It’s enough to make Jews kvell and KKK leaders plotz: Jews are now top leaders in major sectors of state government in Ohio, despite the fact that Jews represent only about 1.5% of Ohio’s population.
In past decades, Jews have held an occasional power position in state government n Ohio Supreme Court justice, attorney general, or a relatively minor cabinet post. But this year, several Jews simultaneously find themselves in the top spots of Ohio’s executive branch of government:
Elected as lieutenant governor, Lee Fisher is a heartbeat away from the governorship, and he has also been appointed development director by Gov. Ted Strickland.
As a result of another gubernatorial appointment, Richard Levin serves as commissioner of taxation.
Elected by voters, Marc Dann is the attorney general, serving as Ohio’s top cop and the top lawyer to state agencies.
Levin, State Tax Commissioner
Eric Fingerhut is now chancellor of the Ohio Board of Regents, overseeing dozens of state-supported universities and community colleges.
Susan Tave Zelman continues as state school superintendent, overseeing more than 600 public school systems. She was appointed to the post eight years ago.
Alan Schriber continues his work as chairman of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO), a job he’s held since 1999, when he was appointed by then-Gov. Bob Taft, a Republican.
Paul Centolella is also on the five-member PUCO, having been appointed by Gov. Strickland.
Janine Migden-Ostrander continues her work heading the Office of Consumers Counsel, which advocates for residential utility customers.
Dann, Attorney General
Meanwhile, other Jews continue serving on various state commissions with somewhat less power and visibility. Among them: Merom Brachman of the Ohio Ethics Commission and Steve Grossman of the Ohio Water Development Authority.
"I cannot ever remember this many Jews serving at this high a level" in state government, notes Joyce Garver Keller, veteran lobbyist for Ohio Jewish Communities, the coalition of big-city Jewish federations. "It’s amazing to me."
Garver Keller says the accelerated leadership roles struck her when she attended the new governor’s State of the State Address last February and noticed how many of the movers and shakers were Jewish. "It was like a minyan gathering," she quips.
"This is huge," says June Gutterman, vice president of community services for the Columbus Jewish Federation. "But it’s also a coincidence."
Other Jewish leaders and activists repeat virtually that same phrase to indicate that these Jewish office-holders have been elected or appointed not because they are Jewish, but simply because they’re competent and involved.
"It’s a happy coincidence," says Fisher.
Still, political analysts and activists agree this new level of Jewish power is a logical culmination of political and civic involvement by Jews over the years.
"Jews do have a tremendous commitment to public service," notes Garver Keller. "Jews are so engaged in their community."
Ohio has been good to the Jewish immigrants who came here a century ago, notes Fingerhut, and now their grandchildren are "giving back because that’s part of what we’re taught to do."
Jews have learned a lesson from the Holocaust, says Fisher: "Being political is not a luxury, but a necessity." He notes that many of the Jews who are active in government today got their first taste of political battles decades ago in "the idealism that engaged people in civil rights, the women’s movement, and the environmental movement of the 1960s."
Most of the Jews now in power posts in state government carry a liberal (or as Fisher prefers, "progressive") ideology with them. That would reflect the Jewish vote in the 2006 election for governor, in which polls indicated Jews voting 80% or more for Strickland, the Democrat.
That’s the link that University of Akron political scientist John Green makes to explain the extraordinarily high level of leadership this year by Jews in state government n Jews’ traditional political activism behind the scenes pays off when allies take power. "Jews are strong Democrats and thus prominent in Democratic Party circles. So, when the Democrats do well, it is likely that more Jews will hold high public offices," says Green.
While Jews seem to hold a disproportionately high number of key posts in the executive branch of Ohio government, the number of Jews in the legislature is closer to the tiny percentage of Jews in the general population. Out of the 132 lawmakers in the Ohio House and Senate, three Jews are serving n Democratic State Rep. Armond Budish (Cleveland), Republican State Rep. Josh Mandel (Cleveland), and Republican Sen. David Goodman (Columbus). That small percentage of Jewish lawmakers (about 2%) has held fairly steady for decades.
Jews need to "stand up with values that Judaism is all about," says Fisher. "We need to be as proud of Jews in government as we are of Jews who are prominent in business, entertainment, academia, literature, art, and science."
