The Honorable Mike DeWine
Governor of Ohio
77 S. High St., 30th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215
Dear Governor DeWine,
In light of recent developments in the continuing federal investigation and prosecution of public corruption in Ohio, it is incumbent upon the Ohio Environmental Council (OEC) Action Fund to continue speaking up on behalf of Ohioans, the integrity of our democracy, and our environment.
Your administration has made important and meaningful contributions to protect Ohio’s water systems and public lands. We have been fortunate to work with qualified and esteemed leaders in your cabinet on behalf of Ohioans and our environment. Protections for water and public lands have taken great strides during your term as Governor, including:
Investing in H2Ohio, protecting Lake Erie and Ohio’s water resources from toxic algae and other contaminants.
Purchasing the AEP Recreation Lands, preserving more natural lands across the state for future generations.
Ensuring accessible, safe, and affordable drinking water for Ohioans, by investing in lead service line replacement, taking action on PFAS contaminants, and declaring a brief moratorium on water shutoffs during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic.
While the OEC Action Fund and all environmentally-conscious Ohioans appreciate your leadership on the issues of land and water, this administration, alongside Statehouse leaders, has severely failed on energy policy. Additionally, inadequate action to fully repeal House Bill 6 (HB 6) has further eroded the public’s trust in their elected leaders to provide the necessary checks and balances that prevent corrupt dealings. These failures continue to threaten the health of Ohioans, and erode our democratic institutions, while setting our state back in the critical fight against climate change.
Not only have Ohio’s leaders facilitated the worst energy policies in the nation, abandoning innovation and the free markets trending in favor of clean energy, they have done so at the behest of corrupt corporations and in service of personal gain. None of this is in the public’s interest.
Recent developments concerning the deferred prosecution of FirstEnergy implicate your political appointees, officials connected to your Administration, and statehouse officials in this unprecedented and unfortunate corruption scheme. We strongly urge you take the following steps to make clear the role of our elected and appointed leaders in the HB 6 debacle and to restore the public’s trust in state government:
Immediately make public the details and timeline of when you and your team knew of the corruption scandal and the steps taken thus far to cooperate fully with the FBI and others investigating Ohio corruption.
Initiate an immediate full independent investigation into the actions of your Administration and the resignations of those involved in any aspect of the FirstEnergy scandal—including the appointment of Sam Randazzo as chair of the PUCO.
Push the Legislature to fully repeal HB 6 at the very heart of this scandal.
Reject all contributions from utility and energy companies that benefited from the passage of HB 6 and call on other elected officials in Ohio to do the same.
Publicly disclose all past associations of yourself and your staff with 501(c)(4) organizations, PACs, or Super PACs that supported your campaign, and any ties those organizations had to utility companies. Encourage those organizations to voluntarily disclose their contributions.
We make these requests specifically because evidence continues to illustrate additional ties between your administration and the corrupt actions taken by FirstEnergy to other elected and unelected individuals. For the sake of Ohioans, the time is now to set the record straight and take swift action to restore the public’s trust.
The OEC Action Fund is dedicated to protecting Ohio’s water, air, lands, and democracy. While this administration has led on protecting our water and land resources, the harm to our environment and democractic systems of government cannot be overstated. All known existing evidence points to our elected and appointed officials having chosen to facilitate rather than stop this corruption. Ohioans—and our environment—have paid the price.
We will continue to work constructively to fully repeal HB 6 and craft new policies that balance the interests of all stakeholders, take climate change seriously, and position Ohio for a brighter future. We urge you to stand with us and fellow Ohioans asking for swift and just resolution to correct the egregious policies still in place and right the wrongs of those who have violated the public trust.
Respectfully,
Heather Taylor-Miesle
OEC Action Fund President
CC: The Honorable Jenifer French, Chair, Public Utilities Commission of Ohio