizing the importance of center Politically, trying to restructure how the Ohio cities on entire regions' well-being. Legislature divides funds will be a nightmare if those outside the center cities want to mount a Yet the state favors policies that promote spirited resistance. Republicans, the majority growth in new places. Ohio cannot compete in of whom do not live in the state's core commu- the 21st century with a system of local govern- nities, still control the General Assembly. They ments still set up for the 19th century, said are as good as listening to their constituents as Bruce Katz, vice president of the Brookings are inner-city Democrats. Institution. Reshaping Ohio governments will require co- Ohio Gov. told The Columbus operation from all sides. Decades of trying to Dispatch he would use his position to encour- apply guilt to the suburbanites for fleeing - age the consolidation of governments - and whether in Fairborn outside Dayton, Grove City that's a wise idea. Ohio's population isn't grow- outside of Columbus or Shawnee Township ing as rapidly as other states' are, so more outside of Lima - hasn't worked. It's hard to be- governments are serving fewer people. It lieve a report suggesting the state needs to makes little sense for two small communities to consolidate and rethink government services is OHIO MUST STRENGTHEN ITS CITIES September 14, 2008 EDITORIAL

On the very day when Gov. Ted Strickland an- Harris, who've shown they understand the im- ODOT stall the West Shoreway and stonewall nounced that the state's resources were thin portance of Ohio's cities. Last week's confer- the Opportunity Corridor, will be watching for and likely to get thinner, he also assured busi- ence, and a preliminary report distributed real change. ness, civic and academic leaders gathered there, offered some suggestions and sought to elsewhere in Columbus that he is committed to generate more. Ohio's cities, despite their obvious problems, renewing Ohio's urban centers. are rich in assets. With the state as a partner, Almost everyone wants Ohio to end its addic- those assets could multiply and lift all of Ohio. Obviously, that won't be easy. Cleveland and tion to "peanut butter" -- the political impulse to other major cities have endured decades of job avoid tough decisions by spreading goodies losses, population flight and disinvestment. evenly, so everyone gets a taste, but so thinly And yet research -- much of it by the Brookings that almost no one gets enough to make a dif- Institution, a co-sponsor of last Wednesday's ference. Instead, Ohio needs to make fewer summit -- shows that metropolitan regions investments, and to make each substantial wield disproportionate economic clout in the enough to have real impact -- the model of for- global marketplace. If the core cities of those mer Gov. Bob Taft's Third Frontier. metros are weak, they pull down entire re- gions. Brookings urban expert Bruce Katz notes that cities are rich in the anchor institutions -- hos- Bottom line: Ohio's economy won't be healthy pitals, universities, research centers -- that until its cities do better. The task facing Strick- drive a "knowledge economy." So why not ac- land is to use the state's limited resources to celerate development by focusing enterprise help those cities. Yes, a better national econ- zones on those hubs? But don't use them in omy would help; so would a more sympathetic areas that don't need the boost or to foster administration in Washington. But Ohio and its competition within a metropolitan area. cities can't control those things. So they had better use their own tools wisely. Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher says the Ohio Department of Development, which he heads, plans to pro- To its credit, the administration -- which until pose similar reforms soon. That's good. It's now has not been very city-friendly -- asked also good that the Ohio Department of Trans- Brookings and Greater Ohio, a land-use reform portation, widely viewed as an agent of sprawl, group, for ideas to spur urban rebirth. They is working on a strategic plan that might evalu- were joined in that call by Republican House ate future proposals on how they boost com- Speaker and Senate President Bill petitiveness. Clevelanders, sick of seeing OHIO’S RULES HINDER PROGRESS, BUSINESS LEADERS SAY September 10, 2008 TOM BRECKENRIDGE

