A hefty initiative on Ohio voters’ ballots this November – Issue 2 – will cost Ohio $11 million to $15.2 million, the Office of Budget and Management reports.
If Issue 2 passes, OBM states, “Those redistricting costs are expected to be somewhat lower than the start-up and redistricting costs from November 2012 through October 2014, although some of the savings from having a longer timeline will be offset by inflation in the intervening years.”
The estimated costs of Issue 2 would mainly come from the first two years of implementation and from creating a new redistricting commission, OMB says.
What is Issue 2?
It pulls the current redistricting process out of the hands of Ohio’s governor, state auditor, secretary of state and two legislative appointees, and awards that role to a new independent redistricting commission.
This commission would be composed of 12 members – four each chosen by the majority party (currently Republicans), the second largest political party (Democrats), and an independent party.
The cost analysis was requested by Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted and completed by OBM.
OBM broke down the cost into these categories: staff and member selection training, salary for staff, consulting services, litigation, travel & public outreach, equipment and office space, and post-redistricting phase-staff & litigation.
OBM said its fiscal analysis also took into account Ohio’s 2005 fiscal reports from a similar piece of legislation – Issue 4 – plus costs of the current Ohio redistricting process, and costs reported by two states (California and Arizona) that already use a redistricting process similar to what Issue 2 proposes.
The next redistricting will take place after the 2020 Census.
In MasonBuzz’s first annual Year in Review, readers are asked to count down the top local stories of the year. Vote in the poll below for the story you believe should be the top Mason story of the year (if you are unable to vote in the poll, please hard refresh your browser or leave your vote in the comments field). Select up to 2 stories. Voting ends at 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 29 with results to be posted on Saturday, Dec. 31.
What is the top Mason story of 2011?
Mason bands take national stage (52%, 1,075 Votes)
Ryan Widmer convicted in third murder trial (27%, 563 Votes)
Disgraced Mason teacher heads to prison (16%, 323 Votes)
Mason named among best places to live (12%, 250 Votes)
Kings Island opens new attractions (6%, 126 Votes)
Western & Southern Open welcomes world’s top tennis players (5%, 94 Votes)
Miss Ohio pedals into town amidst fanfare (1%, 30 Votes)
Mason woman follows dream on prime-time TV (1%, 25 Votes)
Huckabee comments propel Mason to center of state Issue 2 debate (1%, 23 Votes)
Mason seats three on City Council, names new mayor (1%, 20 Votes)
Total Voters: 2,070
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Ryan Widmer convicted in third murder trial
In what has been called Greater Cincinnati’s “trial(s) of the year,” Ryan Widmer was convicted in his third murder trial in the 2008 drowning death of his wife, Sarah Widmer. Widmer, 32, who last lived in Mason, was sentenced in February to 15 years to life in prison. The Colerain Township native has maintained his innocence. He was convicted in his first trial in 2009 but the verdict was set aside because of jury misconduct. His 2010 trial resulted in a hung jury. His attorneys have appealed the third jury’s verdict and have asked for a fourth trial.
Kings Island opens new attractions
The region’s premier amusement park saw the opening of two new attractions this year and announced the expansion of a third major attraction for next year. Kings Island debuted the world’s largest animatronic dinosaur park, Dinosaurs Alive!, in April and its newest thrill ride, WindSeeker, in June. The park, which was also honored in September for the best kids’ area in the world by Amusement Today, this year announced a $10 million Soak City water park expansion that will double its size to 33 acres for 2012.
Mason named among best places to live
In August, Money magazine has confirmed what many Mason residents have long suspected. The magazine announced Mason to be the 24th best place to live in its national survey of smaller towns and cities. The city of 33,100 was cited for its high-ranking schools, recreational opportunities and housing prices.
Western & Southern Open welcomes world’s top tennis players
For the first time ever, the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason hosted top-tier men’s and women’s tournaments simultaneously during the same week in the largest Western & Southern Open. The new combined format joined Rome, Madrid, Miami and Indian Wells as the only other cities in the world hosting the same caliber events for both sexes at the same time. To make room for the larger event, the Lindner Family Tennis Center underwent a 5.4 acre expansion adding six new courts, a new entrance and ticket office, retail plaza and family restrooms.
Miss Ohio pedals into town amidst fanfare
Miss Ohio Ellen Bryan pedaled into Mason this summer amidst fanfare and smiles. The pageant contestant visited Mason in September on the third stop on a 45-city bike tour across Ohio to raise funds for the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals of Ohio.
