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Columbus, OH – In case you missed it, Haley BeMiller of the Columbus Dispatch reported today that Frank LaRose is now all in for a $20 million taxpayer-funded special election after – a year ago – calling August special elections “unnecessary,” and saying they “aren’t good for taxpayers, election officials, voters or the civic health of our state.” 

Frank’s latest cave comes as Statehouse GOP leaders are pulling all the political levers they have in order to effectively kill citizen-led ballot initiatives in Ohio. LaRose, the “front man” for the anti-voter initiative who spoke out against special elections in August just last year, has now suddenly changed his tune to cater to his own political ambitions.  

“Frank LaRose is once again making clear that the only thing he cares about is advancing his political career. Frank’s latest craven political stunt would cost Ohioans more than $20 million, and we’ll continue to remind voters who to blame when the bill comes due,” said Matt Keyes, spokesperson for the Ohio Democratic Party.

Testifying about August special elections in 2020, LaRose pointed to low turnout in counties around the state and said: “That means just a handful of voters end up making big decisions. The side that wins is often the one that has a vested interest in the passage of the issue up for consideration. This isn’t how democracy is supposed to work.”

Read more from the Columbus Dispatch here and below: 

• Secretary of State Frank LaRose on Tuesday defended a potential August election for the effort to make it harder to amend the state constitution − just months after advocating to limit those elections.
• House and Senate Republicans have introduced resolutions to require 60% of voters to enact constitutional amendments, instead of a simple majority. Three-fifths of both chambers need to approve the question to place it on the ballot, giving voters the final say in whether the rules should change.
• Senate GOP leaders want voters to make that decision on Aug. 8 to get ahead of a possible November ballot question on abortion access. But the state Legislature, with LaRose’s support, passed a new law last year to eliminate most August elections due to low turnout and cost.
• LaRose’s comments came ahead of two committee hearings on the Senate resolution scheduled for this week. Republicans advocating for the August ballot are on a tight timeline: The measure must clear both the House and Senate by May 10, and lawmakers won’t meet during first two weeks of April.
• Under Ohio’s new election law, local governments and school districts can hold August elections only if they’re under a fiscal emergency. LaRose told lawmakers last year that very few voters participate, citing a Hamilton County special election in 2020 that generated 11.8% turnout.

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Columbus, OH – Frank LaRose, who once called August special elections “unnecessary,” and said they “aren’t good for taxpayers, election officials, voters or the civic health of our state,” is now dodging questions on the political maneuvering by his fellow Republicans in the statehouse. 

Statehouse GOP leaders are pulling all the political levers they have in order to effectively kill citizen-led ballot initiatives in Ohio, including by holding an August special election they once opposed. LaRose, the “front man” for the anti-voter initiative who spoke out against special elections in August just last year, is suddenly at a loss for words when it comes to opposing an August election to roll back the rights of Ohio voters. 

“When the going gets tough, Frank LaRose goes silent. LaRose – Ohio’s top elections official – can’t hide behind his spokesman’s non-answer as statehouse Republicans try to manipulate Ohio’s election schedule to take voters’ power away from them. Frank is a profile in cowardice and should give Ohioans a straight answer on whether he supports or opposes an August special election,” said Matt Keyes, spokesperson for the Ohio Democratic Party.

Testifying about August special elections in 2020, LaRose pointed to low turnout in counties around the state and said: “That means just a handful of voters end up making big decisions. The side that wins is often the one that has a vested interest in the passage of the issue up for consideration. This isn’t how democracy is supposed to work.”

Three years late, see LaRose dodge, dive, dip and duck any questions on the proposed August special election below:

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Columbus, OH – Today, Ohio Democratic Party Chair Elizabeth Walters released the following statement in response to the verdict in the FirstEnergy bribery scandal. 

“For too long, Republican politicians and their wealthy, well-connected friends have gotten away with screwing over working Ohioans and then making those same working Ohioans foot the bill for GOP misdeeds. Today, Ohioans on the jury made clear: no one is above the law. 

“But this scandal doesn’t stop with Larry Householder or Matt Borges. This scandal runs deep within the Ohio Republican Party, and every GOP politician who enabled it to happen or stood by complicity must be held accountable. And that’s what we plan to do.” 

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Columbus, OH – Today, the Cleveland.com editorial board pulled no punches, saying Joe Deters was a ‘mistaken choice’ for the Ohio Supreme Court. The editorial board pointed out that Deters has ‘zero judicial experience,’ that Deters enjoys a close, personal relationship with the Republican who appointed him and that there are ‘many conflicts and questions about Deters’ qualifications and past service.’ 

