OHIO POLITICS | State rep. again calls for virtual hearings, testimony during pandemic

 By Tyler Buchanan

Members of the Economic Recovery Task Force are seen at a virtual meeting in April. A state representative wants to see the Ohio General Assembly allow for virtual committee hearings and testimony with the pandemic ongoing.

When Ohio business owners were asked early on in the pandemic to share their concerns with lawmakers, they were given a chance to do so via Zoom video conference.

And when lawmakers on the Ohio Controlling Board hold regular meetings, they discuss budgetary issues with agency officials on a similar digital platform.

But ordinary Ohioans wanting to testify in favor and against proposed laws must still travel to the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus to be heard directly by their legislators.

A Democratic state representative is once again urging the Ohio General Assembly to allow for virtual committee hearings and testimony as the state continues to battle the COVID-19 pandemic. Rep. Brigid Kelly of Cincinnati introduced resolutions near the end of the previous legislative term seeking these rule changes. She announced plans to introduce them again with the 134th General Assembly kicking off this month.

State Rep. Brigid Kelly, D-Cincinnati

“No one should have to choose between their health and wellbeing and having their voice heard,” she stated in a news release. 

Dozens of advocacy organizations whose members often testify on legislation are similarly calling digital testimony going forward. While people can submit written testimony to committee members, testifying directly allows for questioning and extended dialogue on a given subject.

In a letter to House Speaker Bob Cupp, R-Lima, and Senate President Matt Huffman, R-Lima, the groups argue “our democracy works best when all of us are involved and when all of us have equitable access to it.” 

The groups point to the coronavirus health concerns as well as broader challenges brought about by the pandemic. Parents and caregivers may not be able to travel to and from Columbus to have their voices heard, the letter contends.

“Ohioans balancing these increased demands of caregiving and family responsibilities can be met with insurmountable obstacles in having their voices heard at the Statehouse because they cannot partake in person,” the letter continues. “Additionally, the health and wellbeing of legislative and Statehouse staff and members of the press corps are at risk when there is an increase in the number of people with whom they come into contact at the Statehouse.”

Besides digital meetings of the House Economic Recovery Task Force and Ohio Controlling Board, lawmakers also approved a bipartisan bill to let university trustees attend their meetings electronically. 

Rep. Susan Manchester, R-Waynesfield, said during a committee hearing the bill’s passage was “imperative to the functionality and safety of state university boards and their trustees” during the “unprecedented times of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

The bill passed unanimously in the Ohio Senate and near-unanimously in the Ohio House of Representatives.

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This story is provided by Ohio Capital Journal, a part of States Newsroom, a national 501 (c)(3) nonprofit. See the original story here.

Not a single HB 6 ‘yes’ vote lost their election. Some ‘no’ votes did.

By Tyler Buchanan

Davis Besse Nuclear Power Station

The scandal surrounding House Bill 6 took out the speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives. It has dominated the news pages and airwaves for months. It was the subject of countless campaign attack ads. 

In the end, voters didn’t seem to care.

The scandal implicating former Speaker Larry Householder and his effort to get a nuclear bailout enacted into law emerged as a major theme in the 2020 Statehouse elections, but seemingly had little impact on the results. 

In total, there were 46 lawmakers who voted for House Bill 6 and were on the ballot this November for a seat in the Ohio House or Ohio Senate. The unofficial results show that every single one of them won their election: 46-for-46. That includes Householder himself, who won reelection to his 72nd District over a slate of write-in opponents. 

In contrast, there were 35 “no” votes who were up for election. Four of them have been voted out, and a fifth lawmaker’s race is too close to call.

That’s a striking result considering the extent to which the scandal has enveloped Ohio politics since the July arrests of Householder and four political operatives. In recent months, news outlets have extensively covered an 81-page affidavit outlining the years of alleged corruption and bribery that went into HB 6 being enacted to benefit the former FirstEnergy Solutions of Akron. So too did news stories highlight the vote to remove Householder as the House leader; the ensuing trials; and the ongoing effort to get HB 6 repealed.

Voters got one last reminder last week, when two people charged in the alleged scheme pleaded guilty. 

The years-long plot, as alleged by federal investigators, involved FirstEnergy Solutions funneling “dark money” toward a group controlled by Householder. These resources were used to get Householder and a number of other Republican allies elected to the Ohio House of Representatives. These allies joined with more than two-dozen Democrats to elevate Householder as House speaker in 2019.

Within months, Republicans introduced the nuclear bailout bill and quickly pushed it through both chambers. It was signed into law by Gov. Mike DeWine in July 2019.

Rep. Jamie Callender, R-Concord, 
at the Ohio Statehouse

The controversy surrounding the bill did not translate to any electoral trouble for its supporters and top backers. Both HB 6 sponsors were easily reelected: Rep. Shane Wilkin, R-Lynchburg, won another term in the 91st District by an unofficial margin of 77% to 23%, and Lake County Rep. Jamie Callender, R-Concord, won by an unofficial margin of 61% to 39% in the 61st District.

Ten other bill cosponsors were up for election this year. All 10 won their contests. Four were unopposed, and the remaining six won comfortably — by an average margin of 35%.

