Statehouse: Bathroom Bill
Lakewood state senator leads charge for Protect all Students Act
This story was originally published by Signal Statewide. Sign up for their free newsletters at SignalOhio.org/StateSignals.
By Andrew Tobias | Signal Statehouse
OHIO – State Sen. Nickie Antonio of Lakewood and other Democrats in the Ohio Senate gave a forceful defense of their party’s stance on transgender rights this week after majority Republicans approved a bathroom bill for state schools and universities.
The bill would require K-12 schools and colleges to designate bathrooms and locker rooms for single-sex use based on students’ sex assigned at birth. The bill passed 23-7, with all Republicans voting “yes” and Democrats voting “no.” It now heads to Gov. Mike DeWine, who soon will decide whether or not to sign it into law.
The vote offered an early example in Ohio of how Democrats may approach LGBTQ issues following the Nov. 5 election. Before the election, Republicans hammered Sen. Sherrod Brown and other vulnerable Democrats on transgender issues.
Since then, some Democrats have suggested backing off of defending transgender rights to try to broaden the party’s appeal, particularly among minority and working-class voters who tend to be more socially conservative. Polling commissioned by Ideastream Public Media, WKYC and Signal Ohio found a majority of Northeast Ohio voters surveyed, including a significant number of Democrats, support the Republican position. LGBTQ advocates have said transgender-related issues are misunderstood by the public unless they have a personal connection.
But Antonio, who in 2010 became the first openly gay person elected to the state legislature, said Senate Democrats didn’t privately debate the bill’s political merits ahead of the vote. Rather, their discussion focused on how they viewed it as morally wrong.
We’re not going to kick transgender people to the curb and say ‘You’re just dragging us down.’
State Sen. Nickie Antonio
During the debate on the floor of the Ohio Senate on Thursday before the vote on the transgender bathroom bill, Republican senators said the election results reinforce that public opinion is on their side.
“Ohioans and Americans … don’t want boys in girls’ sports, they don’t want boys in girls’ locker rooms. They don’t want girls in boys’ bathrooms. It’s for the safety of the kids. And this message was sent loud and clear last week during the national election,” said state Sen. Kristina Roegner, a Hudson Republican.
But Democrats said they view the matter as a civil rights issue.
Antonio said she’s previously resisted private calls to remove the “T” from an LGBTQ nondiscrimination bill that a coalition of gay-rights groups and businesses have tried to pass unsuccessfully for years.
“There has been an effort to segment them off because they are the most marginalized, the most vulnerable, the most misunderstood,” Antonio said of transgender people. “That doesn’t mean we should do it. That means a lot more work has to happen for people to understand rather than malign them.”
Signal Statewide is a nonprofit news organization covering government, education, health, economy and public safety.
ARPA funds to the rescue
American Rescue Plan helped relieve medical debt
TOLEDO – When President Joe Biden signed the American Rescue Plan (ARPA) into law on March 11, 2021, it provided financial aid to Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Economic Development Administration was given $3 billion in funds to distribute to American communities.
Once the money was in the hands of the cities, it was up to them to distribute the funding throughout their communities. Toledo was one of the cities who participated in that equity spending.
Among the key uses of ARPA’s money was the abolishment of $72 million in medical debt for 43,000 Toledo residents, $230 million for 113,000 Lucas County residents, and the metropolitan region served by Toledo’s hospitals.
Michele Grim, a former Toledo City councilwoman, led the effort to allocate ARPA funds to medical debt before becoming a member of the state House of Representatives in 2023.
In a Sept. 24 news story, Grim said: “While serving on Toledo City Council as an at-large member, I was immensely proud to lead the charge on abolishing $230 million in medical debt for more 100,000 people in northwest Ohio.
“This project, among many other ARPA funded services, has now been identified as some of the most successful equitable efforts in the nation. I am encouraged to continue these efforts at the state level and deliver real solutions for Ohioans.
“Medical debt is the number one reason people go into bankruptcy, even though people may have health insurance,” Grim added. “Health insurance still does not cover everything. Some people have high premiums, that kind of thing. You don’t plan on getting sick; you don’t plan on breaking a leg.
