COLUMBUS — Columbus had come calling for Findlay Mayor Lydia Mihalik before, but this time she said “yes.”
Governor-elect Mike DeWine on Thursday emphasized the need for representation of local government in his administration as he announced his selection of the Republican mayor to head the Development Services Agency.
Findlay’s first female mayor will step down in the coming days with a year left in her second four-year term.
She is the first northwest Ohioan to be named to a cabinet-level post in the DeWine administration, although Lt. Governor-elect Jon Husted, Ohio’s current secretary of state, is a native of Montpelier.
Until now, most of the attorney general’s picks for high-level staff positions have come from within his current trusted ranks with the selections simply moving from one downtown Columbus office building to another.
Mr. DeWine also named the first woman, Annette Chambers-Smith, to head the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. She served about 20 years with the department, most recently as deputy director of the office of administration.
The pick comes as Ohio continues to talk about ways to address its chronic prison overcrowding problem.
She is currently general manager of payment services for JPay Inc. in Miramar, Fla.
“I made clear to her that the first priority of any governor should be the protection of the people of the state of Ohio,” Mr. DeWine said. “As we move toward [criminal justice] reform, which we believe is important, … the safety of the public must always be the most important consideration.”
Mr. DeWine picked former state Rep. Jeff McClain, a Republican from Upper Sandusky, to serve as tax commissioner. Currently with the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, he once represented a House district that stretched into the southwest corner of Seneca County.
Ms. Mihalik said the DeWine camp approached her. She had been mentioned for state positions before, most recently for the 1st District Senate vacancy created when then Sen. Cliff Hite abruptly resigned in 2017.
“I think my experience relative to community and economic development over my career, certainly the success that we’ve been able to pull together specifically in Findlay, should relate very well to what the state of Ohio could potentially do,” she said.
She noted that the Ohio Mayors Alliance, of which she is a board member, had been upfront with Mr. DeWine about the importance of maintaining a close working relationship between local governments and the governor’s office.
“I believe a selection of a local government official and mayor in this particular capacity, where you’re basically making communities in Ohio stronger, says a lot about the priorities of this administration,” Ms. Mihalik said.
The Development Services Agency was reconfigured shortly after Mr. Kasich took office in 2011 after many of its prior functions in negotiating economic development deals were shipped off to the new private, nonprofit corporation JobsOhio.
DSA, however, remains the official state entity through which tax credit and other deals JobsOhio negotiates are ultimately consummated.
Mr. DeWine said he expects perhaps two more press announcements on cabinet positions next week. Cabinet-level nominees must win confirmation by the Ohio Senate.
Also among Thursday’s announcements were:
● Kevin Miller, who will stay on as executive director of the Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities.
● Matt Damschroder, M. Husted’s current assistant secretary of state, who will head the Department of Administrative Services.
● Ryan Burgess, Mr. Kasich’s current director of the Office of Workforce Development, to serve as his director of cabinet affairs.
● Michael Hall, who served as policy director for the DeWine campaign, to serve the same role with the administration.
● Dan McCarthy, a Columbus lobbyist, to serve as the next governor’s legislative director, working with lawmakers to further the administration’s agenda.
Mr. DeWine, who will mark his 72nd birthday on Saturday, will take the official oath of office as Ohio’s 70th governor, succeeding fellow Republican John Kasich, in a modest private affair shortly after midnight on Jan. 14 in his Cedarville, Ohio, home.
First Published January 3, 2019, 3:42 p.m.
