Governor-elect Strickland's first moves

Columbus -- Since winning in a landslide Tuesday night, governor-elect Ted Strickland has made two important appointments.

The first was expected and predictable. Strickland appointed his alter-ego, John Haseley, as the transition team director and, when the time comes in January, his chief of staff. The governor-elect has had Haseley on his staff since 1996 and made him chief of staff in Congressman Strickland's office in 1998.

Last spring, as the gubernatorial campaign was getting underway, Strickland told a reporter that Haseley was going to be his campaign manager only to call the reporter back three hours later to ask that the appointment information not be published. Strickland explained that Haseley had turned him down.

In a later interview, Haseley said that he thought Strickland needed a big-name Washington consultant to be manager in order to be taken seriously in his nascent bid for Ohio's CEO.

Strickland gave Haseley the title of campaign director and the rest in history.

Actually, Haseley is one of only two people who can speak for the governor-elect -- the other one is Strickland's wife, Frances.

The second appointment Strickland has made is that of chair of his transition team, Columbus Mayor Mike Coleman, once Strickland's competitor for the Democratic nomination.

Annie Hall, Enquirer Statehouse Bureau.