The normally low-profile Ohio Development Department suddenly found itself at the center of gubernatorial politics this summer — and its very existence at risk — when Republican candidate John Kasich declared, “The days of trying to connect to business leaders through bureaucrats are over.” His campaign unveiled a sweeping proposal to privatize the agency’s core responsibility of attracting and retaining businesses.
Kasich argued that the department had largely failed at its core mission, pointing to an exodus of prominent employers as evidence. “We know all too well the story of NCR in Dayton, in which the Department of Development simply missed the warning signs and failed to act aggressively to keep the city’s last Fortune 500 Company,” said Kasich’s running mate, Mary Taylor. NCR moved to the suburbs of Atlanta.
Democratic Governor Ted Strickland fired back, saying that privatization would be like tasking a fox with guarding a henhouse, and raising concerns about the transparency and accountability with which the proposed nonprofit would operate. “After years of supporting unfair trade deals and outsourcing that cost Ohio over 460,000 jobs and helped Wall Street, it’s not surprising that Congressman Kasich wants to outsource economic development to corporate interests at the expense of working Ohioans,” the Strickland campaign said in a statement.
To read the full, original article click on this link: States to try outsourcing economic development
Author: Melissa Maynard
