Heimlich joins 'Petro for Governor' ticket

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[mattnaugle]

Heimlich joins 'Petro for Governor' ticket Some supporters call lt. governor bid ill-advised

By Cindi Andrews Enquirer staff writer

Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro named Phil Heimlich as his running mate for governor Tuesday, embracing the Hamilton County commissioner as a fellow reformer.

"Phil Heimlich has been in every sense of the word an innovator," Petro told a crowd of 300-plus Heimlich supporters at the Reds Hall of Fame and Museum, downtown.

Petro's campaign also unveiled green-and-white Petro-Heimlich signs with the slogan "Renewing the spirit of Ohio 2006."

The announcement is unusually early considering that Ohio won't elect a replacement for Gov. Bob Taft until November 2006. It also served as a semi-official announcement of Petro's candidacy, he told the assembled business leaders and Republican faithful.

"It's tonight that I'm confirming what everyone for a year and a half has known," Petro said. He outlined some of his views, including his support for school vouchers.

Petro is also proposing creation of a private corporation to take over the state's economic development efforts from government officials.

"He's got some great plans for restructuring county government," said Norm Dreyer, a Lebanon city councilman and a state lobbyist for nursing homes. "Strategically and politically, (Petro and Heimlich) are a great combination."

They face competition from at least two other Republicans: Secretary of State Ken Blackwell and Ohio Auditor Betty Montgomery.

"Most people consider it a tight race right now," said John Green, director of the Bliss Institute, University of Akron. "You want to have as many resources as you can."

Petro is evidently looking at Heimlich as one of his resources, balancing the ticket geographically and politically, Green said.

Petro is from Cuyahoga County, where he is viewed as a moderate Republican. He has only in recent years opposed abortion, and last fall, he opposed Issue 1, the successful effort to ban gay marriage and other legal benefits for same-sex partners.

Heimlich, on the other hand, has built an extensive network of conservative supporters here in his roles as Cincinnati councilman and now Hamilton County commissioner. He supported Issue 1.

"It's a feeble attempt at identity theft," said Gene Pierce, a Blackwell campaign spokesman. "Jim Petro, after 20 years as a liberal and a moderate, is trying to remake himself as a conservative by stealing somebody else's identity. He's frantically trying to push himself to the right."

Blackwell, a Cincinnatian, is the choice of Southwest Ohio's social conservatives, activist Lori Viars of Lebanon said. News of Heimlich's affiliation with Petro came as a blow to that crowd, many of whom have been core Heimlich supporters over the years.

"Phil has been a dear friend of mine," Viars said Tuesday. "I am absolutely shocked. I can't believe he would join with someone who's liberal on gay-rights issues."

She and Phil Burress, president of Citizens for Community Values, both canceled plans to attend Tuesday's event - which had been planned months ago as a Heimlich-for-commissioner fund-raiser. Joining with Petro could cost Heimlich rather than helping Petro, they said.

"Phil Heimlich does not realize that he has been co-opted in this, because that's the only reason he was picked," Burress said.

Burress said he told Heimlich in a phone call: "I am extremely disappointed. You have made a serious error that could end your political career by turning your back on your base."

Heimlich defended Petro.

"It hurts me, because Jim is 100 percent committed to the pro-life cause, as I am," Heimlich said. "We are a pro-life ticket and a pro-family ticket. Those issues are important to me, but I also care about reform and excellence in government."

Many others did attend Tuesday night's announcement, although not necessarily because they'd made up their mind to support the ticket.

Joe Brinck, chairman of the Sanctity of Life Foundation, said he came to support Heimlich, whom he called "one of the highest-quality human beings I've ever met."

As for the governor's race, Brinck said, "I'm still waiting to see what happens."

Petro and Heimlich think alike when it comes to making government more efficient and less expensive, both men said.

"We share a belief that we have to do more with what we have, not take more of what you have," Petro said.

Heimlich's first term as Hamilton County commissioner will expire at the end of 2006.

[mattnaugle]

(Image submitted by Alex of Columbus, OH)

At the Attorney General's Office, Jim Petro is always on the look out for identity theft.

But ironically, as Jim Petro is trying to steal his new running mates conservative identity. As the article says:

"It's a feeble attempt at identity theft," said Gene Pierce, a Blackwell campaign spokesman. "Jim Petro, after 20 years as a liberal and a moderate, is trying to remake himself as a conservative by stealing somebody else's identity. He's frantically trying to push himself to the right."

From spending much of his career endorsed by NARAL and having a history of opposing gun rights, Jim Petro is certainly not a conservative. Republican voters should not let him get away with this conservative identity theft.