“We’re the only industrialized country that lets people go into debt for medical bills, and it’s important for people to support medical debt relief because it does help people go back to the doctor and it relieves those costs.”
A new multiyear study conducted by the Institute on Race, Power and Political Economy at The New School in New York City identified Toledo as a leader in investing federal funds from the ARPA. Toledo scored in the top third of 170 U.S. cities and counties evaluated by the institute’s Budget Equity Project, which examined how local governments across the U.S. are investing flexible recovery funds from ARPA to support racial and economic equity in their communities.
Sarah Treuhaft, senior director of policy and partnerships at the Institute, co-authored the report. She explained what The New School was looking for when it conducted the survey and realized the ARPA money was in the hands of mayors and council members to be distributed at their discretion.
“We wanted to follow the money, and realized that cities and counties used the funds to support those who were most impacted by the pandemic and inequities that preceded the pandemic and was exacerbated by it,” she said.
Treuhaft said Toledo performed well, and that the money was used for its intended purpose. By June of 2023, 20 of the city’s 27 approved projects would promote equity. Projects included lead pipe removal, roof repair and the elimination of medical debt.
The Institute's report found that $32,578,700 (47%) of the $69,301,460 funds budgeted as of July 2023 were equity-focused.
Op-Ed: I-475’s ‘devilish details’
I-475 Neighborhoods Coalition coordinator fights highway widening
By Peggy Daly-Masternak
TOLEDO – If readers only hear that widening West Toledo’s I-475 up to eight lanes, now at costs of $217.5 million through the densest residential neighborhoods on the entire metro-beltway, will “eliminate congestion and improve safety,” they need to hear the devilish truth in the details.
Beyond those two microcosmic concepts — false as they are — consider far greater array of problems inherent to all highways, and this one in particular.
It’s only a phenomenon (noun: situation with questionable explanations) to traffic engineers: Why does highway expansion consistently increase congestion—not reduce it? Answer: It is known as “induced demand” which induces the congestion itself.
Google the 26-lane-wide atrocity known as Texas’s Katy Freeway with bumper-to-bumper snarl. One astute Texan’s protest sign reads, “Just one more lane, bro?” for another atrocity planned for Austin, an expansion from 12 to 20 lanes in one punch.
When people embrace a false perception that commute times decrease by expanding highways, often they then choose to move even further from the city, past the sprawling suburbs. This doesn’t take any vehicles off the road, where a robust and efficient public transit system would do so. Visit cities that have exceptional public transit with standing room only while private vehicles stay put at home.
Conversely, with its $11.5 billion current biennial budget, ODOT (Ohio Department of Transportation) dedicates an anemic 1.1 percent to public transit and 0.3 percent to rail. If there were any truth in their mission, the “T” in “Transportation” should be reverted to the former name: Ohio Highways Department.
THE CONGESTION TRUTH
The I-475 “congestion” truth, which ODOT won’t tell you is derived from their own freight mobility data reported to the Federal Highway Administration, is that the average delay time for “bottlenecks” is calculated at about one minute in either direction. Compare that to the Cross Bronx Expressway, ranked number one, where average delay tops 47 minutes.
If you tap your brakes in a typical early morning or late afternoon trip on I-475, that’s called “Rush Hour in America” — the same experience during those hours in any city.
What could justify continued expansion to area highways? Sharp population declines are projected for Lucas County of up to 20 percent by 2050. Who is factoring prohibitive costs of owning and maintaining an automobile—especially for young adults who can ill-afford much of what was once called “the American Dream?”
Listen closely when ODOT sounds the safety alarm. “There have been two fatalities and four serious injuries in our study period.” Do you hear any context, reporting that neither fatality was wearing a seatbelt? Or any vehicle speeds? The inexperienced age of young drivers? Did the crashes involve a motorcycle or impaired drivers? In fact, these are the unreported contexts for their crashes. Expanded lanes prevent none of these.
ODOT’s consulting engineers ran detailed safety analytics on each studied alternative of wide, wider, widest. (Of course, ODOT picked widest.) Consultant analytics showed only fender-benders may decrease. Fatalities and serious injuries increased by up to 29 percent in any scenario. Aren’t people more important than property?
