Uncategorized

Columbus, OH — Today, WVXU columnist Howard Wilkinson took Matt Huffman and the Ohio GOP to task for their latest attempt to attack our kids and consolidate political power by making the State Board of Education powerless. Huffman’s move would shift most powers of the mostly-elected Board to a cabinet level position so that an unelected bureaucrat could launch political attacks on our students without any accountability. The purely political move comes after Ohio Democrats won three key seats on the Board after last week’s election. 

“If the Republicans’ veto-proof super-majority in the Ohio General Assembly sees any corner of state or local government that does not totally align with their view of the world, they will step in and crush it. They will steamroll over it and make it disappear.The Ohio Senate, led by Senate President Matt Huffman, found a very important corner to obliterate this week — the Ohio Board of Education,” writes Wilkinson. 

Read more from Wilkinson here and below:

• If the Republicans’ veto-proof super-majority in the Ohio General Assembly sees any corner of state or local government that does not totally align with their view of the world, they will step in and crush it. They will steamroll over it and make it disappear.

• The Ohio Senate, led by Senate President Matt Huffman, found a very important corner to obliterate this week — the Ohio Board of Education.

• When the Ohio Senate went into lame-duck session this week, one of the first items on the agenda was to resurrect an idea that has failed in the past but will likely succeed this time because of the overwhelming Republican majorities in both the House and Senate.

• The idea is to strip the state board of education, where 11 of the 19 members are elected from districts, of nearly all of its authority and place it all in a new cabinet-level position called the Department of Education and Workforce.

• And, of course, that would be a department in the cabinet of the recently re-elected Republican governor, Mike DeWine, who rarely has a public disagreement with the GOP legislative leadership over anything. And, even if he did, there is nothing DeWine could do about it. Republicans have a veto-proof majority in the legislature.

• So why now? Why did it suddenly become priority number one for the legislature?

• Does it have anything to do with the fact that, in the general election, candidates backed by the Ohio Democratic Party and Ohio’s teachers’ unions won all three open seats on the Ohio Board of Education, defeating all of the GOP-backed, conservative candidates?

• You’d better believe it does.

• “It’s nothing but a power grab,” said Melissa Cropper, president of the Ohio Federation of Teachers. “The state board of education is one place where differing opinions are discussed and the Republicans in the legislature don’t like that.”

• “When they try to do this a week after losing three seats on the Board of Education, my level of cynicism rises,” said Liz Walters, chair of the Ohio Democratic Party. “The governor already has enormous influence over public education in Ohio. Why does he need more? It’s all political.”

• Efforts to reach Huffman through the Ohio Senate Majority Office went unanswered.

• “People are going to have to find ways to voice their beliefs,” Cropper said. “We will push back against those that do not benefit children in public education.”

###

Columbus, OH — Today, Ohio Democratic Party Chair Elizabeth Walters released the following statement in response to Frank LaRose’s latest power grab: making it harder for Ohioans to put citizen-led initiatives on the ballot and pass their priorities into law. 

“Frank LaRose has once again put politics over principle, and is selling out to extreme Republicans who don’t want to be held accountable by Ohio voters. LaRose’s proposal is just the latest example of appeasing Republican extremists in pursuit of his own political ambitions. LaRose is willing to sell out Democracy for a shot at the Republican Senate primary in two years. Ohio Democrats are going to fight like hell to make sure this proposal never passes in Ohio and LaRose never holds higher office.”

###

Columbus, OH — One year after Ohio Democrats helped pass an historic investment in American workers and infrastructure, working families are already seeing results. 

While Ohio Democrats made the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law possible, Ohio Republicans including Troy Balderson, Mike Carey, Steve Chabot, Warren Davidson, Bob Gibbs, Bill Johnson, Jim Jordan, Dave Joyce, Bob Latta, Mike Turner and Brad Wenstrup voted against the law, which is already starting to benefit Ohio. For a full breakdown of what the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is already doing for Ohio and the investments that will come to the state in the future, see here. 

“Thanks to Sherrod Brown and Ohio Democrats, our state’s infrastructure is once again working for working families. From creating jobs, to investing in American-made materials to expanding broadband internet, Ohio Democrats are delivering for our state while Ohio Republicans are blocking progress at every turn. We look forward to seeing the progress that continues to be made as these historic investments move our state forward,” said Ohio Democratic Party Chair Elizabeth Walters.

Here’s a sampling of Ohio projects that have already benefited from the infrastructure bill: 

• To date, $4 billion has been announced in Ohio for roads, bridges, roadway safety, and major projects. This includes:
  • $3.6 billion in highway formula funding and $209 million in dedicated formula funding for bridges in 2022 and 2023.
  • $53 million through the RAISE program and $127 million through the INFRA program in Fiscal Year 2022.

• To date, Ohio has received $5 million through the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program (BEAD) to help provide access to high-speed internet across the state. In addition, about 754,000 households in Ohio are enrolled in the Affordable Connectivity Program, with more signing up every day. 

• To date, $241 million has been announced to Ohio to provide clean and safe water across the state and improve water infrastructure.

• To date, Ohio has been allocated $258 million to improve public transportation options across the state.

• Ohio has been allocated $50.5 million in 2022 and 2023 to build out a network of EV chargers across the state.

###

Columbus, OH — Today, Ohio Democratic Party Chair Elizabeth Walters released the following statement on the results of today’s elections. 

“Ohio Democrats secured key wins tonight – including electing Greg Landsman and Emilia Sykes and reelecting Joyce Beatty, Shontel Brown and Marcy Kaptur. We did it by fighting for the dignity of work and showing voters we’re on their side. We look forward to building on those wins and continuing to move our state forward in the months and years ahead. 

“In other races, though, we fell short. There will be time over the coming days and weeks to dissect what happened and why. But an onslaught of corporate cash, illegal, GOP-gerrymandered maps and a willingness by the other side to spew lies and misinformation made our work that much more difficult. 

“Ohio Democrats believe that voters deserve a state and a country that rewards workers. We may have obstacles in our way, but we’re sure as hell going to keep fighting for more money in the pockets of working families, critical investments in local communities and every Ohioan’s right to control what happens to their own body.

“In the meantime, I couldn’t be prouder of our candidates, our staff and our volunteers who showed up in communities across the state and who ran campaigns that were laser-focused on the needs of working families. Their work made our state and our democracy stronger, and I’m grateful for their service.” 

###

Columbus, OH — Today, Ohio Democratic Party Chair Elizabeth Walters released the following statement congratulating Cincinnati City Councilman Greg Landsman on his election to represent Ohio’s 1st Congressional District. 

“Southwest Ohio gained a champion for working families tonight. Greg has spent his whole career putting Ohioans first, and we know he’ll do the same in Congress. Congratulations to Greg and his whole team on this hard-fought victory.”  

###