Business leaders and top elected officials are calling for hoods. Fisher, who also heads the state's development depart- reforms to state policies that they say have hobbled ment, said a task force is considering changes to that Ohio's cities and stymied the Buckeye economy. The cities, from Cincinnati to Cleveland, are home to program and other tax incentives. seven of the state's 11 research universities; two-thirds More than 1,000 influential leaders gathered Wednes- of the state's 60 Fortune 1000 companies; most of the Under a new development strategy favored by Brook- day at the Greater Columbus Convention Center to hear state's ports and Amtrak stations; and 40 percent of the ings, Ohio will target technology grants and other re- a hard-hitting critique of Ohio's struggling urban centers state's registered historic places. sources at 12 "hubs" of innovation, such as the sprout- and how they can be restored. ing biomedical cluster in the University Circle area. Yet the core cities suffer. Many, like Cleveland, are The Brookings Institution, a pro-urban think tank based hemorrhaging population while dealing with concen- • Education. Funding policies that rely on local property in Washington, D.C., and Greater Ohio, a like-minded trated poverty. Employment levels, average incomes tax to fund schools means wealthier districts have more nonprofit group in Columbus, hosted an eight-hour sum- and educational attainment all lag national averages. resources for their schoolchildren, critics said. mit that drew mayors, university presidents, develop- ment professionals and nonprofit leaders from every State policies must be reformed across an array of pro- Strickland's administration is expected to suggest fund- corner of the state. grams, urban proponents said. Problem areas include: ing reforms soon. As for higher education, State Rep. Jon Husted, the House speaker, suggested that the Brookings and Greater Ohio released a preliminary re- • Fragmented governance. Ohio has 3,800 governmen- state continue freezing college tuitions for six years, to port, titled "Restoring Prosperity: The State Role in Revi- tal units. Many of them battle over relocating companies, bring them in line with national averages. talizing Ohio's Core Communities," that they hope will trying to boost city budgets that are shrinking in a sour become a national model for urban renewal. economy, said Bruce Katz, Brookings' guru on metro- • Transportation. Ohio's "addiction" to building new politan revitalization. roads, rather than developing public transit or other al- Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher said the state is adopting the Brook- ternatives, has led to the sprawl that is sapping core ings strategies, with a number of them contained in a "As a result, everyone is diminished," Katz said. cities, Katz noted. new economic development plan rolled out last week. Reformers advocate consolidation of government ser- Strickland has directed the state's transportation depart- Fisher also acknowledged that the state is guilty of anti- vices and a sharing of income taxes when a business ment to consider development of core cities as it re- urban bias across an array of state programs. moves across city borders. A Northeast Ohio mayors views road projects. And the state has a task force that's group is considering such reforms. studying ways to better link Ohio's roads, railroads, ports "We've divested from the urban core and higher educa- and airports. tion," said Fisher, adding that Gov. Ted Strickland's ad- • Tax incentives. A number of speakers Wednesday ministration and a bipartisan effort in the Statehouse is called for an end to Ohio's "peanut butter" approach for One prominent business leader applauded the new trying to reverse the damage. business tax breaks -- spreading them thin across the strategies for core cities, but believes increasing Ohio's state rather than focusing on distressed communities. population should be paramount. Ohio's fortunes are tied directly to its cities, officials said. The state's popular enterprise zone program, which al- Albert Ratner, co-chairman of Forest City Enterprises Brookings and Greater Ohio say 32 "core" cities -- those lows communities to offer property tax breaks to busi- Inc., said Ohio should do whatever it can to draw new with at least 15,000 residents and a 20 percent share of ness, was designed to benefit struggling cities, officials blood, whether it's from Indiana or India. their county's population -- host many of the assets that said. But Ohio now has 200 such zones, many of them drive prosperity: innovation, skilled workers, road and in high-income communities. "I'll take every illegal immigrant I can get," Ratner said. telecommunication networks, and quality neighbor- OHIO MUST RETHINK GROWTH, STUDY SAYS September 10, 2008 JOE HALLETT

