Governor DeWine tarnishes his own reputation with his smear campaigns against STRS Board member Wade Steen

Mike DeWine's smear campaigns against pension board's Wade Steen tarnishes his reputation

"If Dewine would take a moment to simply reflect on his actions, he would realize that he and his administration are the red flag," Jeffrey T. Stavroff

Jeffrey T. Stavroff, Guest columnist

Columbus Dispatch

May 17, 2024  

(See video here) 

Key Points 

•  Gov. Mike Dewine has raised a red flag concerning STRS. Attorney Jeffrey T. Stavroff says the governor and his administration are the red flag. 

•  Stavroff says DeWine uses smear campaigns and unethical tactics to achieve his political goals. 

Columbus attorney Jeffrey T. Stavroff is State Teachers Retirement System board member Wade Steen's son-in-law. The former assistant prosecutor in the Columbus City Attorney’s Office now practices criminal defense and business transactions. 

When all else fails, resort to smear campaigns and unethical tactics to achieve your desired result. This is the political philosophy that Gov. Mike Dewine subscribes to. 

A recent example of the governor's employing hit-job style politics is his unlawful removal of my father-in-law, Wade Steen, as his appointee to the Ohio State Teachers Retirement System board of trustees.

Instead of learning his lesson that such tactics are wrong, Dewine doubled down and raised a so-called “red flag” concerning STRS. If Dewine would take a moment to simply reflect on his actions, he would realize that he and his administration are the red flag. 

STRS is a giant pension system that is dedicated to ensuring Ohio teachers have healthy and sustainable lives in retirement. 

Wade Steen asked reasonable questions

Steen, an accountant with significant auditing and investment experience, was appointed to serve on the STRS board of trustees twice: First by Governor John Kasich, and most recently by Dewine. 

Like all trustees, Steen is a fiduciary who is charged with looking out for and promoting the best interests of STRS’s beneficiaries: Teachers.

When Steen began asking reasonable questions about the pension — why is the pension consistently underperforming; why are staff receiving big bonuses; why are modest cost of living adjustments not being given to retired teachers; should the Ohio Attorney General’s Office investigate impropriety within STRS? — one would expect Dewine to applaud and promote the efforts of his appointee.

Instead, Dewine unlawfully and shockingly removed Mr. Steen. 

The Tenth District Court of Appeals ordered Mr. Steen restored to his trustee seat. 

The court’s opinion should be celebrated as a reasonable interpretation of the governor’s executive power. It should also serve as a smack in the face to Dewine and a warning not to engage in similar misconduct. 

DeWine attacked with so called 'red flags' 

Apparently, an embarrassing and scolding court order was not enough to deter Dewine. Instead, he championed an anonymous and unsigned memo—the “red flag” — to again attack Steen and those STRS trustees asking the tough questions.

The governor’s promotion of this cowardly, false, and defamatory memo is misleading officers within state government; so much that Attorney General Dave Yost filed a lawsuit—based on this memo—to remove Steen and another STRS trustee, retired Wright State University economics professor Rudy Fichtenbaum, who have done nothing but carry out their fiduciary responsibilities owed to Ohio teachers.

Why is Wade Steen being targeted?

Ask yourself: What do unpaid, volunteer appointees like Steen have to gain by asking tough questions and serving as fiduciaries? Why is Ohio Gov. Mike Dewine suddenly raising a “red flag” about the issues at STRS when people like Steen have been consistently raising red flags for years?

A simple answer might be: Follow the money and examine the donors to Dewine.

It may reveal that the institutional investment lobby is fueling Governor Dewine’s lawlessness to make sure STRS investment staff continue to receive their bonuses, regardless of their performance and obligations to the teachers who rely on the pension to live in retirement. 

Dewine has a storied resume and noteworthy life in public service. Unfortunately, he expects that his appointee to STRS must serve his political interests and not the interests of active and retired teachers.

This chapter in Governor Dewine’s career—probably one of his last ones—will leave his reputation tarnished and legacy asterisked.

Columbus attorney Jeffrey T. Stavroff is State Teachers Retirement System board member Wade Steen's son-in-law. The former assistant prosecutor in the Columbus City Attorney’s Office now practices criminal defense and business transactions. 

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