Stephanie Kunze
Rep. Kelly to campaign for Hamilton County auditor
A Cincinnati lawmaker has announced her candidacy for Hamilton County auditor . State Rep. Brigid Kelly, a Democrat, said she is vying for the auditor in 2022 after having spent the past five years fighting “for what matters most at the Statehouse.” “The auditor is supposed to be our local consumer watchdog, and that is […]
Kunze, LaRe campaigning for 15th Congressional District seat
Two more Republican state lawmakers have jumped in the race to fill U.S. Rep. Steve Stivers’ seat in Congress. In total, there are now four legislators that have filed to run on the Republican side for Ohio’s 15th U.S. Congressional district, along with a GOP county commissioner. Stivers, R-Upper Arlington, announced plans to resign on […]
Bipartisan bill would allow expungement of Ohioans’ eviction records
When a tenant faces eviction, the filing can stay with them for years — potentially impacting their ability to find stable housing again. A bipartisan bill introduced by Sens. Stephanie Kunze, R-Hilliard, and Hearcel Craig, D-Columbus, proposes to allow eviction records to be expunged under certain circumstances. A tenant would be able to request to […]
Ohio Transportation Budget: What to know and how it impacts you
Ohio lawmakers recently approved a two-year transportation budget ahead of schedule and without much drama, sending the $8.3 billion package to Gov. Mike DeWine for a signature. Legislators agreed to allocate billions of dollars toward maintaining and improving Ohio’s transportation infrastructure, including highways, roads and bridges. Despite the governor having proposed major cuts to public […]
Fighting infant mortality: Racism top of the pile for Black family struggles
The Ohio Legislative Children’s Caucus took a direct look at racism as the prime factor for the state’s infants and mothers struggling to stay alive, particularly in Black communities. In a recent meeting of the caucus, legislators laid out priorities for the current General Assembly, some of which are included in bills already under consideration […]
How Republicans wielded power, and other takeaways from the 133rd General Assembly
In Ohio, the path from conservative priority to becoming state law can be as unencumbered as was the case for Senate Bill 260. A Republican introduced the bill to mandate that doctors administer abortion-inducing drugs in-person rather than through telemedicine. Thirty Republicans co-sponsored the bill. Republican-led committees advanced the legislation with only Republican votes. It […]
How will the additional ballots counted impact the Ohio Statehouse results?
The dynamic of absentee and provisional ballots being counted after Election Day has the potential to affect numerous Ohio Statehouse races. Republicans currently hold a 61-38 lead in the Ohio House of Representatives and a 24-9 lead in the Ohio Senate. As it stands, the GOP has flipped at least four seats in the House […]
Key takeaways from the 2020 Ohio Statehouse elections
By all indications, the Ohio Republican Party appears to have maintained its supermajorities in both state legislative chambers as they head into a new term next year. The results from Tuesday night are unofficial and several races are too close to call. But Republicans were able to net at least a few seats in the […]
Keys to the Ohio Statehouse legislative elections
Two years ago, Democrat Jessica Miranda won her state representative seat by just 56 votes — barely enough to fit in a row or two at Madeira High School’s football stadium in her 28th district. A few counties north, Republican J. Todd Smith won his 43rd District seat by 137 votes. Miranda is running for […]
Democrats, Republicans seek to pin Householder scandal on each other
Larry Householder has gone from the Speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives to the pariah of Ohio politics. The Republican’s name has appeared in advertisements from both political parties this election season, as the two sides have attempted to pin alleged corruption at the Ohio Statehouse on each other. Democrats have accused various Republican […]
Ohio Senate passes bill to prohibit widespread stay-at-home orders
The Ohio Senate has approved a bill that would restrict the state health director from issuing broad quarantine and stay-at-home orders in battling a pandemic. Senate Bill 311 is one in a string of bills introduced by Republican legislators this year seeking to rein in power of the Ohio Department of Health, all while the […]
Ohio House passes bill to limit Dr. Acton’s power to issue health orders
A small group of Ohio legislators may be given the chance to put the state’s COVID-19 health orders to a vote. The Ohio House of Representatives has approved a bill that would give that group authority to approve or reject certain orders from Dr. Amy Acton, the director of the Ohio Department of Health. The […]