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A group of state Republicans, including Ohio House Minority Leader Bill Batchelder, on Tuesday offered Gov. Ted Strickland some unsolicited advice for addressing Ohio's economic downturn: shrink state government and eliminate jobs.

Batchelder, of Medina, was joined by former state attorney general Jim Petro, state Sen. Tim Grendell of Chester Township and Rep. John Adams, of Sidney. They delivered their message on the eve of Strickland's third, and maybe most important, State of the State address, with Ohio suffering through heavy job losses and record level home foreclosure rates.

The quartet suggested the Democratic governor's 24 cabinet level agencies blend into just 10 and the staffs of hundreds of state boards, commissions and councils be consolidated.