Kasich files to run for governor in 2010

COLUMBUS — Former Republican Congressman John Kasich has filed paperwork to begin fundraising to run for Ohio governor in 2010.

Kasich, who served in Congress for 18 years, named his campaign treasurer in paperwork filed Friday with Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner. He says a formal campaign announcement is forthcoming.

Political observers have long expected Kasich to jump in the race against Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland, who has not formally announced intentions to run for a second term.

Kasich has been an on-air personality for Fox News. He served six years as managing director of Lehman Brothers’ investment banking division until the bank declared bankruptcy last fall.

Republican state Sen. Kevin Couglin previously announced plans to run.

On Thursday, John Kasich rallied Columbiana County Republicans around his ideas for a “shiny, new day for Ohio” during their annual Lincoln Day Dinner at the Salem Elks’ club.

In introducing Kasich, Ohio General Assembly Minority Leader William Batchelder referred to the former Congressman as “the Ronald Reagan of Ohio,” and said Kasich is the man Ohio needs to lead it into the future.

Kasich referred to his hometown of McKees Rocks, Pa., early in his speech and said the values of teamwork and personal responsibility that he grew up with must be brought back to Ohio’s government.

“We’ve been drifting and we’ve got to stop it,” he said. “(Governor) Ted Strickland is a nice man, but he’s a caretaker governor when we need a man of action.”

Kasich described the state of Ohio in the 1970s when he arrived and then talked about its current condition. He said Ohio has higher taxes and higher unemployment with more people dependent upon the government and fewer people supporting it.

“The most important thing is to point out we need a major change in Ohio’s economics,” he said. “We need to restructure Ohio’s government to help bring down the economic barriers so we can have good, high-paying jobs in Ohio.”

Some of Kasich’s ideas include eliminating the death tax so when a person dies he or she is able to pass on what took a lifetime to earn to his or her children and phasing out Ohio’s income tax. He also said there’s too many government regulators and bureaucrats who have run amok and shut down Ohio assembly lines and kicked people out of their jobs.

“We need to remember the regulators work for us, rather than us working for them,” he said.

Kasich also said Ohio’s government needs to be run like a business.

“When businesses don’t make it economically they cut costs. In government, we just kick the can down the road and let someone else take care of it. I believe you have to be there for something, you have to have values and stand up,” he said.

Kasich, a 9-term Congressman from Ohio, was the chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives’ Budget Committee in 1997 that balanced the nation’s budget for the first time in more than 30 years. He said that budget paid down the largest amount of debt in American history.

“ Ohio faces the same kind of situation I faced when I was in Washington,” Kasich said. “I was able to assemble a team that dealt with the situation. The late 1990s were a great time economically and the philosophy that led to the balanced budget gave us great success. We can do it again.”

Batchelder said Ohio has faced very serious problems under Strickland, including high levels of unemployment and government spending. He also said the state has done a bad job of attracting and keeping dynamic young people.

Dave Yost, a Delaware County prosecutor who is running for Ohio Attorney General, said he believed Kasich is the guy needed to run Ohio.

“Kasich won’t just think outside the box, he’ll get a whole new box,” Yost said.

David Johnson, chairman of the Columbiana County Republican Party, said Kasich is one of the most passionate and dynamic speakers in the nation. He said he expected Kasich to connect with and rally county Republicans.

“His father was a mail carrier and he was raised in a traditional family unit. He faced a lot of the same issues we face here,” Johnson said. “Grassroots Republicans are concerned about their work and their families in this terrible economic downturn.”

Kasich said he is finding big, sometimes record crowds, every where he speaks, but it isn’t because of him, but rather because the Republican Party wants change and for its leaders to stand up for the party’s values.

“They felt the party drifted but it is getting its footing again,” he said.

Kasich said he will make a decision very soon about whether to enter the race to be Ohio’s governor.

“The one goal in my mind is to bring jobs and prosperity back to Ohio’s families,” he said