NEWS
JB Hamlin & Company
The JBH & Co. newsreel will keep you up to date on developments that affect Ohio’s state agencies and your business interests, your place for tweets, posts and our perspectives on the governmental environment in Ohio.
Romney Policies Sound for Ohio
According to the latest polling data, Ohio Republicans support Mitt Romney for the presidential nomination at a level of about 27%. The pollsters characterized his lead as “comfortable” but asserted that Mitt needs to keep gaining momentum. With Newt close at his heels, it’s no time to rest on laurels for the former Massachusetts Governor. With 36% of Ohio voters claiming that Mitt is the best-suited to handle the economy, this support should grown with time. Democracy is about choices – let’s make a good one this...
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Governor Focuses on Positive
John Kasich had quite an inaugural year as our Ohio’s 69th Governor. In meeting with the state house press corps in a news conference today, he proclaimed that we may “never see another one like it.” And he may be right. His activities to streamline state government, jump start the jobs picture, and get Ohio’s economy moving again are unprecedented. And they had to be. The budget problem was bigger than ever, and the national economy has scarcely improved since the 2008 real estate bubble burst. Our Governor has had to...
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Learning Our History
Republicans in the Ohio House have asserted the importance of bettering Ohio’s output of educated, informed graduates again. Our Representatives have called on schools to raise standards of knowledge by ensuring that students are well-familiar with our nation’s founding texts. The issue was raised when a survey reported sub-par results from Ohio’s students, specifically in their grasp of our nation’s history. As we know from the old saying, those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Republican...
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Playing Ball – Sears and Economic Development
Governor John Kasich isn’t divulging a whole lot of detail surrounding the status of his and our state’s economic development teams and Sears, the multi-million dollar retail giant currently headquartered in Illinois. What is saying is that we’re in the game, and we’re playing to win now that Illinois Governor Pat Quinn (D) has made it clear that he can’t match our offer. Quinn’s state government is also at odds, unable to agree on an update to their tax code. This puts Ohio, with its sound leadership from...
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Proactive Pursuit: Jobs Ohio
Turning over a new leaf, our state’s economic development efforts have taken a more positive, proactive approach under the Kasich administration. The Dispatch reports our governor having called Sears CEO Louis D’Ambrosio to speak to him about Ohio’s approach to date, and how it was received by the giant retailer. According to Kasich, the response was extremely positive, even praiseworthy: “He said ‘the presentation that your folks have made for us has been stunning. They have been so good, and so creative, and so ahead of the...
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Ohio’s national political importance
Yet again, the eyes of the nation will rest on Ohio. The United States Senate is, to put it simply, up for grabs in the 2012 election. As it sits currently, the GOP needs just four wins to take the venerable chamber. Here in Ohio, we have the makings of a contest in the race between sitting Senator Sherrod Brown, and the up and coming Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel. Early polls favor the incumbent Brown. However, as time goes by and the candidates actually declare, campaigning will begin in earnest, and the goings will get rancorous, with the...
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Get out the vote
As you all know, there are some critical issues on tomorrow’s ballot. These are things worth fighting for. In our last election, Ohioans voted for an administration that isn’t afraid to fight for what it believes. Let’s not forget that. In the first 11 months, Ohio has balanced its budget without raising taxes, created an innovative and successful job creation apparatus, and began to see serious business development opportunities as a result of the leadership in the Ohio Statehouse. With Issue 2 taking up nearly all of the...
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Our House is not in order
After attempting to pass a redrawn revision of the Ohio Congressional map, Representative Lou Tehrar walked out after a chaotic and stormy session in the House. The results are costly, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer: “Ohioans still don’t know what congressional districts they live in, or who they can vote for – or against – in 2012. And the state is scheduled to have two primaries, costing taxpayers at least $15 million.” House Republicans are trying to avoid a November 2012 referendum, and give Ohioans a concrete idea...
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Plain Dealer Calls for YES on Issue 2
Sorting through a partisan quagmire, we’re pleasantly surprised to see the PD endorse Issue 2 in an effort to right the Ohio political ship. It portends, basically, that a “no” vote on the issue makes it far too difficult to enact any change, effectively embedding the status quo. Governor Kasich boldly took the first step toward this necessary, though difficult change. He showed leadership, and although we recognize the popular movement that has arisen via petition and now ballot issue, this adjustment is a necessary one....
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JobsOhio board named
Governor John Kasich, in addition to having had a busy weekend, today named the board members for JobsOhio, the state’s new private economic development nonprofit. In doing so, he has harnessed quite the brain trust, some of the leading minds in our state. Board members such as Bob McDonald, CEO of P&G, Gordon Gee, president of Ohio State University, and of course, his right hand man in economic development, Mark Kvamme, will serve on the JobsOhio Board of Directors. In privatizing economic development in Ohio, the governor and...
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