Democratic News

State Rep. Nickie Antonio (D-Lakewood) today called on Gov. Kasich to put a stop to an administrative rule change that would leave child care centers across the state with fewer resources to provide critical enrichment opportunities to vulnerable, low-income Ohio children and their families.

The state estimates the rule change will cut $12 million in state funding to pre-school providers throughout Ohio, not counting hundreds of millions of lost dollars in federal grants for early childhood programs. 

State Rep. Heather Bishoff  (D-Blacklick) this week joined former First Lady Dr. Frances Strickland, President of the Reynoldsburg City School Board Joe Begeny and Innovation Ohio Education Policy Fellow Stephen Dyer for a public forum to discuss the state of education in Ohio as students, teachers and parents prepare for the upcoming school year. The local community leaders discussed education funding for Ohio schools, public school oversight vs. charter school oversight and statewide testing standards.

State Rep. Kent Smith (D-Euclid) recently joined more than 100 state legislators from 32 states and both major political parties to learn about emerging environmental issues at the 2016 National Issues Forum hosted by the National Caucus of Environmental Legislators (NCEL). The event promoted collaboration between state legislators and provided essential educational resources regarding the pressing environmental and conservation issues currently facing the country.

StateRep. Stephanie Howse (D-Cleveland) was recently presented with the National Institute for Civil Discourse Award for Civility in State Governance yesterday evening at the National Conference of State Legislators 2016 Legislative Summit. Ted Celeste, Director of State Programs at the National Institute for Civil Discourse (NICD), presented Rep. Howse with the award in recognition of her commitment to working in a civil, productive manner for the good of her constituents.

Today, Democratic legislators from both the House and Senate announced the introduction of legislation aimed to protect Ohio’s call center jobs. The Consumer Protection Call Center Act of 2016 would ban state grant or loan opportunities for companies that transfer or relocate call centers from Ohio to overseas for five years.

“Now more than ever, it is imperative to protect Ohio jobs that pay above the minimum wage,” said Representative Nickie Antonio (D-Lakewood). “If passed by the Ohio General Assembly, this legislation would help pave a path to economic stability for working families by keeping call center jobs from being shipped overseas. The end goal of the Consumer Protection Call Center Act is to keep Ohio jobs in Ohio, with a workforce of Ohioans.”

The highest ranking Democratic member of the House Education Committee, Rep. Teresa Fedor (D-Toledo), today responded to news reports that the Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow (ECOT) fails to maintain critical documentation related to students’ offline work and that Auditor of State Dave Yost failed to conduct a comprehensive audit after receiving allegations of attendance fraud at the online charter school.

The Toledo lawmaker has called on Yost in the recent past to investigate Ohio Virtual Academy, the state’s second largest online charter school, for the same attendance scrubbing allegations taking place at ECOT. Fedor again called on Yost to reopen the investigation into the data scrubbing scandal that led to the resignation of David Hansen.

State Rep. Heather Bishoff (D-Blacklick) will join former First Lady Dr. Frances Strickland and President of the Reynoldsburg City School Board Joe Begeny for a public forum to discuss the state of education in Ohio Wednesday, Aug. 10 from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Messiah Lutheran Church in Reynoldsburg.

“In light of recent changes and controversies surrounding Ohio’s education system, including new testing and charter school oversight standards, I wanted to engage citizens in a meaningful way on the state of Ohio education before the start of the new school year,” said Bishoff, a former Gahanna-Jefferson Board of Education member. 

State Reps. Emilia Sykes (D-Akron) and Greta Johnson (D-Akron) today offered their condolences following the passing of Summit County Executive Russ Pry. Pry’s death comes just two days after announcing that he would not seek re-election due to ongoing health issues.

State Rep. John Boccieri (D-Poland) sent a letter to Governor Kasich urging him to take action and set aside $50 million from the Budget Stabilization Fund—which currently holds over $2 billion—to create a Disaster Preparedness Contingency Fund. The new disaster relief fund would be available to local counties and communities to exclusively plan, prevent and respond to mosquito-borne diseases.  

State Rep. Jack Cera (D-Bellaire) today announced Ohio’s second-ever sales tax-free holiday scheduled for next weekend, August 5-7. The tax-free holiday runs Friday through Sunday and covers many back-to-school items, including clothing, school supplies and instructional materials.

“The recent tax shifts under Gov. Kasich may drive shoppers in border areas to purchase back-to-school items in a neighboring state,” said Cera, who co-sponsored the bill to create this year’s sale tax holiday. “The sales-tax holiday is an opportunity for Ohio parents and teachers to shop at local businesses and save money on important purchases before the start of the new school year.”    

COLUMBUS — The Ohio House Democratic Caucus today called on Governor Mike DeWine to veto key provisions in the state operating budget that risk our healthcare, cut our public schools, and give huge handouts to billionaires. House Democrats ask DeWine to use his authority during his final budget as governor to protect the people of Ohio. 

COLUMBUS – House Minority Leader Dani Isaacsohn (D-Cincinnati) and House Finance Committee Ranking Member Bride Rose Sweeney (D-Westlake) today voted “NO” on House Bill (HB) 96, the Republican-crafted state operating budget, citing cruel and chaotic cuts and its abject failure to invest in children, public education, healthcare and basic services – all while shoveling billions to the wealthy and well-connected. 

COLUMBUS – The Ohio House of Representatives today elected State Rep. Dani Isaacsohn (D-Cincinnati) as the next minority leader for the House Democratic Caucus following the resignation of House Minority Leader Allison Russo (D-Upper Arlington) from caucus leadership.

The Ohio House Democratic Caucus today elected the following members to its minority leadership team for the remainder of the 136th General Assembly.

COLUMBUS - The Ohio Jewish Caucus today released the following statement concerning the criminal charges filed Friday against a man who allegedly threatened Congressman Max Miller and his family early Thursday morning in Rocky River, OH.

COLUMBUS – Members of the Ohio House Democratic Caucus today held a press conference detailing the dangerous impacts House Bill (HB) 335 would have on the crucial funding for public schools, police and fire departments, county budgets and critical services Ohioans rely on.

COLUMBUS — The Ohio Democratic Women’s Legislative Caucus (ODWLC) today celebrates the House passage of House Bill (HB) 244, sponsored by State Reps. Michele Grim (D-Toledo) and Beryl Brown Piccolantonio (D-Gahanna). 

COLUMBUS — The Ohio House Democratic Caucus today voted against concurrence with the Ohio Senate’s version of the state operating budget, House Bill (HB) 96. 

COLUMBUS – The Gun Violence Prevention Caucus and members of the House Democratic Caucus on Tuesday hosted a press conference to discuss crucial commonsense policies supported by a bipartisan majority of Ohioans.

COLUMBUS - Ohio House Minority Leader Allison Russo today announced she is stepping down from the Ohio House Democratic Leadership team at the end of June to pave the way for a smooth transition of leadership before the scheduled summer break of the legislative session. Leader Russo has served as Ohio House Minority Leader since January 2022 and is leaving behind a legacy of strong, strategic leadership and a tenacity for standing up for the rights of all Ohioans.