Ohio Governor Mike DeWine announced Monday that he named Giles Allen as his new director of Legislative Affairs.
Allen (pictured above), who is DeWine’s former deputy director of Legislative Affairs, will replace former director of Legislative Affairs Aaron Crooks, who Lt. Governor Jon Husted recently named as his chief of staff.
Allen has served on DeWine’s legislative affairs team since January 2019. According to DeWine, Giles built and nurtured strong and significant relationships with the Ohio General Assembly and the many stakeholders throughout his tenure as one of DeWine’s legislative agents.
As deputy director of Legislative Affairs, Allen assisted in developing and implementing the Governor’s legislative strategy. Additionally, Allen oversaw the legislative strategies of numerous state departments and managed a team of a dozen legislative liaisons.
According to DeWine, Allen is the right person to continue efforts advocating for and passing policy priorities in the General Assembly.
“Giles Allen has been a part of my team for over a decade. As our recent biennial budget showed, my administration has a good relationship with the General Assembly that has yielded significant policy achievements – from mental health to growing our workforce to education and literacy to our state parks and protecting our water. Giles Allen has played a significant role in working with the legislature and is the right person to continue to lead efforts to advocate for and help pass my policy priorities in the General Assembly,” Governor DeWine said.
Allen is a long-term employee of DeWine, first as his assistant when he ran for Ohio attorney general in 2010. After finishing college, Giles joined the Constituent Services Section of the Ohio Attorney General’s Office. After earning his law degree, Allen returned to the Ohio Attorney General’s Office as an assistant attorney general. In both the criminal and civil sections of the Franklin County Prosecutor’s Office during his time in law school, Allen worked for Ron O’Brien, the Franklin County prosecutor at the time.
According to the National Governors Association, as director of Legislative Affairs, Allen will oversee the development of the governor’s legislative agenda, coordinate the lobbying activities of the administration, and negotiate many issues with the legislature. This includes coordinating executive-branch legislative proposals and mobilizing support for the governor’s legislative program. He will also be responsible for advising the governor and administration members on legislative reactions to administration proposals, monitoring legislation, and advising the governor on whether to sign or veto it.
Allen graduated from Ohio University with a Bachelors’s in specialized studies, focused on business law and political science; he received his Juris Doctorate from Capital University Law School.
The Ohio Star contacted Allen for comment but did not receive a reply before press time.
– – –
Hannah Poling is a lead reporter at The Ohio Star, The Star News Network, and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Hannah on Twitter @HannahPoling1. Email tips to [email protected]
Photo “Giles Allen” by Giles Allen.
