Union law issue in some Ohio legislative primaries
Published: March 7, 2012 - 12:15 AM
COLUMBUS: Lingering voter anger over the state’s now-rejected collective bargaining law played out Tuesday as an issue in several state legislative primaries.
Contenders in the primary contests included educators and other public workers who were against the union-limiting bill passed last spring by the Republican-controlled General Assembly.
The measure would have affected more than 350,000 teachers, police, firefighters and other government employees. It was rejected by 62 percent of voters in November.
Democratic candidate Donna O’Connor was successful in her bid to seek a House seat in the Columbus suburbs for the first time. The Dublin teacher said she wanted to represent the voices of her fellow public workers inside the Statehouse.
She took 43 percent of the vote to win a three-way race that included businessman David Robinson, who narrowly lost a legislative bid in 2010, and David Donofrio, a former Ohio Legislative Service Commission fellow and deputy clerk of courts in Franklin County.
One GOP candidate for the Ohio House was not as successful in his attempt to use his opposition to the measure to distinguish himself in a three-way race.
Eric Spicer, a Republican from Beavercreek, saw his stance as a chance to present himself as a “nonpolitician” looking to avoid partisan fights. He was defeated by Greene County Commissioner Rick Perales, who grabbed about 60 percent of votes in the southwest Ohio district in preliminary results.
Incumbent state Rep. Jarrod Martin, who voted for the legislation, trailed the pack.
Martin was one of six Republican representatives with primary opponents, but the only one who lacked the support of the House GOP caucus.
Martin was arrested in July on a drunken-driving charge that was dismissed. He pleaded guilty to a traffic violation for failing to keep a trailer he was hauling in a marked lane and was fined $150 plus court costs.
House Speaker William Batchelder has told Martin it would be in the best interest of his family and the caucus if he would step down.
Republicans had three Ohio Senate primaries and 18 Ohio House matchups, including one write-in contender. Democrats had 14 House contests and no Senate races.
Among familiar faces in the primaries was Cincinnati Tea Party founder Mike Wilson.
Wilson, a Republican, won his race against Lonnie Bowling Jr., setting him up to again challenge Democratic incumbent Rep. Connie Pillich. Their matchup in 2010 triggered automatic recounts. Pillich, a Cincinnati lawyer, edged out Wilson by just over 600 votes.
All six incumbent House Democrats who faced primary challengers won Tuesday, including Minority Leader Armond Budish of Beachwood.
Republican Peggy Lehner of Kettering, the only sitting senator in a primary contest, won her race/
House Races: Rep. Martin Ousted By Challenger In GOP Primary
A court cleared Rep. Jarrod Martin of drunken driving charges, but that apparently wasn't enough to vindicate him in the eyes of Republican voters in the western Greene County district.
Greene County Commissioner Rick Perales easily picked up a majority of the votes in the three-way primary Tuesday that spelled the end for Rep. Martin's (R-Beavercreek) tenure in the House.
Although Mr. Perales didn't make a big issue out of the incumbent's brush with the law, Eric Spicer, a sheriff's captain who also sought the nomination, wasn't bashful about discussing Mr. Martin's snub by the House Republican Caucus, which declined to endorse in the race. (See Gongwer Ohio Report, February 24, 2012)
Speaker Bill Batchelder (R-Medina) asked Rep. Martin to resign after his citation for drunken driving and a related charge of child endangerment, but he refused.
Rep. Martin beat the OVI charges, but news reports about him being found drunk and passed out on Speaker Batchelder's SUV in 2010 and getting kicked out of a hotel during a raucous bachelor party provided plenty of fodder for the opposition.
Mr. Perales touted his 15 years of experience in the U.S. Air Force in his campaign for the district, which is close to the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. He has also worked as a facilities manager at the University of Dayton and served as mayor of Beavercreek from 2002 through 2003, according to his website.
While Rep. Martin was not the only incumbent to face viable challenges, he was the only one to see defeat in the primary.
Since the newly revised General Assembly maps follow the tradition of maximizing partisan advantage, many primary winners will face only nominal opposition in the fall, with the primary all but assuring them a seat in the legislature next year.