Ohio has too many governmental entities that nate. The seven largest metropolitan regions time competing with their neighbors for a piece compete with each other and for too long has account for 33 percent of Ohio's land area and of property tax here or payroll tax there than fostered state policies that wastefully favor the 71 percent of its population while generating working with them to pursue a unified vision for growth of new communities rather than the re- 80 percent of the state's gross domestic prod- economic development." development of older ones, according to a re- uct. port released today. In remarks to the summit, Gov. Ted Strickland And yet, "Ohio's cities are weaker than they said he recognized the importance of Ohio's "Ohio cannot advance a 21st-century economy should be, undermining the ability of the state cities and his administration would give full at- with a system of local government rooted in to attract and retain innovative firms and tal- tention to the report by Brookings and Greater the 19th," said Bruce Katz, vice president of ented workers," Katz said, because state poli- Ohio. the Brookings Institution in Washington. cies favor growth in new places. Asked afterward whether he will seek to con- In collaboration with Greater Ohio, a Columbus "The Ohio way - sprawling fast while growing solidate governments in Ohio, Strickland said: nonprofit organization devoted to smart-growth slow, hollowing out older cities only to build "It is not my position as governor to make policies, Brookings released a 41-page report new housing and retail facilities 30 miles away these decisions for local communities. But en- on policy reforms to revitalize Ohio's 32 core - does not make fiscal, environmental or com- courage it, say it's a good idea, try to use what- communities that serve as regional centers of petitive sense and must end," Katz said. ever bully pulpit I have or influence I have to economic, educational, medical and cultural say, 'We need to streamline,' and say, 'We activity. Major forces, including deindustrialization, need to become more efficient,' of course I'll global competition and energy shortages, are do that." The study, available at www.greaterohio.org, forcing Ohio's cities, suburbs, exurbs and rural was delivered during the "Restoring Ohio's areas to become "tightly bound and inextrica- Prosperity" summit, attended by more than bly linked," making it more important to 1,000 of the state's leaders in government, strengthen core cities' ability to deliver educa- education, business and civic activism at the tional, medical, social and cultural services, the Greater Columbus Convention Center. report said. The report stresses that Ohio needs a Katz said that "the balkanized landscape of "competitive communities" strategy that recog- governance in Ohio has hurt core communi- nizes the importance of core cities, particularly ties" because the nearly 3,800 local govern- the state's seven biggest, as economic, social mental jurisdictions, including 250 cities, 695 and cultural centers of the regions they domi- villages and 1,308 townships, "spend more OHIO LEADERS DISCUSS CITIES’ FUTURES September 11, 2008 G. PATRICK KELLEY

State and civic leaders discussed the eco- and Greater Ohio, a nonprofit research and bridges, rail and ports, the report said. nomic potential of Canton and other Ohio com- advocacy group based in Columbus. munities in Columbus on Wednesday. Chamberlin said the discussion was a general Gov. Ted Strickland and legislative leaders one, but there were points brought out that joined other Ohioans to discuss policy reforms Healy has been working on. One was the need needed to reinvigorate core communities. for cooperation between state and local gov- ernment on economic development, she said. Bethany Chamberlin, an aide to Canton Mayor William J. Healy II, attended for the mayor. Another was the "need to use partnerships at She said a recurring theme of the meeting was the local level to increase efficiency." She cited "partnerships on many levels are keys to keep- Healy's work with the Northeast Ohio Mayors ing the state competitive." Association, his work with regional economic development efforts, and cooperation between Canton and other cities "can play a major role the city and Stark County. in these partnerships," she said. Participants also reviewed a set of proposals The report, Restoring Prosperity: The State for state policy reforms aimed at revitalizing Role in Revitalizing Ohio's Core Communities," communities. The recommendations focus on looks at the economic potential of Ohio's in- Ohio's 32 core communities — including Can- dustrial cities and "core communities" and of- ton — whose revitalization is important to the fers a policy blueprint for their revitalization. economic health of the state.

Called the Brookings-Greater Ohio Summit on The report said the 32 core communities have Restoring Ohio's Prosperity, participants had significant assets: Seven of the state's 11 re- the chance to respond to a preliminary version search institutions, nearly half of the state's of the report. Comments from the gathering will hospitals, more than two-thirds of the state's help to shape a final report, to be released Fortune 1000 companies, more than 57 per- early next year cent of higher education institutions, and 40 percent of the state's registered historic places. The summit was hosted, and the report was generated by the Brookings Institution, a non- Those communities also have valuable infra- profit policy organization based in Washington, structure components, including roads, The Lima News

