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David Skolnick

Property tax cuts in spotlight

Finding ways to reduce skyrocketing property taxes that occurred in Ohio during the past couple of years is a top priority for the Republican-controlled state Legislature. It’s a difficult balancing act as property owners are screaming for tax relief while public school districts, which get most of those tax dollars, say reductions will severely impact education. For the most part, Republicans are siding with property owners though there have been a few bills introduced that would have minimal or no impact on school districts and other government entities that rely on property ...

Football bill won’t clear end zone

It’s not that state Rep. Tex Fischer doesn’t want to put an end to noon start times for Ohio State University football games, but he knows his bill to restrict them isn’t going anywhere. Even before Fischer, R-Boardman, formally introduced the bill on May 20, he received a significant amount of publicity — locally, statewide and nationally. Most of the responses fell into three camps. One, largely consisting of Buckeyes fans, was supportive. The second didn’t treat it seriously. The third was critical, questioning why Fischer wasted his time with this bill when there ...

Yost’s predictable exit from race may not be last goodbye to politics

The Ohio governor’s election is more than 17 months away, but I have already written a considerable amount of articles and columns on it as candidates come and go. Attorney General Dave Yost, a Republican, is the latest to go after coming to the realization that he wasn’t going to beat Vivek Ramaswamy, the wealthy biotech entrepreneur who has the endorsements of the Ohio Republican Party, President Donald Trump and several prominent Ohio and national Republicans. It did not take that long for Yost to read the room, announcing his withdrawal from the race May 16. It came a week ...

Ramaswamy backing shows Trump’s control of Ohio GOP

Not that there was any doubt, but the Ohio Republican Party’s unprecedented endorsement of Vivek Ramaswamy for governor about a year before the primary shows that President Donald Trump has total control over the state GOP. The president strongly backs Ramaswamy’s campaign for governor. When the wealthy biotech entrepreneur officially declared his candidacy on Feb. 24, Trump wasted no time in enthusiastically endorsing him. Trump’s endorsement carries more weight in Ohio politics than anything else — and his influence with the state Republican Party is second to ...

Issue backers count on poor turnout for primary election

When the bar is set so low, getting a little above it or a little below it isn’t much of an accomplishment. Right before the election, Stephanie Penrose, Trumbull County Board of Elections director, expected turnout in the county at 10%. She said: “We’ll be lucky to break 10%. Nothing is really driving turnout. Turnout will be really low.” Penrose, who is always optimistic about turnout projections, added: “I hope a bunch of people will show up on Election Day and prove me wrong.” Trumbull’s turnout was 11.17%. Tom McCabe, director of the Mahoning County Board of ...

Issue backers count on poor turnout for primary election

When the bar is set so low, getting a little above it or a little below it isn’t much of an accomplishment. Right before the election, Stephanie Penrose, Trumbull County Board of Elections director, expected turnout in the county at 10%. She said: “We’ll be lucky to break 10%. Nothing is really driving turnout. Turnout will be really low.” Penrose, who is always optimistic about turnout projections, added: “I hope a bunch of people will show up on Election Day and prove me wrong.” Trumbull’s turnout was 11.17%. Tom McCabe, director of the Mahoning County Board of ...