| John Kasich | |
|---|---|
| 69th Governor of Ohio | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 10, 2011[1] |
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| Lieutenant | Mary Taylor |
| Preceded by | Ted Strickland |
| Chairman of the House Committee on the Budget | |
| In office January 3, 1995 – January 3, 2001 |
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| Preceded by | Martin Olav Sabo |
| Succeeded by | Jim Nussle |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio's 12th district |
|
| In office January 3, 1983 – January 3, 2001 |
|
| Preceded by | Bob Shamansky |
| Succeeded by | Pat Tiberi |
| Member of the Ohio Senate from the 15th district |
|
| In office January 3, 1979 – January 3, 1982 |
|
| Preceded by | Robert O'Shaughnessy |
| Succeeded by | Richard Pfeiffer |
| Personal details | |
| Born | John Richard Kasich May 13, 1952 McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Mary Lee Griffith (Divorced) Karen Waldbillig (1997–present) |
| Residence | Personal home in Westerville, Ohio |
| Alma mater | The Ohio State University |
| Religion | Christianity |
John Richard Kasich (pronounced /ˈkeɪsɨk/; born May 13, 1952)[2] is the 69th and current Governor of Ohio.[3] A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Ohio's 12th congressional district from 1983 to 2001.[4] He was a commentator on Fox News Channel, hosting Heartland with John Kasich, from 2001 to 2007.
In the 2010 Ohio gubernatorial election, Kasich narrowly defeated Democratic incumbent Ted Strickland, receiving 49% of the vote.[5]
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Kasich was born in Pittsburgh area industrial town of McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania,[4] the son of Anne and John Kasich, who worked as a mail carrier.[6] His father was of Czechoslovakian descent and his mother was of Croatian ancestry.[7][8][9] After attending public schools in McKees Rocks, he enrolled at Ohio State University, where he joined the Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity.[10] He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Ohio State in 1974.[11]
He originally worked as a researcher for the Ohio Legislative Service Commission.[12] From 1975 to 1978, he served as an administrative assistant to then-state Senator Buz Lukens.[13]
In 1978, Kasich was elected to the Ohio Senate, representing the 15th district, after defeating Democratic incumbent Robert O'Shaughnessy with 56% of the vote.[14] At age 26, he was the youngest person ever elected to the Ohio Senate.[15] One of his first acts as a state senator was to refuse a pay raise.[16][17]
He was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1982, defeating incumbent Bob Shamansky. Kasich was reelected eight times, serving from 1983 to 2001.[18]
Kasich voted in favor of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).[19]
In 1994, Kasich was one of the Republican leaders to support a last-minute deal with President Bill Clinton to pass the Federal Assault Weapons Ban. After a series of meetings with Clinton's Chief of Staff, Leon Panetta, who was also a long-time friend of Kasich, the assault weapons ban was passed when 42 Republicans crossed party lines and voted with the Democrats to ban assault weapons.[20]
Kasich is considered a fiscal conservative, taking aim at programs supported by Republicans and Democrats, teaming up with Rep. Ron Dellums to cut spending on the B-2 Bomber and Ralph Nader in seeking to reduce corporate tax loopholes.[21][22]
During the 1996 presidential campaign, Republican nominee Bob Dole was reported to have considered Kasich as a vice presidential running mate but instead selected Jack Kemp, a former congressman and HUD Secretary.[23] During his 1996 re-election campaign Kasich's Democratic opponent in his House race, Cynthia Ruccia, made comments apparently questioning Kasich's sexuality in an attempt to damage him with conservative voters. Ruccia raised the question of the propriety of bachelor Kasich sharing a Washington townhouse with his male chief-of-staff for several years while the staffer drew a large government salary. He won the 1996 election anyway.[24]
In 1993, he became the Ranking Republican on the House Budget Committee where he authored an alternative to Clinton's deficit reduction plan that he presented as relying on spending reductions rather than tax increases. Later that year, the Penny-Kasich Plan, which proposed $103 billion in cuts to federal spending over 5 years, including a politically risky reduction of Medicare payments for recipients who earn $75,000 or more in adjusted gross income, failed by only six votes.[25]
Kasich also served as chair of the congressional committee on welfare reform. In 1994, Kasich was called in by Republicans who supported Clinton's Omnibus Crime Bill of 1994 to assist in helping to reduce the overall cost. His support of the bill helped it pass the House, but provisions that outlawed some firearms did not win him fans among gun rights supporters. Many of his constituents were upset that he promised to oppose gun control during his previous election, then voted in favor of it.[26]
In 1999 Kasich voted for the Barr Amendment, which prohibited medical cannabis in the District of Columbia.[27]
In 1995, when Republicans gained the majority in the United States Congress, Kasich was selected to become Chairman of the House Budget Committee. As Chairman, Kasich worked towards balancing the Federal Budget, and was the chief architect of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997. As Chairman of the Budget Committee, Kasich claimed credit for the only U.S. Budget Surplus since 1969.[28]
In 1995, when Kasich assumed the position of Budget Chairman, the U.S. Federal Budget had a deficit of roughly -$163 billion, and upon the conclusion of his tenure as Budget Chairman, the U.S. Federal Budget had a surplus of over $236 billion.[28] Kasich claimed credit for the surplus in a budget that the GOP-controlled Congress passed into law.
