Thursday, August 24, 2006
How I arrived in Columbus.
I left Congressman Regula's office in 1993 and joined East Ohio Gas in Cleveland as a Municipal Affairs Rep. I was responsible for dealing with local governments in Ashtabula, Lake and western Cuyahoga County. In 1994, the Republicans not only gained the majority in the U.S. House but did the same in the Ohio House. The East Ohio Gas lobbyist subsequently decided to go out on his own and I told my bosses that I would like to be the new guy in Columbus. I'm not sure they thought I was ready but they sent me down on a trial basis and here I am.
I actually left Cleveland the same day they told me I would be starting my new job. I went home, grabbed some suits and drove to Columbus. It seems to me that I might have attended Voinovich's Inaugural Ball my first day here.
I would end up living at the Athletic Club, a 1/2 block from my office, for a year. The company had a suite there and I essentially lived there, going back to my home in Mentor every couple of weeks. I had just purchased my house six months prior to going to Columbus and I would continue to own it for the year I was on "probation". Bob Paduchik, a friend who I had met in politics and who had run Mike DeWine's Cleveland campaign for U.S. Senate, moved to Cleveland almost the exact time I went to Columbus and I ended up renting him my house for $100 a month. For me, it was nice to have someone there keeping an eye on it.
I left Congressman Regula's office in 1993 and joined East Ohio Gas in Cleveland as a Municipal Affairs Rep. I was responsible for dealing with local governments in Ashtabula, Lake and western Cuyahoga County. In 1994, the Republicans not only gained the majority in the U.S. House but did the same in the Ohio House. The East Ohio Gas lobbyist subsequently decided to go out on his own and I told my bosses that I would like to be the new guy in Columbus. I'm not sure they thought I was ready but they sent me down on a trial basis and here I am.
I actually left Cleveland the same day they told me I would be starting my new job. I went home, grabbed some suits and drove to Columbus. It seems to me that I might have attended Voinovich's Inaugural Ball my first day here.
I would end up living at the Athletic Club, a 1/2 block from my office, for a year. The company had a suite there and I essentially lived there, going back to my home in Mentor every couple of weeks. I had just purchased my house six months prior to going to Columbus and I would continue to own it for the year I was on "probation". Bob Paduchik, a friend who I had met in politics and who had run Mike DeWine's Cleveland campaign for U.S. Senate, moved to Cleveland almost the exact time I went to Columbus and I ended up renting him my house for $100 a month. For me, it was nice to have someone there keeping an eye on it.