Is there any balance for the highway expansion champions — and we have local lobbyists fulfilling that role—in the serious harms caused to nearby residents? Not hardly, so allow me to lobby for the residents.
HEALTH FACTORS
The particulate matter and extreme noise from highways increase rates of childhood asthma, cardio-vascular disease, dementia, premature death, and hearing loss, according to the American Lung Association and American Audiological Society.
A San Diego study from Collateral Analytics showed that property values decrease in a range of loss from 38 percent to 57 percent when decibels increase to 85dB.
For the existing I-475, decibel measurements performed by nearby neighbors using CDC-approved apps consistently returned measurements over 90dB after multiple 15-minute readings. One person’s property registered peaks of 102dB inside her home.
Doubting readers should travel to and walk along residential streets like Devon Hill or Springbrook, both in neighborhoods adjacent to the existing expressway, both with useless “noise walls” already. Hear the relentless noise residents deal with every minute of every day. Expansion will move the expressway closer to all residents by up to double in width.
A typical insult lobbed at residents is, “Well, you shouldn’t have bought the home in the first place. Why don’t you just move?”
This callous assertion ignores what a person may have found affordable at the time of purchase or in the current market. Wouldn’t you object when something —anything—expands into your neighborhood with no regard for your health or economic well-being?
YOUR TAX DOLLARS
If further assault on neighborhoods doesn’t move readers to object, perhaps they’ll find fault in the way ODOT spends tax dollars. This project’s construction contracts are padded by 61 percent in a combination of “contingencies” and “escalation factors.” Conversely, both private and other public sector capital contracts typically add 5 percent for contingencies.
Do readers know that taxpayers are gifting a $12.4 million replacement single-track rail bridge across the highway to the Norfolk Southern Railroad, a bridge generally used twice per month? Do they remember what this private corporation did to East Palestine, Ohio, not two years ago?
Is ODOT reporting tax dollars, which were invested in rehabbing many bridges spanning the highway — some as recently as 2020, with several complete rebuilds in the last six to eight years? Taxpayers’ costs in ODOT’s abbreviated accounting were at least $10.8 million, where every reported bridge construction was over budget by up to 82 percent in that incomplete accounting to our coalition.
When ODOT knew the planned expansion, they spent and spent on those bridges. Destroying the ones which ODOT did reveal, and now rebuilding expanded ones, will cost at least $40 million using 2023 cost projections.
Be assured: There are far more truly devilish details to this unnecessary, harmful, expensive ODOT project.
Demand better for Toledo. Rather than swallow ODOT’s claims, examine what other cities are demanding and achieving instead of endless highway expansion. Those achievements are through the combined efforts by local elected leaders and citizens, both being actively equal to the table to make those cities thrive.
City advances ‘period equity’
Toledo City Council funds program for free menstrual products
TOLEDO – Free period care products are coming soon to public restrooms in municipality-owned buildings in Toledo, the latest step forward in a growing “period equity” movement.
In October, Toledo City Council voted to allocate $50,000 toward a pilot program to install dispensers with free menstrual products in more than 100 high-traffic bathrooms.
“We kind of wanted to start strategically with the high volume bathrooms, and then just see how well it goes,” says Toledo City Council president Carrie Hartman, who proposed the initiative with council members Nick Komives and Brittany Jones.
“They’ll be at parks; they’ll be at community centers. One of the first places I wanted to put them in was the Safety Building and Toledo Municipal Court because those get a lot of volume,” she said. “There are also women who work in those buildings, too, so this is not just for the public; it’s for our employees, as well.”
Hartman says the proposal was inspired by research compiled by Solace Health and Wellness, a Toledo community organization that provides education, advocacy and outreach to promote sexual and reproductive health.
A 2024 survey by U by Kotex found that two in five people who need period supplies have struggled to buy them, and that a third of girls and women who menstruate had to miss school, work or a similar activity in the previous year because they did not have the products to manage their periods.
The Alliance for Period Supplies reports that one in six girls and women between the ages of 12 and 44 lives below the federal poverty line.
