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Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Conditt sworn in as new representative in Ohio House
Margaret Conditt of Liberty Township in Butler County was sworn in as the new state representative for the 55th House District during a House session Wednesday.
Conditt, a former Liberty Township trustee, said in a press release that she looked forward to working on issues “as we explore ways to create jobs and revitalize Ohio’s economy.”
House Speaker William Batchelder, R-Medina, said in the release that “we will certainly rely on her expertise and intellect as the House works to create a brighter, more prosperous future for Ohio.”
House Republicans picked Conditt for the seat after Bill Coley left the House to take a Senate seat. Coley replaced Gary Cates who left the Senate for a post with the Ohio Board of Regents. The district covers southeastern Butler County.
Conditt retired in 2006 from serving in professional and scientific relations at Procter & Gamble, according to a press release.
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TweetKasich non-commital on pay cut
While some state senators are keen on a legislative pay cut to show they’re sharing in sacrifices required of other Ohioans, Gov. John Kasich on Wednesday didn’t commit to whether he would be willing to take a pay cut too.
Kasich noted that he turned back pay raises as a state senator and as a congressman and said, “We’ll just have to see how this all goes out and how it plays out.”
State law sets the governor’s salary at $148,886. Lawmakers are paid a base salary of $60,584, plus stipends of $5,000 to $10,000 for committee work and leadership positions.
The Ohio Constitution prohibits lawmakers from changing their own pay so the pay cut provision insert in the budget bill would be voluntary for sitting legislators but apply to newly appointed and future lawmakers.
Kasich took a significant pay cut to become governor. During the campaign, he disclosed that he made $1.4 million in 2008 when he held jobs as an investment banker for Lehman Brothers, FoxNews TV host, paid speaker, corporate board member and real estate company associate.
In his 2006 book, Stand For Something: the Battle for America’s Soul, Kasich details how he refused to take pay hikes when he first arrived in Congress.
“I meant to keep my word — only after eight years of giving back all this money, and paying all these excess taxes, it seemed a little besides the point. I kept voting against the raises but I finally stopped refusing them because I realized I was beating my head against the wall,” he wrote.
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TweetStrickland doesn’t rule out another run for governor; plans to help Obama re-election bid
He’s not exactly on the campaign trail, but former Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland hasn’t ruled out another run for the state’s top office.
“I’m not ruling out anything out or anything in,” Ohio’s 68th governor said after his official portrait was unveiled Tuesday in a Statehouse ceremony.
Strickland, 69, would be 72 at the start of a 2014 campaign if he decided to run. He narrowly lost to Republican John Kasich last year, 49.04 percent to 47.04 percent.
Strickland also said it was unlikely that he would run again for the U.S. House, where he served before being elected governor in 2006.
He plans to be on the campaign trail next year - for Democratic President Barack Obama.
Strickland said it’s very important that Obama be re-elected.
“I’m going to do everything I can to make that happen,” he said.
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TweetLa. Gov. Bobby Jindal to headline Ohio GOP state dinner
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal will headline the Ohio Republican Party’s annual state dinner on July 22 in Cleveland, Ohio GOP Chairman Kevin DeWine announced Wednesday.
“Gov. Jindal is a tax fighter and proven small government conservative who has sought to encourage private sector growth in the wake of debilitating natural disasters,” DeWine said in a press release.
Jindal was sworn in as Louisiana governor on Jan. 14, 2008. Soon after taking office, he called a special session of the legislature to address comprehensive ethics reform, according to his biography. After the session, the Better Government Association and the Center for Public Integrity said that Louisiana’s ethics laws were among the nation’s best, the biography said.
Vice President Joe Biden will headline the Ohio Democratic Party’s state dinner on June 25 in Columbus.
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TweetPoll: Romney leads GOP pack but voters wary of Mormonism
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney leads the race for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination among Republicans and GOP-leaning voters in an independent national Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday.
However, the poll also found that American voters are less comfortable with the idea of a Mormon president - Romney is Mormon - than having a president of any other religion except Muslim.
Overall, just 45 percent of voters said they had a favorable view of the Mormon faith, while 32 percent had an an unfavorable view.
In the survey, Romney got 25 percent support for the GOP nomination and the only other potential candidate in double digits was Sarah Palin, the 2008 GOP vice presidential candidate and former Alaska governor, with 15 percent.
Businessman Howard Cain got 9 percent while former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich and U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas each got 8 percent.
Others included: U.S. Rep. Michele Bachman, R-Minn., 6 perrcent; former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, 5 percent; former Pennsylvania U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, 4 percent and former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, 1 percent.
In mock runs against Democratic President Barack Obama, Romney fared the best, trailing, 47-41 percent.
Obama led Pawlenty, 48-36 percent, was ahead of Huntsman, also a Mormon, 48-34 percent and bested Palin, 53-36 percent.
Voters were divided — 46 percent for, 48 percent against - on whether Obama deserved a second term as president.
“Whether it’s because of the media coverage of his recent formal announcement, or the fact that Donald Trump and Mike Huckabee have dropped out, Gov. Romney has surged ahead of the Republican field,” Peter Brown, Quinnipiac University Polling Institute assistant director, said in a press release.
“Until now, Quinnipiac University’s polls have shown many candidates bunched together in the mid-teens. Now he has opened up some daylight on the field and is within six points of the president.”
The poll was taken May 31 to Monday, June 6 with 1,946 registered voters across the country and had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.2 percent.
The Republican primary question included 830 voters, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4 percent.
Live interviewers made calls on land lines and cell phones.
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