larry householder
DeWine reversal on mask mandate follows pressure from public, fellow Republicans
On Monday, Gov. Mike DeWine made his position on wearing masks at reopened businesses very clear: “No mask, no work, no service, no exception.” As it turned out, there was an exception: some people being “offended” by that mandate. The result was a complete reversal on Tuesday. DeWine announced his administration would not require any […]
Legislative staffers worried about opening of the Ohio Statehouse
Several legislative staffers are concerned coming back to work next month could unnecessarily expose them to the risk of coronavirus, and is just a political exercise. On Thursday, House Speaker Larry Householder, R-Glenford, announced staffers would be coming back to work at the Riffe Center offices and the Ohio Statehouse two days a week starting […]
Jewish leader: response to Brenner part of ‘protocol’ on handling Ohio pols’ Nazi comparisons
When the anti-Semitic comments amplified by state Sen. Andrew Brenner were uncovered Wednesday morning, Howie Beigelman, the son of a Holocaust survivor, knew what to do. He picked up the phone and called Brenner directly to talk about them. This is the third such call the executive director of Ohio Jewish Communities has had to […]
GOP lawmaker says he won’t let Jewish health director turn Ohio into Nazi Germany
Note: State Sen. Andrew Brenner apologized for the comments on Thursday afternoon. Updates are being posted to a new story available here. The original reporting from throughout Wednesday is below. A Republican state senator took to Facebook on Holocaust Remembrance Day to pledge he would not allow the Jewish Ohio Department of Health director to […]
Recovery task force speakers downplay COVID-19, present conspiracy theories
Conspiracy theories, general downplaying of the seriousness of COVID-19, and allegations the governor shuttered the state economy with bad intent. The Republican chairman of the Economic Recovery Task Force allowed all of this during Monday’s meeting. But there was one thing State Rep. Paul Zeltwanger, R-Mason, would not stand for — any effort to push […]
Week 1 of Economy Recovery Task Force: a parade of white, male, GOP donors
Jason Duff is a small business developer in Bellefontaine. David Waikem works for a family-owned car dealership in Massillon. Bob Hager is the president of a workers uniform supplier in Wapakoneta. These Ohioans have several things in common: all three have donated to Ohio Republican candidates, and all three were recently invited to speak directly […]
Householder announces recovery task force; others propose ideas to mitigate economic hardships
Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder announced Thursday he will create a bipartisan task force to prepare for Ohio to return to work. “We don’t know yet when the COVID-19 situation will improve to the point that Ohio businesses can reopen and people can get back to work, but we need to prepare now for the […]
Ohio state representative proposes remote meetings for public bodies
As closures and restrictions tighten across the state, one legislator wants the state to allow remote meetings for public bodies. State Rep. Lisa Sobecki, D-Toledo, filed House Bill 557 in response to other measures put in place in response to COVID-19. The bill’s language would only apply when a state of emergency is declared by […]
Ohio House plan a better option for the future of vouchers
Less than a month before deadline, Ohio’s school voucher stalemate seems to be ongoing, with no evidence that either side will budge. The legislature has until April 1 to agree on a plan for the private school voucher program, after it pushed back the EdChoice application deadline date from Feb. 1. In our reporting today, Senate President […]
EdChoice debate: Private schools a beneficial option, students and administrators say
Students and parents from Ohio’s private schools stayed up past their bedtimes in some cases to put their two cents in about the state private school voucher program’s fate. At conference committee hearings to decide on one particular proposal for EdChoice, private school advocates argued the workforce waiting for their students and the competitive nature […]
Conservatives announce coalition to eliminate death penalty
Conservative leadership in the Ohio House joined advocates in announcing a new effort to eliminate the death penalty in the state. The Ohio chapter of Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty, in conjunction with Ohioans to Stop Executions, met at the Statehouse on Tuesday to announce plans to lift support in the legislature and in […]
The fiscal cost of Ohio’s death penalty
In the spring of 2015, I was living in Omaha, Nebraska, and my friends and I, being the political junkies we are, were all watching as the Nebraska legislature voted one by one to override the governor’s veto to end the use of the death penalty in the state. It wasn’t the problem of potential […]