Ted Strickland

The newly elected Ohio House Democratic leadership for the 128th General Assembly gathered in the Statehouse Wednesday to discuss some legislative priorities for the next session. Ohio Speaker of the House-elect Armond Budish (D-Beachwood) said that his top priority was economic development and jobs, but also floated some ideas on urban revitalization.

"In 2006, the people of Ohio elected a new governor in Ted Strickland to turn Ohio around," Budish said. "It's difficult for a governor to do that by himself. He needs cooperation from the Ohio House and Senate."

Budish said he plans to work closely with Strickland, Senate President Bill Harris (R-Ashland) and Minority Leader-elect Bill Batchelder (R-Mediana) to move Ohio forward over the next two years.

"We will do our best to work with Republicans across the aisle," Budish said. "And I believe Bill Batchelder wants to do the same."

Mayor's office Photo

Congresswoman-elect Marcia Fudge

Former Warrensville Heights Mayor and Congresswoman-elect Marcia Fudge has won the special election to finish out the term of U.S. Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-Cleveland) in Ohio's 11th Congressional District.

Fudge was unopposed in the special election on Tuesday, which Gov. Ted Strickland declared, saying that he was required to do so by law. The Democrat is a former chief of staff to Tubbs Jones, who passed away suddenly in Aug. 20 after suffering a brain aneurism at the age of 58. The election for the six-week post has been reported to have cost upwards of $5 million.

Unofficial results from the Ohio Secretary of State show that with 100 percent of precincts reporting, 8,694 voters turned out to vote in the special election out of 492,229 total registered voters in the district. The Secretary of State shows Fudge getting 8,450 votes.

Ohio Senate

State Sen. Keith Faber

COLUMBUS -- With Democrats controlling the governor’s office and the state House, Republicans will have to rely on their majority in the state Senate to keep the GOP from getting rolled over on key decisions.

Newly-elected Senate Republican majority leader Keith Faber said despite pressure from Democrats, his caucus will stand up for its ideals but won’t be obstructionist.

“I think obstructionist is a funny word. I mean obviously, if you’re a Democrat and we don’t pass everything you give us, we’re an obstructionist,” he said. “Where the governor and the House may try to go to a more liberal-left position, I think they [voters] expect us to be in the middle of the road and adopt fiscal conservatism.”

Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Bill Mason (D) has endorsed his assistant to be the next U.S. attorney for the northern district of Ohio.

Spokesperson Ryan Miday said Mason endorsed Steven Dever, who has been assistant county prosecutor for 24 years. Dever, 50, is currently the chief trial counsel for the prosecutor’s office.

Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory said at a press conference Tuesday afternoon that he was not interested in being appointed to the position of state treasurer.

Mallory was responding to several news reports that speculated he may be leaving Cincinnati for the position.

On Election Day, Ohio Treasurer Richard Cordray (D-Pleasant Twp.) won his race for Ohio attorney general against former U.S. Attorney Mike Crites (R-Powell). Cordray's win will leave a vacancy in the state treasurer's office, which will be filled through an appointment by Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland (D-Lisbon).

State Rep. William Batchelder (R-Mediana) was voted into minority leadership of the Ohio House of Representatives Thursday by the Republican Party.

In an interview with PolitickerOH.com Thursday afternoon, Batchelder said he was thrilled to be selected as leader.

"It's good to be back to leadership," Batchelder said. "But we've got a big challenge facing the next session."

Batchelder said that it was important for Republicans to stay true to their political roots.

"We want to make sure that we have a Republican Party that has a feel on the basic issues that have animated the party since the days of Ronald Reagan," Batchelder said.

The Ohio Supreme Court has declared Ohio's school-funding formula unconstitutional three times. The court determined it was inequitable because it relied too heavily on property tax revenues that can vary widely from rich to poor school districts.

Gov. Ted Strickland (D-Lisbon) has previously tied his success as Governor to his promise to Ohioans to find a plan in 2009 for fixing the way it pays for public schools. This summer, Strickland hosted 11 educational forums around the state to discuss the system. He has now announced an additional six regional forums across the state in November and December focusing specifically on school funding.

Strickland's office said the forums will be an opportunity to garner feedback on Ohio's school funding system before the governor introduces his education reform and school funding proposal in 2009.

Early this week, cargo shipper DHL's German parent company said it would cut 9,500 jobs in the United States as well as eliminate shipping within the U.S. by land and air, but DHL spokespeople are saying the air cargo hub in Wilmington will continue to operate for now.

DHL, however, is still planning on a deal with UPS that would compromise the Wilmington hub and could result in the loss of around 8,000 jobs. DHL says it expects a decision with regard to the UPS deal by the end of the year.

U.S. Sen. George V. Voinovich (R-Cleveland) released a statement in reaction to the closing of DHL's domestic-only operations, saying the majority of the U.S. jobs lost would come from Wilmington.

The Ohio Democratic Party held a press conference Wednesday, saying that the new Democratic Majority in the Ohio House of Representatives will give Gov. Ted Strickland a legislative partner to help turn around Ohio.

One of the biggest victories for the party on Tuesday night was the Ohio Democrats taking the Ohio House of Representatives from Republican control after 14 years.

The ODP said that by winning back the Ohio House, Strickland now has "a productive legislative partner to help continue to turn around Ohio and improve the lives of working families."

The Ohio Democratic Party has released a statement from Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland wherein he congratulated statehouse Democrats "on the new House Democratic majority." 

"The people have spoken," Strickland said. "I want to congratulate Ohio House minority leader Joyce Beatty, state Rep. Armond Budish and House Democrats for their significant victory tonight. I know our new Democratic House majority stands ready to work in a bipartisan manner to help create new jobs, improve access to health care and help make our schools the best in the nation."

Strickland said the Democrats will serve as strong voices for their constituents in the House and will partner with him as they work to move Ohio forward.