Disgraced Mason teacher heads to prison
A Warren County judge rejected the insanity plea of a former Mason teacher accused of having sex with students and sentenced her to four years in prison. Stacy Schuler, 33, was found guilty of 16 felony counts of sexual battery and three misdemeanor counts of providing alcohol to minors following a four-day bench trial in October. Schuler resigned from her job in February as a health and physical education teacher and trainer with Mason Schools. She will be eligible for judicial release after six months.
Huckabee comments propel Mason to center of state Issue 2 debate
Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee’s comments at a pancake breakfast in Mason in October propelled the city to the forefront of the state debate on Issue 2, a ballot referendum on Senate Bill 5, which would have limited the ability of public workers to negotiate for wages, working conditions and pension benefits. Huckabee galvanized hundreds of supporters of Issue 2 by jokingly urging them to stop opponents from voting. The comments drew national attention with MasonBuzz’s coverage and audio clip of the comments featured on such popular liberal blogs as Politico, the Huffington Post and Mother Jones, as well as aired on MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show, Hardball with Chris Matthews and The Ed Schultz Show. Voters rejected Issue 2 at the polls in November.
Mason bands take national stage
Mason High School bands took the national stage not once, but twice this year. In March, the school’s symphony and symphonic bands performed on one of music’s most grand stages, New York City’s Carnegie Hall. The 124 performers in Mason’s band performed as part of “The Best of the Midwest” concert in an evening time slot usually set aside for college and professional bands. Then, in November, the school’s marching band was chosen as just one of 12 bands of 92 to advance to the Grand National finals, where they finished as the top-placing Ohio band and tenth in the nation. The competition, held at Lucas Oil Field in Indianapolis, is considered to the “Super Bowl” of competitions for high school marching bands.
Mason seats three on City Council, names new mayor
Mason city voters returned two former council veterans and voted in one newcomer to Mason’s City Council in November. Incoming council members Tom Grossmann, Victor Kidd and Barbara Berry-Spaeth were elected to four-year terms on city council. Grossmann and Kidd previously served on city council while it is a first term for Berry-Spaeth. Incumbent Mike Gilb, a lawyer and former state representative for a northern area of Ohio, lost his seat in the race. The other two seats replaced council members Christine Shimrock, who chose not to seek a second term, and Tony Bradburn, who was forced to leave due to term limits. Council also tapped David Nichols, who’s served as vice mayor for the past two years, as mayor in a December organizational meeting.
Mason woman follows dream on prime-time TV
Danielle Withers, 27, of Mason, is realizing her dreams of becoming a professional singer after appearing on the third season of NBC’s “The Sing-Off” this fall. The weekly series hosted by Nick Lachey follows 16 a cappella groups from across the country as they compete for a Sony Music recording contract and $200,000 cash prize. Withers and her group, Afro-Blue, made it to the top final four groups before being voted off. But for Withers, a 2002 Mason grad and Homecoming Queen, the dream has just begun — she moved to Los Angeles in November to pursue the professional opportunities generated by her appearance on the reality show.
Mason Schools receives statewide honors, awards
It’s been a banner year for Mason Schools. The 11,000-student district, which consistently ranks among the top 10 of Ohio’s 614 districts, racked up a number of awards and honors this year for academic growth and achievement, financial record-keeping and instituting a new child sexual abuse curriculum.The district kicked off the year in March by landing on the College Board’s AP Achievement List for gains in advanced placement course access and student performance — an achievement it repeated again in December. In August, the district reported that it had returned to the state’s top academic ranking of “Excellent With Distinction.” The district also ranked fifth in the state this year for more year-to-year academic growth, according to a numeric ranking of Ohio school districts compiled by a nonprofit consulting company. The district ended the year as one of five Ohio school districts to be recognized with the 2011 SOAR Award for Significant Progress.
Mason earns national kudos. Greater Cincinnati’s trial of the year. Miss Ohio pedals into town. The world’s top tennis players converge on Mason. A disgraced teacher goes to prison. New attractions open at the region’s premier amusement park. Mason’s band takes the national stage. New faces appear on City Council. Controversial comments propel Mason to center of Ohio’s public workers debate. A Mason woman follows her dream on prime-time TV.
These were just some of the breaking news stories to hit Mason in 2011 and that commanded our online attention. Now, in MasonBuzz’s first annual Year in Review, readers are asked to count down the top local stories of the year. Vote in the poll below for the story you believe should be the top Mason story of the year (if you are unable to vote in the poll, please refresh your browser or leave your vote in the comments field). Select up to 2 stories. Voting ends at 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 29 with results to be posted on Saturday, Dec. 31.
What is the top Mason story of 2011?
