© 2026 WOSU Public Media
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

More Questions About Lieutenant Governor's Former Employees

Lieutenant Governor Mary Taylor campaigns for re-election in 2014
Statehouse News Bureau
Lieutenant Governor Mary Taylor campaigns for re-election in 2014

A recent report by the state Inspector General that looked into the work activities of two former aides to Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor is being questioned. Ohio Public Radio’s Jo Ingles explains why.

Lieutenant Governor Mary Taylor campaigns for re-election in 2014
Credit Statehouse News Bureau
Lieutenant Governor Mary Taylor campaigns for re-election in 2014

When he was chair of the Ohio Democratic Party in June 2014, Chris Redfern accused a former top employee of Taylor of campaigning while on the payroll for her state job.

Former Ohio Democratic Party Chair Chris Redfern on Election night 2014
Credit Statehouse News Bureau
Former Ohio Democratic Party Chair Chris Redfern on Election night 2014

“The Chief of Staff was not working because she was attending to activities over at the Kasich re-election headquarters.”

Ohio’s Inspector General issued a report last week that found that employee and another did not use state paid time appropriately. But the Columbus Dispatch is reporting that top employee, Laura Johnson, was spending state paid time with the Kasich campaign, and the paper also suggests a cozy relationship between the I.G. and Taylor. IG spokesman Carl Enslen says there is no basis to support that assertion and adds the office stands by the report it has issued.

Copyright 2021 The Statehouse News Bureau. To see more, visit The Statehouse News Bureau.

Jo Ingles is a professional journalist who covers politics and Ohio government for the Ohio Public Radio and Television for the Ohio Public Radio and Television Statehouse News Bureau. She reports on issues of importance to Ohioans including education, legislation, politics, and life and death issues such as capital punishment.