COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio Lieutenant Governor Jon Husted reflected on the state's triumphs and challenges in 2023 during an interview with 3News' Matt Rascon Thursday.
Job creation and the state’s lowest unemployment rate in history were top of mind.
“Finally, that reputation caught up with us as the nation and the world began to see that Ohio is the go-to state in the midwest,” Lt. Gov. Jon Husted said.
He has made economic development a priority during his time in office and in 2023, companies like Amazon, Intel and Joby Aviation all announced expansions in the Columbus and Dayton areas.
It’s left some wondering, why not Cleveland?
Husted pointed to Sherwin Williams’ new global headquarters, more innovation at the Cleveland Clinic and the announcement in 2022 that Ford Motor Co. would build electric vehicles at its assembly plant in Loran County.
“I really think there are some great opportunities in Lorain County to get some of these big major sites to land some of these semi-conductor and other types of manufacturing opportunities,” he said.
But Husted also acknowledged the challenge that the Greater Cleveland area faces with the lack of available shovel-ready land.
“When they want a location, they want to go immediately,” Husted said.
He also stressed safety is critical to economic development.
“It’s incredibly important," Husted added. "I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to protect people and their property if you want to have a prosperous community.”
This week, we reported Cuyahoga County saw a jump in the number of juveniles they’ve charged with homicides this year. And Cleveland saw a higher number of homicide victims under 17.
Husted said the uptick in violence we’ve seen in parts of Northeast Ohio is similar to the trend they’re seeing across the state. Husted said the state is willing to assist as they have recently with operations involving the State Highway Patrol, but he also said a lot of the work must happen locally.
“We stand ready to help but it’s—remember—a lot of this is done at the local level—local police, local city councils, local judges, local law enforcement. That’s where the decisions get made. And you see disparities—there’s no doubt—where crime is most prevalent is where we’re not enforcing the rule of law, and once you do that you set a culture and a standard where people just know they can’t do those kinds of things,” he said. “But I’m also not going to say that’s it. Its more complicated than that.”
Another complicated topic—Issue 2 and recreational marijuana. Husted said there are still too many issues that need to be addressed and the state legislature has a lot more work to do.
“It was decriminalized but that doesn’t mean we don’t have some responsibility to make sure this new experiment goes correctly. I’m very concerned that the legislature left with a lot of business undone,” he said. “It gives no direction to local law enforcement on how they’re supposed to address these issues. That’s why it was irresponsible for the general assembly to leave without addressing these issues.”
On the topic of abortion rights, which also passed in the most recent election, Husted acknowledged voters have spoken. Abortion rights are part of the state constitution. But he said it’s now on abortion opponents like himself to do what they can within the constitution to protect the unborn.
“But I think right now it really is going to have to be a campaign of focusing on hearts and minds because the ballot initiative on this was just really decided last year or this year by the voters.”
Overall, Husted is looking forward to more good things to come in the new year, and the years that follow.
“It’s not secret that I’m laying the groundwork for an eventual campaign for governor. But that’s a long ways off.”
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