Strickland-Fisher Transition Team Leaders UPDATED

Governor-elect Ted Strickland (D-Lisbon) has announced leaders of 14 transition committees, who will evaluate current practices and report their findings to the new administration. The following list includes chairpeople and coordinators for particular departments or programs. These are transition leaders, not necessarily people who will assume permanent posts in the administration, but they will have important influence in shaping the new administration and their selection indicates high regard on the part of the Strickland team.

BUDGET AND REVENUES
Chair Pari Sabety, Strickland-Fisher Transition Senior Policy Adviser
Chair John Reardon, Mahoning County Treasurer
Office of Budget and Management - Sabety
Tax Department - Rich Levin, Coordinator Former Dep. State Tax Commissioner

COMMUNITY SAFETY AND SECURITY
Chair Frank Jackson, Mayor of Cleveland
Chair John Smith, Former Adjutant General
Dept of Public Safety - Dale Shipley, Former Exec. Dir., Ohio Emergency Management Agency
Adjutant General - John Smith, Former Adjutant General

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND WORKFORCE
Chair Don Plusquellic, Mayor of Akron
Chair Mark Barbash, Columbus Development Director
Dept of Development - Terri Gehr, CFO, Columbus State Community College; Sharon Sobol Jordan, CEO, Center for Families and Children
Dept of Agriculture - Bobby Moser, VP Agricultural Administration, Ohio State University
ODJFS/Workforce Investment Act - Rosie Picklesimer, Dir., Workforce Connections; Jeff Weber, Exec. Dir., Workforce One Investment Board of Southwest Ohio
ODOT/Turnpike - Jim Beasley, Brown County Engineer
ODOT/Buy Ohio - Kenny Holland, Sec. Treas., Laborer's District Council of Ohio
Ohio Historical Society - Fred Deel, Gallia County Commissioner
Gov Office of Appalachia - Amos Loveday, Former State Historic Preservation Officer
Comm'n on African American Males - Ron Browder, Dir., Children's Defense Fund-Ohio; Dr. O'dell Owens, Hamilton County Coroner
Comm'n on Hispanic-Latino Affairs - Baldemar Velasquez, Pres., Farm Labor Organizing Committee/AFL-CIO; Lupe Williams, Lecturer, Ohio State University-Wooster

EDUCATION
Chair C.J. Prentiss, Ohio Senate Minority Leader
Dept of Education - George Wood, Principal on leave, Federal Hocking High School
School Facilities Commission - Ralph Cole, Laborer's District Council of Ohio
Tuition Trust Authority & Board of Regents & Higher Ed Facilities Comm'n - Chad Wick, Pres., KnowledgeWorks Foundation

ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES
Chair Charles "Rocky" Saxbe, Partner, Chester, Willcox & Saxbe
Dept of Natural Resources - Sean Logan, Columbiana County Commissioner
Environmental Protection Agency - Joe Secrest, Guernsey Co. Commissioner
Air Quality Development Auth & Water Development Auth - Tom Chema, President, Hiram College

ETHICS
Chair Nathaniel Jones, Ret. Federal Appeals Court Judge
Ohio Ethics Comm'n - Steve Dettelbach, Partner, Baker Hostetler
Inspector General - Roy Landreth, Former Dep. Assistant Inspector General, U.S. Department of Labor; Charlie Luken, Former Mayor of Cincinnati
Elections Comm'n - Terri Enns, Assoc. Clinical Professor of Law, Ohio State University

GENERAL GOVERNMENT AND STATE RESOURCES
Chair Len Roberts, Dayton Clerk of Commission
Dept of Admin. Services - Ty Marsh, CEO, Columbus Chamber of Commerce; Alexis Clark-Amison, Interim Pres., Northern Ohio Minority Business Council
Ohio Building Auth. - John Gilligan, Partner, Schottenstein Zox & Dunn Co. (son of former governor)
Lottery Comm'n - Parma Mayor Dean DePiero
Racing Comm'n - Dwight Tillery, Former Cincinnati Mayor
Expositions Comm'n - Mike Noel, Scioto County Agricultural Society
Public Works Comm'n - Keith Early, Lucas County Engineer
Ohio Arts Council - Susan Saxbe, Arts Consultant; Patrick Shepherd, Assoc. Dir., Film Society; Dr. Barbara Nicholson, Exec. Dir., MLK Performing & Cultural Arts Center

GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY
Chair Eric Fingerhut, Ohio State Sen.

HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Chair Barbara Sykes, State Rep. and Pres., Ohio Legislative Black Caucus
Dept of Aging - State Rep. Catherine Barrett
Dept of Health - Doni Miller, CEO, Neighborhood Health Association
ODADAS - Charleta Tavares, Exec. Dir., Multiethnic Advocates for Cultural Competence and Columbus City Councilwoman
MRDD - Susan Ignelzi, Ohio Family and Children First Initiative
ODMH - Amy Rohling McGee, Exec.Dir., Ohio Association of Free Clinics
ODJFS-Human Services - Yvette McGee Brown, Pres., Center for Child and Family Advocacy; David Ellis, Dir. Policy Planning and Programs, Center for Community Solutions
Minority Health Comm'n - Dr. Harry Walker, Dir., MetroHealth Center for Community Health
Gov Office of Faith-Based Initiatives - Eric McFadden, Field Dir., Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good
Rehabilitation Services Comm'n - Marjory Pizzuti, CEO, Goodwill Columbus
Ohio Housing Finance Agency - Jim Rokakis, Cuyahoga County Treasurer
Ohio Comm'n on Fatherhood - Peter Lawson Jones, Cuyahoga County Commissioner

JUSTICE
Chair Bill Mason, Cuyahoga County Prosecutor
Rehabilitation and Corrections - Ron Edwards, Former Regional Dir., Dept of Rehabilitation and Correction
Dept of Youth Services - Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory; Cheri Walter, CEO, Ohio Association of County Behavioral Health Authorities
Legal Rights Service & Dispute Resolution - Mimi Dane, Partner, Squire, Sanders & Dempsey
Civil Rights Comm'n - Jaladah Aslam, AFSCME Ohio Council 8

LOCAL/STATE RELATIONS
City/State Relations - Chair Carty Finkbeiner, Mayor of Toledo; Chair Marcia Fudge, Mayor of Warrensville Heights; Chair Rhine McLin, Mayor of Dayton; Chair Joe Sulzer, Mayor of Chillicothe; Chair Sabra Pierce Scott, Cleveland City Councilwoman
County/State Relations - Chair Peter Lawson Jones, Cuyahoga County Commissioner; Chair Mark Forni, Monroe County Commissioner

PERSONNEL
Chair John Haseley, Dir., Strickland-Fisher Transition

REGULATORY CLIMATE
Chair Jerry Tater, Former CEO of MeadeWestvaco
Department of Commerce - Hugh Quill, Montgomery County Treasurer
Bureau of Workers Compensation/Industrial Commission - Phil Fulton, Philip J. Fulton Law Office; Catherine Duhigg, Workers' Compensation Manager, Eaton Corporation
Public Utilities Commission & Ohio Consumers Counsel - Mark D. Griffin, Coordinator Griffin Law Firm
Department of Insurance - Mary Jo Hudson, Columbus City Councilwoman

VETERANS AFFAIRS
Chair Teresa Fedor, Ohio Senate Minority Leader-elect
Chair Steve Stivers, State Sen.
Chair John Boccieri, State Rep., State Sen.-elect

UPDATE: Jill Zimon has some observations, including that Stat Sen. Steve Stivers is an example of a Republican on the list. So is Rocky Saxbe, but he was also a key figure in the "Republicans for Strickland" group. By the way, while Stivers voiced support for mental health parity, as head of the applicable committee he also managed to bottle up the legislation for several years. So, how does he really feel about it? Jill likes Charleta Tavares and Chad Wick.

Lisa Renee over at Glass City Jungle also has some thoughts, including pointing out who is from Northeast Ohio and expressing approval of those picks.

There is a fair degree of symbolism (e.g., all three of the Veterans Affairs people have military experience) and geographic balancing going on here, I would say. A few random thoughts:

* Interesting that there are five city/state relations chairs, and only two county/state relations chairs. Simply a matter of there being more mayors to placate, or an actual emphasis on the neglected urban agenda?

* Jim Rokakis and Peter Lawson Jones from Cuyahoga County are excellent picks. If Strickland taps Rokakis for a permanent slot it will be great for state government but a huge loss for the county.

* When I see these unsuccessful candidates for statewide office, it makes me think they're headed for high-level state positions: Barbara Sykes, Hugh Quill, John Reardon, Eric Fingerhut. (Quill and Reardon dropped out of their races for the sake of party unity, Sykes joined hers when she was asked to do so. They're all good people and they all should be rewarded. Fingerhut bucked the party, but he would be an excellent adminstrator.) Add Catherine Barrett to that list, too -- she dropped out of the race for Ohio Senate early. C.J. Prentiss is leaving the Ohio Senate this year due to term limits, but I have a hunch she is not anxious to jump into the executive branch. If she does, it will be because she was offered something she just couldn't resist.

2nd UPDATE: The Columbus Dispatch notes that Chema, Sabety, and Levin are "Celestials," meaning people who served in the 1983-1991 administration of former Gov. Richard Celeste.

Thanks to a reader for pointing out that John Gilligan is the son of the former governor, not the former governor himself.