Lt. Governor : Pick Jay Goyal
Submitted by Anthony Fossaceca on Wed, 11/18/2009 - 12:38pm.
As 2010 approaches, Governor Ted Strickland faces a rather complex set of political challenges in his campaign to win re-election.
The economic recovery has been slow to take hold in Ohio. Budget cuts and other fiscal moves to balance the state budget are being politicized by the Ohio GOP, while they offer little in the way of alternatives. Worst of all, national political pressures have placed Democrats on defense after enjoying tremendous success in 2008. All this added together, along with the fundraising potential of the ultimate Wall Street Insider, John Kasich, means the Governor should be thinking bold with his choice for running mate.
To me, that means State Representative Jay Goyal of Mansfield.
Goyal, just 29 yrs old, is an extremely popular Democratic legislator in an otherwise right-leaning to toss-up district. He was the first Asian-American elected to the state legislature and is the vice president of a family-business, Goyal Industries - a manufacturing firm specializing in metal fabrication and transportation equipment. Goyal is well respected in Columbus and dozens of insiders have told us that he could provide some much needed excitement with not only political activists, but corporate leaders on the front lines of creating the jobs of the future. I find it hard to disagree.
Politically, Goyal allows Strickland to fill several gaps. Most obviously, youth and diversity. At 29, Goyal would likely be the youngest Lt. Governor in the state. However, few we've talked to see his age as an issue. To the contrary, many feel, and I concur, that Goyal's energy and ability to effectively communicate a forward-thinking, holistic vision for Ohio make his age almost (almost) a positive. Certainly, he'd be able to connect with younger voters, but his focus and depth should ease the concerns of older voters worried that we'd be a heartbeat away from placing the state into the hands of an unproven lightweight ( see Josh Mandel).
With the filing deadline approaching, the Governor will need to make his decision soon. Recent reports that Youngstown Mayor Jay Williams and Hamilton County Commissioner Todd Portune are either not in the running, or maybe never were, are fanning the flames of debate over who will be the choice to replace Lee Fisher.
OhioDaily was the first media outlet in the state to report back in August that Goyal was on the short list.
Today, I'm saying it's time to make him the pick.
When's the filing deadline?
I asked Anne Hill yesterday when the Gov. is going to make an announcement and she said she didn't know. I hope it's soon so we can get cracking. Goyal sounds interesting but at this point I'd have to learn more. I'm just really disappointed at how weak our party is on including women. If Jennifer Garrison is the only woman on our ticket, there's not going to be a lot of excitement among grassroots women. In fact, at this point, given her positions, it would almost be better to have an all-male ticket, but have a SoS candidate who is avidly pro-choice. Now that I've confirmed that Garrison is completely MIA on Prevention First, I don't see how charm and the little ENDA bone she's thrown the gay community are going to help her get women behind her.
February 18th. But that's
February 18th. But that's not long at all considering December tends to run away from all of us. I completely agree about having more female diversity on the ticket, but you assume we won't have a woman at the very top - as in the U.S. Senate candidate.
Actually, I believe that we will
and that having a woman – and THAT woman — as U.S. Senate candidate is going to galvinize women AND men progressives not just here but around the country. But it's possible that it might go the other way too; I'm not counting my chickens before they're hatched.
Goyal's got the right stuff
I had the opportunity to hear Representative Goyal speak to a small group of OSU students last week on a variety of topics. He comes across as remarkably intelligent and compassionate.
I believe there remain some concerns that Goyal does not yet carry the clout, connections, or fundraising influence that Fisher did. Still, his strong popularity, enthusiasm, and undeniable brightness would make him a solid candidate (not to mention that replacing Fisher with another 'well-connected' Cuyahoga pol would probably not play well in the current environment).
I would love to see what Goyal can accomplish given the right platform. Picking him would be not only a smart political choice for Strickland, but a responsible choice for Ohio.
Having Fisher is no longer
Having Fisher is no longer important. Ted Strickland is the Governor. If that doesn't carry weight, then nothing does. If the Governor calls, you answer the phone.
Abolish The Lt. Gov. Position To Save $$$$$
The lieutenant governor of Ohio makes $142,500 a year, and the job easily could be abolished without anyone much noticing it disappeared. What official duties does the lieutenant governor have? Nothing significant -- ribbon-cutter in chief. If it is important to have someone next in line to fill the governorship should the occupant of that office die or become incapacitated, lawmakers or voters could designate a successor within the state executive establishment. Maybe the next highest ranking statewide elected officeholder of the governor's party should be the successor in waiting. That might be the attorney general, sec'y of state, or someone from the Supreme Court. There could be some kind of pecking order created. Or the job could devolve to the legislative leadership. Ohio is financially on the ropes. It doesn't need to spend money on an office for a drone, and a staff of sycophants to serve the drone. This has nothing to do with Lee Fisher. The current lt. governor does the do-nothing job perfectly, and it's not his fault he has nothing to do. Getting rid of the lieutenant governorship has everything to do with conserving public money.
Alaska already designates
someone in the cabinet — it's up to the governor — to be third in line. That could probably be done with lieutenant governor. Of course, the mishandling of this just led to a massive blowup in Alaska when they were suddenly left without a second OR third in line, thanks to the ineptitude of their recently resigned governor. Hopefully, Ohio would never elect anyone THAT unqualified.
hmmm...
I'd be willing to bet my entire collection of rare gold coins that we have!