Tuesday, March 09, 1999
Ohio governor is x-tra thrifty
State using up leftover stationery
BY MICHAEL HAWTHORNE
Enquirer Columbus Bureau
COLUMBUS - Gov. Bob Taft may live in fancy digs, have a driver and enjoy other perks offered to Ohio's chief executive, but his official stationery reflects a more modest view of state government.
In one of his first acts as the state's governor, the Cincinnati native ordered his office and executive branch agencies to use up the letterheads left behind by former Gov. George Voinovich's administration.
Receive a letter or invitation from Mr. Taft and one of the first things you will notice is his name has been typed in above Mr. Voinovich's, which has been X'ed out.
“With 26 agencies working with hundreds of documents all across the state, it adds up,” said Scott Milburn, Mr. Taft's spokesman. “Buying new stationery now would be wasteful. And being wasteful is bad.”
Being frugal, though, is a popular selling point for politicians.
During the fall campaign, Mr. Taft often bragged he cut the number of full-time employees during his eight years as Ohio's secretary of state. (The number of part-timers and temporaries increased under his watch.)
Mr. Taft promised to bring the same philosophy to his new post. He imposed a limited hiring freeze on his first day in office and ordered state agencies to restrict travel and nonessential purchases.
However, he won't say how much he expects the state to save as a result.
Mr. Taft isn't the first governor to cultivate the image of being a tight-fisted manager. Mr. Voinovich's pledge to “work harder and smarter and do more with less” included a similar order to use up old stationery.
Mr. Voinovich once tried to bolster his image by acknowledging he picked a penny out of a urinal, rinsed it off and deposited it in his pocket before the 1991 Inaugural Ball.
“If you save the pennies, the dollars take care of themselves,” Mr. Voinovich said.
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