Mason bands take national stage (52%, 1,075 Votes)
Ryan Widmer convicted in third murder trial (27%, 563 Votes)
Disgraced Mason teacher heads to prison (16%, 323 Votes)
Mason named among best places to live (12%, 250 Votes)
Kings Island opens new attractions (6%, 126 Votes)
Western & Southern Open welcomes world’s top tennis players (5%, 94 Votes)
Miss Ohio pedals into town amidst fanfare (1%, 30 Votes)
Mason woman follows dream on prime-time TV (1%, 25 Votes)
Huckabee comments propel Mason to center of state Issue 2 debate (1%, 23 Votes)
Mason seats three on City Council, names new mayor (1%, 20 Votes)
Total Voters: 2,070
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Ryan Widmer convicted in third murder trial
In what has been called Greater Cincinnati’s “trial(s) of the year,” Ryan Widmer was convicted in his third murder trial in the 2008 drowning death of his wife, Sarah Widmer. Widmer, 32, who last lived in Mason, was sentenced in February to 15 years to life in prison. The Colerain Township native has maintained his innocence. He was convicted in his first trial in 2009 but the verdict was set aside because of jury misconduct. His 2010 trial resulted in a hung jury. His attorneys have appealed the third jury’s verdict and have asked for a fourth trial.
Kings Island opens new attractions
The region’s premier amusement park saw the opening of two new attractions this year and announced the expansion of a third major attraction for next year. Kings Island debuted the world’s largest animatronic dinosaur park, Dinosaurs Alive!, in April and its newest thrill ride, WindSeeker, in June. The park, which was also honored in September for the best kids’ area in the world by Amusement Today, this year announced a $10 million Soak City water park expansion that will double its size to 33 acres for 2012.
Mason named among best places to live
In August, Money magazine has confirmed what many Mason residents have long suspected. The magazine announced Mason to be the 24th best place to live in its national survey of smaller towns and cities. The city of 33,100 was cited for its high-ranking schools, recreational opportunities and housing prices.
Western & Southern Open welcomes world’s top tennis players
For the first time ever, the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason hosted top-tier men’s and women’s tournaments simultaneously during the same week in the largest Western & Southern Open. The new combined format joined Rome, Madrid, Miami and Indian Wells as the only other cities in the world hosting the same caliber events for both sexes at the same time. To make room for the larger event, the Lindner Family Tennis Center underwent a 5.4 acre expansion adding six new courts, a new entrance and ticket office, retail plaza and family restrooms.
Miss Ohio pedals into town amidst fanfare
Miss Ohio Ellen Bryan pedaled into Mason this summer amidst fanfare and smiles. The pageant contestant visited Mason in September on the third stop on a 45-city bike tour across Ohio to raise funds for the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals of Ohio.
Disgraced Mason teacher heads to prison
A Warren County judge rejected the insanity plea of a former Mason teacher accused of having sex with students and sentenced her to four years in prison. Stacy Schuler, 33, was found guilty of 16 felony counts of sexual battery and three misdemeanor counts of providing alcohol to minors following a four-day bench trial in October. Schuler resigned from her job in February as a health and physical education teacher and trainer with Mason Schools. She will be eligible for judicial release after six months.
Huckabee comments propel Mason to center of state Issue 2 debate
Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee’s comments at a pancake breakfast in Mason in October propelled the city to the forefront of the state debate on Issue 2, a ballot referendum on Senate Bill 5, which would have limited the ability of public workers to negotiate for wages, working conditions and pension benefits. Huckabee galvanized hundreds of supporters of Issue 2 by jokingly urging them to stop opponents from voting. The comments drew national attention with MasonBuzz’s coverage and audio clip of the comments featured on such popular liberal blogs as Politico, the Huffington Post and Mother Jones, as well as aired on MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show, Hardball with Chris Matthews and The Ed Schultz Show. Voters rejected Issue 2 at the polls in November.
Mason bands take national stage
Mason High School bands took the national stage not once, but twice this year. In March, the school’s symphony and symphonic bands performed on one of music’s most grand stages, New York City’s Carnegie Hall. The 124 performers in Mason’s band performed as part of “The Best of the Midwest” concert in an evening time slot usually set aside for college and professional bands. Then, in November, the school’s marching band was chosen as just one of 12 bands of 92 to advance to the Grand National finals, where they finished as the top-placing Ohio band and tenth in the nation. The competition, held at Lucas Oil Field in Indianapolis, is considered to the “Super Bowl” of competitions for high school marching bands.
