Democratic News

Ohio Democratic state lawmakers, workers and advocates today announced a bill to address Ohio’s bad economic growth and low wages with new legislation to increase Ohio’s minimum wage to $15 per hour. House Assistant Democratic Whip Brigid Kelly (D-Cincinnati), Senate Assistant Democratic Whip Cecil Thomas (D-Cincinnati) and state Senator Joe Schiavoni (D-Boardman) called for the legislation, which would give a raise to 1.8 million Ohioans.

State Rep. David Leland (D-Columbus) today announced that he will soon introduce legislation to help cities and local law enforcement officials shutter dangerous properties with a history of violence.

Today State Reps. Teresa Fedor (D-Toledo) and Michael Sheehy (D-Oregon) introduced a resolution urging the Director of the United States Environmental Protection Agency to add Lake Erie’s Western Basin to the list of impaired waters.  The move follows a State of the State address that left the two Toledo-area representatives disappointed with the lack of urgency surrounding the continued water quality crisis in Northwest Ohio.

“To seriously address harmful algal blooms in our state requires a firm commitment to reform and to exploring all avenues for action,” said Rep. Fedor. “I was hopeful that Ohio and federal governments would treat the ongoing crisis with more resolve and that last week’s State of the State address would outline some real policy initiatives. It is past time to put Lake Erie and the lives we have built here first.”

This resolution recognizes that Lake Erie’s Western Basin is facing a water quality crisis, plagued by pollution, algal blooms, and fish kills. Both Rep. Fedor and Rep. Sheehy were serving Toledo in the Ohio House of Representatives in 2014 when an algal bloom left 500,000 Toledoans without safe drinking water. Lake Erie’s Western Basin still requires massive doses of chlorine to be considered safefor consumption, continually impacting much of the region.

“The algae problem is far too critical to continue the weak actions taken by the current state and federal administrations,” said Rep. Sheehy. “If swift and decisive action is not taken now, Ohioans along the coast will continue to lose income, wildlife, and many more resources from Lake Erie.”

Unlike Ohio, Michigan did include the open waters in its jurisdiction on its list of impaired waters that it submitted to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, which approved that list. The United States EPA already has declared Michigan’sportion of Lake Erie impair

In response to a state released report today looking at statewide community school attendance, State Rep. Teresa Fedor (D-Toledo) announced she will reintroduce a bill to establish a committee to study the effectiveness of community schools and community school regulations. 

“So many parents, teachers, kids and education advocates for so many years have been sounding the warning siren about our state’s wasteful spending on ineffective charter schools,” said Fedor. “Now, it looks like the political will in Columbus is finally starting to catch up with the reforms that are necessary to make sure our children get the best education in the best schools to prepare them for success.”

In the report, Auditor Dave Yost critiqued several aspects of current charter school laws and noted “unusually high” discrepancies between the number of students in school and the number reported to the state. At least seven charter schools that state reviewed had enrollment levels 34 percent to 93 percent less than what was reported to the state for funding purposes.

“At its worst this looks like systemic fraud and abuse from a group of charter schools, and at its best this is reflection of the state’s long-term failure to hold charter schools accountable,” Fedor added. “Either way, taxpayers and our children are being robbed. I’ll be pushing for a collective effort to fix this mess once and for all.”

Fedor, a former public school teacher, said she wants to see a state study commission in place, one that would review the effectiveness of charter school regulations and issue findings to the legislature and governor.

Fedor also said that when the state first embraced charter schools in 1997, the authorizing law came with the condition that a review would help guide what was being billed at the time as an “experiment” by charter proponents. 

Such

An aging bridge that was being prepared for controlled demolition unexpectedly collapsed on Monday, killing a construction worker and injuring a truck driver. The Hopple Street bridge collapsed around 10:30 p.m. when a section being prepped crumbled and fell onto I-75 below.

State Representative Alicia Reece (D-Cincinnati) issued the following statement in response to the incident:

“Our hearts and prayers go out to the families who have been affected by this tragedy. We now need answers as to how this happened and what the state can do to prevent something so tragic from happening again. As the ranking member of the transportation finance committee, I am committed to ensuring a full investigation takes place to detail the cause of the collapse and to ensure we have every possible protocol in place to protect workers and the public.” 

State Rep. Nickie J. Antonio (D-Lakewood) today issued the following statement in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to rule on marriage equality:

“I join all fair minded Ohioans in applauding today's decision by the Supreme Court of The United States to hear all cases from the 6th Circuit Court, which includes Ohio’s case. I am ever hopeful of a time in our future when all couples will have the right to marry so that families like mine have the opportunity to experience the full depth and breadth of constitutional equality.”

