So far anyway.
John Kasich, like any other chief executive, deserves an essentially free hand to choose his Cabinet and inner circle. After all, voters elected Kasich as Ohio's 69th governor, and they will judge will him on how well his administration performs.
That said, it is disconcerting -- in 2011 -- to look at a composite of the 20 permanent state agency heads whom Kasich has hired so far and see only white faces and barely a handful of women.
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The last Ohio governor with an all-white Cabinet was Mike DiSalle; he left office in 1963, when Kasich was 10 years old.
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Kasich quite correctly says that he wants the world to know that Ohio is open for business. But surrounding himself with department heads who don't even look like Ohio -- where the Census Bureau estimates that 15 percent of the population is nonwhite -- let alone the United States or the global marketplace, has to make that a harder sell.
Looks aren't everything, of course. An organization can look diverse, but if it doesn't tap that variety -- doesn't ask for and listen to the ideas that a cosmopolitan work force brings to the table -- it's just window dressing.
Indeed a valid point. However, diversity is a compelling state interest and has been viewed as such by the Supreme Court, especially within the state infrastructure; a racial diversity of individuals very often comes with a diversity of cultures, viewpoints, and experiences, which informs decision-making. It also leads to the breakdown of racial barriers and ensures that racial stereotypes are kept in check. Furthermore, it is harder to sell Ohio as a competitor in the global marketplace if the makeup of Ohio's executive branch doesn't really reflect the diversity of the world, let alone the diversity of the state it represents.
So I completely understand why the Ohio Hispanic Coalition and the Ohio Black Caucus have expressed concern over this makeup:
"Absolutely unacceptable," said Joe Mas, a Columbus Democrat who is chairman of the Ohio Hispanic Coalition, who added that he hopes this is not indicative of how the new governor will treat Latinos.
"It is too early to say that the governor has an agenda that is contrary to the Hispanic agenda," Mas said. "But at the same time, we have not heard anything that can even broadly be interpreted as an outreach to the Hispanic community. And that's reflective of his Cabinet."
Black leaders are equally troubled by the Cabinet's makeup.
"Sadly, I have to say that I am not surprised," said state Rep. Sandra Williams, a Cleveland Democrat and chair of the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus. "Just look at the Republican members of the legislature. Do you see any blacks? Do you see any minorities in there? On their campaigns you didn't see very many either.
"I would hope that Kasich would understand that this state is very diverse," Williams said. "African-Americans, as well as other minorities, make up a significant portion of the state's population and his cabinet, as well as his staff, should reflect that."