Kasich did not seek reelection for the House for the 2000 election, but instead formed an exploratory committee to run for President.[29]
He formerly hosted Heartland with John Kasich on the Fox News Channel and also guest hosted The O'Reilly Factor, filling in for Bill O'Reilly as needed. Kasich frequently appeared as a guest host and analyst on Hannity & Colmes and now Hannity.
Kasich served on the board of directors for several corporations, including Invacare Corporation and Chicago-based Norvax Inc. In 2001, Kasich joined Lehman Brothers' investment banking division in Columbus as a managing director.[30] He remained at the company until its bankruptcy filing and subsequent breakup in September 2008. For his work in 2007-2008, Lehman Brothers paid Kasich $182,692 for his 2008 salary, a $432,000 performance bonus for 2007, and $2,250 in other benefits.[31]
Republicans tried to recruit Kasich for Governor of Ohio in 2006; however Kasich declined to enter the race.[32]
Kasich "always had an independent streak", said his friend, Curt Steiner, former chief of staff to former Ohio Governor and U.S. Senator George Voinovich. "He's a solid Republican, but he's always had his own views. [He's] a biological Democrat" [... his parents were Democrats]. "He came from an average background. He's in touch with people. He's not a Beltway thinker."[33]
In early 2007, Kasich was reportedly considering making a serious run for Governor of Ohio in 2010, seeking the Republican nomination to unseat incumbent Ted Strickland.[34] In March 2008, Kasich said that Ohio's state income tax should be "phased out." [35]
In 2008, Kasich was named the Honorary Chairman of Recharge Ohio; an organization with the stated purpose of electing leaders who would "get our state back on track."[36] Kasich said that he hoped that through Recharge Ohio, he could "provide the framework necessary to allow Ohio to become a leader in economic and educational success."[37]
On May 1, 2009, Kasich filed papers to run for Governor of Ohio against incumbent Democratic Governor Ted Strickland.[38][39] He formally announced his candidacy on June 1, 2009.[40] On January 15, 2010 Kasich announced current Ohio State Auditor Mary Taylor as his running mate.
