Democratic News

The Ohio Legislative Black Caucus (OLBC) today issued the following statements from State Reps. Thomas West (D-Canton), Phil Robinson (D-Solon), and Tavia Galonski (D-Akron) condemning House Bills (HB) 322 and 327, legislation to restrict schools from teaching or advocating certain so-called divisive concepts:

House Minority Leader Emilia Strong Sykes (D-Akron) recognizes the month of June as LGBTQ+ Pride Month. It all started with the Stonewall Uprising of 1969 where New York City police raided a gay club called the Stonewall Inn. This led to days of protests and served as a catalyst for the gay rights movement. One year later, the first Pride march was held in June to celebrate the legacy of Stonewall and to set the precedent of Pride month for years to come. 

House Finance Committee Ranking Member Rep. Erica C. Crawley (D-Columbus) issued a statement today as House lawmakers voted to reject Senate changes to House Bill 110, the state’s two-year budget. 

COLUMBUS — As the Ranking Member of the House Government Oversight Committee, State Rep. Bride Rose Sweeney (D-Cleveland) today condemned the party-line vote to advance House Bill (HB) 149 out of committee. The legislation would require certain Ohio judicial candidates to run in partisan elections, cherry-picking some elections while leaving out others.

House Democratic lawmakers Reps. Jeffrey A. Crossman (D-Parma) and Michele Lepore-Hagan (D-Youngstown) today testified before the House Rules and Reference Committee on their resolution to expel disgraced former Republican Speaker Rep. Larry Householder (R-Glenford) from the Ohio House for his alleged role in a $60 million public bribery and corruption scheme to pass and prevent a referendum on a billion-dollar corporate bailout in 2019. 

Democratic lawmakers on the House Civil Justice Committee, including Ranking Member Rep. Tavia Galonski (D-Akron), Rep. Jeffrey A. Crossman (D-Parma) and Rep. David Leland (D-Columbus), Tuesday voted in opposition to an amendment to House Bill 286 that would allow for a change in jurisdiction for certain public corruption cases from the Franklin County Prosecutor to the defendant’s county of residence. 

State Reps. Adam C. Miller (D-Columbus) and Casey Weinstein (D–Hudson) today introduced legislation that would create a Hate Crimes Bureau within the Attorney General’s office in response to a recent increase in hate crimes in Ohio.

Ohio House Democrats hosted the first of their Freedom to Vote Tour events in Cincinnati Wednesday night. The tour, which has additional stops in Columbus, Akron, Cleveland and Toledo, gives Ohioans the opportunity to share their thoughts and concerns on House Bill (HB) 294, controversial anti-voter legislation that would roll back ballot access and intentionally make the process more confusing for voters.

State Rep. Erica C. Crawley (D-Columbus), the Ranking Democrat on the House Finance Committee, released the following statement on the latest Senate changes to the state budget, House Bill 110:

COLUMBUS—State Rep. Lisa Sobecki (D-Toledo), Chair of the Ohio Democratic Women’s Legislative Caucus, released the following statement after the Lebanon City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to ban abortion within the city limits of Lebanon.