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Governor Facing Questions on Whether He Can Lead with Scandal Looming over Him

Columbus, OH — In case you missed it, State Representatives Jeffrey Crossman (D-Parma) and Casey Weinstein (D-Hudson) hosted a press conference at the Ohio Statehouse yesterday to demand accountability from Mike DeWine following last week’s revelations further tying him and Jon Husted to the largest public corruption scandal in state history.

Reps. Crossman and Weinstein called for a full accounting from DeWine and Husted to the press and the public about what they knew about the scandal and when. Rep. Weinstein further called for the firing of Laurel Dawson and Dan McCarthy, two top-level aides connected to the scandal.

Throughout the scandal, DeWine has refused to take accountability for the scandal and his deepening ties to it. That continued again yesterday, as DeWine refused to take any action to punish Dawson and McCarthy and provided no further details about any role he may have played in the scandal, as he faces questions about whether he can effectively lead with the largest public corruption scandal in state history looming over him. Ohio Democrats will continue to pressure DeWine to give a full accounting of what he knew about the scandal and take meaningful action to address his Administration’s connections to it.

See more of what Ohio voters are reading below:

Cincinnati.com: Gov. Mike DeWine won’t fire staff with FirstEnergy ties despite Democrats’ demand

Jessie Balmert

• Gov. Mike DeWine won’t fire two staff members over their ties to Akron-based FirstEnergy, which recently admitted to bribing state officials, despite Democratic demands.
• “It’s past time for them to go and for DeWine to come clean,” Weinstein said. “It’s a privilege to serve in a taxpayer-funded job. These two don’t deserve it.”
• Democrats also sought documents on how DeWine and his administration handled the passage of House Bill 6, a $1 billion bailout of two nuclear plants, and the appointment of Public Utilities Commission of Ohio Chairman Sam Randazzo.
• “It’s up to DeWine and (Lt. Gov. Jon) Husted to come forward with all the information and let the public judge for themselves whether or not they engaged in any wrongdoing,” Crossman said.
• Randazzo told Dawson about the payment on Oct. 30, the day after FirstEnergy fired three executives, a DeWine spokesman said. But Dawson didn’t tell DeWine about the payment until Nov. 16 when the FBI searched the utility regulator’s home. Randazzo resigned four days later.
• Dawson, who previously served as DeWine’s chief of staff, also disregarded concerns about Randazzo’s close ties to FirstEnergy during his nomination process.
• Randazzo isn’t the only person in DeWine’s orbit with close ties to FirstEnergy. McCarthy, a former FirstEnergy lobbyist, led a FirstEnergy-funded dark money group before joining the administration. McCarthy worked with lawmakers to pass the nuclear bailout in House Bill 6, legislation that DeWine signed the day it hit his desk.

Cleveland.com: Ohioans fed up with unemployment system turn to lawmakers for help: Capitol Letter

Andrew Tobias

• Democratic state Reps. Jeff Crossman and Casey Weinstein said during a Thursday news conference that Gov. Mike DeWine should provide a fuller accounting of how he and people in his administration interacted with figures in the House Bill 6 scandal, while Weinstein went further and said DeWine should fire two top aides, Laurel Dawson and Dan McCarthy over their ties to FirstEnergy and other actions related to the federal investigation into the bill.
• The event was sponsored by the Ohio Democratic Party, showing that Democrats — no surprise – hope to make the complex scandal a campaign issue heading in 2022.

Ohio Capital Journal: Ohio Democrats focusing HB 6 scandal attention on Gov. DeWine

Tyler Buchanan

• Attention is shifting further toward Gov. Mike DeWine as the investigation continues to develop.
• Democratic state Reps. Jeffrey Crossman of Parma and Casey Weinstein of Hudson are calling for the administration to provide better transparency of its work to get the nuclear bailout bill passed in 2019.
• A deferred prosecution agreement signed by federal prosecutors and FirstEnergy, made public last week, has shed further light on a scandal described as the largest bribery scheme in Ohio history.
• The court filing offered new details on the connections between FirstEnergy and Sam Randazzo, the former Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) chairman appointed by DeWine in early 2019.
• The critics are also miffed at a subsequent claim from the governor that “everybody” knew at the time Randazzo was appointed PUCO chairman that he’d worked for FirstEnergy.
• “Ohioans deserve to know the truth,” Weinstein said. “There’s a lot of truth left to uncover.”

Spectrum News: House Democrats call for accountability from Gov. DeWine surrounding HB6 scandal

Josh Rultenberg

• Ohio House Democrats called for more accountability Thursday from Gov. Mike DeWine, R-Ohio, as news of his administration being potentially tied to the House Bill 6 bribery scandal has come out.
• Representatives Jeffrey Crossman, D-Parma, and Casey Weinstein, D-Hudson, took shot after shot at DeWine, and said he isn’t responding seriously enough. The Democratic duo also said heads need to roll.
• “Gov. DeWine has surrounded himself with folks who are deeply involved in this scandal. It’s past time for them to go and for DeWine to come clean,” said Weinstein.

Statehouse News Bureau: Ohio House Dems Call For DeWine To Fire Staff Members

Andy Chow

• Democrats in the Ohio House want Gov. Mike DeWine (R-Ohio) to fire two members of his staff in response to new information to come out related to the nuclear bailout bribery case. But DeWine’s office says that’s not going to happen.
• DeWine said Monday that Laurel Dawson, his chief of staff at the time, was informed by Sam Randazzo that he was paid $4.3 million by FirstEnergy before becoming chair of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio. Dawson was told in October 2020 but did not reveal this to DeWine until November 2020, when the FBI raided Randazzo’s home.
• Crossman says the information in FirstEnergy’s deferred prosecution “further intensify the need for unprecedented amounts of transparency and accountability.”

Toledo Blade: Governor rejects Democratic call for staff firings

Jim Provance

• State Rep. Casey Weinstein (D., Hudson) targeted the Republican governor’s former chief-of-staff, Laurel Dawson, and his legislative lobbyist, Dan McCarthy.
• That’s not going to happen, Gov. DeWine spokesman Dan Tierney said.
• Ms. Dawson played an integral role in selecting former utility lobbyist and consultant Sam Randazzo to head the powerful Public Utilities Commission of Ohio. Mr. McCarthy is a former FirstEnergy lobbyist who had headed one of the non-profits linked to a Statehouse bribery scandal prior to joining the DeWine administration.
• Democrats see opportunity in last week’s court revelations that have brought the federal investigation closer to Mr. DeWine’s inner circle.

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Columbus, OH — Today, State Representatives Jeffrey Crossman (D-Parma) and Casey Weinstein (D-Hudson) hosted a press conference at the Ohio Statehouse to demand accountability from Mike DeWine following last week’s revelations further tying him and Jon Husted to the largest public corruption scandal in state history.

Reps. Crossman and Weinstein called for a full accounting from DeWine and Husted to the press and the public about what they knew about the scandal and when. Rep. Weinstein further called for the firing of Laurel Dawson and Dan McCarthy, two top-level aides connected to the scandal.

“Since this scandal first broke, it’s been clear that Gov. Mike DeWine and Lt. Gov. Jon Husted have deep connections to the ringleaders of this massive bribery scheme. Last week’s damning revelations only further intensify the need for unprecedented amounts of transparency and accountability for wrongdoing that resulted in the transfer of billions of dollars from the pockets of hard-working Ohioans to wealthy executives and shareholders at FirstEnergy.” said Rep. Crossman.

“The more we hear from Mike DeWine, the more questions we have. Every time he’s pressed on his connection to the scandal, DeWine seems to have a different answer. Ohioans deserve to know the truth. DeWine has surrounded himself with folks who are deeply involved in this scandal, and it’s past time for them to go and for DeWine to finally come clean,” said Rep. Weinstein.

Late last week, the Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio outlined various ways that DeWine is connected to the scandal, including top-level staff with direct ties to the scandal that DeWine continues to stand behind even today. DeWine has tried to avoid answering questions on his ties to the scandal and what he knew and when, but Ohio voters deserve full transparency and accountability.

Dawson has admitted to knowing about a $4.3 million payment to Sam Randazzo and hiding this fact from DeWine for several weeks. Dawson had also pushed for Randazzo to be nominated as Chair of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, ignoring concerns raised about his close ties to the industry and the possibility of his corruption.

McCarthy, DeWine’s now Legislative Director, worked as a FirstEnergy lobbyist and helped found Partners for Progress, a dark money group that FirstEnergy funneled money through to politicians they were trying to secure the support of as part of the scandal.

