All right, let's continue now, Billy Cunningham, the Great America, and this glorious Tuesday afternoon of the Tri States sun. It is everywhere quite unusual. The Governor is very busy today. It's a big day in the State cap always giving us a few moments. And Governor Mike Dwine, welcome again to the Bill Cunningham Show. Let's be direct about this, Governor. It appears that I know those of us who live here, and you live close to here, understand that four to
seventy one bridge is a total catastrophe. My producer, Tony Bender lives in Boone County, going back every ninety miles. A live in Columbus. It takes two hours to get there. And you might recall Governor back in the good old days when there was a crash on the cut in the Hill in northern Kentucky, that trucks, unless they're making local deliveries, had to go all around two seventy five and Okai and city council, you're good friends on City Council.
The liberal Democrats would like to have your ear to say, Governor, can you require trucks to take eye too? Seventy five all the way around to alleviate the suffering of the people in southwest Ohio. And we feel as if governor were being ignored. You can't ignore us in Columbus. Can you tell the American people what you can do? Will you give a serious thought order the truckers to go to seventy five to alleviate some of the suffering? What do you think?
Yeah, I don't know if we can do that.
Bill, I can certainly check on that whether we can have legal authority to do that. This is a interstate as you know. But here's kind of the update the this construction. The murderers steel girders are actually being fabricated as we speak in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
And as soon as those.
Are ready, they're supposed to be delivered on January thirteenth, then we'll do everything to get them up. We've got a target date of mid March, but frankly, I'm pushing ODOT and I think we can get them up sooner than that.
I hope as early is mid February. So we will, we will, we will see.
But uh, you know, that's that's that's the problem. It's uh, you know, we got we got to get things from Bowling Green, Kentucky.
That's where they're being fabricated.
So will you give thought to this idea about the trucks for the next two months off to seventy five? If if you have the legal authority to do it, some say you do, some say you don't. But if you have the authority, will you do it to help the people of Cincinnati.
Well, we're gonna look at that. Bill.
The council have not contacted me, but you you if you told me that a few minutes ago off the air, and so we will certainly check and see what else that we can do and whether we have a kind of legal authority in regard to that. I mean, again, this is an interstate commerce, so we're directly dealing with interstate commerce.
And as you know, Bill, you're a lawyer.
Uh so you've got we've got, you know, some potential problems in regard to doing that. But let me I'm asking our warriors to look at it, and we'll go take a.
Look at it.
Secondly, there's one of the big issues is your appointment to the United States Senate seat. There's many people that are just sending you flowers and candy. There's doing everything in their power four or five. Frank LeRose wants it. Jane Timpkin, who I like, likes it, and there's several others that would like to have this thing. John Houstad, your second in command. He's kind of the Mike Pensive Ohio. He's kind of the Kamala Harris. He's second in command.
And many are saying you're going to point him to it and then opens up the lieutenant governor's seat. But Jane Timpkin and that she's ready to go for governor. I don't want to ask you anything personal or privately about this, but what the hell are you going to do? That's what I like to know. When you got January twentieth, I guess what in the heck is the governor going to do with that Senate seat.
Well, it's a big decision, and I am, as you say, the interviewing people. I've interviewed a number of people and interviewed another persons more frankly, a lot of people, as you can imagine, are interested in that. Look, there's only one hundred US centers, we only get two, so it's an important it's an important pick. And just to let everybody know how this works, my appointment would serve another two years, then would have to run in twenty twenty six.
If they won in twenty twenty.
Six and one to continue we're serving the Senate, they'd have to run in twenty twenty eight.
So it's a very unusual situation for someone.
You know, normally these are six year terms, but this is filling out an unexpired term of jd Vance. So we think Dvance, you know, will probably resign sometime, you know, obviously before noon on January twentieth. I'm not sure exactly what date. And my goal is to have someone ready to go by then and once you know, we make the selection. Once I make the selection, we certainly will will announce that and I know we will be tearing
that on on WLW. So it's an important decision. Uh. You know, I've spent twelve years in the United States Senate. I think I have some idea of what it takes take someone who wants to go there and work, someone who has a grasp and understanding of Ohio. You know, bill is a very diverse state with kind of a state of city states, you know, seven or eight major cities, and you know, one part of the state very different
than the other part of the States. We mean someone who understands the diversity of the state, someone who's going to be a champion for for US.
I say US, I mean Ohio.
And also someone who you know, it's going to be have to deal with foreign affairs. They're gonna have to deal with all the issues that we anybody who's in the United States Senate has to deal with. We also have to have someone who's willing to run twice. You know, I'm not tough going to pick someone just you know, to take the term for two years. Now, there's a story that you might volunteer for that, but I'm not going to do that.
So well, I know, I mean, I'd be like Willie goes to Washington. It'll be a major story for two years. But I've often said I would not be in an organization that would admit me as a member. And the idea of serving for two years is attractive, but the idea of running twice is unattractive. I will, if selected, I will not run. I'm telling you right now, I know how much you would like me, but I will not run in twenty twenty six, and I will not
run in twenty twenty eight. So the criteria, as I understand it, Number one, you need a quality person who has the breadth of knowledge. Number two, you want someone somewhat collegial, not a bomb thrower like Tony Bender, someone that's going to just be a show horse and not a workhorse, which you were a workhorse. And number three,
what about the Trump factor? Because if the Trumpster and Jay I get JD's got the Trumpsters or shall we say, uh, you can't appoint someone that Trump's going to put someone against them in a primary to split the party? Correct?
