Last Stand: In an era of partisan infighting that has made compromise in the nation’s capital increasingly difficult, US Senator Rob Portman plans to keep negotiating political deals until the last memories of his 24-year legislative career leave the US Senate. USA in January, Sabrina Eaton writes Not having to run for re-election was a liberating experience for Portman. He allowed her to spend her last two years in Congress negotiating compromises with his colleagues instead of raising re-election money, making campaign appearances and preparing for debates.
fair shake: Ohio State Fair officials are discussing a plan that would make drastic changes to the state fairgrounds in Columbus, including the demolition of 20 buildings and the construction of 15 new facilities. But as Jeremy Pelzer explains, it’s still unclear exactly how much the facelift would cost, nor how willing state lawmakers would be to approve the money to pay for it.
Mandatory minimum: The Ohio Senate rejected a House proposal that would create a five-year minimum sentence for those convicted of the aggravated vehicular manslaughter of a firefighter or EMS worker, reports Jake Zuckerman. That would even mean the penalty of leaving with vehicular manslaughter of a police officer according to current legislation. The matter is likely to head to a conference committee between the House and Senate.
Delayed: The Ohio House Government Oversight Committee was scheduled to promote two measures Thursday: one that would raise the voter approval threshold to 60% for proposed constitutional amendments, and House Bill 294 , part of the set of sweeping election changes that Republicans are considering during the lame duck session. But there was no committee vote on either. Committee chair Rep. Shane Wilkin said illnesses among committee members caused the delay and the measures are now scheduled for a possible vote on Monday.
listen: The Ohio Election Commission has scheduled a hearing for January 5 to review evidence in the complaint against Joe Blystone, the former Republican gubernatorial candidate who is accused of campaign finance problems, including improperly recording small-dollar donations and violation of state laws. Law of contributions of corporations. The Commission’s executive director, Philip Richter, had begun negotiations with Blystone to reach an agreement. But commissioners Michael Crites and Christina Hagan, among others, said the allegations are significant enough to examine all the evidence. An agreement would not reveal all the alleged violations of the law, they said.
Pension relief: President Joe Biden announced Thursday that the bankrupt Central States Pension Fund, which serves nearly 40,000 Ohioans, will get $36 billion from the American Bailout Plan to prevent drastic pension cuts for the more than 350,000 unionized workers and retirees it covers, Eaton reports. White House Bailout America Coordinator and senior adviser to the president, Gene Sperling, said it is the largest chunk of money given to any Bailout America program and will be “the largest single allocation of assistance for the retirement security never seen” in the nation’s history.
Lack of criteria: Meals and vacations a wealthy evangelical Ohio couple gave conservative US Supreme Court justices cited as reason nation’s highest court needs code of ethics at hearing Thursday before the House Judiciary Committee, Eaton writes. Gayle and Don Wright of Centerville, were part of a program called “Operation Superior Court” that recruited “wealthy donors and stealthy missionaries” to befriend judges who shared their conservative social and religious sensibilities, the former leader of the program, the Rev. Robert Schenk told the committee. He said his donors invited the judges or their spouses to eat at restaurants, private clubs or in their homes, and sometimes the judges reciprocated.
Average Joe: Word is swirling that Gov. Mike DeWine could nominate Joe Deters, Hamilton County prosecutor and former state treasurer, to an upcoming vacancy on the Ohio Supreme Court. Sharon Coolidge and Laura Bischoff reported for USA Today’s Ohio Network that Deters was under consideration, while Colleen Marshall and others on NBC4 in Columbus reported that DeWine had picked Deters. Both stories cited anonymous sources. Speaking to reporters Thursday, DeWine declined to say whether Deters had contacted him. “There are a lot of people who are applying,” DeWine said. “I get calls from people every day suggesting different names. So no decision has been made.” Whoever DeWine chooses will fill the seat vacated by Justice Sharon Kennedy, who was elected chief justice in November.
oracle of Delphi: US Rep. Mike Turner, a Dayton Republican, wants year-end legislation in Congress to include a flat pension for more than 20,000 Delphi wage-earning retirees who lost between 30% and 70% of their profits after General Motors. bailout “After 13 years of working to right this injustice, Delphi’s salaried retirees should not have to start over the next Congress,” Turner wrote in a letter to House Republican and Democratic leaders that was also signed by the Marietta Republican Rep. Bill Johnson.
gay marriage: The House of Representatives approved gay marriage legislation passed by the US Senate on Thursday, in a vote of 224-164. Ohioans Dave Joyce of South Russell, Anthony Gonzalez of Rocky River, Mike Turner of Dayton and Mike Carey of Columbus were among the 39 Republicans who endorsed him along with the state’s Democrats. They also supported an earlier version of the bill. Jim Jordan of Champaign County, the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, urged his colleagues to vote against it, saying the changes the Senate made to the bill to protect religious liberty “don’t They go far enough.”
Ask: What is the origin of the word “Ohio” and what does it mean?
Email your response to [email protected]. The first correct answer will be mentioned in next week’s newsletter.
Thanks to everyone who answered last week’s question:
Which current Ohio state legislator has served in the state legislature the longest without interruption?
Answer: State Rep. Scott Oelslager, of North Canton, was first appointed to the Ohio Senate in 1985. He has been continually reelected since then, switching between the Ohio House of Representatives and Senate to navigate term limits since then.
Jim Trakas of Independence, a former state representative and former chairman of the Cuyahoga County Republican Party, was the winner.
Governor Mike DeWine announced Thursday that he will nominate Andy Wilson as the next director of the Ohio Department of Public Safety. Wilson, who currently serves as the governor’s senior adviser for criminal justice policy, was a former Clark County prosecutor. Pending Senate confirmation, Wilson will succeed retiring director Tom Stickrath.
The US Senate on Thursday confirmed Jeffery Paul Hopkins as US District Judge for the Southern District of Ohio in a 64-32 vote. His nomination had the backing of Portman, as well as Democratic US Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio. Hopkins, a Cincinnati resident, was a judge in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Ohio.
The US Senate Judiciary Committee voted Thursday to further the nomination of Michael D. Black to serve as US Marshal for the Southern District of Ohio. He has been Director of Protective Services for OhioHealth Corporation since 2021
Saturday, 10/12: State Representative Sedrick Denson
Sunday, 11/12: Matt Donahue, Chief Legal Counsel to Gov. Mike DeWine; Levi Gross, Legislative Assistant to State Rep. Bill Seitz; Christina Hagan, former state legislator and Republican congressional candidate; Derek Chancellor, Southwest Ohio Liaison to Lieutenant Governor Jon Husted
“One thing I’ve learned, people who fool people in little things, fool them in big things.”
US representative Jim Jordan attacking a witness during a hearing Thursday by the House Judiciary Committee on the potential for a code of ethics for justices of the Supreme Court of the United States.
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