Trey Gowdy atypical GOP speaker

April 23, 2021

I’ve attended dozens and dozens of local political dinners, and I can tell you, the speakers are almost required to say the same things. That includes our political party is great, the other party is full of extremists and here are some examples — it doesn’t matter if they’re all true — for both. In the past week, I attended the Lincoln Day dinners for the Mahoning and Trumbull Republican parties. Most of the speakers stuck to the standard script of praising fellow Republicans, particularly former President Donald Trump, and criticizing Democrats, particularly President Joe ...

Voting-reform bill due in Ohio

April 16, 2021

With turnout so very low during nonpresidential years, the state should be doing everything it can to encourage people to vote. Ohio officials need to continue to uphold the integrity of the vote and make sure every valid ballot is counted. The Republican-controlled state Legislature is expected shortly to introduce an election bill. The bill hopefully will increase voting and not do the opposite. I suspect one thing that will change is voter drop boxes. The boxes didn’t exist in most counties until the COVID-19 pandemic hit last year. The U.S. Postal Service was having a ...

Ryan gaining momentum

April 9, 2021

With Amy Acton opting to not run for U.S. Senate, Rep. Tim Ryan essentially has a clear path to the Democratic Party’s nomination for the position next year. There is still time for other Democrats to get into the race — Ohio House Minority Leader Emilia Sykes, D-Akron, and Franklin County Commissioner Kevin Boyce, a former state treasurer, still are considering it. But Ryan, D-Howland, has momentum and a nice haul of $1.2 million during the first quarter, even though he won’t officially declare his candidacy until later this month. Avoiding a competitive primary that will ...

Gov. Mike DeWine losing GOP support

April 2, 2021

Even though he’s a Republican, the GOP-controlled state Legislature is very tired of Gov. Mike DeWine’s health orders and states of emergency from the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite last-ditch efforts by DeWine to strike a compromise, the General Assembly last week overrode his veto of a bill giving authority to limit public health orders. The Senate voted 23-10 to overturn it. That was quickly followed by a 62-35 vote in the House. Only two Republican senators joined all Democrats in rejecting the veto override, while only one Republican voted with all Democrats in the House not ...

Locals sponsor LGBTQ, abortion bills

March 26, 2021

The two state senators who represent the Mahoning Valley are sponsoring a number of bills in the General Assembly, including two that are particularly interesting. State Sen. Michael Rulli, R-Salem, who represents Mahoning and Columbiana counties, already had a couple of bills pass in the Senate this year while Sen. Sandra O’Brien, R-Knox, whose district includes Trumbull County, had one approved by the Senate after serving there for less than three months. It was a week ago that the Senate approved separate bills by the two related to $765 million in federal COVID-19 relief ...

Trump State Park idea divisive

March 19, 2021

Mosquito Lake State Park isn’t the most inviting name for the 7,000-acre area that is one of my favorite places in the Mahoning Valley. But for numerous people, a proposal from state Rep. Mike Loychik, R-Bazetta, to rename it Donald J. Trump State Park is even worse. Loychik hasn’t served even three months in the Ohio House but is looking to make a name for himself. Loychik’s first bill as a legislator was to make Ohio a Second Amendment sanctuary state. If approved, it would affirm the power of states’ rights in case the federal government — not subtle code for ...