Katie Garber, who serves in a volunteer capacity as director of Menstrual Justice Programming for Solace, notes that Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Women, Infants and Children (WIC) do not cover menstrual products. “There’s no government program that provides hygiene supplies, including menstrual hygiene,” said Garber.
Lack of access to these products leads to challenges with participation in work, school and community life. “It can lead people to use unsanitary items, which can cause a lot of health problems and infections,” Garber added.
Menstrual hygiene as a human right
In 2020, Garber began collecting donations of period products on her own to donate to homeless shelters and other organizations. Since she began working through Solace, this initiative has grown to involve businesses and organizations that host collection drives and period packing parties to create kits for community members in need.
“What we believe is menstrual hygiene is a human right. The main goal is just getting products to people who need them,” said Garber. “We’re trying to end the stigma around period products and menstruating.”
Hartman says the city already stocks its bathrooms with toilet paper, towels and, in some case, toilet seat covers. “Why not just go a step further and supply them with menstrual products, too?”
Toledo is not the first city to address the issue of period equity. Hartman cites Columbus and Cleveland as cities that have passed similar legislation. In 2022, Ann Arbor enacted the country’s first law requiring menstrual products in all public restrooms.
Schools, colleges and universities are also supporting the movement. Ohio passed a law in October 2023 requiring all schools with girls in grade six to 12 to provide free menstrual products.
Last spring, The University of Toledo began offering free period products in all academic buildings on the Main and Health Science campuses through an initiative spearheaded by the student government and UToledo’s Catharine S. Eberly Center for Women.
Danielle Lutman, associate director of the Catharine S. Eberly Center for Women, said no issues or challenges have arisen since the program began, and many students have shared their gratitude for it.
I was just at a conference yesterday and folks from all over the country were talking about how their campuses are starting to work on this.
Danielle Lutman
Hartman says the proposal received little pushback when it was introduced to Toledo City Council in October. “The only questions were how much money and where? So, it was a pretty easy decision,” she said.
The city is still in the contract and ordering process for the dispensers, which will be provided through Aunt Flow, a company founded by Sylvania native Claire Coder. “Aunt Flow has great statistics, and they also have great branding to kind of make people aware of why those dispensers are there, so they don’t really see a whole lot of vandalism or theft,” says Hartman.
The one-year pilot program will begin with dispensers in about half of the city’s bathrooms, but the plan is to eventually expand to all.
“I see this as the same kind of line item as toilet paper and paper towels,” she said. “I think we really just are going to have to increase that line item, and I don’t think it will be that big of a percentage.”
“I think the impact is pretty great, when you think about women who might not have access to menstrual products now can get them in a park, or get them from a community center,” she added.
Toledo salon industry grows
Glass City draws attention from major salon company
TOLEDO – There are hundreds of salons in Toledo, and – as the industry grows – one company plans to expand to the Glass City, providing local entrepreneurs a place to showcase their talents.
Phenix Salon Suites is a suite licensing company where franchisees essentially act as sub-landlords that go into a property, subdivide it into rooms or suites and rent it out. They rent the properties to entrepreneurs looking to open a hair, nail or makeup salon.
Phenix also works with lifestyle professions, such as massage therapists, teeth whitening, botox, chiropractors, and more. The company has 32 corporate locations and 400 franchise locations.
Philip Watson, vice president of global development, explained what the company saw in Toledo that prompted the expansion. Phenix Salon Suites plans to build three to four locations in Glass City and launch them in a few years.
“The Toledo market is a great market for Phenix salon suites because it adds all the main drivers we’re looking for,” he said.
“To put it simply, we’re looking for concentrations of salons and salon professionals and in the Toledo DMA. We looked for a minimum of 50 salons for each of our locations, and that’s looking at hair, nail makeup, other types of salons,” he explained. “But looking at hair alone, there are 250 salons in Toledo, so the Toledo market is a three- to four-location market for us fairly easily.”
According to Watson, the company wants to avoid opening too many franchise locations and cannibalizing existing franchisees.
Phenix requires the renter of a suite to have a license in their profession. The only other requirement is to cover the rent. Watson says that Phenix offers freedom and flexibility for the renter.
