Kasich names staff members

John Kasich names staff members

Dayton Business Journal - by Jeff Bell

Wednesday, November 3, 2010, 3:31pm EDT

Ohio Governor-elect John Kasich moved quickly Wednesday to launch his new administration, naming three people to key cabinet positions.

Less than 24 hours after defeating Democratic incumbent Ted Strickland by a 49-47 percent margin, the Westerville Republican said he and his staff are ready to begin the transition to the governor’s office.

“We’re not running around in circles or panicking about these issues,” Kasich said at a press conference at the Ohio Chamber of Commerce office. “We’ve spent a lot of time thinking about them already.”

He said his campaign manager, Beth Hansen, will serve as his chief of staff. His policy director will be Wayne Struble, who was a policy adviser for the U.S. House Budget Committee when Kasich was the committee’s chairman in the mid-1990s during his tenure in Congress.

He also tapped Tim Keen, a top aide to Ohio Auditor Mary Taylor, as budget director. Taylor will be lieutenant governor in the new administration.

Kasich said he and his advisers will meet with top officials in the Strickland administration Thursday to discuss the transition period for the next two months.

During the press conference, Kasich repeated that job creation will be his top priority, saying he will push for a more competitive tax climate in Ohio, streamline government regulations, improve management of the state budget and aggressively recruit new businesses to Ohio.

“We’re going to get the jobs going in this state,” he said.

Kasich also reiterated his commitment to get more money into Ohio classrooms by reducing spending on administrative functions. He also said he will stick by his campaign promise to stop the 3C passenger rail project, which would run from Cleveland to Cincinnati and include stops in Dayton.

“That train is dead,” Kasich said. “We’re not going to have it.”