Ohio Politics Roundup

-David Skolnick, whom I had the pleasure of meeting at the Youngstown Gubernatorial Debate back in early September, has a piece in the Youngstown Vindicator about Ted Strickland's prospects as a Vice Presidential candidate. Skolnick thinks Strickland will make a very popular leader of the state, and thus make him an attractive pickup for the Democratic ticket in 2008. This is really not a revelation to anyone who follows Ohio politics, as both Strickland and Sherrod Brown have been mentioned as possible VP material since winning election in November, even if most of the talking has come from in-state. What bothers me, and Matt over at Right Angle Blog correctly points this out, is that the same stories surfaced about Ken Blackwell during the summer time and were used as a reason to not vote for him (using it as a stepping stone). But now, after the election is done and over with, this is a positive for Ted and Sherrod. Double standard, but nothing new. Ohio is a swing state, and a popular politician in the Buckeye State will always make an attractive option on a national ticket.

-Bruce Johnson has landed on his feet with the Inter-University Council of Ohio, as reported today in the Columbus Dispatch. This means that he will not be running for anything in Columbus this fall, most likely, but as this job involves great emphasis on lobbying, he is definitely setting himself up well for the future.

-US Rep.-elect Jim Jordan, taking over for retiring Mike Oxley (of Sarbanes-Oxley infamy) in the 4th Congressional District, now has a replacement lined up in the Ohio Senate. His term will be filled out by current State Rep. Keith Faber, one of the chief backers of HB 685. HB 685 will make it much more difficult for the Executive Branch to put rules in place; Democrats are calling it an attempt to hamstring incoming Gov. Ted Strickland.