Well, that's I mean, look, the president Trump has effectively picked the last two US senators from Ohio, the last two people to win, uh, jd Vance and Marino. He endorsed you know, each of those in their respect primary and they ended up they ended up winning. So it needs to be someone who can win a primary, uh, and then turn right around and win a few months
later win a general election. So you know, there's a I think a feeling among many people that Ohio is this real bright red state and we are we are. I guess if you look at the last you know, three presidential elections, but Trump won by eight eight and then and then twelve or eleven. I guess eleven plus. But it's still a state that a demo can win statewide. Yes, and we know that off of your elections sometimes are not good for the party in power, the party that
controls the White House. That's that's been the history, and so you know you have to have someone who won the general election as well as being able to win a primary.
Have you spoken to Donald Trump about this seat?
Yeah? I have.
I talked to him, I talked to JD. Vance and of course I talked to a lot of people about it.
Yeah, but you understand, you know more about politics and Ohio than anyone this side of Thomas Jefferson eighteen o three. When a high became a state, and that is that to appoint someone that the that JD. E. Vans would say, I oppose that person. That is something you would not do.
No, No, that wouldn't make any sense.
I mean that would just mean they would only be in there for two years. And you know, you could get some stump done in two years. But the more effective way, of course, is to have someone who's going to be in the United State sat for some period of time that they he or she has the ability to you know, get some seniority and get going there. So we don't really want to point someone who just is only going to be there for a couple of years.
Lastly, I know you're busy this afternoon. Lastly, on the issue of Intel, there was some comments because the guy you dealt with an Intel, the CEO, has been diffract And what is the status of that huge Intel plant in the Columbus area that was going to be billions of dollars in economic impact? What's the status of that in these days? I think his name's Gelsinger. I know you know him, well, yes, what's the status?
Yeah, Pat Gelsinger is who we you know, we dealt with at Intel. He was the CEO.
Things are still moving forward. We expect him to continue to move forward. And just to give you kind of a sense of this bill how big this is.
You know, they have already put.
Billions and billions I say, b billions of dollars into the ground, uh out there. And so this is not something that anybody is going to turn off. There's you know, they can't walk away from this even if they wanted to. We have no no indication if they want to. But they've got billions of dollars already invested. So uh, it's it's going to move forward. I think the market will always determine how fast it moves.
We knew that from the beginning.
Uh, you know, they told us they wanted wanted to do you know, multiple fabs out there, But we also were told, you know, it will depend on the market. It will spend on how our business is going, how fast we can expand this. So, uh, you know, I'm still I'm still optimistic. Uh, they're moving forward as as we speak right today, they're they're you know, building right now. And yeah, a lot of a lot of a lot of hire workers out there.
How about thirty seconds remaining? You have two years left in your term. In January, you've six years into it. What is the main thing you'd like to do in the last two years of your term? I would anticipate you're about my age in a sense, a little bit older than me, of course, but nonetheless, when you get out of office, you'll be about eighty years old. I assume your political life will be done at that point.
Maybe serve on a board and sit on your porch there and Green County and maybe just count your blessings and thirty some great grandchildren. But nonetheless, if you had one goal you'd like to undertake in the last two years, what would it be.
No, we're on continue to focus on people. We're creating more jobs in the stable while every day than we have people that kill them. So we've got to make sure that everybody has the ability to live up to their God given potential. That means focusing on education and focusing on the science of reading sounding words out Delli
parton library. The frand has been so involved in being booked into kids' hams all the way up to college for some kids, but also kids that don't want to go that pathway give them opportunities as well, whether that's in the building trades or whether that's working with computers. All of these things are you know, important. So I know we don't have much time, but that's kind of what we're focused on, you know, live up to their full potential.
We've got to get into the electoral college. Right now, my sister Mary Cunningham Reddin will be reading a bunch of stuff. And keep an eye on her. She's so proud of what's going on. You don't know her life intimately as I do because I love my sister. But she's wearing my mother's necklace. My mother died in twenty or nine, and she has her little bit in her purse and she shove tears in her eyes to think about. I wish my mom was around to see my sister
perform an electoral college. But keep an eye on.
I will see her in just a few minutes literally, So ask her to college today.
Ask her to look at the necklace, my mother's necklace. She died with that around her neck, and she'd be so proud of my sister. I'll look at the necklace doing God bless you, Thank you, thank you, thank you, God bless you. Let's continue with more. It's take a short break. On the other side. We're going to discuss what the governor brought up, which is the four seventy one situation, and also the Senate seat, et cetera, and his friendship. Believe it or not, Mike DeWine as a
friendship with Donald Trump. I'm not sure any of those two could be more different, except politically, but culturally and socially. But they got it. Make no sense for Mike DeWine to appoint someone then split the party in half next year during a primery, I mean in twenty twenty six. Let's continue with more. Bill Cunningham, home of the Bengals, News Radio seven hundred WL