Dewine, Whaley often found common ground
Republican Gov. Mike Dewine and Democratic Mayor Nan Whaley are gunning for the same job in 2022, but they previously praised each other for leadership and poise under pressure, text messages between the two officials show.
Records provided by the city of Dayton reveal how Dewine and Whaley worked together while responding to Dayton’s 2019 crises and the COVID-19 pandemic. The USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau requested communication between Whaley, Dewine and Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley, another Democrat running for governor in 2022.
In text messages, Whaley complimented Dewine on his early COVID-19 response and his attention to Dayton during its mass killing, tornadoes and corruption scandal. Dewine, in turn, praised Whaley’s response to those emergencies in her city.
But don’t expect the compliments to continue as Dewine and Whaley both campaign for governor. Whaley has already bashed Dewine for being too weak on corruption at the Ohio Statehouse and caring about his primary more than Ohio’s children.
“Nan will always praise leaders who are helping Ohio and call out people who are harming our state — both publicly and privately,” Whaley spokeswoman Courtney Rice said. “When Gov. Dewine was listening to Dr. Amy Acton and the science, she praised him. When he caved to the extremists and started putting politics ahead of public health, she criticized him.”
Dewine has said little about his primary or general election opponents publicly. When Whaley launched her gubernatorial bid, the Dewine campaign’s fundraising email didn’t mention her by name.
His campaign declined to comment on the text messages.
Dewine: ‘Not a culture of corruption’
Whaley is making corruption at the Ohio Statehouse a key part of her bid to unseat Dewine, saying he is too weak and too close to the bribery investigation that led to former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder’s arrest.
In response, the Ohio Republican Party is pointing to a bribery scandal in Dayton.
In late April 2019, three former Dayton-area politicians and a businessman were arrested in connection with a bribery scheme that traded Dayton construction contracts for campaign donations. FBI Special Agent Joseph Deters said there “appears to be a culture of corruption in Dayton-area politics.”
But Dewine downplayed the scope of corruption in Dayton at the time.
“Nan, not a culture of corruption,” Dewine texted Whaley in May 2019. “As atty gen we prosecuted public officials, sadly, all over the state. Not unique to our area. This will pass.”
‘Great job every day of this crisis’
Dewine, both publicly and privately, praised Whaley for her response to a slew of crises that hit Dayton in 2019, including a rally of a Ku Klux Klan group from Indiana, devastating tornadoes and a mass killing in the Oregon District.
“Great job today. Great job every day of crisis. You have been a rock. Leading your city with compassion and strength,” Dewine texted Whaley after the Oregon District killings.
Whaley replied: “Thank you Governor. And thank you for your and Mrs. Dewine’s tremendous support of Dayton.”
In the months that followed, Dewine and Whaley collaborated on possible solutions to gun violence, but none has passed Ohio’s Gop-controlled Legislature. In December 2019, the National Rifle Association’s Institute for Legislative Action came out against Dewine’s gun reform package, Senate Bill 221.
“Thanks again for sticking up for local control,” Whaley texted Dewine. “Depressed about NRA opposition in 221.”
“We are still going to make it!” Dewine replied. Whaley texted back: “I’m in.”
In January 2021, Dewine signed a different gun bill into law: stand your ground. Whaley did not text Dewine about the bill signing, criticizing him in a public statement instead.
“Gov. Dewine came to our city and stood on stage for a vigil for our murdered friends and neighbors and then told us he stood with our community in our fight against gun violence. Now it seems he does not,” she tweeted.
Same page on opioid lawsuit
Dewine and Whaley found themselves on the same page on the opioid lawsuit. In December 2019, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost pitched a constitutional amendment to divide money from a multimillion-dollar opioid settlement between a foundation, local governments and the state.
“Seriously? Why did he do this??” Whaley asked Dewine, sharing a Columbus Dispatch article on the proposal.
“Tone deaf,” Dewine replied. “He thinks the only way to ensure that future legislators can’t take money away. We think he is wrong on the law. Further this has no chance of getting through the legislature. We just need to ignore him and get settlement. His big sticking point is lawyer fees. He doesn’t get it that this has to be fair to lawyers or there won’t be a settlement.”
Yost’s idea didn’t get off the ground in the Ohio Legislature, and a federal judge later capped attorney fees at 15%. The $808 million settlement was finalized this September.
‘Terrific leadership’ on COVID-19
In March 2020, Dewine faced his largest challenge as governor: the COVID-19 pandemic. Months later, more than 23,000 deaths and nearly 1.9 million cases have been recorded in Ohio.
His swift response to closing businesses, schools and polling locations earned him bipartisan praise in the spring of 2019. Both publicly and privately, Whaley lauded Dewine’s approach.
“Thx for your leadership. We are amplifying your message,” Whaley texted Dewine on March 9, 2019 as Dewine declared a state of emergency in Ohio.
“This is very serious. Death rate goes up dramatically with age ... will have more recommendations tomorrow,” Dewine replied.
On March 12, Dewine announced a prolonged spring break for Ohio schools, closing buildings for several weeks. He asked Whaley to keep him informed of problems with schools, including access to food.
“We are working on the food for youth and how we connect those services,” Whaley replied. “Thanks for the boldness in this effort. It will save lives.”
Throughout the early months of the pandemic, Whaley texted Dewine with suggestions and questions about closing bars on St. Patrick’s Day or casinos entirely.
They discussed testing wastewater for COVID-19 spread. In text messages, Whaley praised Dewine for his “terrific leadership” and former Ohio Department of Health Director Dr. Amy Acton: “I love Dr. Acton. She is so good.”
Dewine praised Whaley for urging fellow mayors to require masks in early July 2020, weeks before Dewine instituted a statewide mask mandate. Dewine had walked back a mask requirement in April 2020, saying some found the requirement “offensive.”
“Look! We’ve got a movement going!” Whaley texted Dewine on July 3 with an article detailing Cincinnati’s mask mandate.
“Good work,” Dewine replied, adding after Cleveland’s mask mandate passed: “You started a great movement.”
Souring on COVID-19 response
Whaley wasn’t on board with every decision. Whaley expressed concern, both publicly and privately, about reopening restaurants, bars and hair salons in early May 2020.
Whaley was also critical of Cranley’s decision to close streets in Cincinnati to allow for outdoor dining, calling it “a terrible idea” in a text to Dewine. She also opposed Cranley’s request to lift Ohio’s curfew on bars.
In a text message exchange, Whaley chides Cranley for publicly announcing his opposition to the curfew without giving other mayors a heads up. “You seem upset,” Cranley replied.
By the end of 2020, Whaley had soured on Dewine’s COVID-19 response and was criticizing him for not standing up to fellow Republicans.
Over time, the text messages exchanged between Whaley and Dewine dwindled. In April 2021, she announced a run for governor. Cranley launched his campaign several months later.