COLUMBUS, Ohio — Gov. John Kasich is on pace to be the first Ohio governor since 1962 to have an entire Cabinet without any racial diversity.





Every one of Kasich's 20 full-time agency director hires so far has been a white person. Four are women.

The Republican governor is unfazed by critics who charge that he is ignoring diversity in such important public positions. Kasich says he has a tough job, and he has the right to surround himself with whomever he wants to help him get his agenda accomplished.

"I don't look at things from the standpoint of any of these sort of metrics that people tend to focus on, race or age, or any of those things," Kasich told The Plain Dealer. "It's not the way I look at those things. I want the best possible team I can get, and hopefully we will be in a position that we are fully diverse as we go forward.

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"But I can't say I need to find somebody to fit this metric, not when I am trying to get a state that is in deep trouble out of trouble," he said.

The governor noted that he has hired the first woman to serve as an Ohio governor's chief of staff and only the second female adjutant general in the country. But he said he didn't hire them because they are women. He has considered some black candidates for Cabinet posts, but at least one he wanted to hire, he said, doesn't want to leave his current job.

Black and Hispanic leaders, however, say the governor's response on this issue is ringing hollow and that Kasich should make racial diversity a major priority in his hiring.

"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."

Kasich said, "I don't pay attention to my critics."

The last Ohio governor whose entire senior Cabinet did not feature a single person of color was Democrat Michael DiSalle, who left office after 1962 during the height of the Civil Rights era.

DiSalle was replaced by Republican Gov. Jim Rhodes, who hired William O. Walker, the first black person to be appointed to a state Cabinet post in the country. Walker, a former publisher of the Call & Post, was from Cleveland and led the Department of Industrial Relations, now known as the Department of Commerce.

Since then, all seven governors across 12 terms of office -- Republicans and Democrats -- have had at least one person of color in their Cabinet.

When Kasich was officially sworn in Monday in the Ohio Senate chambers, a black man and woman were with the Cabinet members ushered into the room ahead of Kasich, and they appeared to take the oath of office he administered.

A Kasich spokesman later identified the black man as Michael Colbert, who is expected to be named interim director of the Department of Job and Family Services. The woman was identified as Stephanie Mingo Miles, a volunteer for the swearing-in event. It is not clear why Miles walked in with the Cabinet leaders.

Colbert, who was the chief fiscal officer at JFS, could last fewer than three months in the interim position unless Kasich gives him the job permanently. His status does not make him a permanent member of the Cabinet. And his position has not been formally announced, which has been the case for the full-time Cabinet members who each have received a news conference hosted by the governor.

Kasich still has three Cabinet appointments to make -- for the lottery, aging and health departments. The governor has scheduled a news conference for today to announce more picks.

It is not unusual for a governor to take office while still hiring his Cabinet.