As Governor of Ohio, Retread Ted Strickland drained the state’s rainy day fund to just 89 cents, a fact that Strickland readily admits in his latest TV ad and is highlighted in a new story today by The Hill.
The story focuses on two particularly egregious examples of Strickland’s superfluous spending as Governor:
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Strickland spent $263,000 of public funds on renovating bathrooms in the Governor’s mansion.
- On more than 24 occasions, Strickland used a private plane to fly less than 20 miles across Columbus costing taxpayers approximately $400 per hour.
Meanwhile…as Strickland is spending money on renovating bathrooms and flying 20 miles across Columbus, he was also slashing funds from important drug prevention services. The story also notes that Strickland’s 2009 budget, “cut funding for treatment at the Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction services by $11.9 million or 31 percent…”
Spending charges fly in Ohio Senate battle
The Hill
By Alexander Bolton
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While governor of Ohio in 2009, Strickland, a Democrat challenging Sen. Rob Portman (R), spent $263,000 of public funds to build environmentally friendly bathrooms in the governor’s residence.
The spending is featured in a new ad from the National Republican Senatorial Committee titled “Flush.”
Republicans are also slamming Strickland’s use of a private plane as governor.
During the first three months of 2010, according to a report at the time by The Other Paper, a local alt-weekly, the Beechcraft King Air plane used by Strickland made more than two-dozen trips from the Ohio State University Airport to the John Glenn Columbus International Airport.
The trips saved Strickland time in getting to and from the governor’s mansion, as the Glenn airport was about 15 minutes closer. Use of the plane cost taxpayers $400 per hour.
The Republican Party in Ohio will host a conference call with reporters on Monday to highlight both issues.
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Several Ohio-based experts on opioid addiction were critical of the Ohio government’s response to the opioid addiction when Strickland was governor.
“He did, in our opinion, surround himself with people that did not understand the magnitude of not supporting the behavioral healthcare system,” said Terry Russell, executive director of the Ohio chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, a non-partisan group, speaking of Strickland. “It’s a fact that we had concerns over the loss of funding during that administration.”
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The biennial budget Strickland implemented in 2009 cut funding for treatment at the Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction services by $11.9 million or 31 percent to $26 million for fiscal year 2010. It increased the amount slightly to $26.8 million for fiscal year 2011, a number well short of the 2009 level of $37.9 million.
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