Robin Rayfield, executive director of ORTA, outlines the reasons the governor's sudden firing of Wade Steen from the STRS Board are highly suspicious; plus a word of warning for STRS management

From the ORTA monthly newsletter

May 18, 2023

Wow! What a difference 1 month can make. At the last publication of the ORTA newsletter (mid April 2023) we were waiting on the STRS board election results. ORTA’s endorsed candidate for an active spot on the board was Pat Davidson and he was matched against the OEA-endorsed and STRS incumbent candidate Arthur Lard.

The OEA pulled out all the stops, spending tremendous amounts of money to win the seat for Mr. Lard. STRS did its best to win the seat for Mr. Lard, promoting the ‘excellence’ of the board during Mr. Lard’s tenure. In the end, ORTA, the Facebook group STRS Members Only, The Facebook group STRS Watchdogs, The Ohio Federation of Teachers, and Save Ohio STRS all supported the winning candidate, Pat Davidson.

Mr. Davidson’s win marked the 5th straight election at STRS that saw the STRS incumbent, supported by OEA, lose to a reform-minded candidate. That would seem to be an overwhelming mandate for change. It would make one think that surely STRS would pivot towards a reform agenda. Well, not so much, unfortunately. STRS instead used its lobbyist to influence the governor to attempt to remove his appointee (Wade Steen) and replace him with a person that is a well-known private equity and real estate investor. The firing of Wade Steen (which ORTA believes to be illegal) is suspicious for several reasons:

• Mr. Steen is one of the original reform-minded candidates on the STRS board. Wade has challenged the payment of bonuses and the ridiculous spending of the STRS management.\

• Did STRS know the results of the election before they were announced, and ask the governor to remove an outspoken critic of the STRS management? It seems strange that the governor would wait until the reform minded candidates won a majority of seats on the board before making this political blunder.

• Why have politicians abandoned teachers? Is it because the OEA and Wall St. pay so much in political donations to politicians in Ohio that they will continue to move the goal posts every time teachers score and election victory? With Householder in deep trouble for taking bribes and illegal donations from dark money sources on Wall St., and DeWine, STRS and Householder using the same lobbyist, a connection between politicians in Ohio and Wall St.

• Perhaps the most suspicious aspect of this move by DeWine is the timing. It’s reported by STRS management that the election results were known by STRS on Tuesday May 2nd. Mr. Steen was asked to resign on Thursday May 4, 2023. Apparently, STRS used its political influence between Tuesday and Thursday to coerce Mr. Steen into resigning. Remember, the results were known on Tuesday but were not announced until Saturday May 6, 2023. 

Even though STRS management is attempting to hold onto the $90 billion pension system and will do anything to maintain influence with their Wall St. buddies, their days are numbered. STRS management has lost the confidence of active contributors and retirees alike.