A coalition formed by pro-democracy and environmental groups was disappointed Wednesday when representatives from Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost's office refused to meet with them as they call for the state leaders to dissolve FirstEnergy's ability to do business in Ohio.
Greg Coleridge, national co-director of Move to Amend and a part of the FirstEnergy Accountability Coalition said the rejection from Yost's office ahead of the Wednesday press conference at the Statehouse was a "respectful dis."
"So this is a very nice and kind of respectful dis and rejection of a very thoughtful, thoughtful and respectful request to meet with David Yost or at least of underlings from his office," he said.
Coleridge read from an email from a representative of Yost's office that states they couldn't approve a meeting because of the open cases the office is pursuing against FirstEnergy — a civil case and criminal cases against former company executives.
Wednesday was the fifth anniversary of 2019's House Bill 6 passage in the Ohio House.
Listen: The Power Grab Podcast
The coalition argues FirstEnergy was at the heart of the state's largest bribery scandal, yet hasn't faced adequate consequences. The coalition wants Yost to make use of an Ohio law to revoke the company's permission to do business in the state.
FirstEnergy admitted to paying more than $60 million in bribes to former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and others, including Sam Randazzo, former chairman of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio.
In exchange, the company secured a $1 billion taxpayer-funded bailout that unraveled when federal investigators revealed the scheme.
The company paid a $230 million fine. The manager of FirstEnergy's corporate communications department said it restructured the business with a focus on ethics and brought in a new board and executive team.
"And in the same way that one may say that if a person has cancer, does one get rid of the cancer and think of it in terms of harming the cancer? Of course we get rid of the cancer to protect the body. The body politic is what we're talking about here today," Coleridge said. "We need to get rid of the FirstEnergy corporate cancer to protect we the people, to protect consumers, to protect the environment, to protect whatever amount of democracy we have which ain't a whole hell of a lot here in Ohio."
Move to Amend is a national effort aimed at amending the Constitution to declare that corporations are not people.
Deb Hogshead, with Move to Amend Miami County, said the company acted outside the bounds of the charter that allows them to operate in the state.
"The corporation stepped into the process of governing with its power and wealth, to exert control and bribe elected officials into representing its interests, rather than ours," Hogshead said.
Sandy Bolzenius with Move to Amend Central Ohio, symbolically unplugged a light illuminating a cardboard model of FirstEnergy's building, and plugged in a model made to represent the people of Ohio. She said the state's seen a power imbalance develop as rules governing corporations in the state got more and more friendly.
"Corporations have grown so enormously wealthy and powerful that they are able to assert their interests over our interests, and we're the ones who brought them into existence," Bolzenius said.
Joe Mosyjowski, a professional engineer, said the state takes away the ability of individuals to do business in the state all the time, for engineers like himself, lawyers and doctors, any job that requires licensing. But, there appears to be different rules for corporations.
"Simply put, laws like taxes are meant to control us, the little people. The Ohio Legislature has permitted big money to smother speech and corporate power to overwhelm citizens," he said.
Yost's office did not respond to WOSU's request for a comment.
