Gov. Bob Taft said Wednesday one of his most important tasks is bringing more jobs to Ohio — and landing a Hyundai auto plant and pumping up biotech are two ways he's working on it.

        Mr. Taft said in an interview that bringing the $1 billion Hyundai assembly plant to Ohio is an “all or nothing” proposition with fierce competition from other states.

Gov. Taft

        The governor also said it is “too early to tell” whether he would support a bond referendum next year that could pump billions of dollars into the state for biotech research.

        The location of Hyundai's first American plant, and the 2,000 jobs that go with it, will be decided in March. Mount Orab in Brown County is a contender for the plant, which Kentucky is also seeking.

        Mr. Taft declined to say what the state is offering to lure the automaker, but said Ohio brings a lot to the table.

        “It's a competitive process,” said Mr. Taft, who made his pitch to auto executives in South Korea last month.

        Wednesday was the first time the governor has publicly addressed the issue.

        “We're listening hard to their needs,” he said. “We are number one in auto parts and auto assembly and we have the work force and the infrastructure to support an automobile manufacturer, and we also have an excellent location.”

        There is an equally competitive process going on to lure biotech research. The state's top three research universities, including the University of Cincinnati, want a multibillion-dollar bond issue on statewide ballots in November.

        Mr. Taft said about $50 million in tobacco money is included for biotech research in next year's budget.

        He agreed that more is needed and that the state must act by the time the state capital budget comes out next year.

        “It's not a good time, frankly. Nevertheless, I believe we need to look at this very hard,” Mr. Taft said. “We're looking at how we can generate additional resources for greater investment in a way that is most likely to lead to job creation and new business creation.

        “Research is one thing, but research that has the best chance to lead to job creation is what we're talking about.”

        Mr. Taft addressed a wide range of other state issues with the Enquirer's editorial board Wednesday.

        Among them:

        • Child support reimbursements: The governor said state officials aren't getting enough credit for going “above and beyond the law” in their attempt to return payments to 168,000 single parents who had $38 million illegally withheld by the state.

        Mr. Taft said the state is checking records back to 1997 — a full year more than required.

        • Homeland security: There were communication problems between the federal and state governments early on, but those have largely been resolved, he said. For example, the state had no advance notice of the first shipments of contaminated mail, Mr. Taft said.

        But the governor said Ohio is ahead of the curve because state officials have been performing bio-terrorism exercises for three years.

        • Cincinnati's riverfront: The governor said the $81 million state commitment to help pay for the two stadiums and infrastructure is safe. County officials often grumble that the state promised to pay 15 percent of the costs — which would amount to $149 million — but then capped the commitment.

        The governor said he's not inclined to increase the contribution, but that the entire $81 million will be paid over the next two budget cycles.

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