Dayton Daily News...
Kasich appoints mostly males
Number of minorities and women doesn’t reflect population.
By Laura A. Bischoff

Thursday, August 25, 2011 

COLUMBUS — Early in his tenure as governor, Republican John Kasich took heat for appointing an all-white cabinet that was dominated by men. The governor later appointed black men to lead two departments and pledged to diversify his leadership team over time. 

But a Dayton Daily News examination shows Kasich has named predominantly white males to boards, commissions and open judgeships since becoming governor in January. 

In his first seven months as Ohio governor, the Republican made 141 appointments: 28 women, or 19.8 percent, and 15 minorities, or 10.6 percent. 

Ohio’s population is 51.2 percent female and 17.3 percent non-white, according to the 2010 U.S. Census data. 

The relative lack of women in Kasich’s administration is a problem, said state Rep. Nancy Garland, D-New Albany, chair of the House Democratic Women’s Caucus. “We do make up, in Ohio, more than 50 percent of the population. I do think we are definitely being underrepresented.” 

State Rep. Tracy Heard, D-Columbus, a member of the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus, said the lack of diversity isn’t good for Kasich or Ohio and sends the message that the governor isn’t interested in diverse opinions. 

“These are all people who think exactly like him,” she said of the appointment list. “Once he became governor, his obligation was to represent everyone. There has to be an opportunity for all those voices to be represented and heard.” 

Kasich did pick a woman, Mary Taylor, to be his lieutenant governor. Kasich Press Secretary Rob Nichols also said the administration is reaching out to minority groups to get more candidates for boards and commissions slots. 

“Give us those resumes, give us those names, encourage them to approach us,” he said. 

Nichols noted that women and minorities have been appointed to high-profile boards such as the Ohio Board of Education, Casino Control Commission, Lottery Commission and Industrial Commission. 

Some of the boards and commissions focus on very specialized areas and members are not compensated. 

Others carry significant clout and often come with a generous paycheck. For example, Public Utilities Commission of Ohio members are paid between $120,000 and $125,000 a year and they have to power to regulate electric, gas, telephone and water utilities as well as hazardous waste transportation. 

Democrat Ted Strickland made 2,577 appointments in his four years on the job, with 36.5 percent of the posts going to women and 16.6 percent to minorities, according to an internal document kept by the Strickland administration. 

Garland said both Strickland and Republican Bob Taft had better records of appointing women than Kasich has established so far. 

“We are really taking a step backwards here, which is really frustrating,” Garland said. 

Nichols pointed out that the governor’s appointees are more diverse than the Statehouse press corps, which includes 30 percent female reporters and two minorities. 

“We are more diverse than the people covering us,” he said. 

Read it at the Dayton Daily News