REPORT: CITIES BUILDING BLOCKS FOR STATE’S SUCCESS September 11, 2008 HEATHER RUTZ

Ohio's 16 metropolitan areas account for 84 it without understanding a struggling center portation and creating quality places with his- percent of the state's jobs, 81 percent of the means trouble for everyone, creates an uphill tory, culture, amenities and walkable neighbor- state's population and 87 percent of the state's battle. hoods. economic output. "The power of the status quo is absolutely The state needs to support communities, focus Yet, Ohio's policies have left them behind in enormous. Those who are doing well under the resources and leverage assets that matter in a favor of ones encouraging development of new current rules of the game like it," Berger said. new economy, said Bruce Katz, director of the communities over redevelopment of older "They like it when sprawl occurs. They like it Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program. ones, such as Lima, and needless competition when shootings take place in downtown Lima among communities, according to a draft re- and they go back to their homes and not have "Ohio's policies stack the deck against core port presented Wednesday. to worry about it. The like it when they can communities at the very moment these places continue to support the well-to-do suburban have a critical role to play in helping the state A summit with more than 1,000 Ohioans, from school districts and criticize Lima schools, say- compete," Katz said. "The Ohio way - in which Gov. Ted Strickland to township trustees, fo- ing to get rid of teachers who don't know what resources get spread across the state like pea- cused attention on using the state's "core" they're doing and chastise children who are nut butter and local jurisdictions proliferate - is communities to reinvigorate the state's econ- failing." a luxury that Ohio taxpayers can no longer af- omy. A draft report from Greater Ohio and the ford." Brookings Institution, "Restoring Prosperity: The challenges are great for cities such as The State Role in Revitalizing Ohio's Core Lima, with unemployment rates and high Jerry Good, Strickland's economic develop- Communities," drew the attention of leaders school dropout rates higher than those nation- ment representative for the region, liked what across the state, including Lima Mayor David ally. But officials also believe Ohio has un- he heard. Berger, who sat on a panel responding to the matched assets. "The historic piece is that after 30 or 40 years policies presented and whether their imple- we're coming together as a state," Good said. mentation is realistic. "The people who came before us created a state so good that try as we have, we haven't "We're investing in regions and their assets. "This cannot just be a homily for the church been able to kill it," said Al Ratner, co- We're trying to do that with our eight-county choir and congregation within the walls of the chairman of Forest City Enterprises. "We need region." church," Berger said. "It has to be a tool for immigration. Immigration is anyone who does- evangelizing those who don't hear." n't live in Ohio." Berger, fired up after what he called an Ohio communities will not rebuild the way they "unprecedented day" decades overdue, said grew through the early part of the 20th century, Lima's situation and other central cities', in the report said. They must focus on innovation, which more people live around the city than in educating their work forces, modernizing trans- MASSIVE DUPLICATION TOO COSTLY FOR OHIO September 12, 2008 JOE HALLETT

Ohio has six medical schools and nine law schools. ments be more cost-effective and engender more failing to leverage the assets in these places in any Do we need that many? Ohio taxpayers spend tens cooperation among municipalities? coherent way," said Bruce Katz, vice president of of millions of dollars every year to build facilities Brookings. "At a time when the economy rewards and renovate old ones at state universities. As ever These types of questions need to be asked, be- places that collaborate, Ohio's structure of govern- more students take courses online, is all that cause we simply cannot afford to continue doing ment does the exact opposite, encouraging cities spending on buildings necessary? what we're doing. Global forces are profoundly and surrounding jurisdictions to engage in need- transforming Ohio's economy and its human condi- less and wasteful competition." Ohio State University has at least 98 employees tion, and until we reposition this state to compete in making $250,000 or more a year, more than half of the new world, hardship will necessitate change. A Gov. Ted Strickland, who addressed the summit them in medicine-related fields. Considering that quarter of our manufacturing jobs disappeared over after announcing budget cuts of $540 million, said more and more Ohio students are being priced out the last seven years, and the median Ohio house- Brookings has it right: "I am unhappy and troubled of college - or going deeply into debt to attend - is a hold made about $4,000 less in 2006 than the na- by what I perceive to be unhealthy competition in review of university salaries and services in order? tional median. many areas of public life. An example is the prolif- eration of medical facilities, which seem to be de- Every week, scores of private-sector workers lose Thankfully, some big brains are contemplating how signed more to compete and get patients than to company-paid health- care and retirement benefits. to shape Ohio's future. More than 1,000 of them serve the health- care needs of a community or Considering this, is it fair to provide generous from government, business, academia and civic region. That's just one example, but it is also true health and retirement packages for our public em- organizations gathered Wednesday in Columbus of government entities. ... ployees? for the "Restoring Prosperity to Ohio" summit. A blueprint for how to proceed was presented by the "When the public dollar is involved, competition Almost all of the billions of dollars Ohio receives prestigious Brookings Institution, a Washington should be competition that is designed to benefit from the federal Highway Trust Fund are used to think tank. the public, not to benefit the particular entities or build and maintain roads. In an era when high fuel organizations that are engaged in that competi- costs are eating up more and more of families' in- Brookings advocated a "competitive communities" tion." comes, isn't it prudent to spend more of the money strategy that would leverage the economic, educa- on transportation options that don't involve autos? tional, social and environmental strengths of 32 To his credit, Strickland is in the midst of a top- to- core communities - ranging in size from Ironton bottom review of Ohio's primary- and secondary - Enrollment in many of Ohio's 610 school districts is (11,000 people) to Columbus (730,000) - to serve education system, saying he is open to sweeping declining. Do we need all this school governance, their regions. Rather than empower these core changes. or is it time to consolidate districts and reduce the communities, Ohio policies historically have served education bureaucracy? to weaken them, Brookings found. It should be just the beginning. Given Ohio's prob- lems, it's time to rethink everything. Ohio has nearly 3,800 governmental jurisdictions, "Ohio policies stack the deck against core commu- including 250 cities, 695 villages and 1,308 town- nities, systematically favoring the growth of new ships. Wouldn't consolidating into regional govern- places over the redevelopment of older ones and OhioNews Bureau

