Ohio No. 1 in Site Selection ranking again

The Governor’s Cup is coming to Ohio again.

Site Selection Magazine announced this morning that for the fourth year in a row, Ohio won the magazine’s annual award for having the most major business expansions in the nation last year.

Gov. Ted Strickland, Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher, Ohio Department of Development Director Lisa Patt-McDaniel and others have scheduled a 1 p.m. press conference at Alcoa in Cleveland to discuss the Governor’s Cup.

It’s especially welcome news for Strickland, who is seeking re-election to a second term this year and Fisher, the state’s former development director who is running for the U.S. Senate.

Both Strickland and Fisher have faced criticism from Republicans for Ohio’s dismal job performance during the recession. The state lost nearly 185,000 from December 2008 through the end of last year alone.

Site Selection tallies the number of projects, both new developments and expansions of existing operations, that each state reported during the previous year. The projects must involve at least $1 million in investment and the addition of at least 50 jobs and 20,000 square feet of work space.

Ohio reported 381 projects last year, down from 503 a year ago. But the state’s 2009 total still was more than Texas, which came in second with 374 projects, followed by Michigan (371), Pennsylvania (333) and Tennessee (234).

“It is a privilege to be the bearer of good news in the economic development arena, particularly during challenging economic times,” Mark Arend, editor in chief of Site Selection, said in a release. “Ohio fought hard in 2009 to win new projects and to expand existing operations in the state. Its 381 projects and fourth consecutive Governor’s Cup are proof that many companies are investing and growing in Ohio because they want to be there.”

Strickland has said in recent days that he’s seeing encouraging signs pointing toward recovery in the state, including announcements of new jobs at General Motors plants and expansions at other facilities in the state.

“Things are improving,” the governor said yesterday. “I am seeing it across the state. That doesn’t mean that we’re out of the woods; it doesn’t mean that all of our problems are solved. But it gives me hope that going forward, we will have passed the most difficult period.”

This year marks the eighth time Ohio has been awarded the Governor’s Cup, a prize also pursued intensely by former Republican governors George V. Voinovich and Bob Taft. The state won the award in 1993, 1994, 1995, 2003, 2006, 2007 and last year.