However, changes to the political maps also put a handful of previously non-competitive districts into play for both parties in November's General Election. (See Gongwer Ohio Report, March 2, 2012)
Information about the partisan makeup of the districts is drawn from the "unified" political index that majority Republicans on the Apportionment Board used to create the new House and Senate maps for the next decade. The index combines election results for several statewide races over the past few years.
20th House District: Gahanna-Jefferson Board of Education member Heather Bishoff won about 56% of the vote against retired Columbus firefighter Marco Miller, according to preliminary returns posted by the secretary of state.
Ms. Bishoff will go on to run against Reynoldsburg City Councilman Nathan Burd in the General Election for this open Franklin County seat. While the partisan makeup of the new district slightly favors Republicans, race is one that could go either way.
21st House District: Teacher Donna O'Connor won about 43% of the vote in her bid to unseat Rep. Mike Duffey(R-Worthington) in November in this Franklin County district, unofficial tallies showed.
She defeated businessman David Robinson, who lost a narrow race to Mr. Duffey in 2010, and political consultant David Donofrio. Ms. O'Connor might have a more difficult time though, since the newly drawn boundaries boost the GOP advantage from about 48% to nearly 58% Republican.
However, Democrats are counting on the incumbent's support for unpopular collective bargaining restrictions (SB 5 
<!--[endif]-->) to generate buoy their side in November.
<!--[endif]-->) to generate buoy their side in November.27th House District: Rep. Peter Stautberg (R-Cincinnati) won more than 60% of the vote against former Rep. Tom Brinkman, who ran a campaign claiming the incumbent was too beholden to lobbyists.
Rep. Stautberg dismissed the attacks, saying he was a leader in the caucus, as evidenced by multiple committee chairmanships during his tenure at the Statehouse.
28th House District: Cincinnati Tea Party founder Mike Wilson handily defeated Lonnie Bowling, a 23-year-old first-time candidate from Blue Ash, in his effort to unseat Rep. Connie Pillich (D-Cincinnati), according to unofficial results.
Two years ago, Rep. Pillich pulled out a very narrow victory over Mr. Wilson, but changes Republicans made to the district since then bolstered the GOP index by about 6% to nearly 57% Republican, giving him a very good chance at winning this time around.
29th House District: The Blessing name again proved a winner in the race for this western Hamilton County, where Louis Blessing III, the incumbent's son, easily dispatched Pakkiri "Raj" Rajagopal, chief of community relations for the Hamilton County Adult Probation Department.
Mr. Blessing goes on to face Democrat Hubert Brown, a Whitewater Township trustee, in the fall election, but he is heavily favored to win in the staunchly Republican district.
31st House District: Rep. Denise Driehaus (D-Cincinnati) had to move her residence to keep her seat in the House after she was reapportioned into a heavily Republican district.
Former Rep. Terry Tranter tried to make that a liability for her in his effort to rejoin the House after 20 years, but the criticism apparently didn't sway voters, 58% of whom supported the incumbent according to unofficial results.
Luke Brockmeier, political coordinator for Planned Parenthood Southwest Ohio Region, picked up 25% of the vote and Mr. Tranter trailed with 18%.
36th House District: This Republican-held seat actually became about 2% more Democratic in the reapportionment process, giving Democrats a fair shot to defeat recently appointed Rep. Anthony DeVitis (R-Green) in the Akron-area district with a GOP index of 47%.
Attorney Paul Colavecchio picked up about two-thirds of the vote in the Democratic primary against businessman Jason Cowling, who worked on former Rep. Steve Dyer's campaign and interned with the House Democratic Caucus. Mr. Colavecchio, past president of the Cuyahoga Fall Democratic Club, touted his service providing free legal estate planning for the military, police and firefighters.
60th House District: Former Rep. Dan Troy cleared the first hurdle in his effort to return to the House, picking nearly half of the votes in a three-way race for this Lake County seat being vacated by Rep. Lorraine Fende (D-Willowick).
He defeated Eastlake City Councilwoman Laura DePledge and Jim Helmink, a lawyer and a web designer who is making his first run for public office.
Mr. Troy is set to run against Republican Lori DiNallo in the fall and will have a slight tailwind since the district was made considerably safer for Democrats after reapportionment, with a new GOP index of about 47%.