The connections between DeWine and the scandal run deeper, however, as he also took hundreds of thousands of dollars from FirstEnergy and even more from executives tied to the scandal. He also took part in a private meeting with FirstEnergy executives in both Oct. 2018 and Dec. 2018, two meetings which he has not discussed the contents of publicly. He also solicited campaign donations for his daughter’s Greene County Prosecutor’s race, and appointed individuals directly connected to the HB 6 scandal to high-level state positions, including Michael Dowling, a former FirstEnergy VP, and Matt Borges and Juan Cespedes, both of whom were charged in the case.

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Columbus, OH — The first round of expanded Child Tax Credit payments — part of the American Rescue Plan that passed in March — are already making a real difference in the lives of Ohio’s working families. The middle class tax cut steers hundreds of dollars per month directly into the bank accounts of the vast majority of families with children, including as many as 94% of kids in Toledo, as the Blade reported this weekend.

With some calling the expanded CTC Washington’s “biggest anti-poverty program in decades,” expect working families to remember Democratic efforts to put money back in Ohioans’ pockets — and how every single congressional Republican voted against the new tax cut.

From WOUB: Families Receive Sorely Needed Child Tax Credit Payments

BUCHTEL, Ohio (OVR) — The Robsons, like the vast majority of U.S. households with children, began receiving the Child Tax Credit last week – the latest part of the American Rescue Plan to be put into action. Jaclyn Robson says it was sorely needed.

“I don’t want to have to work 60 hours a week just to make a decent wage,” Robson said. “I want to be able to stay at home with my kids more, but I don’t want to not work.”

The Robsons live in Buchtel, Ohio. Jaclyn works long hours as a direct support worker – often taking extra shifts to help them get by. Her husband, Harold Robson stays at home with their three young children, two of whom have autism and require extra care.

The American Rescue Plan, signed into law by President Joe Biden on March 11, 2021, was designed, in part, to help families like theirs. The package builds upon the mid-pandemic economic relief of 2020’s CARES Act.

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Some have argued the expanded Child Tax Credit under the American Rescue Plan is the biggest anti-poverty program deployed by the federal government in decades.

Biden spoke at the White House last Thursday to celebrate the launch of the payments.

“It’s our effort to make another giant step toward ending child poverty in America,” Biden said. “I think this is one of the things that the vice president and I will be most proud of when our terms are up.”

Experts expect the improvements in the Child Tax Credit will pull millions of kids out of poverty. Researchers at Columbia University’s Center on Poverty and Social Policy estimate that the American Rescue Plan would likely cut child poverty by more than half.

Families qualify based on their 2019 or 2020 tax filings. Those who did not file taxes and still wish to receive the credit may fill out a form on the IRS Child Tax Credit portal.

Prior to this increased credit, families received a yearly credit of $2,000 per child, ages 0-16. Now qualifying families will receive $3,600 for each child under age 6, dispensed in monthly payments of $300. Families will receive $3,000 for children aged 7-17, in monthly payments of $250.

Jaclyn Robson says while the credit isn’t enough to live off of, it’ll make a big difference for her family and families like hers. They plan to use the funds for new school clothes for the children and potentially vehicle repairs. She says later in the year it will help families give their children a nice Christmas.

From the Toledo Blade: The kids are all right: Child tax credit aids 94% of Toledo families

While Chartise Williams oversaw well-seasoned hamburgers grilling at Wildwood Preserve Metropark, her four children, ranging in age from infancy to adolescence, weaved through the park’s picnic tables.

When the Internal Revenue Service began distributing child tax-credit checks last week, Ms. Williams, a single mother, used her money to cover bills, groceries, school supplies, and uniforms for her brood.

The child tax credit offers monetary relief to working parents, and Congress expanded the benefit in February as part of its massive coronavirus stimulus package. Now, the Williams household falls into the 94 percent of Toledo families eligible for tax-credit payments, and many parents across the city are feeling the relief.

“I just think it’s an amazing idea,” Ms. Williams said. “I love it. It’s helping out the community. A lot of kids go without both parents so the money helps out a lot.”

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“Ohio is a state that has a lot of children living in poverty, so a lot of families stand to benefit from the program,” said Emily Campbell, that organization’s associate director. “We generally tend to think programs that support families to make ends meet can break generational cycles of poverty.”

Nationwide, 65 million children will see this money. In Ohio, 92 percent of minors are eligible for tax credit payments; 93 percent of children in the state’s Ninth Congressional District — the “Snake on the Lake” that stretches from Toledo to Cleveland — are eligible, as are 94 percent of kids in Toledo itself.

