BRECKSVILLE, OHIO - Tom Ganley, who runs Ohio's largest group of automobile dealerships, finance and insurance companies and leads a variety of other enterprises, today announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate and declared it is time to send someone to Washington who understands how business works and budgets are balanced.
"I am a businessman, not someone who ever thought about being a professional politician," Ganley said at a news conference in his hometown announcing his candidacy.
"But maybe that's what's needed in Washington now- someone who understands financial responsibility and what it takes for a business and a country to be competitive. Someone who has built a business from scratch. Someone who knows how to create jobs. Someone who has met a payroll and knows his employees are dependent on him."
"What's needed in Washington is a common sense approach to government and that's what I would bring to the United States Senate."
Starting with a Rambler dealership in Euclid in 1968, Ganley has built the Ganley Auto Group, with 32 dealerships. He is chief executive officer.
Ganley said he is a Republican because he believes in the principles the party was founded on. He's concerned that the country is now headed in a direction that our Founding Fathers never envisioned. He believes that what he sees going on in Washington now is pushing government control into areas where it doesn't belong, areas better left to individual initiative and business managers.
Ganley recently lost Chrysler dealerships which were profitable because of the Chrysler bankruptcy and restructuring required to get a federal bailout. He said the Chrysler and GM problems resulted from poor planning and bad management decisions, but said the industry will learn from those mistakes.
"But I don't believe the government should be in the business of running GM or Chrysler," Ganley said. "Nor do I believe just throwing money at the problem will solve it. We're in trouble economically. But the way to solve that is not hand wringing or divisive partisan politics":
Ganley said while he disagrees with many of President Obama's policies, "I do agree that by working together, the American people can surmount the problems facing us today."
"Ohio and America have been good to me," Ganley said. "What I want is a chance to repay that by using my 41 years of experience in the business world to help solve the problems facing us today. I don't pretend to have all the answers but over my career I have figured out where to look for them. When it comes to the role and actions of government, I think our Founding Fathers still have a lot to tell us. I don't think they would be very happy with us right now."