65th House District: John Becker, a member of the Ohio Republican Party's State Central Committee, won nearly 70% of the vote in his race to replace Rep. Joseph Uecker (R-Loveland), who lost his bid for the Senate. (See separate story)
Mr. Becker, a charter school treasurer, defeated Mike Brem, who works for a local auto dealership. Both men claimed ties to the local tea party movement in the heavily Republican district east of Cincinnati.
66th House District: Brown County Auditor Doug Green easily bested his two opponents, winning about 55% of the vote for the seat being vacated by Rep. Danny Bubp (R-West Union).
Mr. Green, who said his many years working in local government made him the most qualified candidate, defeat Nick Owens, an aide for Congresswoman Jean Schmidt, and Rick Herron, a computer consultant and local tea party favorite.
67th House District: Rep. Andy Brenner (R-Powell) appeared to eek out a narrow victory against Craig Schweitzer, owner of Mr. Mulch, Inc., who lost to the incumbent in the 2010 primary for the heavily Republican Delaware County district.
Although Mr. Schweitzer had a significant fundraising advantage, the incumbent won about 51% of the vote, according to preliminary returns.
76th House District: Attorney Matt Lynch, a former Bainbridge Township trustee, won nearly 54% of the vote in this four-way race for the seat in southern Geauga County and northern Portage County.
Kenston teacher Mary O'Toole and Russell Councilman Mark Porter each picked up roughly 20%, and former Russell Township Trustee Kristina Port trailed with 7%.
House Republicans appointed Rep. Mary Brigid Matheney last month to fill the vacancy, but are expected to replace her with the primary winner shortly.
78th House District: Former Rep. Ron Hood's message of uncompromising conservatism apparently won over Republican voters in this central southeast district, which has a GOP index of about 55%.
Mr. Hood, who has been working for National Right To Work Committee since he left the House after an unsuccessful Senate run several years ago, picked up nearly 70% of the vote against Monty Lobb, a long-time aide for former Secretary of State Ken Blackwell.
93rd House District: Although Ryan Smith, a school board member in Gallia County, appeared to win the most votes, according to preliminary returns, a recount seems likely since he bested Lawrence County economic development official Bill Dingus by only 62 votes.
Jackson County Commissioner James Riepenhoff took a distant third in this three-way race to replace former Rep. John Carey. House leadership is expected to appoint the winner long before the fall election.
Kasich hints at income tax rate cut, fracking fees
Hudson Hub Times
by Marc Kovac | Capital Bureau Chief
Columbus -- Gov. John Kasich isn't offering details yet on plans to levy a new tax on fracking activities while at the same time cutting the state's income tax rates.
Asked about reports this weekend by The Cleveland Plain Dealer and other news outlets that the administration was poised to offer the changes, the governor on March 5 declined to offer specifics, though he did acknowledge his continuing desire to cut taxes.
"I'm only going to say that I'm really interested in cutting the income tax, for two reasons," Kasich told reporters. "One, it will help 11.5 million Ohioans, and secondly it will help small business people, because most small businesses pay that income tax. So as that rate comes down, it makes us even more competitive."
Kasich said other details of the proposal would be released March 12, when his administration plans to unveil a mid-biennium budget bill that is expected to be heavy on new policy proposals.
"We'll be unveiling a major energy policy that will have eight or nine different pillars, that will involve renewables and what we can do with coal and natural gas and energy efficiency," Kasich said.
The oil and gas related taxes and policy changes are not unexpected. Republican House Speaker Bill Batchelder said in late January that he expected the legislature to act on law changes related to horizontal hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, a method of extracting oil and gas by pumping large volumes of water, chemicals and sand into deep underground shale deposits.
Batchelder said at the time that the resulting bill could expand the Ohio Department of Natural Resources division that will be dealing with fracking activities.
Also, Kasich has offered hints about what his administration planned to do about fracking.The governor has said repeatedly that his administration is working to ensure Ohio has the regulations in place to protect the environment. He's mentioned the possibility of impact fees to help communities cover roadwork and other costs associated with the industry.
He's also said he doesn't want Ohio's regulatory environment to be so extreme that it drives the fracking industry away.