OHIO CONFERENCE CALLS FOR MAJOR MAKEOVERS September 13, 2008 JOHN MICHAEL SPINELLI

State leaders, including Gov. Ted Strickland, opment administrators, education, business, Ohio’s leaders, then, need to design and im- Lt. Governor Lee Fisher and legislative lead- neighborhood and civic leaders in attendance, plement a “competitive communities” strategy ers, were told this week at a well-attended con- calling on them to stop doing what they’ve that strives to strengthen and leverage the ference in Columbus that Ohio needs an been doing if they want to alter the state’s economic potential and environmental role of agenda for change because the current state growth trajectory. core communities, their preliminary report policies, accumulated over the decades, have called for. failed to keep pace with the changing dynam- Reforms Katz and Brachman spoke to was not ics of today’s social, environmental and eco- an appeal to more programs or more spend- Conference officials called on Ohio to “set forth nomic reality, resulting in the loss of manufac- ing, but for policy makers to “reevaluate how a clear vision for the renewal of its core com- turing might that under-girded the dynamism existing policies, practices and administrative munities with “ambitious, transparent, and its cities once had but have lost to a great de- structures could be updated and realigned to measurable goals to guide public, private and gree, resulting in a trend toward an older and better catalyze and encourage regional innova- civic sector investments, and a new way of do- poorer population unable to compete in the un- tion and development. In simple language, ing business so that these goals can be ac- forgiving global economy. they said Ohio needs to maximize the use of complished.” existing state resources in more effective The conference, “Restoring Our Prosperity: ways. Strickland, who had earlier in the day an- The State Role in Revitalizing Ohio’s Core nounced that due to a continued decline in Communities,” undertaken jointly by the Metro- The duo challenged the state to undertake an state revenues he was ordering his administra- politan Policy Program (MPP) at the Brookings “honest assessment of what its real and poten- tion to cut another $540 million in spending, Institution, a nonprofit public policy organiza- tial assets are, where they exist, and ulti- made his homage to the importance of cities tion based in Washington, DC., and Greater mately, to make difficult choices about where and the role they play in the vitality of a region. Ohio, a policy center created to help Ohio build and how to target scarce resources to best lev- As the after lunch key note speaker, Strick- a vibrant economy that produces a quality of erage them.” land, who inherited a state already hammered life for the common good, unveiled fresh pro- One unmistakable message Katz and Brach- by massive job losses, especially in the manu- posals to take advantage of innovation, human man drove home was that state officials must facturing sector, has been stymied in trying to capital, infrastructure and quality of place, as- relinquish commanding control over strategies, turn it around, as he promised to do when run- sets found in metropolitan regions and the 32 policies and programs to regional leaders, ning for governor in 2006. He lauded the no- core communities that are their hubs. thinkers and stakeholders who need flexibility tion that cities serve as centers of “clusters that Bruce Katz, VP and Director of the MPP, and and incentives to keep their regions, supported can energize an entire region.” Lavea Brachman, Co-Director of Greater Ohio by their core communities, growing and pros- Brandishing numerous awards Ohio received and a non-resident senior fellow at Brookings, pering. recently from R&D Magazine, which each year laid the wood to Ohio leaders and other devel- OhioNews Bureau

