Strickland Focuses on Frequent Flier Fundraisers as Ohio's Economy Falters

(Columbus) - Gov. Ted Strickland traveled to Los Angeles for a campaign fundraiser the same day his administration announced that thousands more Ohio jobs were lost in September and more Ohioans were giving up looking for work.

According to The Columbus Dispatch today, Strickland was raising campaign cash in Texas last week and in California on October 15-16, marking "the second straight week the governor was out of Ohio on a Thursday and a Friday for a party-building trip."

"If Ted Strickland spent as much time growing Ohio's economy as he spends party-building, he might not have to worry so much about his re-election," said Ohio Republican Party Chairman Kevin DeWine.  "It'll take a lot of campaign cash to explain away the 340,000 jobs he's lost, the billion-dollar tax hike he wants Ohioans to pay and the embarrassing mess he's made of the state budget."

Strickland's out-of-state political trip coincided with the release of Ohio's latest unemployment report, which found nearly 6,000 more jobs were lost in September and "people are giving up on finding work and leaving the labor force," according to a spokesman for Strickland's Department of Job and Family Services.

"Gov. Strickland is obviously more interested in the future of the Democratic Party than in turning around Ohio's economy," said DeWine.  "What he doesn't understand is that the two are tied together, and no amount of campaign cash can fix his failed leadership."

Strickland spent more than a month campaigning in 2008 as Ohio approached double-digit unemployment:

• "Gov. Ted Strickland spent all or part of 44 days since June 1 campaigning for presidential candidate Barack Obama and other Democrats." (The Columbus Dispatch, 11/15/08)

• "Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland campaigned 39 times for Democrat presidential candidate Barack Obama and Ohio House candidates after the state's March 4 primary." (The Cleveland Plain Dealer, 11/15/08)