Beacon Journal - Strickland lays out plan

(Akron Beacon Journal)

Strickland lays out plan

Democratic candidate for governor outlines agenda for establishing government goals, accountability

By Lisa A. Abraham

Beacon Journal staff writer

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ted Strickland has unveiled the next component of his Turnaround Ohio campaign -- a plan that calls for accountability and results-based government.

The platform calls for setting goals, making sure government works toward reaching those goals, and making sure the state measures how well it's meeting those goals.

The focus is on developing an education system that produces a well-trained work force, which will attract jobs to the state, said Strickland, a congressman from Lisbon.

``Ohio has a huge education deficit (the percentage of adults with a college degree).... Ohio will never be as prosperous as we should be if we don't pay attention to this deficit and work to correct it,'' he said.

His specific goals are:

• Raise Ohio's per capita income above the national average for the first time since 1987.

• Reverse Ohio's job losses by investing in Ohio's strengths.

• Enroll 230,000 more Ohioans in education beyond high school to help with job development through a better-educated work force.

• Increase by 20 percent the number of graduates of education beyond high school.

To carry out those goals, Strickland wants to ease the state regulatory process, require government offices to work together, develop a budget that will allow the state to realize its goals, and create a ``Results Scorecard,'' an annual report that will show Ohioans where their tax dollars have gone and how the state has moved toward or away from accomplishing its goals.

Strickland said shrinking the size of government is not a specific goal, but it could be a result of the plan.

He is calling for every state department to develop a ``performance contract,'' to set their procedures in line with the governor's goals and develop strategies to pay for achieving the results. He also wants to create a Priority Investment Fund to concentrate certain state money on the goals.

``A lean state government should be inspired by the private sector and be its ally, not erect hurdles to competitiveness and growth,'' he said. The plan is patterned after programs instituted by Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack....