COLUMBUS, Ohio — 2023 has been a major year at the Ohio Statehouse: trials, arrests, legislation that caused national outrage and an election that legalized abortion and marijuana. Statehouse reporter Morgan Trau sat down for a one-on-one with Governor Mike DeWine to discuss his thoughts on how the year went. Some questions he answered — others he didn't.
This piece will be formatted as a Q&A, as it features moments from the 35-minute interview. It has been lightly edited only for clarity.
Morgan Trau: "Did you ever think that gambling, marijuana and abortion would be legalized under your watch?"
Governor DeWine: "Well, no. When I ran for office, I certainly did not expect what we've seen in the last year. But, first of all, we have to respect the will of the people, the state of Ohio. And second, we have to do implement those things in a way that's responsible and protects people as much as we can."
Morgan Trau: "Which one hurt the most?"
Governor DeWine: "Well, abortion is something that I have a position on and that is a pro-life position."
Gun violence has continued to increase for years, yet DeWine has signed every bill loosening firearm restrictions that has hit his desk — even after a mass shooting.
Morgan Trau: "Do you feel like you've been complicit in signing that?"
Governor DeWine: "I think that, I again am asking this year, for the legislature to look at the bill that we rolled out right after the Oregon District and Dayton tragedy... Basically, what this bill says is, if you have a member of your family — and it's usually a member of the family who knows something's going on wrong with that person — our bill would give you the right to go into court. You have to convince the judge, then and only then, would the guns be taken away from that individual. And again, you know, urge the legislature to take action on this."
Morgan Trau: "But you still signed permitless carry."
Governor DeWine: "Look, I don't think it creates a real problem. The issue is, what are we gonna do going forward?"
2023 can be defined by scandals – one that DeWine was just subpoenaed in a civil case for.
Former House Speaker Larry Householder was sentenced to 20 years in prison for accepting a multi-million dollar bribe in exchange to bail out FirstEnergy.
Trau asked DeWine if he was nervous about the scandal, or more importantly — was he worried for Lieutenant Governor Jon Husted. DeWine said no to both.
Former Chair of the Public Utilities Commission Sam Randazzo has just been indicted in the scheme, with the feds saying he was one of the major players in getting House Bill 6 passed. But DeWine was how he came into power.
Morgan Trau: "Do you regret appointing Sam Randazzo to the PUCO?"
Governor DeWine: "Oh, look, if I knew what I know now, if I knew that — I certainly would not have appointed Sam Randazzo to that position."
DeWine said he was the best person for the job, not knowing that Randazzo was FirstEnergy’s handpicked man. But he isn’t the only politician facing legal issues.
Morgan Trau: "Do you think that Donald Trump becoming president again would be a threat to democracy?"
Governor DeWine: "I'm gonna reserve my comments about the presidential campaign."
Morgan Trau: "Will you vote for him?"
Governor DeWine: "We're gonna just put all questions on presidential campaigns back. I will tell you, I will certainly vote for our nominee for United States Senate."
Despite pivoting to the Senate, DeWine would not say who he would vote for.
By Dec. 29, DeWine is set to sign or veto House Bill 68, legislation that would ban LGBTQ+ youth from accessing gender-affirming care, including hormone blockers and some mental health services. Advocates for the bill say the bill prevents “confused teens” and “pressured parents” from “ruining” minors’ bodies before they know who they are. Hundreds of LGBTQ+ kids, teens, parents and doctors testified against it.
Morgan Trau: "Are you going to sign [H.B. 68]?"
Governor DeWine: "Well, this is something that I'm really thinking a lot about... So I went to children's hospital here in Columbus; I went to the children's hospital in Akron and children's hospital in Cincinnati — just to see how they do it, what kind of care they give to these young people. But I've also talked to opponents who don't think that kind of care is appropriate... I've also talked to families who have told me that that care is just vitally important and save their child's life. So I'm trying to weigh all this and trying to get as much information together."
Morgan Trau: "You've always been somebody to care about children, but also parental rights. How would you reckon with signing this?"
Governor DeWine: "I really don't want to get too deeply into this… We've got to get this — I have to get this right... There's a lot of testimony in the Statehouse that you covered and I want to look at that testimony — both pro and con."
Trau continued to press, but DeWine ended up saying he was focusing his efforts on it this weekend.
The lawmakers have been getting more into culture war issues year after year, proposing social issue legislation DeWine has said he doesn’t want.
Governor DeWine: "There's some areas where we certainly have had a disagreement and I respect them, but I'm gonna call it like I see it."
Morgan Trau: "Do you ever feel like you have to compromise on some of your values?"
Governor DeWine: "I don't think I compromise on my values. I think at this point in my life, I know what I'm doing and know what I think is important."
That doesn’t mean he isn't disappointed with the lawmakers, especially after six high-profile public figures have been in legal trouble this year.
Governor DeWine: "One person getting in trouble who is a public official is one too many. I mean, we don't want that. It's kind of like cancer is eating on the public's perception of and confidence in our system."
This was only a portion of the interview. Stay tuned for more on accountability, gerrymandering, legislation and worries on H.B. 6.
Follow WEWS statehouse reporter Morgan Trau on Twitter and Facebook.
