Editorial: Kasich speech short on details

No one can question Gov. John Kasich's belief in Ohio. Kasich spoke for 80 minutes Tuesday about the greatness of this state, its people and its products. But Kasich was delivering his second State of the State address, not a campaign speech, so he left unanswered one very important question:

How does Kasich propose Ohio again achieve the greatness of which he spoke?

Kasich moved the address before a joint session of the Legislature to Steubenville to highlight the accomplishments of an elementary school there. One might expect from that setting a bold plan for education reform. Instead, Kasich spoke in broad outlines — rewarding excellent teachers, watching closely charter schools that underperform, giving all children the chance to learn — without saying how Ohio gets there.

Kasich did speak of some first-year highlights. In a year overshadowed by the fight over collective-bargaining reform, Kasich accomplished important things: Medicaid reform, prison reform, a crackdown on pill mills in southern Ohio. In only a year, Ohio has gone from 48th to ninth in the nation in terms of jobs created. These are all huge accomplishments, and Kasich rightly had praise for those involved.

Kasich also struck a needed positive tone, emphasizing that jobs are the first priority. He highlighted the people and the businesses that are turning Ohio's economy back around, and pointed to areas in which this state will become, in Kasich's vision, a national leader and a world leader.

But Kasich's speech was “mostly devoid of big initiatives,” as The Associated Press charitably put it.

How will Ohio become the nation's leader in job creation? Kasich failed to build with any form of legislative push on the successes of closing an $8 billion budget hole without raising taxes, of Ohio having had a net 47,500 new jobs in the past year, or of modernizing Ohio's development department.

How will Ohio ensure the fracking used on the east side of the state to extract oil and natural gas won't become an environmental hazard? How will Ohio capitalize on this boon of natural resources? Kasich said the state's community colleges must do a better job of training workers in needed areas — so the workers in these new fields are Ohioans — but there was no policy recommendation.

How will Ohio improve teacher accountability or ensure everyone involved is giving all students the chance to learn? Kasich touched on the successes at Steubenville's Wells Academy and pointed to reforms underway in Cleveland. What he didn't do was point to any state policy that will help achieve those results.

Kasich did deliver a specific plan for increasing broadband speeds. Kasich said Ohio will be able to compete with Silicon Valley, North Carolina's Research Triangle and Boston for technology. Specifically, Ohio will spend $10 million to upgrade its network.

Kasich also unveiled the Governor's Courage Awards. He gave the first three to a woman who lost her son to prescription painkillers, another woman who had been a victim of human trafficking and went on to become a social worker, and the family of a soldier killed in Afghanistan. It was a nice tribute to the valor of these brave Ohioans.

But it didn't make up for the policy shortcomings in Kasich's speech.

For comparison's sake, Kasich last year laid the groundwork for collective-bargaining reform. He made the case for Medicaid reform to allow more seniors to stay at home rather than going to nursing homes. He had a vision for prison reform.

Previous governors have used the State of the State to push policy. Democrat Ted Strickland called for changing several aspects of public education. Republican Bob Taft made the case for rolling back the personal income tax and reducing the reliance on property taxes. Both Taft and Strickland pushed for state investments in new technology. Republican George Voinovich called for a tax increase and education funding reform.

Whether one agrees with any or all of those pitches is largely irrelevant. The governor traditionally has used his State of State address not only to highlight achievements and setbacks from the previous year, but also to outline a vision for the coming year or years. Kasich did a great job of promoting Ohio and recounting where we've been. But wherever Kasich sees Ohio going, he failed to say how he plans to get us there.

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