“This is a life-changer for many families,” said U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D., Toledo). “It’s certainly going to help them recover from the pandemic.”

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Columbus, OH — In case you missed it, a Cleveland.com analysis this weekend outlined the various ways the HB 6 scandal will be harmful for Mike DeWine and Jon Husted if they decide to run for reelection. Connections between the largest public corruption scandal in state history and DeWine and Husted only continue to deepen as more information is released about the case. DeWine and Husted have tried to dodge questions about their role in this scandal up until this point, but Ohio voters deserve answers.

“The House Bill 6 corruption scandal already was going to be a campaign issue for Republican Gov. Mike DeWine. But new details in the deal FirstEnergy Corp. signed with federal prosecutors last week put the scandal an additional step closer to the governor’s office, posing new complications as DeWine heads into what could be a challenging re-election year,” writes Andrew Tobias in an analysis for Cleveland.com.

“Mike DeWine and Jon Husted have tried to hide for too long, but Ohio voters deserve answers about what they knew and when. Last week only confirmed what so many of us already knew — the connections between the DeWine Administration and the HB 6 scandal run deep. The writing is on the wall, and DeWine and Husted can no longer get away with ‘no commenting’ their way out of this scandal,” said Matt Keyes, spokesperson for the Ohio Democratic Party.

From ignoring concerns raised by members of their own party about the nomination of Sam Randazzo as PUCO chair, to all of their top-level staff with deep connections to FirstEnergy, to meetings they held with FirstEnergy executives and major campaign donations, Mike DeWine and Jon Husted have a lot to answer for as more information comes out about the case.

Read more from Cleveland.com HERE and below:

• The House Bill 6 corruption scandal already was going to be a campaign issue for Republican Gov. Mike DeWine.
• But new details in the deal FirstEnergy Corp. signed with federal prosecutors last week put the scandal an additional step closer to the governor’s office, posing new complications as DeWine heads into what could be a challenging re-election year.
• DeWine has faced heat for his closeness with FirstEnergy, which admitted last week to funding a $61 million bribery scheme to pass HB6, a nuclear bailout bill. A close campaign adviser, Josh Rubin, is a former FirstEnergy lobbyist, DeWine’s former Chief of Staff Laurel Dawson is a former business partner of Rubin’s, while Dawson’s husband, Mike Dawson, long has done consulting work for FirstEnergy. And Dan McCarthy, DeWine’s legislative affairs director, is a former FirstEnergy lobbyist, even helping set up a dark-money group that helped funnel money from FirstEnergy to Generation Now, a different dark-money group that was charged in the bribery scheme.
• In its deal with the feds, FirstEnergy said it paid a $4.3 million bribe to former Public Utilities Commission of Ohio Chairman Sam Randazzo weeks before DeWine hired him as the state’s top utilities regulator.
• In late January 2019, Jones grew concerned that Randazzo wouldn’t get hired after details about Randazzo’s past business ties to FirstEnergy emerged, documents show. Elements opposed to Randazzo’s nomination, including American Electric Power, pushed them to the governor’s office.
• But Randazzo cleared the screening process and DeWine picked him for the cabinet-level job.
• “That bullet grazed the temple,” Michael Dowling, then a top FirstEnergy executive, texted to Jones, who responded: “Forced [State Official 1]/[State Official 2] to perform battlefield triage. It’s a rough game.”
• Days before FirstEnergy first disclosed the $4.3 million payment in October 2020, the FBI searched Randazzo’s Columbus home. Asked about the search at the time, DeWine chose to defend Randazzo, going as far as to say there was no indication he was under FBI investigation.
• “We’re waiting for additional information, quite candidly. I hired him. I think he’s a good person. If there’s evidence to the contrary, then we’ll act accordingly. But I’m not going to act without facts,” DeWine said during a televised state briefing.
• Even without the HB6 scandal, DeWine faces a difficult re-election environment. There’s been Republican backlash nationally toward coronavirus restrictions — like the kind DeWine ordered last year — and DeWine has sparred with GOP state lawmakers who have voted to limit his ability to issue future health orders, overriding a DeWine veto.
• Last year’s presidential race showed signs that DeWine had fallen out of favor with rank-and-file Republican voters – with DeWine and Lt. Gov. Jon Husted getting booed at multiple campaign events.
• DeWine hasn’t directly fielded questions on the latest developments in the House Bill 6 case. But with the scandal’s closer proximity to his office, and the likelihood that the case won’t be resolved before the May 2022 primary election, he’s likely to face plenty.

