COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A top Democratic government official in northeastern Ohio says he's forming an exploratory committee to consider a bid for governor in 2014.
Cuyahoga (ky-uh-HOH'-guh) County Executive Ed FitzGerald said Monday that he's concerned about the direction the state is headed under Republican Gov. John Kasich (KAY'-sik).
Kasich ousted former Gov. Ted Strickland in 2010 in one of Ohio's most expensive governor's races. The first-term governor says he plans to run again. He's raised more than $2.7 million over the past two years and has $2.1 million on hand.
FitzGerald, a former FBI agent and Lakewood mayor, was elected in 2010 to lead a new county executive-council government in Ohio's most populous county to replace a scandal-plagued commissioner form.
Monday's move allows FitzGerald to raise money without formally declaring his candidacy.
