Democratic News

State Rep. Kathleen Clyde (D-Kent), with Kent State student Hana Barkowitz, today called on Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted to step into the age of smartphones and make voter ID paperless.

“Many young people, like me, are dependent on their smartphones,” said Kent State student Hana Barkowitz. “Ohioans can use their smartphones to get into concerts and presidential rallies, and they can even show proof of car insurance on their phones. Ohio should get smart and allow paperless voter ID.” 

A study from the Pew Research Center found that 15 percent of young Americans and 13 percent of low income Americans are heavily dependent on their smartphones for access to the internet. Compared to 1 percent of American households earning $75,000 or more per year.

“It’s important that we make it easy to vote for all Ohioans - that includes students, low income voters and other voters who rely heavily on their smartphones,” said Rep. Clyde. “Husted still has a chance to get smart and allow paperless voter ID on Tuesday.” 

State Rep. Nickie Antonio(D-Lakewood) today issued the following statement responding to Gov. John Kasich’s decision to send state highway patrol to help tamp down the growing controversy surrounding the Dakota Access Pipeline:

“If the governor wants to truly be responsive to an emergency, he need not look beyond his home state. Communities across Ohio are in desperate need of additional resources to combat the growing opioid crisis that has already claimed an historic number of Ohio lives. First responders, treatment providers and local law enforcement have been stretched perilously thin by the opioid and heroin crisis, but so far the governor has refused to free up critical additional state resources by recognizing the crisis for the statewide emergency that it is. 

State Rep. Nickie Antonio(D-Lakewood) today received The Center for Community Solutions Award for Public Service in Honor of John A. Begala for her efforts to address Ohio’s opioid addiction crisis and her work on the Joint Medicaid Oversight Committee to improve the rate of spending and quality of Medicaid care.

“I am extremely honored to accept this award from The Center for Community Solutions, an organization known for their dedicated efforts to improve the quality of life for all Ohioans,” said Antonio. “I will continue to work diligently to expand treatment opportunities for those struggling with addiction, ensure local law enforcement have adequate resources, and increase prevention programs to combat the ongoing opioid crisis in Ohio.”

State Rep. Kathleen Clyde (D-Kent) released the below statement in response to last night’s federal district court order rejecting Secretary of State Husted’s limited remedy for purged voters and implementing a solution that will allow more people to cast ballots in the November election:

"After a federal court of appeals found Secretary Husted had illegally purged voters, the secretary still tried to get the very stingiest remedy to his wrongdoing approved by the lower court. The court soundly rejected Husted's inadequate proposal," said Rep. Clyde. "Illegally purged voters will get to vote and have their votes counted in this historic election and that is a huge victory for the people of Ohio."

State Reps. John Patterson (D-Jefferson) and Michael Sheehy (D-Oregon) today announced a legislative proposal aimed at protecting and improving Ohio’s water quality through the establishment of the Ohio Water Quality Improvement Program. Under the program, farmers would be incentivized to conserve environmentally sensitive agricultural land rather than use the property for farming or ranching. 

“Ensuring safe and clean drinking water for the citizens of Ohio is of the utmost importance,” said Patterson. “While we have made great strides in working with the farming community to fight agricultural runoff, as a state we can and should do more. The Ohio Water Quality Improvement Program gives us the opportunity to partner with Ohio’s farmers to strategically conserve farmland in order to promote healthier streams, rivers and estuaries.” 

House Democratic Leader Emilia Strong Sykes (D-Akron) today announced that Ohioans looking to get driving privileges restored may be able to do so at a reduced cost under the Reinstatement Fee Amnesty Initiative, a six-month program that began Jan 31. Sykes supported the law change in the Ohio House last year.

State Rep. Emilia Sykes (D-Akron) recently recognized the 10 graduates of the first ever Drive for Success program in Akron. Established jointly by the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) and the Akron Summit County Action Agency (ASCA), Drive for Success helps provide individuals with the opportunity to attain career readiness skills in the construction industry.

“The Drive for Success program is a marvelous example of how effective partnerships between the state and local communities can help expand access to economic opportunities for our residents,” said Sykes. “By providing these graduates with the training they need to enter and find success in the workforce, we are investing in their future as well as the future growth of our regional economy.” 

House Democratic Leader Emilia Strong Sykes (D-Akron) and state Rep. Janine Boyd (D-Cleveland Heights) today joined Gov. Mike DeWine for his latest executive order signing, which strengthens protections for domestic violence victims by including intimate partner violence, or dating violence, in state agency directives and guidelines.

“Dating violence is domestic violence, and anything we can do to protect victims from their abusers will save lives,” said Sykes. “I’m encouraged by Governor DeWine’s executive order today to make protecting victims of dating violence a priority in our state.”

State Rep. Greta Johnson (D-Akron) today applauded Summit County Council’s vote in support of legislation giving county employees six weeks paid leave following the birth or adoption of a child. Currently, county employees must exhaust all their sick and vacation benefits before tapping into the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which allows for up to twelve weeks of unpaid leave. The city of Dayton became the first Ohio city to pass a paid parental leave measure roughly one year ago, but with today’s vote Summit County becomes the first county in the state to offer paid parental leave to its employees.

“I am incredibly proud to serve in Summit County – the first county in Ohio to vote to implement paid parental leave,” said Johnson. “Allowing mothers and fathers to spend more time with their newborn children without worrying about falling behind financially will positively impact our families and communities. Providing paid parental leave is the responsible thing to do in a modern, industrialized nation, and it is also the right choice to remain competitive in attracting new workers. Seeing local communities step up to address this issue is incredibly encouraging and I look forward to continuing the push for paid family leave at the state level.

