Paul Kostyu: New report seeks change in Ohio's political culture

This time, Paul Kostyu mentions a report that I have distributed before. Apparently Mr. Kostyu also considers this report worthwhile. Please check out the link below (for this report) which is furnished by Kostyu. John Curry

Canton Repository, October 17, 2006

Paul E. Kostyu

COLUMBUS - What do Duck Run, Roy Rogers and Ronald Reagan have to do with the myriad problems Ohio faces that the next governor is expected to fix?

Well, nothing. But anyone listening to the debate between Republican J. Kenneth Blackwell and Democrat Ted Strickland in Cincinnati two weeks ago may have thought all three were somehow important to improving Ohio’s economy.

Rogers, the famous TV cowboy, and Strickland are from the Duck Run Creek area in Scioto County in Southern Ohio. Both Strickland and Blackwell apparently remember the famous exchange in the vice presidential debate between Sens. Lloyd Bentsen and Dan Quayle in 1988. The updated version went like this:

Blackwell: “I happened to have known Roy Rogers, and, Mr. Strickland, you’re no Roy Rogers.”

Strickland: “I also knew Ronald Reagan, and, sir, you’re no Ronald Reagan.”

Neither candidate explained how those comparisons would help Ohio climb from 43rd of the 50 states in employment growth, 44th in personal income growth and 47th in economic momentum, according to a recent federal report. Nor did they explain how the comparisons solve pressing state problems with education and health care.

“Ohio’s democracy and state government face serious challenges, including public corruption, a flagging economy and relatively low levels of educational attainment,” says a new report titled “Reforming Ohio’s Democracy: What’s wrong, what we can do about it.”

The report is the work of political scientist Herbert Asher of The Ohio State University, Catherine Turcer of Ohio Citizen Action, Daniel Tokaji of Ohio State’s law school, and Ann Henkener and Peg Rosenfield, both of The League of Women Voters of Ohio.

They write about how “campaign cash has been playing a significant role in policy making and in appointments made to public office,” about the “unfortunate tradition of carving districts to benefit the party that happens to control the process” and about “a loss of faith in the judiciary” and the “systemic problems with the state’s system of election administration.”

Ohio is too regional, the report says, and “impedes the government’s ability to address the state’s pressing needs.” Everyone wants a piece of the pie, pitting region against region, city against city, urban area against rural area, universities against each other.

“Governance has focused largely on the spoils of victory, how to reward one’s friends, and how to stay in office, rather than on overarching policy debates,” the report said. Into this, a new governor, whomever it will be, faces “the long-term reality of how business has traditionally been conducted in state politics. Without change in the political culture, the authors suggest, “the sour mood of many Ohioans” will continue.

“We hope this report will jump-start a conversation about what can be done to make our democracy work better for everyone,” Tokaji said. “This conversation must include not only academics and activists, but also public officials, the media and, most importantly, the people of Ohio.”

To see the full report go to: www.ohiocitizen.org

Reach Copley Columbus Bureau Chief Paul E. Kostyu at (614) 222-8901 or e-mail: Paul.kostyu@cantonrep.com