Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has presided over the biggest economic development success in state history and the worst scandal in Ohio history.
There is no denying Mr. DeWine’s success in attracting a major job-creating investment to Ohio. Intel Corp.’s most advanced semiconductor fabrication plant, to be in suburban Columbus, positions Ohio as a leader in next generation technology. The Intel invest-ment will be at least $20 billion but could become as much as $100 billion.
Deals of this magnitude don’t happen without the governor’s direct involvement. Ohio being identified as the new “silicon heartland” — as prophesied by Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger — was a longshot when Intel began looking for a location, so Mr. DeWine deserves credit for success with transformational potential for Ohio.
But the corruption case the U.S. Department of Justice brought in the aftermath of a billion-dollar bailout for two financially failing nuclear power plants owned by FirstEnergy could not have happened without the governor. That’s not to say he was aware of the bribes FirstEnergy admits to paying the ex-Speaker of the Ohio House and the ex-chairman of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, but he advocated the bills and signed them into law. He defended House Bill 6, which contained the sweetheart deal, even when the corruption was revealed.
When coronavirus hit Ohio in March, 2020, Mr. DeWine was one of the first U.S. governors to shut down activity. Schools closed, businesses deemed nonessential by the state were shut down, and the governor held daily news conferences detailing efforts to obtain protective garments and then vaccines.
But as Mr. DeWine’s tough response to coronavirus came to be unpopular with GOP voters his assessment of the threat changed and he lifted the lockdown. Swimming with the political tide is Mr. DeWine’s most consistent governing position.
With a near continuous political career since 1976, conventional wisdom has been Mr. DeWine’s guiding star. When globalization was GOP orthodoxy, Mr. DeWine voted in the U.S. Senate for legislation that aided the move of manufacturing to China. As governor, Mr. DeWine is the beneficiary of reshoring of manufacturing caused by the failure of globalization.
The legislature has taken the lead on restricting access to abortion and expansion of gun rights but Mr. DeWine accommodates the staunchest of conservative positions. Mr. DeWine has been an absolutist in opposition to abortion over his entire career. On gun rights, Mr. DeWine has simply abdicated responsibility to lawmakers, going along with concealed carry without need of license and the stand-your-ground defense.
On the crucial issue of Lake Erie water quality Mr. DeWine has created H2Ohio, a program meant to provide dollars to aid farmers filter animal waste runoff causing the algal blooms that foul Lake Erie. But his administration errs in equating the importance of concentrated-animal-feeding operations — CAFOs — with the source of drinking water for 11 million people.
Democratic nominee Nan Whaley is historic as the first woman ever nominated by a major political party as its Ohio gubernatorial candidate. Ms. Whaley has built much of her campaign on the promise to protect abortion rights and restrict access to guns. Ms. Whaley touts her working-class background, hoping to spark a gender and socio-economic connection that will convince voters she can make change in the governor’s office.
Though thoughtful and hardworking, Ms. Whaley has been woefully underfunded. The kind of TV ads normally counted on to take a major candidate’s message to voters have been lacking.
Calculating that the Whaley campaign does not have the funds to make the governor’s shortcomings widely known, Mr. DeWine has refused to participate in debates. Ms. Whaley’s opportunity to pound Mr. DeWine on political scandal and abortion and gun policies as out of step with most Ohio voters have evaporated from lack of funds and lack of forum. It is indicative of Mr. DeWine’s politics over leadership style that he has sidestepped the process of fully engaged public participation.
Ms. Whaley’s effort to lead the giant state government of Ohio is a quantum leap from her former position as mayor of Dayton. Community and economic development is the responsibility of the city manager in Dayton, with the mayor’s job considered part-time and ceremonial. Ms. Whaley devoted full time to the job and as the nominee of the Ohio Democratic Party for governor of Ohio, she had political success. But little in the portfolio of the Dayton mayor is adequate preparation for the role of Ohio’s chief executive.
If elected, Ms. Whaley would face unrelenting opposition from the Republican legislature. Her only possibility of success would come from a mandate provided by voters. Ms. Whaley’s inexperience is evident in her anti-corruption program — a Public Accountability Commission. Had Ms. Whaley attacked Statehouse corruption with specific proposals already law in conservative states like Nebraska, she could have campaigned with a concrete anti-corruption package.
Mr. DeWine has much vulnerability. But in politics it’s better to be lucky than good. The return of U.S. manufacturing jobs makes Mr. DeWine successful by being in the right place at the right time. Ms. Whaley without a mandate beyond restoration of abortion rights and female leadership would face constant conflict with the legislature that could impede development.
Mr. DeWine has been a steady, low-key governor. The state bureaucracy runs efficiently. The DeWine Administration has shown the ability to integrate multi-agency state bureaucracies in a way that facilitates prosperity. The science-technology-engineering-math-STEM education improvements are crucial to preparing Ohio’s youth for the jobs spawned by the Intel development. Ohio’s universities are also the beneficiaries of enhanced programs tied to this historic achievement. Overall education funding has been stable and fair and must be considered an improvement over the recent past.
As his agenda for a second term, Mr. DeWine promises a return to the child-centered programs he promised four years ago - before coronavirus. That agenda promises transformation of Ohio’s mental health and addiction care and better educational and social emotional outcomes for children.
The legislature, during Mr. DeWine’s term, approved a school funding formula that the public school districts by and large accepted as sufficient. That was a positive achievement, given the two decades in which school funding was considered in violation of the state constitution.
Mr. DeWine has shown the ability to quietly close timely development deals. That’s reason to keep him in Columbus four more years. The Blade recommends a vote for Mr. DeWine.
First Published October 30, 2022, 4:00 a.m.
