“Jim Tressel Shares Insights with 3News’ Lynna Lai Ahead of His Swearing-In as Ohio’s Lieutenant Governor”

Jim Tressel is set to become Ohio’s next lieutenant governor after being nominated by Gov. Mike DeWine and confirmed by the Ohio General Assembly. Tressel, a former Ohio State football coach and Youngstown State president, will be taking the oath of office on Friday.

In a recent interview with 3News’ Lynna Lai, the 72-year-old Tressel shared his vision for his new role and discussed his priorities for Northeast Ohio, where he hails from. One of the key issues he highlighted was the importance of education.

When questioned about diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), Tressel underscored the significance of these factors and their relevance to his stance on various matters. He expressed his viewpoints on how he plans to address these important topics.

“The biggest concern I have is does our education have the opportunity or the ability to raise up that workforce that all those places are gonna need? Whether it be Northeast Ohio or really anywhere in the state, if we can, anything we can do to marry that education with the workforce side I think we’ll look at as a success,” Tressel explained.

At almost the same time Tressel sat down for his interview with Lai, the owners of the Cleveland Browns were unveiling their plan to finance the proposed $2.4 billion domed stadium in Brook Park. Tressel applauded Gov. Mike DeWine’s proposal to double the sports gaming tax in Ohio to help pay for professional sports facilities statewide. 

But how does he view the debate over the Browns staying on the lakefront or moving to Brook Park?

“I’m sure there’s some good people in the room trying to figure out what’s the best thing for the citizens, what’s the best thing for the success? What’s the best thing to bring in other activities other than football games? Because it’s hard to really have a good situation where you’re only playing eight events in a facility,” Tressel said. “And so all of those conversations, you know, I’m hoping it comes up with what’s best for Northeast Ohio and Cleveland in particular.”

Although many Buckeye fans probably think they know Tressel, they may not have known what his political leanings were until now. Lai asked him about his political stance on DEI. 

“I think that unity and diversity, that making sure we have a continuum of conversation and thought and so forth. I think that needs to be integrated into every classroom, into every conversation,” Tressel stated. “I don’t know about the political issue, if you will, but if we’ll all learn to get to know about one another and learn to love one another, I think we’re gonna have a better team and a better state and a better world.”

Tressel will be sworn in at 11 a.m. at the Ohio Statehouse. Read more about the ceremony here.