Bruce Johnson (Ohio Politician) - Appointed Development Director

Appointed Development Director

On August 28, 2001, Johnson being ineligible for a third term under Ohio's term limits law, Governor Taft appointed him director of the Ohio Department of Development to replace C. Lee Johnson, who had resigned the previous December. "His experience as a capable manager and knowledge of utility issues, tax policies, economic development, and the law make him an excellent choice" said Taft. The department, with a staff of five hundred and a half-billion dollar budget, is charged with promoting economic development in Ohio, attracting new industry, and promoting tourism in the state. Johnson resigned from his Senate seat on September 17 and David Goodman, a 34-year-old member of the Ohio House, was appointed by the Senate Republican caucus in Johnson's place. Upon his departure, Johnson told his colleagues "I hope to make you proud, and I hope to pick your pocket."

Johnson's hometown paper, The Columbus Dispatch, hailed the choice saying "Taft picked a pro in Bruce E. Johnson" but Cleveland's The Plain Dealer, Ohio's largest newspaper, editorialized that Johnson was an "uninspired choice" with "no discernible experience in job creation." The Toledo Blade also was skeptical, writing in an editorial "he brings gusto to a job that requires verve, imagination, and the ability to turn visions into reality. He has the first. For the rest we must wait and see." The Blade also criticized Johnson's efforts to keep state offices in Columbus and opposed his ideas for spending state development funds: "Mr. Johnson's plan to target technology and biotechnology jobs suggests the same old advantage will go to the cities that get them now: Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati" at the expense of other neglected areas of the state. The Columbus Dispatch wrote Johnson "would seem to have little to commend him for the job, except perhaps for his degree in economics from Bowling Green State University," but he told the paper "I have the confidence of the governor."

Almost immediately there was speculation of his being promoted to the post of lieutenant governor. In November 2001, the Dayton Daily News reported there were rumors Governor Taft would name Johnson his running mate to replace Maureen O'Connor as lieutenant governor, who had announced she would run for the Ohio Supreme Court in 2002. Taft, however, chose Jennette Bradley, a councilwoman from Columbus.

Johnson led the campaign advocating the Third Frontier program, a large state bond issue to finance industrial research and development, which Governor Taft had championed. Critics such as Representative Tom Brinkman, a Republican of Cincinnati, called it "corporate welfare". Johnson after its defeat by the voters in November 2003 told The Plain Dealer the plan was not dead. "There will definitely be continuing efforts to fund this strategy, because it’s the right strategy. So you don’t drop it. You continue to encourage state funding. But it’s certainly more challenging," he said, after the failure." Johnson turned out to be right. In 2005, Johnson was the point man on the Third Frontier campaign again, but this time voters in Ohio approved State Issue One which allocated dollars to support technology and innovation. Johnson served as the Chairman of the Third Frontier Commission. In May, 2010 the voters renewed the Third Frontier once again.

As director of the Department of Development, Johnson was frequently in attendance at announcements of factory openings and expansions and was often quoted in Ohio newspapers in connection with any new employment in the state.