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Home > Blogs > Ohio politics > Archives > 2010 > February > 09
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Widener named vice chair of Senate finance committee
Senate President Bill Harris, R-Ashland, named state Sen. Chris Widener, R-Springfield, vice chairman of the finance committee on Tuesday, Feb. 9. Widener has been on the finance committee for the past year and also chairs the Energy and Public Utilities Committee.
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TweetACLU and Right to Life agree: let the girl on the House floor
Elizabeth Trisler is the kind of kid who the Ohio House loves to recognize on the chamber floor with applause and pats on the back. She’s Ohio grown, she won an oratory contest and her state representative, John Adams, R-Sidney, wanted to give her a proclamation.
Trisler, now 19 and a community college student, won the oratory contest sponsored by the National Right to Life last June. House Speaker Armond Budish, D-Beachwood, decided the Shelby County teen-ager should not be honored on the House floor, though she did receive the proclamation.
That decision has both Ohio Right to Life and the ACLU of Ohio calling on Budish to reconsider.
“By declining to recognize Ms. Trisler’s achievement, Speaker Budish has created a troubling precedent that anyone who is deemed ‘controversial’ by House leadership will not be honored,” said ACLU of Ohio Executive Director Christine Link in a written statement. “Legislators should pay tribute to those who excel in their field, regardless of their political views or affiliations.”
Link scolded House lawmakers for sending a message that silencing those who disagree is the answer rather than modeling for young people that difficult issues can be handled through thoughtful discussion and respect.
“Surely, Speaker Budish can put aside his partisanship for 10 minutes to honor the accomplishments of a talented and optimistic teenage girl,” said Ohio Right to Life Executive Director Mike Gonidakis.
Budish spokesman Keary McCarthy said while Ohioans often receive proclamations on the House floor, they are not given an opportunity to advocate for issues. McCarthy said it was his understanding that Trisler wanted to read her speech.
“The speaker believes that it is important to avoid having political interests on either side of the aisle abuse this brief opportunity for recognition,” McCarthy said. “However, the speaker will gladly reconsider the request from Rep. Adams if appropriate discretion is used in a way that does not contradict a long history in the Ohio House of not having these presentations become a forum for advocacy.”
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TweetStrickland calls passenger rail critics “cheerleaders for failure”
Without identifying them by name, Gov. Ted Strickland on Tuesday, Feb. 9, blasted critics of the state’s plan to use $400 million in federal stimulus money to develop passenger rail service linking Dayton, Cleveland, Cincinnati and Columbus.
“To be candid with you, I’ve been a little frustrated,” Strickland, a Democrat, told a gaggle of reporters at the Statehouse. “I am tired of those who are…I call them cheerleaders for failure.
“Anytime there’s an idea that comes along they immediately go look for the negative and for why it won’t work and why it might fail.”
Strickland wouldn’t identify who he meant.
“I know who I’m talking about,” he said. “I’m talking about anyone regardless of who they are….that look at $400 million and don’t see that as a win for Ohio…”
Some Republican lawmakers and others have questioned whether the rail plan will work because trains - at least initially - will not run at high speeds and because the frequency of service won’t make it convenient for Ohioans to ride the trains.
There also have been questions about whether Ohio, with its already strained budget, will be able to afford the estimated $17 a year needed to subsidize the service.
“My brother, this is 2010. We are not always going to be in a recession,” said Strickland. “This economy is going to return. Ohio will have growth in the future..”
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TweetNew governor poll: Kasich leads Strickland, 47-41 percent
Republican John Kasich leads Democrat Ted Strickland, 47-41 percent among likely voters in a new Rasmussen Reports poll for the governor’s race released on Tuesday, Feb. 9.
The results are similar to a January poll that showed Kasich, a former Columbus-area congressman, leading incumbent Strickland, 47-40 percent. Kasich led in a December poll, 48-39 percent.
The poll shows a gender gap, favorable to Kasich. Kasich leads among males by 23 points, while Strickland has a 10-point lead among female voters.
Voters not affiliated with the Democratic or Republican parties favor Kasich by 16 points.
The poll was taken Friday, Feb. 5-Saturday, Feb. 6 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.
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