Dems Blast JobsOhio Role in Verizon Deal, Secrecy
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- Local Democrats lobbed criticism at Gov. John Kasich and the role his signature economic development initiative, JobsOhio, played in the consolidation of Verizon Wireless’ Boardman call center, which they say will result in the loss of about 400 local jobs.
Meeting with reporters at the headquarters of the Mahoning County Democratic Party on the South Side, State Reps. Ron Gerberry and Bob Hagan, joined by Jamael Tito Brown, president of Youngstown City Council, criticized not only decision by JobsOhio to recommend a $4.5 million tax break for Verizon but the secrecy of the process.
The wireless carrier plans to close its Boardman call center early next year, relocating positions from properties it leases in Boardman and Dublin, outside Columbus, to a Dublin building it owns.
Columbus is “a great community” but “so is Boardman,” said Gerberry, D-59 Austintown. He criticized the practice of using state tax dollars to poach jobs from one community to another. He also questioned claims by the governor and JobsOhio that the consolidation would lead to “an enhancement of jobs opportunities” in Columbus. "Then we’re told by Verizon that isn’t necessarily true," he said.
Verizon closed call centers in Texas and Michigan last year as part of a nationwide consolidation plan, and Ohio call centers “were also at risk of closing,” meaning the potential loss of nearly 1,500 jobs, said JobsOhio spokeswoman Laura Jones. Ohio was among five states, including “one neighboring state,” which was being considered for the consolidated call center operation.
“When consolidations such as this one are evident and the alternative is losing jobs to another state, we are going to look at all options and do whatever is feasible to keep those jobs here in Ohio,” she said.
The officials also questioned the secrecy shrouding JobsOhio, a quasi-public entity formed by the Ohio General Assembly at Kasich’s urging to assume he economic development functions of the Ohio Department of Development. The private nature of JobsOhio has come under increasing criticism in recent months.
“We’re not sure if they stood up to even fight for the Boardman area” or to see about spreading the impact among other areas, Brown said. “It appears Boardman took all of the hit for the consolidation,” he said.
Lawmakers who voted against House Bill 1, the legislation that created JobsOhio, “warned that there would not be transparency,” Hagan, D-58, said. Kasich is “constantly ‘breaking bad’ with one issue after another,” he quipped.
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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