“In light of the many conflicts and questions about Deters’ qualifications and past service, the answer is clear: DeWine should not have named Joe Deters to the Ohio Supreme Court,” writes the Cleveland.com editorial board. 

“The political gamesmanship surrounding Joe Deters appointment to the Ohio Supreme Court is disgusting. Voters deserve answers from Deters, and better yet, deserve a Justice that is focused on fairness and the rule of law, not political backscratching,” said Ohio Democratic Party spokesperson Matt Keyes.

The Cleveland.com editorial follows a story from Cincinnati.com last week that highlighted his lack of experience and the politics behind the decision. One constitutional law expert in the story even remarked: “Of course, there’s politics going on here.”

Read more from Cleveland.com HERE and below: 

• In late December, DeWine named someone to the job with zero judicial experience — longtime Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters.
• Equally troubling are the apparent “you-scratch-my-back, I’ll-scratch-yours” ties between Deters and Pat DeWine.
• The Cincinnati Enquirer recently highlighted two key ones: In 2017, Justice DeWine asked Deters to give the justice’s son a paid six-week internship. Deters did. And in 2018, Justice DeWine asked Deters to give his senior staff attorney, Mary Stier, a job as an assistant prosecuting attorney handling appellate work. Deters did so in 2019, shortly before Justice DeWine’s wife filed for divorce, alleging adultery. Stier and Justice DeWine are now in an acknowledged relationship, the Enquirer reports.
• The 2004 scandals that caused Deters to step down from the state treasurer’s office also raise red flags. The scandals, which also featured pay-to-play influence-peddling allegations, also involved Matt Borges, now on trial in Cincinnati on House Bill 6 influence-peddling and corruption charges.
• So why did Gov. DeWine name Joe Deters to the Ohio Supreme Court? Maybe the question should be: Should DeWine have done so?
• In light of the many conflicts and questions about Deters’ qualifications and past service, the answer is clear: DeWine should not have named Joe Deters to the Ohio Supreme Court.

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Columbus, OH – In case you missed it, editorial boards around Ohio this weekend praised Sherrod Brown’s bipartisan Railway Safety Act and the work that Brown is doing to reach across the aisle and get results on rail safety.

“U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, has been especially strong on this matter. He hosted a conference call on Wednesday to discuss new railroad safety legislation that he has introduced, along with his junior senator, Republican JD Vance.  The landmark bill is being hailed by labor as one of the biggest changes to the industry in a generation,” writes the Ironton Tribune editorial board. 

Read more from Ohio editorial boards below: 

Toledo Blade: Bipartisan Rail Act wise

• “The catastrophic train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, has produced one piece of good news. A bipartisan team of U.S. Senators led by Ohio’s J.D. Vance, a Republican, and Democrat Sherrod Brown have introduced the Railway Safety Act of 2023 as protection against future incidents like the East Palestine accident.”

Ironton Tribune: Working together in crisis 

• “U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, has been especially strong on this matter. He hosted a conference call on Wednesday to discuss new railroad safety legislation that he has introduced, along with his junior senator, Republican JD Vance. The landmark bill is being hailed by labor as one of the biggest changes to the industry in a generation.”

Cleveland.com: Brown, Vance Rail Act: Darcy cartoon

• Applaud Senators Sherrod Brown and J.D. Vance of Ohio for engineering the new bipartisan Railway Safety Act, and all those who get on board with it, as President Biden already has…In response to derailments, it’s good to see bipartisan railment. That’s what the founding fathers, mothers and today’s voters deserve.”

Vindicator: Proposed new rail regulations common sense

• “The Railway Safety Act of 2023 may have been inspired by a disaster in East Palestine, Ohio, but the changes could help keep people across the country safer.”

Marietta Times: Railway Act could keep country safer

• “U.S. Sens. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and JD Vance, R-Ohio, are cosponsors of an important piece of legislation that would impose both new regulations for the railroad industry and financial consequences for breaking them.” 

Wheeling News Register: Making Nation’s Rail Lines Safer

• “Among the necessary changes included in the act are requirements that all rail carriers with trains carrying hazardous materials — even those that do not fall under existing regulations for high-hazard flammable shipments — must create emergency response plans and provide information and advance notification to the emergency response commissions of each state through which a train will pass…It sounds like a lot of ‘why weren’t we already doing this?’ doesn’t it?”

Vindicator: Orchids and onions

• “ORCHID: To Sen. J.D. Vance, Portman’s Republican successor, and Sen. Sherrod Brown, Ohio’s senior Democrat senator, for vowing to work together cohesively and constructively on legislation to toughen safety standards on all rail cars traversing the U.S. Let’s hope this is just the start of cooperative politics that typifies the civility and bipartisanship Portman’s new center advocates.”

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