OHIO CONFERENCE CALLS FOR MAJOR MAKEOVERS (CONTINUED) September 13, 2008 JOHN MICHAEL SPINELLI recognizes the states and their innovations, leave to chance the fate of our strengths.” indirectly accused of “stacking the deck” Strickland enumerated Ohio’s national and against cities in favor of suburbs and rural ar- world prominence in areas like health care for The conference sessions focused on creating eas. children and adults, its leading role in re- vital neighborhoods, enhancing skills and search and manufacturing of solar panels, earnings, boosting business growth and job From a political perspective, cities are bas- bio-medical advancements and the state’s creation, investing to promote economic de- tions of Democratic leaning voters while new energy bill, which he said puts the Buck- velopment, promoting regional solutions and sprawling suburbs and “exurbia,” mainly eye State among two other states that have learning from local leadership and promising townships, are home to fiscal and social con- mandated through law that 25 percent of all practices. servatives who generally eschew the kind of electricity produced and sold in the state by progress measures Brookings and Greater Two prominent Republican leaders, Senate 2025 will come from renewable energy Ohio are calling for. President Bill Harris and House Speaker Jon sources. Husted, were also in attendance. Harris (R- Another major theme of the conference, al- “Collaboration between cities and towns has Ashland) pointed to the reform of the state’s though not formally addressed, was the drag the potential to solve problems that no town tax system, known as the Commercial Activity on progress too much government brings. alone can possible address,” he said to a re- Tax, which he said will lead to a better busi- Ohio has thousands of government entities, ceptive audience. “In challenging times, when ness climate because it provided a 21 per- from townships to counties to various district we need world class facilities or experts, we cent across-the-board tax in personal taxes authorities that really work against each need not travel the world to find them, be- and eliminated various business taxes that other. Calling for a streamlining of the super- cause we can rely on Ohio’s cities,” he said, were designed decades ago when Ohio was structure of government is a daunting and adding that a city’s agenda is a regional an industrial titan but no longer needed. likely impossible dream, given that townships agenda and that agenda becomes a state and school boards are the birthing centers for Husted (R-Kettering), an advocate for charter agenda. aspiring politicians who seek a higher office schools, spoke about education reforms and to ascend to. Asking townships to be pared In closing remarks, Strickland, the first De- said Ohio would need to freeze college costs down or eliminated or for Ohio’s 88 counties mocratic governor in 16 years, said he and for six years just to have them catch up with to be reduced to a lesser number is indeed his staff would give full attention to the reports the national average of higher education. tilting at windmills. recommendations, some of which he said he In the larger scope of the debate, Republi- agreed with and some he didn’t agree with. No group of elected politicians will willingly cans, who have controlled Ohio from top to “A moment like this requires bold thinking, he cut their offices, so for any radical change to bottom since 1992 when it reclaimed the of- said, “because simply repeating what’s been occur, the citizens of Ohio will be faced with fice of governor and then in 1994 when it also done before will entrench our weakness and mounting a drive to change the Ohio Consti- acquired control of the state legislature, were tution in ways that can undue the power and OhioNews Bureau

OHIO CONFERENCE CALLS FOR MAJOR MAKEOVERS (CONTINUED) September 13, 2008 JOHN MICHAEL SPINELLI

authority of all the offices that have an iron With no more rabbits to put out of its hat, state grip on the gears of government. leaders like Strickland, Harris and Husted are befuddled about their inability to do much in This is certainly not the first conference of its the present to reverse the downward decline kind I’ve been to and I’ll wager it won’t be the of the state, which boasts some of the poorest last one either. Groups like Brookings and big cities in the nation and a rising level of Greater Ohio, who have awesome sounding poverty as jobs disappear and people wonder mission statements and pedigreed staff ex- whether to stay or move to greener pastures. perts who make their living at producing far flung recommendations about change and how to achieve it, should understand that making a crack in the armor of the status quo is all consuming. And while some tinkering and tweaking can be achieved, the issues they talked about today could easily have been talked about 30 years ago and will likely be talked about 20 years from now. While the tenor of the proceedings in the lar- ger plenary sessions was collaborative and positive, the break out sessions offered stark enactments of the kind of turf warfare be- tween state, regional or city officials and plan- ners who battle against state domination of programs and funds. Ohio is in a real fiscal pickle, to be sure, as demonstrated by Strickland’s orders to cut $1.2 in state spending so far this year as a result of the hard times residents and busi- nesses are undergoing as the nation slip slides its way closer to recession, which may economists say we’re already in.