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STATE ISSUE 1: VOTERS ASKED TO RENEW OHIO’S THIRD FRONTIER JOBS PROGRAM

On May 4, Ohioans will vote on whether to extend the state’s highly successful Third Frontier jobs and economic development program. State Issue 1 was placed on the ballot by an overwhelming, bipartisan vote of the Ohio General Assembly and has been endorsed in a resolution by The Ohio State University Board of Trustees.

Jennifer Carlson, assistant vice president for government affairs at the OSUCCC-James, says the Third Frontier program has resulted in more than 570 new companies, the expansion of existing companies and more than 48,000 new jobs for Ohioans. Approval of Issue 1 would extend funding for this program through 2016, she adds.

“Ohio State became a Third Frontier partner in 2003,” Carlson says, noting that the University’s Third Frontier impacts so far include:

* Teaming with more than 200 business and industry partners and several Ohio universities to undertake 60 projects;

* Helping launch or attract 26 companies and secure or file 125 patents;

* Generating more than $325 million in additional federal and industry funding; and

* Discovering new approaches to preventing and treating cancer, developing green energy alternatives and devising new imaging technologies to better detect disease. These advances help solve critical national issues and foster new industries and firms.

State Issue 1 has the support of many of the leading state associations, including the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, the Ohio Farm Bureau, and the Ohio American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO). A bipartisan group of elected officials, business leaders, labor leaders, educators, researchers and many others has formed an organization to support passage of Issue I. To learn more, you may visit this Web site: http://www.unitedforjobsohio.com/

State law allows for absentee voting. Early voting began March 30, and ballots must be received by mail by noon on Saturday, May 1. To download an absentee ballot application, or to learn more about how to register to vote, click here: http://www.sos.state.oh.us/elections/voterInformation.aspx