Our Editorial Board had its annual discussion with Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine on Tuesday, and it was lively, covering stadium financing, sin taxes, Jim Tressel and Northeast Ohio’s lowly economic development progress. Every year since he was elected, DeWine has made time to talk to us in January or February, to discuss his initiatives and answer questions. The first couple of years were in person, but the discussions moved online with the pandemic. DeWine has always been an accessible public official – as senator, attorney general, governor and more – but reserving time to visit with newsrooms each year is exceptional. I like DeWine. I probably disagree with his actions half the time, but I respect that his decisions come from his principles. He’s an old-school politician who can stand before any audience and articulate clearly why he does what he does, with substance in his arguments. Few politicians do that anymore. Today, it’s all dog whistles and lies. Every couple of weeks, I hear from readers asking me why I don’t publicly express regret over our board’s endorsement of DeWine when he ran for re-election in in 2022. Many come from Democrats who believe all Republicans are poor leaders. Some seize upon recent decisions they don’t like as evidence that DeWine is a failure. To answer the regular stream of such requests, I say I have no regrets about the endorsement. I wish we had endorsed him in his original run four years earlier. DeWine is generally what I look for in leaders but rarely see. He stands for what he believes in and doesn’t waffle. Do I like his position on trying to make it impossible or ridiculously difficult for voters to change the Ohio constitution? Of course not. Can I understand how he of all people could allow fracking under state parks? I cannot. Do I wish he would stand up to the silly antics of our dog-whistling, drunk-with-power, bought-and-paid-for Legislature? Obviously, yes. I understand him as a pragmatist, though. He picks his battles and works in the background to make deals. His making strong criticisms of lawmaker foolishness might please a lot of Ohioans, but it would also impede his agenda. I see some of the attacks on DeWine I receive as evidence of our worsening polarization. It’s about which team you’re on, not what is best for the state. Because DeWine is a conservative, many on the left vilify his every action and motive, refusing to accept that some of his actions are good for Ohio. That’s unfortunate, because the evidence is clear that he has done a lot of good for Ohio. His latest budget proposal – his last – contains some pure genius. Acknowledging that public financing of sports stadiums is a fact of life – whether you agree with that or not – is pragmatism. In his budget, he proposes a way for sports taxes to pay for stadium construction. He wants to double the tax on sports betting companies to 40 percent. These companies suck hundreds of millions of dollars out of Ohio without investing here. DeWine explained to us that if they profit from sports, they should help support them. Not surprisingly, the Legislature is balking. Sports betting companies, like tobacco and utility companies, throw a lot of money around to get favors from the Legislature at the expense of Ohioans. Already lawmakers are making preposterous arguments about how the doubling of the tax will hurt Ohioans. It won’t. It can’t. That’s not how betting works. The odds are the same across all the states, no matter their tax rates. This money would solely come from the betting companies, and higher taxes than DeWine’s proposal have not scared betting companies out of other states. Yes, that means lawmakers are lying to you. Do wonder why that is? DeWine also wants higher taxes on tobacco to provide aid to parents of young children, but our lawmakers have shown a love for the cancer-causing tobacco companies that defies logic. They brush back taxes on vaping and work to block efforts by cities to reduce smoking. How can a lawmaker justify helping tobacco companies? Do you wonder why that is? Next time you see lawmakers in the news explaining how DeWine’s betting and tobacco taxes will hurt Ohioans, ask yourself if that makes any sense. DeWine’s proposals make full sense. The lawmakers’ objections are nonsense. The governor will have a battle on his hands to get his proposal through. If you agree with him, you might consider calling the Ohio House and Senate leaders to tell them you’re watching and ask why they are so friendly to betting and tobacco companies. I said at the start that I like DeWine. I’ll miss our sessions with him when they end. Someone else will occupy the governor’s mansion in 2027. I suspect some of the people asking me to repudiate our endorsement might start to miss DeWine around then. I would not expect Donald Trump acolyte Vivek Ramaswamy, if he becomes governor, to base decisions for the state on principles the way DeWine has. I’m at cquinn@cleveland.com Thanks for reading. | 