Renacci asks state auditor to investigate FirstEnergy donations to DeWine campaign
Jim Mackinnon
Former U.S. Rep Jim Renacci, running against Gov. Mike DeWine in the 2022 Republican gubernatorial primary, is asking the Ohio state auditor to investigate any financial support DeWine received from Akron's FirstEnergy Corp. as part of the Larry Householder bribery and racketeering scandal.
Renacci made the demand in a news conference Tuesday afternoon on the steps of the Medina County Courthouse. He also took on members of the Ohio Republican Party in his comments.
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Renacci said DeWine and political allies took almost $5 million directly or indirectly from FirstEnergy.
"I'm calling on state Auditor Keith Faber to conduct a full investigation into the money DeWine received in this pay-for-play scandal and how much tainted money he has received," Renacci said. "The public has a right to know how far and how deep this corruption goes. The state party has been one of DeWine's biggest financial backers. FirstEnergy gave them money during the H.B. 6 era. Since they were the largest donor to the DeWine-Husted campaign, a full audit of funds received and disbursed for the benefit of DeWine needs to be determined."
FirstEnergy last week announced it agreed to pay $230 million to settle a U.S. Department of Justice criminal probe tied to the still ongoing Householder investigation over the passage of what is called House Bill 6. The bill provided more than $1 billion in taxpayer subsidies to two former FirstEnergy nuclear power plants in Ohio now owned and operated by Akron-based Energy Harbor, a former FirstEnergy subsidiary.
Comments echo charges raised earlier
Renacci's comments on Tuesday echoed charges he made in a July 13 column in the Akron Beacon Journal, in which he said under DeWine's watch Ohio now ranks as the most corrupt state in the country.
Renacci, in the op-ed piece, quoted from a recently published book by a now-dead Ohio lobbyist, Neil Clark, that said DeWine appears to have supported legislation that benefited Akron-based FirstEnergy in exchange for a $5 million contribution to help the DeWine campaign. Clark died by suicide in March near his home in Florida.
"The people of Ohio need to know the money trail," Renacci said Tuesday.
Renacci said DeWine needs to pay back all of the "tainted money" he received from FirstEnergy.
The DeWine campaign this week donated $130,473 it had received in contributions from FirstEnergy's political action committee and executives to the Ohio Alliance of Boys & Girls Clubs.
The returned money should be used to reduce electricity rates for FirstEnergy customers, Renacci said.
"DeWine has said he'll consider donating the money to charity, but that's just a PR move to distract from the scandal," Renacci said. "The money needs to be returned where it came from so FirstEnergy can try to right their wrongs. DeWine should not get a pass."
Renacci said that if he becomes governor, he will immediately issue executive orders "to call for complete transparency in our system" and take other actions to clean up state government.
"This is about Ohio. This is about making things right. This is not about parties," Renacci said. "Let's face it, the corruption goes through both parties, Republicans and Democrats. We need to stop this corruption. This is a starting point. Gov. DeWine can be the person who starts to fix it. But he's going to have to come clean with all the dollars he took."
DeWine, who last year called for the repeal and replacement of H.B. 6 in the wake of the Householder scandal, did not immediately issue a public response to Renacci's accusations Tuesday.
Renacci among recipients of FirstEnergy contributions
Renacci himself has received money from FirstEnergy executives in earlier political campaigns.
Public records show the Renacci for Ohio campaign, created in 2017 initially for his previous gubernatorial bid, accepted a combined $13,207 from former FirstEnergy Chief Executive Anthony Alexander and Alexander's son. Renacci's Senate campaign also received $2,000 in 2018 from Steven Strah, who became FirstEnergy's chief executive earlier this year.
Renacci said FirstEnergy has made recent changes to be more transparent in any political donations.
'Corrupt politicians mostly to blame'
"FirstEnergy is still a very good company. They've done very good things in the state of Ohio," Renacci said. He said he doesn't blame FirstEnergy in the Householder/H.B. 6 scandal as much as "corrupt politicians who knocked on the door of FirstEnergy and asked for money."
Wadsworth resident Renacci, 62, is a businessman and former four-term congressman who dropped a gubernatorial bid to unsuccessfully run in 2018 against incumbent Democrat Sherrod Brown for U.S. Senate. Renacci also was twice elected Wadsworth mayor.
Renacci is seeking support from backers of former President Donald Trump in running against DeWine in the 2022 Republican primary.
Jim Mackinnon covers business. He can be reached at 330-996-3544 or jmackinnon@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow him @JimMackinnonABJ on Twitter or www.facebook.com/JimMackinnonABJ.