Gov. John Kasich has made a rare move regarding his last State of the State speech. Statehouse correspondent Karen Kasler reports he’s already picked the date and location months before it’ll happen.
Kasich has written to state lawmakers with the surprisingly early announcement that he wants to deliver his final State of the State speech on the evening of March 6 in central Ohio. But it won't be in the Statehouse. Instead, he’s chosen the campus of Otterbein University in his adopted hometown of Westerville, where he launched his campaign for governor in 2009.
Like previous governors, Kasich delivered his first State of the State in the Statehouse. But that 2011 speech was marked by union protestors who were so loud they could be heard through the heavy doors of the House chamber.
The following year, Kasich announced he'd take the speech and state lawmakers on the road to Steubenville. Every year since, it’s been a guessing game of where and when it would happen. It’s been in Lima, Medina, Wilmington, Marietta and Sandusky.