The remaining rank-and-file members who voted in favor of HB 6 and were up for election all were victorious as well. In the wake of Householder’s arrest, lawmakers sought to distance themselves from the scandal, claiming to be unaware of the alleged behind-the-scenes collusion between Householder and FirstEnergy Solutions to get the bill passed. The law was controversial, several conceded in retrospect, but their “yes” votes were matter of policy, not corruption. 

This election season, both political parties went out of their way to place blame on each other in attacking candidates with dubious connections to the plot. Republicans attacked one opposing Democratic candidate with a reference to “disgraced Larry Householder,” despite the fact the candidate wasn’t even in office last year to have been involved. 

Democrats likewise attacked Republican candidates who, in some cases, didn’t vote for Householder as speaker and did not vote for HB 6. The most suspect example involved an ad against Republican Rep. Dave Greenspan, R-Westlake, which stated: “Greenspan wants Ohio voters to think he is a moderate and had nothing to do with ex-Speaker Householder or (Householder’s) public corruption scandal.”

In fact, the criminal complaint against Householder mentions an unnamed lawmaker who gave incriminating texts from Householder to the FBI. The lawmaker was later identified by Cleveland.com as being Greenspan. He also voted against HB 6.

Nevertheless, the initial vote count has Greenspan being voted out of office. He trails his Democratic opponent by more than 1,000 votes with additional absentee and provisional ballots still yet to be counted. 

Other “no” votes on HB 6 who appear to have lost their reelection bids include Rep. Randi Clites, D-Ravenna; Rep. Gil Blair, D-Weathersfield; and Sen. Sean O’Brien, D-Bazetta. 

Sen. Stephanie Kunze, R-Hilliard, is near-deadlocked with her opponent as the candidates await more votes to get counted. 

“I have never seen so much awareness about a state political issue before,” the Capital Journal quoted Micah Derry as saying prior to Election Day. Derry is the state director for Americans for Prosperty’s Ohio chapter and his organization campaigned door-to-door for candidates who had opposed HB 6 in 2019.

One reason why the anti-corruption message may not have broken through to voters? As Derry said in October, “No one’s blameless in this (scandal). Everyone’s hands are dirty in this whole process.”

Many Democrats had joined with Republicans to elect Householder as House speaker. HB 6 passed with support from eight Democrats in the House and three in the Senate. 

Two of those Senate Democrats are part of the caucus leadership: Minority Leader Kenny Yuko of Richmond Heights and Assistant Minority Whip Sandra Williams of Cleveland. Williams co-sponsored the bill. 

Over the years, money has flowed from FirstEnergy’s political action committee to Ohio politicians of both parties. In total, 32 of the 33 state senators and the majority of state representatives have received campaign contributions from FirstEnergy.

As the chambers return for their lame-duck sessions, the battle over what to do with the tainted law continues. Some believe it should be fully repealed. Others want it replaced through a cleaner, more transparent process. Others still believe it’s good policy, regardless of the alleged corruption it took to get it passed. 

Lawmakers survived their 2020 elections. How they proceed with a response to HB6 the rest of this term and in the next may or may not matter to voters the next time around. 

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This story is provided by Ohio Capital Journal, a part of States Newsroom, a national 501 (c)(3) nonprofit. See the original story here.

Kearney to replace Cafaro as minority leader

Kearney to replace Cafaro as minority leader

State Senator Eric Kearney, D-Cincinnati, will become Senate minority leader next week, replacing Sen. Capri S. Cafaro, D-Hubbard, according to The Columbus Dispatch. Cafaro has served as minority leader since January 2009.

State Senator Nina Turner files today to return to Ohio Senate

Regular readers of this space have no doubt observed that The Real Deal is an evolving blog. Last week we offered our first commentary on the Cleveland Cavaliers. Today we offer our first news scoop, not a biggie as scoops go, but perhaps a harbinger of things to come, especially for followers of the Cuyahoga political scene.

We learned just a few moments ago that Nina Turner, whose name has been bruited about as a possible candidate for the new post of Cuyahoga County chief executive, filed today to run for a full term as state senator representing the 25th District. Turner was appointed to this position to fill the unexpired term of Lance Mason, who resigned in 2008 to accept an appointment by Governor Strickland to be a common pleas judge.

We think this represents the sound move for Turner, who rocketed to local political prominence last year as one of the few black elected officials to endorse Issue 6, the successful ballot measure creating the new form of county government that takes effect next January 1. Our guess is that she realized that popularity with the Plain Dealer and Issue 6 proponents would have been of little avail in a run for county executive against opponents who plan to raise and spend the estimated cost of such a campaign.

While the Senator could still file to run for county executive before the June 24 deadline, the idea is improbable given the May primary for the race she has just entered. She would either have to abandon her supporters if she won, or file to run for a bigger office after being unable to hold the home base seat to which she had been appointed. In neither instance would she be displaying the sound political judgment she has shown at this stage in her relatively young career.

Her return to the Ohio Senate is by no means guaranteed, as she may face substantial challenge from foes eager to punish her for her Issue 6 stance or hoping to capitalize on her perceived weakness as a result of carrying the Issue 6 banner in one of the very areas where the issue was rejected by voters.