Keith Faber
Ohio Redistricting Commission kicks off regional hearings
The Ohio redistricting commission met in Deer Creek State Park Friday to discuss the latest version of General Assembly district lines. The proposal, introduced by Sen. Rob McColley, R-Napoleon, would maintain durable supermajorities for the GOP in both chambers. The party’s advantage, according to GOP mapmakers themselves, would likely give them control of 62% of […]
Ohio Redistricting Commission selects GOP working map, sets public hearings
The Republican members of Ohio’s redistricting commission set aside their bickering long enough to introduce a new legislative map Wednesday. Despite objections from Democrats on the panel, Republicans adopted their plan as the commission’s working document. The maps’ partisan breakdowns are 62-37 GOP-to-Democratic in the Ohio House and 23-10 in the Senate. The commission briefly […]
GOP remains undecided on co-chair, Ohio Statehouse redistricting on hold again
With a week to go before Secretary of State Frank LaRose says legislative districts need to be set for the November election, uncertainty continues to mire the redistricting process in chaos. Republican legislative leaders still can’t come to an agreement on who should be their representative as co-chair on the Ohio Redistricting Commission, creating a […]
Teachers’ pension system touts clean audit. Retirees unimpressed
Correction: The State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio manages about $90 billion in assets. An earlier version of this story gave an incorrect amount. It has been updated. The State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio has been flagging the results of a special audit conducted in response to complaints from some teachers and retirees. But […]
Ohio Auditor: Republican Keith Faber defends his seat against Nelsonville Democrat Taylor Sappington
In a week, Ohio voters head to the polls. And while the races for U.S. Senate or governor have swallowed up most of the attention, voters will decide on a number of other important statewide offices. Among them is the state auditor, tasked with fiscal oversight for every public institution in Ohio. It’s the state […]
America is amusing itself to death and hack politicians are taking advantage
In 1985, Neil Postman’s crowning achievement, “Amusing Ourselves To Death,” provided the most prescient analysis and forecast of the current lobotimization of American public discourse. Postman’s work drew a distinction between the Orwellian vision of a totalitarian government seizing individual rights and Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World,” where freedom and rights were voluntarily sacrificed in […]
“Special paper.” Ohio Auditor floats theory of election fraud
Ohio Auditor Keith Faber last Tuesday told members of the Westerville Tea Party that it was unlikely that widespread fraud occurs in Ohio elections. But that didn’t stop him from holding out a sinister possibility: that the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections might be diverting special voting-machine paper to other states where unscrupulous elements might […]
Joni Ernst campaigns with Ohio GOP U.S. Senate nominee J.D. Vance
J.D. Vance hit the campaign trail in Northeast Ohio with Iowa Republican U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst and a handful of down ballot GOP candidates on Thursday. His message in the final weeks of Ohio’s U.S. Senate race echoed claims from his most recent campaign ad — after 20 years in office, Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan […]
Republican leaders tax Ohioans with costly second primary for rigged Statehouse districts
To market members of the Grand Old Party as money-saving, by-the-book, principled conservatives must be a Herculean task in Ohio. Especially after state Republican officials blew a giant hole in their party brand with an election held for no good reason last Tuesday. Their part deux primary — that nobody knew about — destroyed any […]
Despite promises, one Ohio tax break is costing $1B and creating few jobs, study says
When it was created in 2013, a tax break in Ohio was billed as a way to help small businesses create jobs. But as the tax break approaches its 10th anniversary, it is disproportionately benefiting the wealthy while doing little to deliver on its promise, a new study says.
ECOT owes Ohio $117 Million. What are we going to do about it?
Like the famed Casablanca police captain Louis Renault, Ohio taxpayers were shocked, shocked to learn recently from the state auditor’s office that the notorious online charter school ECOT, which closed in 2018, owes the state $117 million. A “Finding for Recovery” posted last week on the auditor’s website provided the details. The announcement by Auditor […]
Ohio redistricting charade continues as GOP again passes more clearly rigged maps
The conclusion that Republican members of the Ohio Redistricting Commission do not want Ohio voters to enjoy free and fair elections is unavoidable. They want to rig the game to enshrine their power and will stop at nothing to do exactly that. They will defy the Ohio Supreme Court while supporters murmur about impeaching the […]