Ohio House Democratic lawmakers this evening responded to Gov. Kasich’s annual State of the State address in Westerville, Ohio. Though the governor touted a comeback for the Buckeye State, House Democrats noted that Ohioans disproportionately face lower quality-of-life standards than the rest of the nation.

“Ohio used to lead the nation in innovation and economic opportunity. We were first in flight, we have sent men to the moon and even more to the White House,” said House Democratic Leader Fred Strahorn (D-Dayton). “Now we lead the in all the wrong ways. We’ve tried everything their way for seven years straight. It’s just not working for the middle class and working families.”

"I called this campaign my ‘Back to the Future’ effort to once again serve my community that has been so important to me and my family," said Rep. Leland. “There is much to be done, and I look forward to working with Democrats and Republicans to help make Ohio an even better place to live, work and raise a family."

Ohio House Democratic Leader Fred Strahorn (D-Dayton) today issued the following statement in response to Gov. John Kasich’s gun safety announcement:

“Today we are at a breaking point, where the American epidemic of gun violence and the activism of our nation’s young people are forcing politicians to retreat from the once-comfortable shadows of partisan, political ideology. This gives us hope and reaffirms our continued work to keep our schools, places of worship, and public settings free from the fear that gun violence holds over our everyday lives. We welcome anyone who is serious about gun safety to the table, and we continue to stand ready to work with anyone who supports restoring commonsense and sanity to the ongoing American dialogue on how we form a more perfect Union.” 

State Representative John M. Rogers (D-Mentor-on-the-Lake) offered testimony for the “Ohio Graduate Debt Assistance and Employment Incentive Act,” House Bill 246. The Graduate Debt Assistance Act would adjust the taxable income of recent graduates based on their student loan debt load, and it would offer incentives to employers who hire recent graduates. 

State Representative and President of the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus (OLBC) Alicia Reece (D-Cincinnati) was joined by OLBC members and statewide community leaders for a Day of Action against a proposed Stand Your Ground law in Ohio. The group held a press conference to address the dangers of Stand Your Ground; delivered petitions and municipal resolutions opposing the bill to Governor Kasich, Senate President Faber and House Speaker Batchelder; lobbied state legislators; and hosted a faith rally. 

On Wednesday, a disturbing news report came out highlighting what Democratic lawmakers have believed for some time; JobsOhio is not even following its own lax ethics laws. According to JobsOhio’s own conflict of interest policy, recently renewed with the Development Services Agency (DSA) and on file with the controlling board, JobsOhio’s directors and officers are required to disclose any conflict or potential conflict to fellow board members for formal consideration of whether or not a conflict exists.

The Ohio Ethics Commission (OEC) announced Wednesday that potential conflicts of interest do exist at the controversial state economic development entity. Yet records show that the JobsOhio board has not disclosed any potential conflicts.

State Rep. John Patrick Carney (D-Columbus) filed a public records request in August with DSA to obtain documentation of the initiated conflict of interest policy. No such records were ever returned, and JobsOhio later publicized their belief that no potential conflicts of interest existed to ever trigger the ethics policy.

“It is one thing to have relatively low ethics standards at JobsOhio, but when they can’t even follow their own internal policies it’s a giant red flag,” said Rep. Carney. “This is proof positive for Governor Kasich and the GOP that it’s time for accountability and transparency at JobsOhio. JobsOhio has had numerous chances to do the right thing, but they just won’t play by the rules—even when they write the rules apparently.”

House Democrats have made numerous calls for transparency and accountability at the state’s controversial economic development entity, but Gov. Kasich and legislative Republicans have only passed legislation to further secrecy at JobsOhio. The JobsOhio

On Tuesday, Representatives Kathleen Clyde (D-Kent) and John Patrick Carney (D-Columbus) revealed findings of the women’s heath informal hearing held on Sept. 18 and further exposed the attacks on women’s healthcare in Gov. Kasich’s budget with Stephanie Kight, President & CEO of Planned Parenthood of Ohio. Reps. Clyde and Carney announced that they will introduce legislation to repeal the controversial and dangerous attacks on women in the state budget. The lawmakers also denounced House Republicans for attempting to suppress all discussion about Ohio women’s health.