To be a franchisee, he said it would be helpful to have marketing experience, as well as real estate or business ownership experience, but it is not a requirement. What he’s looking for is “passion for the industry and liquidity of at least 300,000 net worth of at least a million in order to have a shot at obtaining financing to open a location.”
Watson added that one of the biggest ways Phenix builds trust with clients is by maintaining the property. The other is by being a tenant. He also said they provide resources to their clients to market their business and increase their presence on social media.
For hairstylists, they provide equipment, such as a styling chair, mobile cabinet and a cabinet under the spa sink, and they are also encouraged to decorate the location how they want.
“We really let them flex their creative spirit,” Watson said.
Other resources the company provides are credit card processing, a loan program, scheduling software, as well as seminars and training videos.
One of the biggest factors that separates Toledo from other cities is the rental rates. Watson said the rates are much better than larger locations, like Miami or Manhattan. He said that the rent-to-income ratio in Toledo would be very strong.
Watson said Phenix Salon Suites does not have a rule against having too many of the same businesses in one building, but he hopes each location can be a one-stop shop for customers. At a franchise, a customer can get a haircut, go next store to get their nails done, and then go get a massage.
Watson talked about Gina Rivera, the company’s founder. He said she is a celebrity in the industry and spent more than 42,000 hours behind the chair cutting hair. He said that she has a strong family lineage with 29 family members in the industry.
“We provide all the support our franchisees need to be necessary. Everything from site search, lease negotiations, and build-out ongoing operational support technology to help them run their business, and with the gig economy on the rise and everybody wanting to be their own boss, we are well positioned to take advantage of that,” he said.
Pros and cons of starting a salon in Toledo
Ebony Carter, director of the Minority Business Assistance Center and vice president of the Minority Business Services at the Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce, shared an indicator that the salon industry is performing well in the city. She said that there have recently been two or three new salon locations and expansion projects around Toledo.
“There are never enough salons. I think the beauty industry is one of those industries that’s going to always be a high demand,” she said. “Even for men, you’re always going to need your hair done, but especially for women; you could never have enough options as far as where you’re going to get your hair done.”
Carter said people will have different experiences when opening a new business. She said that the difficulty of the process depends on the space that the building was before.
“If you’re a salon and you’re going into an old Pizza Hut, then of course there’s going to be a lot of regulations associated with that.“
One of the biggest mistakes people make when starting a business in Toledo is failing to use the Toledo Permit Planner. The permit planner identifies and estimates the permits, licenses, and fees needed to open or expand your business in Toledo. Carter warned of hidden pitfalls when starting a business and the permit planner can save you money.
Stacey Mallett, vice president of communications at the Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce, said when it comes to starting a business in Toledo, “You don’t have to go on your own, and our services here are free.”
Steve DeMaio, director of the Small Business Development Center and vice president of business development services at the Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce, discussed the benefits that business owners enjoy while working with a franchise like Phenix Salon Suites.
“You’re not incurring the overhead of purchasing or leasing a full space that you would be as a salon owner who owns a whole salon space. You are renting a solar space, but they’ve done the work with the landlord for establishing that.”
Other benefits he discussed are fewer building costs, the fact you still get to be your own boss, and you don’t always have to manage employees. Additionally, some franchises offer marketing, website support and other business services.
DeMaio also mentioned some downsides of working with a franchise, such as missing out on the benefits of entrepreneurial experiences of owning the building and being in full control. The other downside was the loss of some foot traffic; just because someone walks into the building does not mean they will be your customer.
Carter said the franchises benefit the city because they help people comply with the health department or the school cosmetology. Someone running their business out of their home may not comply. They are also good for people who cannot afford to have their place or struggle to bring in a suitable amount of foot traffic because they work in their homes.
Feeding of Bonaparte’s gulls
Gulls gather, add action to wetlands
WATERVILLE – Waterfowl migration is lagging a bit, perhaps due to the warm fall they’ve enjoyed to our north. The big numbers we often see in our wetlands and waterways, like Howard Marsh Metropark and Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge, haven’t arrived.
Still, there’s always action to be observed in those wetlands and others, like the rapids of the Maumee River. Gulls love to gather in numbers to feed in Side Cut’s Jerome Road
rapids and Farnsworth’s Roche deBout Rapids, for example.
