Kasich cites values in last state of state
Governor, philosophic even by his standards, offers little on agenda.
If Ohioans WESTERVILLE — expected to gain some insight in the policy measures Gov. John Kasich will be focusing on in the last year of his eight-year tenure as governor, Tuesday’s State of the State address was a disappointment.
But if they wanted a pep talk on how to be a better person, Kasich provided pointers, urging Ohioans to “live a life that is a little bigger than ourselves.”
Tuesday’s 55-minute speech showed the evolution of a governor who roared into office in 2011 promising to run people over with a bus if they got in his way, to a man who on Tuesday used the bully pulpit to preach: “Regardless of race, creed, appearance, our station in life, we all deserve respect because we are all created and made in the image of that creator — of our creator.”
Instead of policy, Kasich talked about the works of philosophers and theologians, lectured on val- ues and explored the meaning of life. “You know, for many years now, 30, 40 years, I’ve been studying and thinking and observing and trying to figure out my purpose,” Kasich said.
Republican Mary Taylor, his lieutenant governor for nearly
eight years, responded on Twitter: “Huh.”
Focus on values
Although Ohioans have grown used to a governor who frequently quotes from scripture and calls on people to heed their “better angels,” Kasich’s final State of the State address was overly philosophic even by his standards, and marked a far cry from his first such speech seven years ago.
During that address on March 8, 2011, more than 3,000 government workers fighting Kasich’s collective bargaining reforms protested — loudly — outside the Ohio House chamber. That year, Kasich and like-minded Republicans pushed through changes that called for gutting bargaining rights for 700,000 public employees — reforms that voters later rejected.
On Tuesday, Kasich cast some of those same public workers — police officers, firefighters, teachers — as heroes among us. He paid tribute to Westerville Police Officers Eric Joering and Anthony Morelli, who were gunned down last month while responding to a domestic call, and praised public teachers who have risked their own lives to protect kids during school shootings.
Rather than highlight tax cuts, privatization of prisons, education reforms, abortion restrictions, funding cuts to local governments and outsourcing economic development to a private nonprofit — hallmarks of his early tenure — Kasich focused on his response to opiate addiction, human trafficking, mental health treatment, health care for the poor and criminal justice reforms.
“Much of what we’ve done in this state, I like to think, is a reflection of those virtues and values that I’ve talked about,” Kasich said.
Kasich has also worked to shut down pill mills that were fueling the opiate crisis in Ohio; revamp prescribing rules and beef up the prescription drug monitoring database; and expanded Medicaid to offer health care — including drug treatment and mental health services — to an additional 725,000 low-income Ohioans.
Kasich said that in recent years, Ohio has seen a 30 percent decline in prescribed doses of opiates and hit a six-year low for drug overdoses attributed to prescription drugs. Still, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Tuesday that hospital emergency room visits for suspected opioid overdoses increased 30 percent in the U.S. between July 2016 and September 2017 — and spiked 28 percent in Ohio.
Mixed reaction
Kasich did announce two new projects in the speech: a new $112-million mental health facility on the grounds of the Twin Valley Behavioral Healthcare in Columbus and the creation of the Jesse Owens State Park and Wildlife Area in eastern Ohio.
Reaction was mixed. “I found the speech to be largely aspirational. What he wants for Ohio, but not so much in terms of statistics or milestones, but in the values and character we have as a state,” said state Sen. Bill Beagle, R-Tipp City. “It was a largely personal speech that didn’t just acknowledge his successes, but all the work left to do.”
State Rep. Kyle Koehler, R-Springfield, said he appreciated Kasich’s focus on values. “I hope those same values will cause Gov. Kasich to push for payday lending reform in Ohio. We cannot afford to allow hurting families to be taken advantage of because 650 unlicensed payday lending storefronts operate without a single regulation,” said Koehler, who is sponsoring a bill to place limits on payday lending practices.
State Rep. Emilia Sykes, D-Akron, blasted Kasich’s administration for failing to address college affordability, infant mortality, the decline of the middle class, drug overdoses, and steep budget cuts to local governments. “We are slipping, we are falling behind,” she said.
Cedarville University political scientist Mark Caleb Smith said: “In my mind, if Kasich wants to get some critical things done in Ohio during the next 10 months, he will need focus and an agenda. This speech had neither of those.”
But as Kasich made clear in the speech, the words of theologians and philosophers mean much more to him than any critics on earth. After waxing about Albert Camus and Soren Kierkegaard and John Locke, he decided to tell his audience about St. Augustine, who died in the year 430.
“Let me tell you what I like best about Augustine,” Kasich said. “Augustine knew that he had to turn himself over to God, but he said, not yet, because I’m having too good of a time, and I don’t want to cut my fun time short by having to follow you. And it was a battle of his wills where he finally became one of the greatest saints in the history of the world.”