Newly elected public officials often face challenges in understanding the nuances of government in Ohio as well as learning the ins & outs of their particular office. The Mount Vernon Project: School of Public Service is a new resource that will aim to better equip newly elected officials with key knowledge necessary to be effective public leaders. The Attorney General’s office has recruited experts in six core areas to deliver this training, including current and former elected officials, representatives of state agencies, and partners from higher education. This training series is available to newly elected officials, those currently seeking public office, or any citizen of Ohio.
The six core topic areas include:
- Structure of Local and State Government
- Constituent Relations
- Ethics
- Government Finance
- Civility
- Public Records
You can enter the The Mount Vernon Project: School of Public Service Portal here to create an account and start working toward your certificate of completion.
If you wish to watch the videos without creating an account, each video can be found on our YouTube Channel. Watching the videos on YouTube will not result in a certificate of completion.
President George Washington once said, “Let us raise a standard to which the wise and honest can repair; the rest is in the hands of God.” We named this new training series The Mount Vernon Project for two reasons. First, because it grew out of a discussion I had with Dr. Matthew Starr, the mayor of Mount Vernon, Ohio, in February of 2023. During our conversation we both noted that those newly elected to their government posts often face a steep learning curve in becoming effective public servants. This led to the idea of creating a video series that could help newly elected officials understand their role and their responsibilities in our representative democracy.
But there is another level of meaning in the name of the program beyond Ohio. Mount Vernon was the beloved home of George Washington, one of our nation’s Founding Fathers and the man who, as our first President, set the tone and standard for public service in American government, a tone and standard that still resonate more than two centuries later. In voluntarily relinquishing power when he easily could have seized total power, in warning of the dangers of partisan self-interest, and in calling on Americans to defend their unique Constitution, there simply is no better role model for statesmanship and public-spiritedness.