In this recent photo, hundreds of Bonaparte’s gulls gathered in those
rapids to feed. It’s not unusual to see large feeding flocks moving as one,
following the concentrations of forage fish, in this case probably shad.
Statehouse: Ryan & Ramaswamy
Tim Ryan running? | Lame duck session | House speaker
This story was originally published by Signal Statewide. Sign up for their free newsletters at SignalOhio.org/StateSignals.
By Andrew Tobias | Signal Statehouse
Although he’s remained involved on the periphery of Democratic politics since losing a 2022 bid for the U.S. Senate, Tim Ryan publicly had ruled out running for office again in 2026.
He’s re-evaluating that position following last week’s election.
“I said I wasn’t,” Ryan said in an interview on Tuesday. “People have been calling me and saying, ‘Keep your options open.’ So I’m keeping my options open right now.”
The former Youngstown-area congressman gained currency among national Democrats when he ran for U.S. Senate two years ago against Republican JD Vance, who won and is now the vice president-elect.
Ryan lost by 7 percentage points, not an especially close result. But thanks to energetic campaigning and his big “Ohio guy” energy – think Ohio State sweatshirts and football tossing – Ryan managed to raise tens of millions of dollars and get widespread media attention in a race that wasn’t expected to be competitive. A grandiose headline in the New York Times sums up the national perception of the race ahead of that year’s election: “Tim Ryan is Winning the War for the Soul of the Democratic Party.”
After leaving office at the end of 2022, Ryan’s now living in suburban Columbus and has been doing consulting work with natural gas and cryptocurrency industry groups and took a job selling clean-energy credits. A former high school star quarterback, he’s also been coaching his young son’s football and basketball teams.
But Ryan said he’s been in touch with Democratic leaders since last Tuesday, including James Carville and David Axelrod, key strategists for Bill Clinton’s and Barack Obama’s presidential campaigns. He said he thinks 2026 could end up being a good national political environment for Democrats, depending on what President-elect Donald Trump does.
2026 could see other top Democratic names
If Ryan runs, he could fill the Democratic slot for the governor’s race. There also continues to be buzz that Sen. Sherrod Brown may run again in 2026 after losing last week – for governor or the U.S. Senate. Amy Acton, the former state health department director, and Allison Russo, who’s the top Democrat in the Ohio House, also have said publicly they’re considering running for statewide office.
Regardless of what he decides, Ryan said he would like to be part of the conversation to push the Democrats toward “the Democratic Party that we all grew up with.” That vision includes moving away from the “old-school redistribution” and “woke elements” that he said voters rejected this month and moving toward emphasizing economic growth.
“I hope this is a wake-up call to, if you aren’t speaking directly to working-class people of all colors, shapes and sizes, you can’t win,” Ryan said. “Until you get a message that appeals to them where they trust you, you’re just not gonna get ‘em.”
Vivek Ramaswamy’s new job and Ohio calculation
Vivek Ramaswamy, the Columbus-area billionaire and MAGA personality, has a new job in the Trump Administration. On Wednesday night, Trump announced that Ramaswamy and mega-billionaire Elon Musk will oversee a Department of Government Efficiency, a not-yet-clearly-defined outside-of-government initiative to slash federal spending. (But its title is surely ripe for memes on Musk’s X media platform.)
A Trump statement said their work will end on July 4, 2026, just before the home stretch of that year’s November election, which means Ramaswamy could still be a candidate in Ohio. While Ramaswamy withdrew his name from consideration for Ohio’s U.S. Senate appointment – although it didn’t seem likely that Gov. Mike DeWine would pick him – his role with Trump as described didn’t seem to close the door on a run for governor in 2026.
A few Republican operatives, including those with ties to Ramaswamy, said they viewed it the same way. Raswamy’s maneuvering has gotten the attention of other Republicans, given his ability to self-fund a campaign and ride his Trump-adjacent celebrity.
