Democratic News

State Rep. Kathleen Clyde (D-Kent) recently shared her experiences as a state lawmaker in a severely gerrymandered state in a bipartisan amicus brief filed in the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Wisconsin case, Gill v. Whitford, has implications for Ohio’s state legislative districts, which suffer similar constitutional defects. Plaintiffs in the case allege extreme partisan gerrymandering deprived them of their First Amendment right of association and the Equal Protection of the laws guaranteed to them by the 14^th Amendment.

“When the minority party is locked out of the legislative process, so are their constituents,” said Rep. Clyde. “We cannot effectively serve the people of Ohio when half of Ohioans’ concerns and preferences are ignored. I have seen the quality of work at the Statehouse go downhill in my four terms here because of the gerrymandered map that was drawn in a ‘bunker’ and approved by a short-sighted majority in 2011. We need to turn this dysfunctionality around and that is why I joined state lawmakers from Ohio and across the country to share my experiences in the brief."

Akron state lawmakers, Reps. Emilia Strong Sykes and Tavia Galonski, today issued the following joint statement in response to former Akron Police Chief James Nice’s use of racial slurs while in office:

“While our nation seems to be approaching a critical intersection of hateful and divisive dialogue, Nice’s language plays to this ugliness, distorting who we are as a community. We condemn Nice’s behavior in the strongest terms possible. We also urge our neighbors and constituents to look beyond one man’s failings in order to champion the good and righteous within our community. We are more than one person’s bad decisions. We are more than one man or woman’s judgement. We are Akron.”

State Rep. Bernadine Kennedy Kent (D-Columbus) is helping an Ohio woman finally achieve justice, 12 years after she was attacked and almost shot to death by her ex-boyfriend.

“I am shocked, because no one should be able to a shoot or try to kill someone and then not be held accountable in any shape, form or fashion,” said Kennedy Kent. “Any victim of a violent crime should be able to expect the justice system to fulfill its mission, but in this case that clearly did not happen.”

In 2005, Ms. Diona Clark’s estranged ex-boyfriend allegedly shot her in the chest and the wrist before turning the gun on himself. After falling into a coma for a month from the self-inflicted gunshot wound to his head, police never followed up with criminal charges.

In a recent meeting organized by Rep. Kennedy Kent that included Columbus Police Department Deputy Chief Richard Bash and Columbus Public Safety Deputy Director Kate Pishotti, Deputy Chief Bash apologized to Clark for the CPD “dropping the ball” before telling her that her “case was closed” because the statute of limitations for felonious assault had passed.

However, Rep. Kennedy Kent, having examined both the police files and reviewed Ohio law, pointed out that a kidnapping charge may be brought against Ms. Clark’s assailant, who allegedly physically restrained her from escaping the apartment where the shooting incident took place.

Clark, whose case has been re-opened since the July meeting, is currently awaiting word from the prosecutor’s office whether they will proceed with kidnapping charges against her attacker.

Clark has also used her experience to advocate on behalf of modernizing Ohio’s domestic violence laws. Earlier this year she testified at the Statehouse in support of House Bill 1, legislation to allow victims of dating violence to obtain civil protective orders against their attacker. Currentl

Controlling Board member state Rep. Nicholas J. Celebrezze (D-Parma) today raised concerns over a $265,000 no-bid contract between Ohio Secretary of State John Husted and Columbus-based Pierce Communications, Inc.’s for work on Husted’s upcoming “voter education effort.” Husted’s unbid quarter of a million dollar contract comes amid growing public concern and new legal restrictions on taxpayer-funded self-promotion of politicians in Ohio, after it was discovered Treasurer Josh Mandel spent almost $2 million in tax dollars on self-promotional ads with no oversight.

“Ensuring voters have information is fundamental in maintaining a robust American democracy. That’s why it’s equally important that elected officials don’t abuse the public trust by using public service announcements as self-promotional stepping stones to higher office,” said Celebrezze. “Taxpayers shouldn’t have to worry about Columbus politicians using their money to advance personal political ambitions.”

State Rep. Brigid Kelly (D-Cincinnati) today announced that House Bill (HB) 308, legislation to allow first responders diagnosed with work-related PTSD in the absence of any physical injury to qualify for BWC compensation and benefits, was signed into law Jan. 9 by the governor. This is something Democrats have prioritized in recent General Assemblies. 

State Reps. Adam C. Miller (D-Columbus) and Bernadine Kennedy Kent (D-Columbus) recently introduced new legislation titled the School Safety Drill bill to help improve emergency response readiness in school districts across the state.

“With a new academic year upon us, school safety is on the minds of parents and remains a hot-button issue in every state, but especially here in Ohio,” said Kennedy Kent, a former high school principal and longtime teacher. “When students, teachers and staff finally get together after summer break, I believe it is important to review emergency procedures as soon as possible to ease stress and ensure everyone in the facility is on the same page.”

State Rep. Brigid Kelly (D-Cincinnati) today announced that House Bill (HB) 67, her bill to create the Veterinarian Student Debt Assistance Program, was signed into law Saturday by the governor. 

