Ohioans might wonder whether the men and women we elect to represent us in Washington, D.C., are making any headway — especially in this era when extremists prioritize political theater and serving themselves.

A recent report by the Center for Effective Lawmaking, a project of the University of Virginia and Vanderbilt University, suggests there are a few Ohioans in the U.S. House of Representative who understand how to get the job done. In its release of the most recent Legislative Effectiveness Scores, two Ohioans, including the congressman who represents a large part of our Mahoning Valley, made the top ten list for Republicans. Four were in the top 15 percent of the 222 Republicans in the House.

U.S. Rep. Dave Joyce, R-Bainbridge, who represents Trumbull County and other nearby counties, ranked eighth in the U.S. House.

U.S. Rep. Brad Wenstrup, of Ohio’s 2nd District, ranked third; Anthony Gonzalez, 16th District, ranked 18th; and Bob Latta, 5th District, ranked 29th.

Joyce told cleveland.com, “I take the responsibility of advocating for Northeast Ohioans very seriously and will never stop fighting to make progress on the issues that matter most to the people of our community.”

Bravo!

Additionally, Wenstrup’s office told the news outlet that he “believes there’s common sense solutions that can be agreed in a bipartisan fashion, particularly on important national priorities like healthcare and defense.”

And Latta told cleveland.com, “Advancing commonsense legislation to tackle pressing issues our communities face will always remain my top focus in Congress.”

Note the use of words such as “common sense,” “bipartisan” and “responsibility,” by representatives who are deemed to be most effective.

U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-4th District, however, is ranked among the least effective by the study, at 217th.

“The ideology metric demonstrates that the overwhelming majority of the top 10 Republican lawmakers (nine out of ten) are more moderate than their party’s median member,” according to authors of the report. The study also notes there is “enhanced lawmaking effectiveness of representatives who belong to intraparty ideological caucuses when they are in the minority party.”

Study authors also talked about the importance of building bipartisan coalitions and working to gain support from committee and subcommittee chairs. A representative can’t do those things if he or she has decided it is more important to paint “the other side” as ignorant, evil and the enemy.

Those who have proven willing to work in a way that makes them most effective for their constituents and their country are to be commended. Those who are still playing games should take note.