Dewine skips redistricting hearing
While Ohioans pleaded for fairer legislative districts, Ohio Gov. Mike Dewine attended a Cincinnati Bengals training camp instead.
Dewine is one of seven members of the Ohio Redistricting Commission, a group tasked with drawing districts for state House and Senate seats. The group held two public hearings Monday, one each in Cleveland and Youngstown.
But instead of attending those hearings where Ohioans testified about the need for fairer maps, Dewine attended Bengals' training camp in Cincinnati.
Jen Miller, executive director of the League of Women Voters of Ohio, called Dewine's absence “a shocking dereliction of duty.”
“His absence shows that he is not concerned about hearing from the people of Ohio,” Miller said. “It flies in the face of the spirit of the 2015 and 2018 ballot initiatives that approved an open, transparent and bipartisan process by more than 70% of the votes.”
Dewine sent a representative to listen to Ohioans, as did several other members of the commission. Dewine spokesman Dan Tierney said the regional meetings were “staff-level listening tour stops” and Dewine would review the materials collected by his chief legal counsel.
Only Sen. Vernon Sykes, D-akron, and Auditor Keith Faber, a Republican, attended both sessions. House Minority Leader Emilia Sykes, D-akron, attended the Cleveland meeting.
As for Dewine's trip to Cincinnati, Tierney said: “The governor enjoys supporting all Ohio professional sports teams. He visited Browns camp last week and was looking forward to his visit to Bengals camp today.”
The next Ohio Redistricting Commission hearings are in Dayton and Cincinnati Tuesday. Tierney said Dewine's schedule for the rest of the week had “yet to be determined.”
Jessie Balmert is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Akron Beacon Journal, Cincinnati Enquirer, Columbus Dispatch and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.