BEXLEY, Ohio — On a day that saw him fielding questions from TV stations out of northwest Ohio and other parts of the state, Gov. Mike DeWine was gracious and candid with his answers.
WTOL 11 was invited to spend 30 minutes with DeWine at the Governor's Mansion in Bexley, Ohio. Just days from celebrating his 77th birthday, DeWine reflected on what he said was a more than 40-year career in politics.
"What I tried to do is be governed by what the facts are and to gather as many facts as I can," the governor said Wednesday. "I've looked back on my career. I've been in politics and government for 40-some years and mistakes I've made ... I got things wrong, but when I did, it was usually because I didn't have enough facts. I didn't dig deep enough."
The week before WTOL 11's interview, DeWine had vetoed House Bill 68, a piece of legislation seeking to ban gender-affirming care for minors and transgender athletes’ participation in girls and women’s sports. He said that decision was based on digging into the issue and having conversations all over the state.
"I dug very deep in regard to this particular bill," DeWine said. "And what I found is what caused me to veto the bill. I'm not questioning anyone else's motives. But I can just tell you from what I found, it was pretty clear that I need to veto the bill."
Two days after WTOL 11's interview with him, DeWine signed an executive order barring Ohioans from receiving transgender surgeries until they’re 18.
Next week, the GOP-led legislature returns to the statehouse likely to overturn the governor's veto of HB 68.
WTOL 11 attended the groundbreaking ceremony for Intel's multi-million dollar chip-processing facility outside of Columbus in 2023. At the time, state leaders touted how every corner of the state would benefit from the project. However, as time has passed, leaders with the Toledo Metropolitan Area Council of Governments and Ohio Department of Transportation have said the number of stop lights between Columbus and Toledo presents challenges for suppliers to bring related business to the northwest corner of the state.
"We have an unacceptable time that it takes to drive from Columbus to Toledo and back and forth," DeWine said. "That is totally unacceptable. We're really on two tracks. One track is what can we do to stop lights now? What are the things changes that couldn't be made? And so I've got ODOT looking at starting to do some things to pick up a few minutes here, a few minutes there. The other big question ... looking at (it) from a big point of view. We're doing a full study in the state of Ohio about transportation."
Unfortunately for northwest Ohio, the governor said building roads is not a fast process and information about long-term solutions should not be expected soon.
In the short term, Wood County will be the location of a still-to-be-named data center, which DeWine said is a great opportunity for the region.
"What we can tell you about data centers in general, is, while they do not employ a lot of people, they attract other companies to come," he said. "That's why we love data centers, because other companies want to be close to a data center. So when you're getting to a data center, that's a good indication of what's going to come."