At least one current Gov. Ted Strickland staff member has secured employment.

And Mike Shelton hardly has to walk very far from his old job to his new one. All that is required of Shelton is a short hop, skip and jump from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources' headquarters at Fountain Square to a sister building within the same Columbus campus.

Shelton has left his post as the Natural Resources Department's top communications - a politically vulnerable post if ever there was one - to a more secure position as a press spokesman for the agency's Division of Parks and Recreation.

Shelton replaced long-time Parks spokeswoman Sandy Chiaramonte who retired at the conclusion of 2010.

While Shelton is not entirely immune from the potential of his head going on the political chopping block his position is likely beneath the radar.

And in his previous non-political life Shelton was a well-respected natural resources expert with an Ohio non-profit conservation organization.

- Jeffrey L. Frischkorn
JFrischkorn@News-Herald.com