Gov. John Kasich gave his final State of the State speech, at Otterbein University in his hometown of Westerville. And while he shuffled from one thought to the next, he didn鈥檛 discuss policies for the state.
Kasich鈥檚 State of the State speech was political potpourri. He didn鈥檛 talk about any one subject for more than a few minutes. He quoted philosophers and theologians from Plato to Martin Luther. He talked about secular humanism and religion and its role in his life. He was reflective.
鈥淚鈥檝e just done everything that I can do. I鈥檝e done my best. We have to run through the tape. Make no mistake about it. We鈥檙e not quitting until we turn off the lights because we have so many things to do,鈥� said Kasich who, at times, hard to follow.
He talked about national concerns, and said Ohioans need to work together to improve communities and the state, sometimes using phrases he鈥檚 said over and over.
鈥淟ive a life a little bigger than ourselves. And you know what it鈥檚 all about. It鈥檚 human connectiveness, that we are connected to one another. When the police officers in Westerville were killed, then somebody who lived up near Lake Erie lost a little bit of themselves. When a little boy drifts ashore on a raft from a foreign country and dies on the beach, we all lose a piece of ourselves,鈥� said Kasich.
He touted positive work on opioids in Ohio, though numbers of deadly overdoses are still rising. But he didn鈥檛 talk much about his new gun law proposals or about his plans to merge education into one agency. And the only news he made was that the state will soon open its largest state park, to be named for Jesse Owens. But he didn鈥檛 say where.
Kasich honored three Ohioans with his Courage awards. One was a Kent State student who developed a campus mental health program. A 10-year-old Ashland boy was honored for giving back $300 meant for an Xbox to help the homeless. And the third was a Miamisburg nurse who helped rescue victims of the shooting in Las Vegas.
And Kasich urged governors who follow him to continue giving the courage awards during future state of the state speeches.
As Republican and Democratic lawmakers flowed out of the theater, most seemed to approve of Kasich鈥檚 general tone as he emphasized the need for people to help and support their community.
Republican Representative Mike Duffey enjoyed the positive message.
鈥淗e鈥檚 appealing to the kinder, gentler side of what everyone鈥檚 reacting to in national politics and state politics today just thinking about how do we be human beings with one another instead of just politicians,鈥� said Duffey.
And while Kasich didn鈥檛 talk about specific policies such as newly proposed gun regulations and an overhaul to education, Duffey says he鈥檚 still expecting the administration to push for those measures.
Democratic Representative Dan Ramos agreed that Kasich touched on a lot of important issues and problems.
鈥淏ut without mentioning 鈥榓nd then we have to fix this鈥� in fact so much of what he said was in fact so much of what he said was unfortunately 鈥榳ell we can鈥檛 fix everything you know we have infant mortality we have poverty, there鈥檚 more work to do unfortunately we can鈥檛 fix everything. Okay but you鈥檝e been in charge for eight years now and your party has been in control of both houses and let鈥檚 see those policies because unfortunately the same problems we had then we still have now,鈥� said Ramos.
While he appreciated the references to philosophers and great thinkers, Republican Representative Andy Thompson said the speech was hard to follow at times, a sentiment shared by others in attendance. Thompson said he鈥檇 like to see the governor, the House and the Senate, finish this year out strong.
鈥淚 guess what I hope most from the speech is that we will run through the tape I think we鈥檝e got some things we can get accomplished and what I would encourage him to do is to focus on the state and not think about that next level or think about where he鈥檚 going hopefully we can get some good things going,鈥� Thompson said.
Democratic Representative Alicia Reece saw the speech as a fitting farewell to Kasich鈥檚 time in office, seeing the lack of details as a message that it鈥檚 now up to the Legislature.
鈥淗e continued to say that he did he best he could and now I think it鈥檚 in the hands of the General Assembly and so it鈥檚 going to be up to the General Assembly to come back and work and get some legislation as it relates to responsible gun legislation,鈥� said Reece.
Several lawmakers talked about the proposed education overhaul that would create a mega education department with a director that answers to the governor. Most said to expect changes to that bill, something that the governor鈥檚 office is expected to play a role in.
