Ohio House Democrats have done it again, (“Merrin denied Ohio House speakership,” Jan. 3) providing second-place Republican Rep. Jason Stephens (R., Kitts Hill) with the votes to become speaker and preside over the 99-member body.
Facing the choice between a rural Republican in a district so ruby red the Democrats did not even offer a candidate, and Representative Merrin, in a Toledo district that leans Democratic, the House minority party voted en masse against the interests of their constituents.
It was Ohio Democrats who provided former Speaker Larry Householder with the votes to preside over the House in 2019. Mr. Householder goes on trial this month for federal racketeering charges tied to the passage of Ohio House Bill 6, the infamous legislation enriching FirstEnergy through subsidies for nuclear and coal-fired power plants.
The Blade endorsed Mr. Merrin’s re-election to the House last year in part because of his pledge to introduce ethics reform legislation that addresses the bribery scandal. Ohio House Democrats missed the opportunity to campaign for post-scandal reform because they were weakened by their support for Mr. Householder as speaker.
Uneducated by their misplayed response to a scandal they helped facilitate, House Democrats bypassed a potential speaker with a history of working with city and county Democrats to bring needed state aid to high priority local projects targeting blight and facilitating downtown development.
Moreover, Mr. Merrin’s acknowledgment of the impact of massive cuts in the Local Government Fund and the need for stronger financial support from state government for local government makes House Democrats’ opposition antithetical to the financial interest of urban areas, where Democrats rule.
Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz called Mr. Merrin a “strong ally,” (“New Ohio House Speaker first representing Toledo area,” Dec. 4) on important development issues for our city.
Newly sworn-in Toledo Democrats Rep. Michele Grim and Rep. Elgin Rogers, Jr., put the priorities of the party caucus ahead of the interests of their constituents in Toledo. This is the very embodiment of political hackery and provides future opponents from either party with a strong Toledo-first winning message. If ever there was a time to put loyalty to Toledo first it was in the vote for a speaker from Lucas County. Ms. Grim and Mr. Rogers hurt Toledo without helping the Ohio Democratic Party.
The last time Ohio House Democrats flexed their limited political muscle this way they used it to make Mr. Householder speaker. Thanks to that blunder, state Democrats actually lost seats in the election following the worst scandal in Ohio history.
The only plausible reason for Democrats to oppose Mr. Merrin is his support for right-to-work legislation strongly opposed by unions. However, Ohio political history suggests right-to-work turns out Democratic voters, and in any case could not be advanced by Mr. Merrin without a majority in the House.
Some Republicans who swung their support to Mr. Stephens over Mr. Merrin feared they would lose their seats because of his backing of right-to-work legislation.
Ironically, Democrats rescued nervous Republicans from that worry.
Now if Mr. Stephens is a great leader for Ohio, Republicans will get all of the political credit. If he is not, Ohio Democrats will bear most of the blame.
That kind of political strategy explains why Ohio Democrats have become hapless losers at the statewide level.
First Published January 5, 2023, 5:00 a.m.
