COLUMBUS, Ohio — Gov. Mike DeWine has appointed former Gov. Bob Taft’s top aide to the retired teachers’ pension fund. Jon Allison, a Columbus-based attorney, will replace controversial leader Wade Steen.
The new pick for the State Teachers Retirement System (STRS) comes in a time of transition. We broke the news that both the acting head and the CIO of STRS resigned as the system has been in endless chaos.
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In summary, there has been constant fighting, two board resignations and allegations of both a public corruption scheme and mishandling of funds. As of this week, there has been a dismissal and two senior staff resignations.
Who is Allison?
Allison served as the chief of staff for Taft from 2003-2006 after working in state government for years. Most recently, he has been the chief administrative officer for Root Inc., a car insurance company, after serving as their general counsel. He “led the legal work for Root's IPO, three equity financing rounds and three debt facilities and debt refinancings,” his public LinkedIn stated.
“Jon oversees Root’s legal, human resources, and claims and customer service organizations, including transactions, litigation, regulatory compliance, and government affairs,” his bio on Root Inc. said.
He was EVP for business development and integration at CareSource, a nonprofit that provides Medicaid, Medicare and other healthcare programs.
Throughout the years, he served on boards for the Ohio Chamber Health Benefits Program, Root Reinsurance Company, Sequent Midwest Business Health Fund and the Ohio Lottery Commission.
We have reached out to Allison for comment.
Uphill battle
The new appointee has an uphill battle. He is replacing Steen, the divisive leader of the “reform” movement.
In short, "reformers" want to switch to index funding, while "status quo" individuals want to keep actively managing the funds. Recent elections have allowed the "reform-minded" members to have a majority of the board.
Allison will more than likely be a "status quo" member, as that the DeWine team had told us previously the governor was looking for someone with beliefs closer to his.
RELATED: Chaos-filled day at Ohio teachers’ pension board leading to even more ethical concerns
It would be an understatement to say that Steen and the governor did not get along.
Originally appointed by John Kasich, Steen is an outspoken reformer. He was reappointed by DeWine, but the governor asked him to resign in 2023. Steen refused, so DeWine removed him. DeWine cited Steen’s alleged poor attendance at board meetings as reasoning.
Steen filed a motion in Ohio’s 10th District Court of Appeals demanding to be reinstated — and he was. He returned to his job in April 2024.
But in May, DeWine spokesperson Dan Tierney told me that there was another reason why the governor wanted to remove Steen.
"We were concerned that Mr. Steen was seen as advocating for a very particular investment firm in a way that a fiduciary board member — it just didn't seem right," Tierney said. "It almost seemed like Mr. Steen was trying to tip the scales in favor of this particular company that didn't agree with the administration."
Also in May, Attorney General Dave Yost filed a lawsuit to remove Steen and Chair Rudy Fichtenbaum, stating they are participating in a contract steering "scheme" that could directly benefit them. Yost started the investigation after documents prepared by STRS employees alleged that the men had been doing the bidding of investment firm QED.
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