On May 4, 2010, he won the Republican nomination for governor, having run unopposed. On November 2, 2010 he defeated incumbent Democrat Ted Strickland to win the governorship.[41] He was sworn in at midnight on January 10, 2011 in a private ceremony at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus. It was then followed by a ceremonial inauguration at the Ohio Theatre at noon on the same day.[3]
John Kasich's former employer, News Corp., was accused in 2010 of making improper campaign solicitations for Kasich's campaign. The company hired attorneys to defend themself in an Ohio Elections Commission investigation, who argued that the allegations were not only baseless but also designed to have a "chilling effect" on future press coverage.[42] The Ohio Elections Commission voted 5-0 against finding any violation by FoxNews.[43]
Despite offering two cabinet positions to black candidates, including one position to Franklin County Auditor, Clarence E. Mingo, II, Kasich has received criticism with the appointment of his all white cabinet, the first Ohio Governor to not appoint at least one minority since 1962. Also of note, of the 22 only five are women. Kasich's defiant response to the lack of diversity in his cabinet, "I don't look at things from the standpoint of any of these sort of metrics that people tend to focus on, race or age, or any of those things. It's not the way I look at things... I want the best possible team I can get."[44]
Gov. Kasich made a comment in front of the Environmental Protection Agency on January 21, 2011 where he called a Columbus Police Officer an idiot for giving him a traffic violation in 2008 that he later pled guilty in court for.[45]
Kasich has been undecided on the potential placement of slot machines at racetracks, although he claims to be considering the revenue option. He will be the first Governor to actually oversee operating casinos in Ohio. Kasich has in the past taken a historically Republican approach to gambling, that is cautious about social impacts. Some have stated that one of Kasich's earliest Executive Orders may allow video lottery terminals at racetracks.[46]
Kasich is an opponent of the Evidence Based Model Program of his predecessor, Governor Strickland, and has stated that he plans to end it under his tenure. However, he has not been specific on what his plans are in how to replace the current educational system.[47]
Throughout his gubernatorial campaign, Kasich opposed the Ohio high-speed rail project, and stated that if elected, the program would be disbanded. Upon winning election, Kasich has fought to keep the $400 million federal grant that was to be used for the project to use for other infrastructure projects. However, in a letter from Secretary of Transportation Ray Lahood, who served with Kasich in Congress, it was stated that the money was specifically allocated only for a high speed rail system, and could not be used for anything else. On December 3, 2010, in a meeting with President Barack Obama, Kasich once again lobbied for the ability to use the money for another project.[48] With the federal grant to be used specifically for high speed rail, this resulted in $400 million being redirected from Ohio towards high speed rail projects in other states such as California and Florida.[49]
While Kasich's predecessor Ted Strickland signed an executive order allowing for collective bargaining opportunities for in-house child care workers, Kasich stated he would not continue the subsidies.[50]
During a speech before Ashtabula County Republicans in March 2009, Kasich talked about the need to "break the back of organized labor in the schools," according to the Ashtabula Star Beacon.[51] Ohio's teachers' unions supported Democrat Ted Strickland, and after Kasich's gubernatorial victory, he said, “I am waiting for the teachers’ unions to take out full-page ads in all the major newspapers, apologizing for what they had to say about me during this campaign."[52]
Elsewhere, he said he was willing to work with "unions that make things." [53]
Kasich was pulled over for a traffic violation on January 11, 2008 for violating public safety, reportedly calling the police officer who ticketed him "an idiot" even after Kasich pleaded guilty to the violation.[54][55] The Ohio Democratic Party unearthed video of Kasich's comments and put it on YouTube.[56]
Kasich was raised as a Roman Catholic, but converted to a more evangelical form of Christianity after his parents were both killed in an automobile crash in 1987.[21][57] However, he does not identify himself with the Christian right.[21]
Kasich amicably divorced his first wife, Mary Lee Griffith, who helped campaign for him after the divorce during the 1990s. He is currently married to his second wife, Karen. Their twin daughters, Emma and Reese, attend Worthington Christian schools.
Kasich has authored three books. Courage is Contagious was published in 1998 and made the New York Times bestseller list. His second book, Stand for Something: The Battle for America's Soul was published in 2006. Kasich's most recent book, Every Other Monday, was also a New York Times bestseller.[58]
| United States House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Bob Shamansky |
Member of the House of Representatives from Ohio's 12th congressional district 1983–2001 |
Succeeded by Pat Tiberi |
| Preceded by Martin Sabo |
Chairperson of the House Committee on the Budget 1995–2001 |
Succeeded by Jim Nussle |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by Ken Blackwell |
Republican nominee for Governor of Ohio 2010 |
Most recent |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Ted Strickland |
Governor of Ohio 2011–present |
Incumbent |
| United States order of precedence | ||
| Preceded by Joe Biden as Vice President |
Order of Precedence of the United States Within Ohio |
Succeeded by Mayor of city in which event is held |
| Succeeded by Otherwise John Boehner as Speaker of the House of Representatives |
||
| Preceded by Bill Haslam as Governor of Tennessee |
Order of Precedence of the United States Outside Ohio |
Succeeded by Bobby Jindal as Governor of Louisiana |
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