Governor-elect Mike DeWine and incoming Secretary of State Frank LaRose have announced their transition teams – the people who will help set policy, personnel and priorities for the next four years.
Brian Hicks headed up Governor-elect Bob Taft’s transition team as he took over for fellow Republican George Voinovich in 1998. Hicks said everyone needs to work fast to be ready for the budget process in January. And he thinks DeWine’s transition team, led by longtime aide Laurel Dawson, will cast a wide net.
“If you go back and you look at some of the appointments that Voinovich did and that even Taft did, there were Democrats who served in their administration. And I would expect that would be the case this year,” he said.
LaRose selected two veteran politicians to lead his transition team: former Speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives JoAnn Davidson and former Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, who’s now a conservative commentator blasting Democrats in the Florida recount. Hicks said transition teams are selected for skill sets and sometimes for symbolism.
