DeWine's adviser knew about a $4.3M payment to Randazzo. She isn't answering questions

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine's trusted adviser knew about Akron-based FirstEnergy's $4.3 million payment to the governor's pick for top utility regulator − a payment that federal and state prosecutors now say was a bribe.

But DeWine's former Chief of Staff Laurel Pressler Dawson isn't answering questions about how she learned about that payment to ex-Public Utilities Commission of Ohio Chairman Sam Randazzo, and why she didn't tell DeWine about it.

Dawson, who now earns $185,411 as counselor to the governor, is one of DeWine's longest-serving and most trusted advisors. She served as DeWine's chief of staff in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1983 and has worked for DeWine on and off for more than four decades. Her husband, Michael Dawson, has worked as a FirstEnergy lobbyist and consultant.

According to a recent indictment against Randazzo and two former FirstEnergy executives, Laurel Dawson learned about a $4.3 million payment from FirstEnergy to Randazzo during the early 2019 vetting process for the new administration, before DeWine nominated Randazzo to the PUCO. Randazzo described the payment as the final installment of a consulting agreement with FirstEnergy − not money for future assistance as PUCO chairman.

DeWine's staff had previously said Dawson first learned of the $4.3 million payment Oct. 30, 2020, when Randazzo called DeWine's chief of staff to give her a heads up that the payment would appear on FirstEnergy's next business filing.

Democrats say that distinction is important and something Dawson should clear up. "The governor has not been charged with a crime, but it certainly does not look good for your chief of staff to learn of a huge potential conflict of interest and not tell you," Sen. Kent Smith, D-Euclid, said.

Laurel Dawson has declined to comment. DeWine's spokesman Dan Tierney said it's difficult to say whether knowing the exact sum of the payment would have made a difference in DeWine's decision to appoint Randazzo to the PUCO.

"His (Randazzo's) experience with FirstEnergy was one of the reasons he was appointed, because of the expertise factor," Tierney said.

Dawson told DeWine about the payment Nov. 16, 2020 − the same day FBI agents searched Randazzo's German Village condominium. Three days later, FirstEnergy disclosed the questionable $4 million payment in its filing, linking it to the firing of three executives in late October 2020 and making the payment public knowledge for the first time.

Randazzo left the PUCO the next day, writing in his resignation letter that he did not want to be a distraction for the DeWine administration during the COVID-19 pandemic. DeWine praised Randazzo that day: "I want to thank him for his work. He has done very, very good work as chair."

Where does Laurel Dawson intersect with the FirstEnergy scandal?

The $4.3 million payment isn't the only place Dawson intersects with FirstEnergy's quest to get Randazzo appointed to the PUCO.

More: FirstEnergy's ties to DeWine administration extend beyond PUCO pick Sam Randazzo

Dawson approved sending a state plane to pick up lawmakers needed for a vote on House Bill 6, which would have bailed out two nuclear plants then-owned by FirstEnergy Solutions. Former FirstEnergy vice president Michael Dowling celebrated the decision in a text message disclosed during Householder's trial.

”Mike Dawson’s wife. Boom,” wrote Dowling, who was recently charged in state court for his alleged role in the scheme. However, the plane was never actually sent.

Another connection between Randazzo and the Dawsons is a $10,000 loan from Randazzo to Mike Dawson in 2016. Randazzo did not disclose the payment on his financial disclosure forms and Laurel Dawson, through a spokesman, has declined to explain what the loan was for.

"Laurel is politely declining all comment on that," Tierney said.

The Ohio Organized Crime Investigations Commission, which investigated Randazzo and the two FirstEnergy executives, subpoenaed Laurel Dawson to appear in person and answer questions on Jan. 12, 2024, according to the subpoena provided via a records request.

Who is Laurel Dawson?

A Marion native and Miami University graduate, Laurel Dawson's first taste of politics was working for California Rep. Bob Lagomarsino in Washington, D.C. She then served as DeWine's chief of staff in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate.

Dawson worked as Gov. George Voinovich's director of cabinet affairs while DeWine was lieutenant governor. Her husband also worked for DeWine's brief 1989 gubernatorial bid and on Voinovich's staff.

After DeWine lost his U.S. Senate seat in 2006, Laurel Dawson worked for the CJR Group, a lobbying firm founded by another Voinovich-DeWine staffer Josh Rubin. While there, she lobbied for the United Collection Bureau in Ohio and Cleveland State University, the Environmental Defense Action Fund, the private aviation company Flight Options and others in Congress.

When DeWine won the governor's race in 2018, he picked Laurel Dawson as his chief of staff. Her longstanding relationship with DeWine made her the obvious pick. She served in that role until May 2021 when she was named counselor to the governor.

DeWine described their relationship while leaving the U.S. Senate in 2006: "I have been privileged to have her be my most trusted adviser for over two decades. She always just got it done. She managed my organization with great skill. I cannot thank her enough for all she has done for me and for my family."

Jessie Balmert is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Who is Gov. Mike DeWine's trusted adviser Laurel Pressler Dawson?