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Home > Blogs > Ohio politics > Archives > 2009 > September > 03
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Strickland promotes woman to lead public safety
Cathy Collins-Taylor, a former Columbus motorcycle cop and current director of the Ohio Investigative Unit, will be the new director of the state Department of Public Safety, Gov. Ted Strickland announced Thursday, Sept. 3.
Collins-Taylor replaces Henry Guzman who resigned last week after he clashed with Ohio Highway Patrol Superintendent Col. Richard “Butch” Collins. Collins also resigned.
Collins-Taylor, 52, who starts as director Sept. 19, will make $128,544 and will appoint a new patrol superintendent.
Since March 2007, Collins-Taylor led the department’s Ohio Investigative Unit, which oversees enforcement of state, local and federal liquor and tobacco control laws. She has also worked on homeland security issues within the department.
Collins-Taylor graduated from Ohio State University in 1977 and the Columbus Police Academy in 1978. Collins-Taylor spent 26 years with the Columbus police department, retiring from active duty in 2004. She was that department’s first female motorcycle officer. “Cathy is an experienced professional whose background in law enforcement and safety has prepared her to lead the Ohio Department of Public Safety,” Strickland said in a news release. “I am confident that Cathy will be able to work with the divisions within ODPS to ensure the agency is running effectively and efficiently, and with the safety and well being of the public at its forefront.”
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Sen. Voinovich invokes Holy Spirit, quotes Scripture in blast at gambling plans
Invoking the Holy Spirit and quoting Scripture, U.S. Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, on Thursday, Sept. 3, lashed out at Ohio’s two gambling plans.
At a Columbus press conference, Voinovich threw his support behind a lawsuit filed by the Ohio Roundtable charging that Gov. Ted Strickland’s plan to install 17,500 video slot machines at Ohio’s seven racetracks is unconstitutional.
Voinovich, a former governor and long-time gambling foe, also pledged to campaign this fall against State Issue 3, the ballot proposal that would permit casinos to be built in Cleveland, Cincinnati, Columbus and Toledo.
Voinovich also said that had he been governor this year he would have raised taxes to balance the budget, as he had done in the 1990s during tough economic times. Strickland’s slots-at-the-tracks plan is supposed to raise $933 million to balance the budget.
Voinovich said that he got tired like “all of you do” but that he relied on this passage from this passage from Isaiah:
“Those who hope in the Lord shall have their strength renewed…they shall soar as with wings of eagles…they will run and not grow weary and they will walk and not faint.”
Then he added:
“I’m hoping that the Holy Spirit enlightens the people of Ohio as they have in the past and they reject Issue 3.”
Bob Tenenbaum, spokesman for the Ohio Jobs and Growth Committee which is backing Issue 3, declined to criticize Voinovich.
“I would say Sen. Voinovich has been consistent in his opposition to gaming in Ohio. We certainly anticipated that he would continue to oppose any expansion of gambling in the state.
“We respect his opinion…He’s been a United States senator. He’s been governor. He has the right to express his opinion in any way he wants to.”
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Strickland recommends new chief for school building panel
Gov. Ted Strickland on Thursday, Sept. 3, recommended that Richard Murray be appointed executive director of the Ohio School Facilities Commission, the group that oversees the massive statewide school construction program.
Murray, 59, if approved by the commission, would replace Michael Shoemaker, the former state legislator whom Strickland removed from the job for unspecified reasons.
The resolution that the commission is expected to approve calls for his salary to be no more than $115,000 annually, Strickland’s office said.
Murray, mayor of Marble Cliff, a suburban Columbus village, since 1996 has served as the Ohio Laborers-Employers Cooperation and Education Trust director. The organization is a trust between the Ohio Contractors Association and the Laborers’ District Council of Ohio, a 15,000-member construction union.
It helps unions and contractors acquire projects and jobs, a press release said.
“Rich recognizes that quality construction is critical for effective, safe learning environments for our students,” Strickland said in the release.
“His ability to handle complex labor and management issues and his background in the public and private sectors will be valuable experience has he takes on his new role.”
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Montgomery Couny Commissioners endorse Brown for Sec of State
Montgomery County’s three commissioners, all Democrats, have chosen sides in what could be a heated race for the Democratic nomination for secretary of state in 2010.
Debbie Lieberman, Dan Foley and Judy Dodge all are backing Franklin County Commissioner Marilyn Brown, who’s running against state Rep. Jennifer Garrison, D-Marietta.
“As a county commissioner, Marilyn Brown understands the need for cost-effective investments in honest elections,” Dodge said in a press release from Brown’s campaign. “She is uniquely qualified to build on the successful 2008 elections during challenging budget times.”
Clark County Commissioner David Hartley and Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman also endorsed Brown, the release said.
The endorsements were among more than 20 office holder endorsements from around the state announced by Brown’s campaign.
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Turner to attend Tea Party Town Hall
U.S. Rep. Mike Turner confirmed Thursday, Sept. 3, that he will attend a town hall meeting on health care reform on Sept. 5 at the Voice of America Park Museum in West Chester.
The rally is being organized by the Dayton and Cincinnati Tea Parties. Turner, R-Centerville, will be among those to answer questions from the crowd at the rally.
Those who want to ask questions of Turner should email them to questions@ohiolibertycouncil.org. The park is at 8070 Tylersville Road in West Chester.
The rally will be from 1 to 6:20 p.m. Turner will be answering questions from 5 to 6 p.m.
Turner is one of a long list of congressional representatives, senators and governors from Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana to be invited. The Cincinnati and Dayton Tea Parties, which are organizing the event, have invited both Republicans and Democrats, but so far no Democrat has accepted, they said.
Among those scheduled to appear are House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-West Chester, Ohio Republican gubernatorial candidate John Kasich and U.S. Rep. Jean Schmidt, R-Loveland.