House Democratic Leader Fred Strahorn (D-Dayton) issued the following statement in response to the state auditor’s request that management companies, charter school sponsors and vendors reimburse the state when a charter school itself is overpaid for services that were never rendered, as was the case with a $60 million finding against the failing online charter school, ECOT:

“The state auditor is right to pursue overpayments to any and all parties that wrongly receive tax dollars for services that weren’t provided. The General Assembly should be inspired by the auditor’s appetite for following the money, and elected officials at all levels should look closely at how they may have personally benefitted from the free flow of taxpayer dollars to charter school operators and then to campaign accounts.” 

State Rep. Thomas West (D-Canton) today recognized the recent release of the State of Ohio’s first annual survey on workforce diversity within each state agency by the Ohio Department of Administrative Services (DAS). DAS is required to release the survey annually under current law because of an amendment West secured to House Bill (HB) 166, which established the 2020-2021 state budget. The survey results indicate the State needs to take close look at gender and racial pay inequity, the racial breakdown of applicants advancing in the next step of hiring process, and inequities in gender participation. West renewed longstanding calls from House Democrats for the State to take meaningful action to address inequities in pay, gender, and race in the workforce. 

State Rep. Thomas E. West (D-Canton) expressed outrage regarding the U.S. Department of Justice’s decision to support Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted’s voter purge. Department attorneys filed an amicus brief on Monday reversing the Department’s previous position by arguing that Husted was legally permitted to unregister voters who have not voted for six or more years.

“I am outraged that the Trump administration has chosen to attack the most fundamental right of every citizen living in a democracy,” said West. “Nobody should be punished so dramatically for choosing not to vote in a given year. Jon Husted and Donald Trump do not have the right to strip Americans of our rights just because we do not vote as often as we can.”

This decision from the Department of Justice comes in the wake of President Trump’s creation of a voter fraud commission, which recently received nationwide pushback in its efforts to collect the private information of every registered voter in the country. According to the ACLU of Ohio, the Trump administration’s decision to support voter purge measures undoes decades of efforts from the Department of Justice to prevent similar efforts.

“This is not a partisan issue. Both Democratic and Republican presidents have fought for decades to protect the right of every citizen to vote,” said West. “It really is sad to see the Trump administration support Jon Husted’s movement to disenfranchise millions of voters across our country. Unfortunately, this is quickly becoming part of a pattern of voter suppression from this White House.”

The Supreme Court will make a decision on the case this summer.

State Rep. Michael O’Brien (D-Warren) today announced that Gov. DeWine signed House Bill (HB) 264, a bipartisan bill that provides for the refinancing of loans for certain public water and wastewater infrastructure projects, into law on Jan. 9. The bill passed both the House and the Senate unanimously in the 133rd General Assembly.

State Rep. Catherine D. Ingram (D-Cincinnati) today announced her position on the updated Ohio Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) plan which will be submitted to the U.S. Department of Education in September.

Every Student Succeeds Act, which replaced its predecessor, the No Child Left Behind Act, is the federal requirement for states to submit plans regarding the use of federal educational funding for school curriculum.

“After several revision and updates, there is still much work to do, and Ohio’s ESSA proposal is not perfect,” said Ingram. “However, there has been some improvement in the overall plan, and there is now much more agreement in certain sections of the proposal than there was during the debates in April.”

Every State educational agency had the choice to submit its ESSA proposal in either April or September. Ohio’s plan is being prepared to submit by the September deadline.

Ohio’s ESSA plan can be viewed online at www.educationa.ohio.gov/ESSA.

State Rep. Paula Hicks-Hudson (D-Toledo) today announced that House Bill (HB) 1, her criminal justice reform legislation to modify the requirements for intervention in lieu of conviction and for sealing criminal records, was signed into law yesterday night. 

State Rep. Thomas West (D-Canton) today announced that Canton, Ohio has been selected to host the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus’ 50^th anniversary celebration this fall. African American state lawmakers from all across Ohio will convene in Stark County for the two-day event on October 1-2 to recognize the important milestone and chart a course for the future for the historic legislative organization. 

“I am thrilled to host my OLBC colleagues here in Canton and show off all that is great about our community,” said state Rep. Thomas West, the co-chairman for the event. “Exciting projects like the Pro Football Hall of Fame development, its African American apprenticeship program and significant events like the OLBC 50th Anniversary are all evidence of Canton’s positive momentum. We encourage all elected officials on the local, state and national level to join us for this wonderful evening of fun and enlightenment. This event is a once in a lifetime occasion, which is why we have invited the governor as well as leaders from both the House of Representatives and Senate to attend and share this experience with our community.”

State Reps. Nickie J. Antonio (D-Lakewood) and Janine Boyd (D-Cleveland Heights) yesterday introduced legislation to better protect victims of domestic violence from their abuser by requiring those convicted of a domestic violence crime or served a civil protection order (CPO) to temporarily turn over their firearms to law enforcement.

“Separating deadly weapons from a domestic abuser weakens their power over the victim. By stopping gun violence before it starts, we can stop burying innocent people who should have been legally protected under a CPO,” said Antonio. “It’s common sense: domestic abusers should not have access to guns.”

State Representative Kent Smith (D-Euclid) today sent a letter to Gov. Mike DeWine asking his office to remove Susan Block from the board of the Ohio Arts Council. This move follows a controversial post made by Block on social media claiming the presidential election was stolen from President Trump and calling the Vice President-Elect a derogatory term.