Ramaswamy sure sounded like a potential Ohio candidate when he spoke at an Ohio Chamber of Commerce event last Thursday. He deployed tried-and-true Ohio talking points, praising the state’s history of pioneering and innovation and its logistically convenient location. But, he said, the state also has declined economically over the past 60 years.
Ramaswamy told reporters after his speech that Ohio needs to improve its business climate if it wants to compete economically with states such as Texas. That’s where an investment company Ramaswamy founded recently moved, although Ramaswamy said the decision wasn’t his and that he’s personally rooted in Columbus, in part because his wife is a top physician at Ohio State University’s Wexner Medical Center.
“Is that critical of the leadership of this state? No, it’s not,” said Ramaswamy, who is friendly with Lt. Gov. Jon Husted, who has spent years preparing to run for governor in 2026. “I think they’ve done a great job of getting the state to where it is. But when we think about, ‘How do we take this state and this country to the next level?’ that’s what I care about.”
House speaker vote coming up and more
Ohio House Republicans are scheduled to meet next Wednesday to informally choose who will lead the chamber going into next year’s new legislative session.
Senate President Matt Huffman, a Lima Republican who was elected to the Ohio House last week, is widely favored over current House Speaker Jason Stephens. That’s because Stephens has been unable to unite the GOP caucus after he surprisingly won the job in January 2023 by making a deal with Democrats.
A dark-horse candidate is stalking the speaker job
Steubenville-area Republican Rep. Ron Ferguson wants the job, too. And he has ideas.
Ferguson made his case in an interview with Signal Statewide. He said he’s campaigning on a platform of weakening the speaker’s job, in part by taking away its ability to unilaterally pick committee chairs, jobs that come with influence, prestige and a pay bump. Instead, Ferguson said House Republicans should elect an internal committee that would pick committee chairs.
Another distinguishing factor is how many years both candidates will be able to remain in their jobs, thanks to term limits.
If Huffman gets the job, he could keep it through 2033, providing stability but boxing out other ambitious legislators. If Ferguson gets it, the longest he could keep it is through 2029, giving a glimmer of hope to officials who look in the mirror and see themselves as a future House speaker. Huffman and Ferguson share a signature issue – support for wide expansions of private school vouchers, which Democrats and some rural Republicans oppose.
Ferguson said both he and Huffman may draw votes from the faction of House Republicans that previously backed Stephens.
“It’s not black and white,” he said, adding there’s a “0 percent chance” that anyone will make another deal with Democrats, which triggered an intense backlash from GOP activists and sanctions from the state Republican Party. “We need to pick the person to turn around this fractured caucus and lead it in the best interest of Ohioans.”
A sure-fire lame duck prediction
State lawmakers have returned from their pre-election break and are holding their final legislative sessions before the end of the year. This period is called the “lame duck” session, known for late-night legislative huddles and a flurry of activity, which includes unfinished business but also controversial topics that lawmakers are more likely to stick their neck out for when they’re in their final days of elected office or if they don’t have to run for reelection for another two years.
State Rep. Bill Seitz, a longtime Cincinnati-area Republican who’s leaving office at the end of the year due to term limits, predicted one tried-and-true lame duck topic could come up for a vote – giving raises to elected officials.
Seitz said county elected officials haven’t gotten one since 2018, thanks to another lame duck vote, and are arguing they need one now due to inflation. Paying elected officials more may not play well politically, but Seitz said they “have a good case to make.” He and other lawmakers have argued in the past that good pay is needed to attract quality candidates.
Other subjects potentially could get a vote, include a bill banning Delta 8, a THC product derived from hemp that occupies a legal gray area, and a bill that would require schools to make a policy allowing students to leave during the school day for religious instruction. On Wednesday, Ohio Senate Republicans over Democratic objections, approved a bill restricting the use of common bathrooms and other similar facilities by transgender people at K-12 schools and universities. The measure now heads to DeWine’s desk for his approval.
Lame duck sessions are notoriously hard to predict, especially with the looming speaker vote. But Seitz made another lame duck prediction that seems like a stone-cold lock.
“We have 27 or 28 members that are leaving,” Seitz said, “so you can expect to hear farewell speeches until you puke.”
Signal Statewide is a nonprofit news organization covering government, education, health, economy and public safety.