State Rep. Kathleen Clyde (D-Kent) today called on Secretary of State Jon Husted to restore illegally purged Ohio voters to the rolls and count the vote of any voter who should never have been purged in the first place. Yesterday, Husted ended negotiations with voting rights advocates and filed a motion in federal district court seeking to keep purged voters off the rolls and to continue to throw out the ballots of the wrongly purged.

“Over the past five years, under Husted, Ohio has led the nation in purging voters from the rolls. That's not on accident. That's on purpose. And the court caught him. And like so many other GOP officials across the country who want to tip elections in their favor, Husted is still refusing to make things right even after he was caught red-handed,” said Rep. Clyde.

State Rep. John Boccieri (D-Poland) today decried the lack of results from Ohio charter schools in light of the Ohio Department of Education (ODE)’s release of unflattering school sponsor evaluations. The Mahoning County ESC was one of many sponsors that received an overall rating of “poor,” the lowest on the scale, while also earning a “D” for academic performance, an “ineffective” for compliance, and a “significantly below standards” rating for quality practices.

“These ratings show just how ineffective charter schools have been under the current law and what a financial bust they are for taxpayers and students,” Rep. Boccieri said. “Ohio spent $1 billion in the recent state budget— the most ever documented— on for-profit charter schools that cannot make the grade above the worst performing public schools. We have been far too flexible in allowing our sponsors to duck quality measures, conflicts of interest and performance standards.”

State Rep. Greta Johnson (D-Akron) today responded to the release of the Congressional report “Dying waiting for treatment” calling Ohio “the face of the nation’s opioid epidemic.” Issued Monday by Senate Committee on Finance staff, the report released highlighted the need for additional federal funding to support policies recently passed in the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2016 (CARA) for the treatment of opioid addiction.

“Sadly, this report highlights what our courts, treatment providers, law enforcement agencies, public health officials and some elected officials in our state already know: Ohio is the poster-child for the lack of mental healthcare and treatment for those struggling with opioid and heroin addiction,” said Johnson. “But we don’t need another report or more startling statistics to validate what first responders and family members are dealing with on the front lines every day. We need action from state leaders, and that includes treating opioid and heroin addiction like the statewide emergency that it is and releasing emergency funding until we can get back to work at the Statehouse in a unified and strategic way.”

State Reps. Thomas West (D-Canton) and Tavia Galonski (D-Akron) today introduced a bill to address infant mortality through increased sexually transmitted disease (STD) screening for expectant mothers. The legislation would require healthcare professionals to test pregnant women for HIV, syphilis and gonorrhea at different points of the pregnancy in order to connect mother and baby to appropriate treatment and counseling. 

The Ohio House Democratic Caucus today announced its leadership team for the 133^rd General Assembly. In an all-caucus vote, Dems elected current Democratic Whip and state Rep. Emilia Sykes (D-Akron) as the next Democratic leader.

“Ohioans want leaders who put people first, who know how to work together to get things done,” said Sykes. “I am humbled by the support of this caucus and look forward to working with this leadership team, members, staff and my Republican colleagues over the next two years to improve the lives of Ohio’s children, families and workers.”

Dr. King talked about the danger of staying silent on the things that matter—a sentiment as true today as it was in his time. For too many people, times may have changed, but the story stays the same...

Following today’s announcement of the state’s Martin Luther King Jr. Award winners, State Rep. Michael Sheehy (D-Oregon) congratulated the four Lucas County award recipients, two of which are from the 46^th House District which is represented by Sheehy in the legislature.

“I was thrilled, but certainly not surprised to see our communities recognized statewide for their bold, pioneering work towards a culture of justice,” said Sheehy, “I extend hearty congratulations and deep gratitude to my neighbors, and look forward to working with them to build bridges between all Ohioans.”

State Rep. Emilia Strong Sykes (D-Akron), a vocal proponent of devoting more resources to fighting Ohio’s infant mortality crisis, today responded to Gov. Mike DeWine’s creation of an advisory panel to potentially expand home-visitation programs, which have been shown to increase infant life expectancy and maternal health.

“After years of fighting for opportunities that let families and children have brighter futures, we are glad to see this Governor is making kids a priority,” said Sykes. “We look forward to working with him to push for funding in the budget that makes the lives of Ohio's children and families better.”

State Rep. Emilia Strong Sykes (D-Akron) today released the following statement applauding Gov. Mike DeWine’s tone and work ethic as he begins his first day of service to Ohioans as the state’s 70^th governor:

“By embracing new ideas, building bridges and surrounding himself with a majority-woman cabinet and people that know the meaning of hard work, Governor DeWine has sent a message that today is a new day in the State of Ohio.

Ohio House Democratic Caucus Whip and state Rep. Brigid Kelly (D-Cincinnati) today issued the following statement announcing she will leave her leadership post with the caucus at the end of Jan:

“I’m proud of the progress the House Democratic Caucus has made during my time in leadership, welcoming an historic number of women and minority lawmakers and adding nearly a half-dozen new seats to our ranks—efforts nearly a decade in the making.

“I look forward to working with the new leadership team and my colleagues to continue to find commonsense ways to come together and give working people the tools they need for a better life.”

House Democratic Leader Fred Strahorn (D-Dayton) today issued the following statement announcing his plans to step down as House Democratic leader at the end of January, after four years of serving as the Ohio House’s top ranking Democrat:

“I don’t take today’s announcement lightly, because I’m proud of the rebuilding and growth Ohio House Democrats have experienced under my leadership. After a decade of being denied a seat at the table with Republicans, we changed our direction in the legislature by engaging better with the majority on the official side and working overtime on the political side, which resulted in a net gain of five Democratic legislators in the House. Ultimately, 11.5 million Ohioans have a stronger voice and a more responsive government because of that approach.