In addition to unilaterally preventing Ohio Government Television from broadcasting last week’s event, House Republicans refused Democratic requests to use Statehouse facilities today.

“We’re focused on moving healthcare for Ohio women forward, and I think that the GOP attempts to silence us underscore their contempt for a broader discussion about their dangerous decrees for Ohio women,” said Rep. Clyde. “Hiding these harmful provisions in the state budget at the 11^th hour, in the dark of night and with no public input is demeaning and degrading to the dignity of Ohio women. But, trying to limit publicly elected officials from speaking out against bad public policy has no place in our representative democracy. Freedom and liberty are fundamental to the health of our nation and to Ohio’s women.”

State Representative and President of the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus Alicia Reece (D-Cincinnati) discussed Ohioans’ battle with voter suppression and disenfranchisement during her testimony before the Presidential Commission on Election Administration today.

“Ohioans have had to fight to have their provisional ballots counted and have faced voter suppression tactics, including attempts to shorten early voting periods and implement stricter voter ID laws,” said Rep. Reece. “We expect leadership from our statewide elected officials, especially from those tasked with overseeing the fundamental American right to vote. Unfortunately, the actions of Ohio’s elected officials are clearly aimed at restricting voter participation.”

State Representative Robert F. Hagan (D-Youngstown) announced today that he will be introducing legislation to require that lobbyists report their annual salaries. The effort would render a more complete picture of the financial influence of special interests at our state’s capitol. The legislative proposal follows Common Cause Ohio’s recent “Troublesome Gap in Transparency” report that detailed oil and gas industry donations of two millions dollars to Ohio politicians in the past two years

“Two million dollars is a pretty effective means to making some new friends, but it doesn’t represent the millions more that the industry is likely spending,” said Rep. Hagan. “I just want to make sure that the public has a full understanding of the vast resources being spent to promote a specific agenda.”  

State Reps. Mike Foley (D-Cleveland) and Robert F. Hagan (D-Youngstown) plan to it introduce a joint resolution that would call for a constitutional convention to discuss adding a balanced trade amendment to the United States Constitution. 

“With a global economy becoming more and more important, it’s crucial that we recognize the importance of labor and trade practices-- not just in the products we make --but also in those coming to the country,” Rep. Foley said. “It’s important to remember the significant role fair labor and trade practices plays in the strengthening of countries, especially as we celebrate our own working class on Labor Day.”

The lawmakers cited other statehouse conversations regarding amending the U.S. Constitution as the motivation to offer their own suggestion. This amendment would call for fair trade, labor, and environmental standards for imports. If adopted, it would create a tariff for any imported product that has not followed fair labor, environmental and trade practices.

As Labor Day approaches, I find it encouraging to take a moment to reflect on the true significance of this holiday. While many of us know it as a day to hold cookouts, attend parades or a baseball game, there is an enriching history behind the holiday that is often neglected.

Labor Day is a creation of union members who worked hard to push for better working conditions, fair wages, reasonable hours, vacation time and much more. Today, all Ohio workers and Americans—union and non-union alike—benefit from the gains achieved through collective bargaining. 

Labor Day is a day designed to pay tribute to ourselves for the work each of us has contributed to the benefit of society. Whether you are a doctor, lawyer, caregiver, server, bus driver or volunteer, we all can reflect on the contributions working Ohioans have made to our state.

Even as radical attacks on our labor force seem ever-present from conservative interests and lawmakers across the country, I vow to never stop fighting for creating equitable working conditions and a living wage for all Ohioans.

In Solidarity,

Tracy Maxwell Heard

State Representative Debbie Phillips (D-Albany) today sent a letter* to the Kasich Administration demanding a full account of the events that led to the removal of George Elmaraghy, the Chief of the Division of Surface Water, at the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Rep. Phillips specifically requested that correspondence between the Gov. Kasich’s office, the Ohio EPA and coal industry officials regarding Mr. Elmaraghy be made available under Ohio’s public records law.

Elmaraghy asserts that Gov. Kasich and EPA Director Nally forced him to resign early last week due to growing pressure from coal companies seeking special permits-- permits that could violate state and federal laws. Elmaraghy’s official email account was disabled late last week, even though the long-time regulator wouldn’t be off the payroll until Sept. 13^th.

“Governor Kasich and his administration need to make decisions based on what’s best for the people of Ohio, rather than paying back campaign donors,” said Rep. Phillips. “It seems pretty clear that Mr. Elmaraghy is the latest casualty of the Kasich Administration’s culture of political favoritism.”