Cedars, February 2019

February 2019 7 OFF CAMPUS Gov. DeWine Charts Path For Ohio’s Future by Kassandra Kirsch M ike DeWine, 72, was officially sworn into office on January 14 as the new Governor of Ohio. He has a long list of accomplishments and po- litical positions he has held since his politi- cal career began, including but not limited to attorney, senator and a spot in the House of Representatives. His experience will cer- tainly aid in his tenure as governor Dr. Mark Smith, a history and political science professor at Cedarville University, said that DeWine is well-known in Ohio, and this contributed to his win. “He is the kind of guy that can call peo- ple in every county that he knows and have favors from and relationships with, in a way that I don’t really think any other politician in Ohio can do,” Smith said. Smith believed that these personal con- nections are what won him the office of gov- ernor over his opponent, Richard Corvey. “His experience, his name recognition, and his background here was really hard for Richard Corvey to overcome,” Smith said. DeWine is a Republican, like Ohio’s last governor, John Kasich. That the office is not switching parties reassures Ohio business- man Tom Kern, in regards to how DeWine is going to handle his new position. “We have lower taxes today than we had three years ago,” Kern said. “When it comes to taxes, we won’t see very much difference … [DeWine] will probably try to continue to reduce Ohio’s taxes.” In a recent interview Cedars had with DeWine, he said his main priorities and plans for Ohio’s future begins with ending the drug epidemic. His plan has several different approaches that DeWine intends to put into place around the same time, starting with working to educate children in every grade about drugs and teaching them to make wise decisions. DeWine also plans to increase the presence of drug task forces to bring down cartels. The final technique that DeWine plans to use is to make treatment more readily available. DeWine’s second priority after taking care of the drug epidemic is education, most specifically that of grade-school children in lower-income areas. “We are going to increase the number of quality preschool programs in the state for poor families,” he said in the interview. Following that DeWine is going to im- prove the home-visit program that already exists in an outreach attempt to help the parents so their children can be educated and assisted. Those are DeWine’s biggest goals, but following directly after is his concern for the lack of skilled workers in Ohio. “When you talk to businessmen and women throughout Ohio, the number one concern they express is that they cannot find the workers that have the requisite skills they need,” DeWine said. DeWine said his office is going to create a program that allows both just-graduated high school students and adults in the mid- dle of their careers to attend a three-week program and learn specific skills. This pro- gram will be free to those involved and the first and biggest step to closing the age gaps. Companies are running out of young peo- ple who have trade skills such as carpentry, welding, or construction, for example. DeWine lives just outside of Cedarville, and intends to continue living there. The new Governor of Ohio also has more personal connections to Cedarville University, at one point working as a visiting professor along- side many of the faculty on campus. This adds a more personal connection for Cedar- ville students and staff, according to Smith. “We have a good relationship withMike DeWine, a lot of the faculty here have lived here a long time and know him well,” Smith said. “We have a lot of strong relationships with him. I think he is a friend of religious liberty, a strong advocate for religious val- ues and I think in that sense he will be really beneficial for Cedarville.” Kassandra Kirsch is a junior English ma- jor and a staff writer for off-campus news. She loves the outdoors, animals of all kinds, and reading more books than she should. Photo from Wikimedia Commons Mike DeWine was sworn in as governor of Ohio on Jan. 14, adding to an already illustrious career in politics. DeWine, a Cedarville resident, has previously served Ohio as lieutenant governor, state senator and attorney general.