Mark Kvamme stepped down last week as the head of JobsOhio, the newly created nonprofit entity that was set up to take over the state’s liquor distribution system for economic development projects.
Kvamme’s resignation came a week after the Ohio Supreme Court shot down the state’s effort to speed up litigation that has blocked the sale of the liquor system since earlier this year.
The top court’s dismissal of the state’s lawsuit means it will have to wind its way through the lower courts, further delaying the $1.4 billion bond sale JobsOhio plans to finance the privatization.
Gov. John Kasich tapped Kvamme, a California-based venture capitalist, to lead the effort in January 2011. JobsOhio managing director John Minor will take over the top spot.
“Mark Kvamme has been an essential part of Ohio’s efforts to create a jobs-friendly climate and begin to get back on track,” Kasich said in a statement. “We were lucky to get him and lucky to have had him as long as we did — longer than I could have ever hoped.”
His resignation becomes official on Nov. 1.
