A Conversation With John Kasich

In an election cycle dominated by vicious personal insults, alarming calls to bar people from the country on the basis of religion, and rampant sexism, John Kasich, the two-term current governor of Ohio, has built his campaign on a message of unrelenting positivity. Literally referring to himself as the “prince of light and hope,” Kasich has made his case for the GOP nomination by stressing the pragmatic productivity of his tenure as governor of Ohio.

[Related: How the Presidential Candidates Are Reacting to the Violence at Trump’s Rallies]

In this exclusive interview, BE Politics Associate Editor Hailey Wallace caught up with Gov. Kasich as he was putting the finishing touches on an extensive grassroots campaign in New Hampshire that had him polling in third place on the eve of the nation’s first primary. In a conversation that covered criminal justice reform, black small business, and more, Kasich made his case for the black vote.

Criminal Justice Reform
We decided to start with a polarizing topic that has become a mainstay of the national conversation regarding civil rights: criminal justice reform.

Kasich is the governor of the state where 12-year old Tamir Rice was fatally shot by Timothy Loehman, who had been documented as unstable and unfit for duty by his own department. The events that transpired were met with the disbelief and anger of criminal justice reform activists, and many of Kasich’s fellow Ohio politicians. Among those politicians was state Sen. Nina Turner, who urged Kasich to consider reform.

“She came and asked if we can get together and make sure we deal with the issue of community, police, and race” Kasich said. “We worked together and what we have done is be able to put together a statewide policy on the use of deadly force. We have four metrics on hiring and training, recruiting.”

With the guidance of Sen. Turner, Kasich signed into law an executive order to standardize police practices statewide.

“We just want to make sure that we don’t bury our heads in the sand, and I think that there are people who have legitimate complaints, who feel the system not only doesn’t work for them, but against them.”

Kasich then emphasized the need for all voices to be heard.

“They need to be able to have an outlet. They need to be able to have a voice. So we assembled all community leaders, clergy, law enforcement, and convinced them all that we need to work together. And Sen. Turner was a vital one in terms of being able to reach good constructive conclusions. And this is ongoing.”

Small Business
In Ohio, the African American unemployment rate is 16.7%, with African American households making an average of$20,000 less than the overall median income.

When asked how he would combat black unemployment as president, Kasich pointed to his efforts as governor of Ohio.

“We have a set-aside law where the minority community gets into a situation where they get 15% of all state contracts,” Kasich explained, referring to the Ohio Minority Business Enterprise Program, which has been designed to ensure that a minimum of 15% of government contracts are awarded to minority-owned businesses. “And I voted on it 30 years ago. So I told all of my cabinet that we are going to meet those numbers. And we have.”

In 1980, Kasich, then a young state senator, voted in favor of the 15% minimum goal. The goal would remain unmet for 35 years, until Kasich, now governor, made headlines when he announced last August that Ohio had surpassed the minimum allotment, awarding an impressive 19% of state contracts to minority-owned businesses.

Under Kasich’s predecessor, Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland, only 5.1% of contracts had been awarded to minority-owned businesses.

“What we’re doing is telling people ‘Look, we want to have goals for our

minority businesses to develop, to be participating in that economically.’ And we’re also providing some resources for the development of some small businesses in that area,” Kasich said.  “These are all things that we’re excited about and we’re carrying out for the first time in Ohio.

Kasich’s efforts have been praised by several prominent black Ohio lawmakers as an example of bipartisan outreach to minority business owners.

“I can tell you that when I first started on the issue of set aside some people in my cabinet didn’t understand it. ‘Well how will we do it? And how will it work?’ I said, ‘Just go do it.’” Kasich continued. “And now some of those people, who didn’t understand at all, are some of the greatest advocates of making sure that our minority community has economic opportunities. And I think it’s just great.”

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Ban the Box
While on the topic of job creation within the minority community, Gov. Kasich referenced his enactment of the “ban the box” movement in Ohio. Last year he signed a law that allows ex-criminal offenders to apply for state jobs without identifying their status as a prior offender.

“In other words, if you’ve been a non-violent felon, we don’t want you to have to reveal that on day one so that you feel rejected,” Kasich explained. “We want to let you have a chance to explain who you are, and a chance to get a job in government. We want you to be able to get a decent job. So we’ve provided a pathway for people to be able to get their life back.”

Healthcare
Kasich made headlines when he put himself squarely at odds with the majority of his party with his decision to accept the optional Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act.

When asked what led him to agree on the healthcare expansion, Kasich suggested it was just common sense.

“I don’t believe that the mentally ill want to spend their lives in jail, or living under a bridge” Kasich said. “I think we need to give them opportunity to get up on their feet.

I believe that the drug addicted are going to need to be rehabbed and we’re putting time into that. And the working poor, I don’t want them living in an emergency room when they’re sicker and more expensive. It just makes more sense to get them some healthcare.

So the number of uninsured in Ohio has dropped. It’s been a good thing.”

The condemnation from Kasich’s Republican colleagues came swift and hard–and is probably still happening on the TV screens of New Hampshire voters on the eve of the nation’s first primary.

“[They’ve] been beating me up, but that’s part of it,” Kasich said, referring to the ads put out by rival campaigns attacking his record as a conservative governor.

“And, you know, it’s so funny because Ronald Reagan himself expanded Medicaid five times …” Kasich continued, noting the irony of the controversy surrounding his decision.

“But look when people hear what this is all about, I think they’re supportive of it, and I’m very pleased with how we’ve been able to do this and yet be able to have a program that’s working effectively.”

Voter ID Laws
Although certainly not a champion of voting rights, Kasich is the only GOP presidential candidate who has not called for photo ID requirements at the polls. Proponents of expanded voting requirements have cited combating voter fraud as reason for their push to require photo IDs.

According to Kasich, this has not emerged as a widespread problem in Ohio. “We’ve got to keep our elections secure, and if we start to find out that we have a problem, then we’ll have to deal with it,” Kasich said. “But we monitor this all the time.”

His resistance to implement more restrictive voter ID requirements earned him a glowing endorsement from the Boston Globe, who correctly noted that a photo ID requirement would “disproportionately affect minority and low-income voters.”

“We don’t want to be in a position where we force on them [minorities and low-income voters] the extra cost in order to vote,” Kasich elaborated. “I just don’t believe that’s what we ought to do. I think it’s important we don’t let people think that they’re being disenfranchised. ”

Islamophobia
This election cycle has been tainted by the emergence of Islamophobic rhetoric. Certain candidates have consistently played on incidents of violence and national tragedy to pander to the fears of voters, inciting anti-Muslim sentiment with each debate appearance.

While other GOP candidates scrambled to rebuke the proposed ban on Muslims, their carefully crafted talking points betrayed their hesitation to alienate voters of the far right.

Their distant criticism only served to highlight the corrosive nature of such rhetoric within the Republican party, whose last sitting president–George W. Bush–
had called for tolerance in a televised statement from a mosque in the wake of the 9/11 attacks.

However, a few GOP candidates have been willing to tackle the issue head-on. Kasich is one of them.

Perhaps in one of the most admirable moments of the GOP primary to date, when asked about his fierce opposition to the anti-Muslim rhetoric employed by his some of his fellow candidates, Kasich told reporters, “This may not win me the Republican primary, but there’s more to life than that.”

When asked about any backlash he faced from this statement, Kasich just laughed.

“I don’t really worry about the criticism,” Kasich said, still chuckling. “I just try to do the best I can to give people a chance. And I think after a while having that attitude becomes contagious for others.”