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Columbus, OH — Last week, the Ohio Democratic Party took its Road to Recovery Tour across Ohio to talk with Ohio voters about the economic policies that are working for working families under Democratic leadership. As so many working Ohioans pointed out on the tour, Ohio is back on the road to recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and building back better thanks to the leadership of President Biden and Ohio Democrats.

“Working families are directly benefiting from the economic policies being implemented by President Biden, and Ohio Democrats are going to continue to celebrate those victories with voters from communities all across the state. While Republicans want to continue to look backward to the divisions of the past, Ohio Democrats are looking ahead to a better future for working Ohioans thanks to President Biden and Democratic leadership,” said ODP Chair Liz Walters.

Thanks to President Biden and Ohio Democrats:

• More than 5 million Ohioans are fully vaccinated and able to safely gather with family and friends again;
• Ohio families are receiving a massive tax cut and targeted checks to help them with the costs of raising children thanks to the expanded Child Tax Credit;
• And Ohio is set to receive major investments in roads, bridges and new jobs under an infrastructure plan negotiated by President Biden.

See more Ohio coverage of ODP’s Road to Recovery Tour below:

Toledo Blade: Democrats applaud Biden’s “Road to Recovery” tour in Toledo

Jordan Fitzgerald

“Children frolicked on the playground of the Wayman Palmer YMCA, where Ohio Democrats gathered to celebrate the party’s efforts to move Americans out of the pandemic.

“State Rep. Paula Hicks-Hudson (D., Toledo), Lucas County Treasurer Lindsay Webb, Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz, and union representative Justin Richmond highlighted how the child tax credit and national infrastructure legislation will benefit residents.

“The ‘Road to Recovery’ tour consists of three stops — Toledo on Monday, Akron on Tuesday, and Cincinnati on Wednesday — leading up to President Biden’s Wednesday visit to the Queen City.

‘“It’s been a tough year for communities around the state, including Toledo, and we know it’s not enough just to return to normal,’ Ms. Hicks-Hudson said. ‘We have to build back better and invest in working families to create a better future for our state, and that’s exactly what President Biden is doing.’

“Bolstering infrastructure is a key component in the “Road to Recovery,” they said.”

NBC 24: Ohio Democrats Aim to Build Back Better

“The Ohio Democratic Party stopped in Toledo today as part of its ‘Road to Recovery’ tour. Democratic state and local leaders are praising federal economic policies like the American Rescue Plan that they say will improve the lives of working families across the state.

“Their focus goes beyond recovering from the pandemic, with a focus on the federal infrastructure bill and the expanded Child Tax Credit. ‘The Child Tax Credit and the dollars that are being sent to families is going to lift families out of poverty, and when families are out of poverty, they’re able to take better care of themselves, their housing and the safety of their children,’ [said State Rep. Paula Hicks-Hudson].”

WCPO: Biden visits Westwood job training center to tout ‘Build Back Better’ plan

Mariel Carbone

“It’s a plan that Hamilton County Democratic Party chair Gwen McFarlin said is pivotal to ensuring the Tri-State bounces back from the coronavirus pandemic.

‘“It’s the labor brothers and sisters who are doing the work, making sure the jobs are safe, making sure all of the OSHA standards are met and also just respecting the hard work that they do,’ McFarlin told WCPO.

“Larry Thompson, president of Laborers Union Local 265 said Biden’s infrastructure plan is critical to making sure good-paying union jobs stick around after the U.S. has emerged from the pandemic.

“‘Roads and bridges are our bread and butter,’ Thompson said. ‘That’s what keeps us going, and if there’s anything that can cause more construction… people are looking forward to developing. So his infrastructure plan and providing money to help constructors sustain a decent workforce is a plus for us as a labor union.’”

ABC 13: Road to Recovery

“The President’s Road to Recovery plan made a stop in Toledo earlier today. It was brought to the city by the Ohio Democratic Party ahead of the President’s Cincinnati visit  this week. One of the major goals is to tackle child poverty. 

“‘The American Rescue Plan, by the dollars that are going to be given for the Child Tax Credit for this year, is going to help these parents who have to make decision about having to  back to work and putting their kids in high quality childcare places,’ [said State Rep. Paula Hicks-Hudson].”

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