Marc Kovac is the Dix Capital Bureau Chief. E-mail him at mkovac@dixcom.com or on Twitter at OhioCapitalBlog.
Perales wins 73rd House seat over Martin
Greene County Commissioner Rick Perales defeated current state Rep. Jarrod Martin in the race for the Republican primary for the 73rd Ohio House seat, with 60 percent of the vote.
The current results are: Perales: 9,853 Martin: 3,183 Eric Spicer: 3,481
Martin’s seat became a target for Republicans last year when three alcohol-related incidents came to light, including a drunken driving arrest. Those charges eventually were dropped and Martin only pleaded guilty to a minor traffic violation.
Martin refused to bow to pressure from GOP leaders to resign his seat. House Speaker William Batchelder in September stripped Martin of his chairmanship of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee.
The race for the seat has become the most expensive local contest on the March 6 ballot, at least on the GOP side.
On the Democratic side, Montgomery County Law Library worker Linda Borgert lost to retired Air Force Maj. Bill Conner by a small amount of votes.
The current results are: Conner: 1,956 Borgert: 1,928
Perales and Conner to face off in 73rd District in fall
Two-term incumbent Martin third; recount possible for Democrats.
By Mark Gokavi, Staff Writer 12:33 PM Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Republican Rick Perales and Democrat Bill Conner won their parties’ primary elections and will compete this fall to represent the 73rd District in the Ohio House of Representatives.
Perales outraised and outspent his Republican rivals by a wide margin. That pattern continued at the ballot box, where he claimed a big victory in a three-man race.
Perales, a Greene County Commissioner, unofficially had 60 percent with 97 of 97 precincts reporting. Greene County Sheriff’s Office Capt. Eric Spicer had 21 percent and two-term 70th District incumbent Jarrod Martin was third with 19 percent.
http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=274803128524648652&postID=5570178589852990867Union law issue in some Ohio legislative primaries
COLUMBUS, Ohio --
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) Lingering voter anger over the state's now-rejected collective bargaining law played out Tuesday as an issue in several state legislative primaries.
Contenders in the primary contests included educators and other public workers who were against the union-limiting bill passed last spring by the Republican-controlled General Assembly.
The measure would have affected more than 350,000 teachers, police, firefighters and other government employees. It was rejected by 62 percent of voters in November.
Democratic candidate Donna O'Connor was successful in her bid to seek a House seat in the Columbus suburbs for the first time. The Dublin teacher said she wanted to represent the voices of her fellow public workers inside the Statehouse.
She took 43 percent of the vote to win a three-way race that included businessman David Robinson, who narrowly lost a legislative bid in 2010, and David Donofrio, a former Ohio Legislative Service Commission fellow and deputy clerk of courts in Franklin County.
One GOP candidate for the Ohio House was not as successful in his attempt to use his opposition to the measure to distinguish himself in a three-way race.
Eric Spicer, a Republican from Beavercreek, saw his stance as a chance to present himself as a "nonpolitician" looking to avoid partisan fights. He was defeated by Greene County Commissioner Rick Perales, who grabbed about 60 percent of votes in the southwest Ohio district in preliminary results.
Incumbent state Rep. Jarrod Martin, who voted for the legislation, trailed the pack.
Martin was one of six Republican representatives with primary opponents, but the only one who lacked the support of the House GOP caucus.
Martin was arrested in July on a drunken-driving charge that was dismissed. He pleaded guilty to a traffic violation for failing to keep a trailer he was hauling in a marked lane and was fined $150 plus court costs.
House Speaker William Batchelder has told Martin it would be in the best interest of his family and the caucus if he would step down.
Republicans had three Ohio Senate primaries and 18 Ohio House matchups, including one write-in contender. Democrats had 14 House contests and no Senate races.
Among familiar faces in the primaries was Cincinnati Tea Party founder Mike Wilson.
Wilson, a Republican, won his race against Lonnie Bowling Jr., setting him up to again challenge Democratic incumbent Rep. Connie Pillich. Their matchup in 2010 triggered automatic recounts. Pillich, a Cincinnati lawyer, edged out Wilson by just over 600 votes.
All six incumbent House Democrats who faced primary challengers won Tuesday, including Minority Leader Armond Budish of Beachwood.
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