Ohio cabinet pick has deep ties to area
Zeis will work to protect Wright-Patt and state’s other installations.
A retired Air Force colonel with deep connections to the Dayton area was named Wednesday to a newly created post in the DeWine administration that is expected protect and position Ohio’s military installations and assets.
Centerville resident Joseph Zeis Jr., an attorney with Sebaly Shillito + Dyer, Zeis in Dayton, was named to the cabinet-level spot by Gov. Mike DeWine.
“It is a very new position,” Zeis told the Dayton Daily News. “I think it really reflects Gov. DeWine’s emphasis on the critical importance of the military installations in Ohio, thereal gems that are the research and development facilities that exist in Ohio, and also the aerospace and defense industry.”
Zeis will work to protect Wright-Patterson, which has an estimated 27,000 civilian and military workers, and other Ohio military installations like the NASA Glenn Research Center. He will directly report to DeWine.
Zeis has a deep resume in aviation and aerospace law, including drones and unmanned aeronautical vehicles, connections to the Dayton Development Coalition, and a 26-year career in the Air Force as a pilot and acquisitions program manager. He has more than 1,800 flight hours in more than 26 different aircraft, according to his biography.
DeWine said Zeis was the best person to do the job — a role that will require a deep understanding of military installations in Ohio and the local communities they impact.
“I promised when I became governor, I would create a cabinet level military liaison who would report directly to me on our vitally important military bases across the state,” DeWine
said in a statement. “Colonel Zeis has a tremendous level of expertise, and I am very pleased he is serving in our administration.
DeWine, who also has deep connections to the Dayton region, reaffirmed his broader goals as governor in front of the Dayton-area’s top leaders on Wednesday during the Dayton Development Coalition’s annual meeting. He said his office owes Ohio citizens “honesty and candor.” Some of the key issues DeWine said his administration plans to tackle:
■ Shortfalls with the Ohio Department of Transporta- tion budget. DeWine said the shortfalls could cause enduring problems for Ohio roadways. There is a $1 billion gap in the ODOT bud- get, making it impossible for the department to maintain infrastructure and conduct new projects, he said.
■ Investing more funds into early childhood development. Ohio’s programs for home visiting services — targeting at-risk and firsttime mothers — are under- funded, reaching less than 4 percent of eligible families, he said in his speech. “We owe it these kids,” he said. “... It’s the right thing to do.”
■ He lauded the Dayton community for its work to address the opioid epidemic, but he said there is still work to do across the state. He introduced a 12-point action plan to help the state over- come the drug epidemic last year. He said drug trends are always morphing, and that it will continue to be an issue in the coming years. “I can’t tell you what the opioid problem looks like in four to five years.”
■ The military cabinet position — a role that will be “vitally important” to the defense community and economy in Ohio.
Jeff Hoagland, president and CEO of the DDC, said DeWine and Husted are inti- mately aware of Dayton and its history, an asset for the region moving forward. He said the coalition is focused this year on attracting and keeping businesses in sectors including aerospace and defense industries as well as advanced manufacturing.
“Payroll is also going to be important,” he said. “We want more high-paying jobs,” pointing to the new F-35 mission poised to bring 400 jobs to Wright-Patterson in the next few years.
After retiring from the Air Force, Zeis worked at the Dayton Development Coalition from 2007 to 2013 where he was responsible for the identification, facilitation, and implementation of aerospace and technology-related opportunities to support business development and expansion in the Dayton region.
Zeis and DeWine were set to visit Lima on Wednesday afternoon, where the Joint Systems Manufacturing Center — known also as the Lima Army Tank Plant — manufactures and works on combat vehicles and weapons systems.