Democratic News

To commemorate the 50^th anniversary of the signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, House Democratic Leader Maxwell Heard (D-Columbus) Wednesday released the following statement:

“Today’s anniversary is a sobering reminder that it takes monumental social action and sweeping government reforms to uphold the rights and liberties Americans hold sacred. There is no free market for our constitutionally-guaranteed rights. Rather, brave women and men throughout history fought tirelessly to compel their government to take action in order to form a more perfect union. And, whether it’s today’s fight for equal pay, access to the polls, workers’ rights or women’s healthcare rights, it is clear that many will be on the wrong side of history in the ongoing struggle for civil rights.”

National Public Radio’s economic series, Planet Money, today released a comparison of post-recession job gains and losses on a state-by-state basis from Jan. 2008 to May 2014. The comparison shows Ohio ranks 41^st in post-recession job growth, with jobs shrinking by 2.4 percent in the Buckeye State.

The data is contrary to the Kasich Administration’s belief that Ohio’s economy has been a national leader in job growth under Kasich’s watch. The governor and his allies spent much of 2013 and the first part of 2014 saying Ohio was ninth in job creation nationally, a statistic widely panned as faulty for failing to disaggregate job growth based on Ohio’s labor force. Democrats often point to Arizona State University’s WP Carey School of Business for state-by-state job growth rankings. According to the university, Ohio finished 2013 as 44^th nationally in job creation, and currently ranks 38^th.

“This shows what many Ohioans and Democrats have been saying about Governor Kasich’s economy all along,” said House Democratic Leader Tracy Maxwell Heard (D-Columbus). “His recovery for the rich is not creating jobs for the rest of Ohio. Tax cuts targeted at the wealthy aren’t creating the job growth Governor Kasich promised.”

The collapse of Wall Street in the fall of 2008 triggered a global economic recession that impacted states all across the country, including Ohio. Ohio began to recover from the Great Recession in March 2010 when the unemployment rate first started to drop. Over the next 12 months, and before any of Gov. Kasich’s policies were in place, the unemployment rate would continue to drop to 8.8 percent, from over 10 percent, by March of 2011. 

House Democratic Leader Tracy Maxwell Heard (D-Columbus) and members of the Democratic caucus today marked the start of the state’s new fiscal year and the one-year anniversary of the largest General Revenue Fund budget in state history. Gov. Kasich signed the last state budget bill on June 30, 2013. At the time, House Democrats stood in opposition to the budget, saying the toxic mix of tax hikes on working and middle class Ohioans and funding cuts to schools and communities would not create the economic opportunity Kasich and his Republican colleagues promised.

Republicans used property and sales tax increases along with funding cuts to schools and communities to target tax cuts at the state’s top income earners—a policy they say helps the state’s economy. Still, Ohio’s job creation rate trails the national average, and the state ranks 38 out of 50 over the last year in job creation according to the Arizona State University W.P. Carey School of Business.

State Representatives Matt Lundy (D-Elyria) and Armond Budish (D-Beachwood) announced that they recently introduced legislation to establish a “Buy Local Ohio” program for Ohio’s public entities. The Buy Local Ohio program would incentivize public schools, safety services and municipalities to give preference to local and Ohio-based contractors for their projects.

In response to Gov. John Kasich signing Senate bill 310, legislation to freeze Ohio’s bipartisan renewable energy standards, House Democratic lawmakers today released the following statements:

“Gov. Kasich’s action on Senate bill 310 jeopardizes $6 billion in potential capital investment from an advanced sector of our economy. With one stroke of the pen, Gov. Kasich has destabilized bipartisan standards that save consumers and businesses millions on their utility bills.”—House Democratic Leader Tracy Maxwell Heard (D-Columbus)

“How hypocritical and misguided it is for Gov. Kasich to undercut an emerging sector of Ohio’s economy, especially when he led the public to believe he supported our renewable energy standards just two and-a-half years ago. His actions today will cost Ohioans more jobs and more money out of working families’ pockets.”—House Democratic Whip Michael Ashford (D-Toledo)

“Today, Ohio became the first state to take a giant step backwards in the global pursuit of efficient and cost effective advanced energy solutions. His handout to big electrical companies will be a black eye for our state for years to come. He is clearly taking us in the wrong direction.”—State Rep. Nickie J. Antonio (D-Lakewood)

“Even when faced with the overwhelming facts of how Ohio’s advanced energy standards are creating jobs, encouraging investment and saving consumers money, Gov. Kasich turns a blind eye to bipartisan solutions that have helped our state succeed. Each time Ohioans look at their growing electric bills, they can thank Gov. Kasich for putting special interests over public interests.”—State Rep. Robert F. Hagan (D-Youngstown)

“The Governor’s action on Senate bill 310 has disastrous implications for our environment and our economy. As the wor

State Rep. Kathleen Clyde (D-Kent), accompanied by Dr. Grant Morrow and patient advocate Samantha Rhodes, Thursday announced the introduction of the Doctor-Patient Relationship Protection Act, which puts the emphasis in Ohio back on patient safety and protects doctors from having to choose between following the law and abiding by the ethical standards of their profession.