Mason seats three on City Council, names new mayor
Mason city voters returned two former council veterans and voted in one newcomer to Mason’s City Council in November. Incoming council members Tom Grossmann, Victor Kidd and Barbara Berry-Spaeth were elected to four-year terms on city council. Grossmann and Kidd previously served on city council while it is a first term for Berry-Spaeth. Incumbent Mike Gilb, a lawyer and former state representative for a northern area of Ohio, lost his seat in the race. The other two seats replaced council members Christine Shimrock, who chose not to seek a second term, and Tony Bradburn, who was forced to leave due to term limits. Council also tapped David Nichols, who’s served as vice mayor for the past two years, as mayor in a December organizational meeting.
Mason woman follows dream on prime-time TV
Danielle Withers, 27, of Mason, is realizing her dreams of becoming a professional singer after appearing on the third season of NBC’s “The Sing-Off” this fall. The weekly series hosted by Nick Lachey follows 16 a cappella groups from across the country as they compete for a Sony Music recording contract and $200,000 cash prize. Withers and her group, Afro-Blue, made it to the top final four groups before being voted off. But for Withers, a 2002 Mason grad and Homecoming Queen, the dream has just begun — she moved to Los Angeles in November to pursue the professional opportunities generated by her appearance on the reality show.
Mason Schools receives statewide honors, awards
It’s been a banner year for Mason Schools. The 11,000-student district, which consistently ranks among the top 10 of Ohio’s 614 districts, racked up a number of awards and honors this year for academic growth and achievement, financial record-keeping and instituting a new child sexual abuse curriculum.The district kicked off the year in March by landing on the College Board’s AP Achievement List for gains in advanced placement course access and student performance — an achievement it repeated again in December. In August, the district reported that it had returned to the state’s top academic ranking of “Excellent With Distinction.” The district also ranked fifth in the state this year for more year-to-year academic growth, according to a numeric ranking of Ohio school districts compiled by a nonprofit consulting company. The district ended the year as one of five Ohio school districts to be recognized with the 2011 SOAR Award for Significant Progress.
Mason officials are among local suburban communities that have downplayed the immediate impact of Ohio’s Issue 2 this past week on city budgets.
Mason City Manager Eric Hansen said the Issue 2 vote’s repeal of Senate Bill 5 wouldn’t have had any immediate effect on the city’s finances.
“(Issue 2) may have changed the long-term trajectory, but the loss in revenues is immediate and long-term. So the math didn’t add up.”
The Enquirer’s Steve Kemme and Amanda Seitz reports that Issue 2′s defeat hasn’t induced panic among other local communities that might gained some financial benefits from its passage.
Communities are far more worried about the loss of Ohio’s estate tax revenue in 2013 and the continued reduction of the state-provided Local Government Fund. Both of these cuts were supported by Republican Gov. John Kasich and the GOP-controlled General Assembly, the same ones who offered Senate Bill 5 as an antidote to local governments’ money woes.
Ohio’s $55.8 billion budget, signed by Kasich in July, slashes the Local Government Fund almost in half over the next two years. That fund provided $665 million for local governments this year. The state budget also eliminates the estate tax, 80 percent of which has gone to local governments.
For many communities, the Local Government Fund and the estate tax revenues accounted for half or more of their budgets. Almost half of Delhi Township’s general fund budget in 2010, for example, came from estate tax revenue. Local Government Fund money made up 29 percent of the $2.1 million general fund budget of Butler County’s Liberty Township last year.
The Issue 2 vote’s repeal of Senate Bill 5 will have, at worst, a minor impact on the communities’ immediate and long-term financial health, according to The Enquirer’s sampling of communities in Hamilton, Butler, Clermont and Warren counties.
In a March press conference with other local elected officials, Mason Mayor Don Prince expressed his support that Senate Bill 5, the collective bargaining bill, could help local governments control costs if it becomes law.
Prince, who was a member at Procter & Gamble for 25 years and is the son of a police officer and a firefighter, insisted that his was not an anti-union position, but a pro-tax position.
Ohio voters defeated Issue 2 Tuesday by overwhelming numbers from across the state.
The referendum repealed SB 5, a collective bargaining overhaul that would have restricted collective bargaining rights and set minimum levels for public employees’ contributions toward their health care costs and retirement benefits.
In Warren County, considered to be among the most conservative counties in the state, Issue 2 narrowly passed, 51.6 percent to 48.4 percent. The county was one of only six counties in Ohio to vote for the issue.
UPDATE, 9:13 p.m.: 107 of 172 Warren County precincts elections results are now in. Both Issue 11, the mental health services levy, and Issue 12, the senior services levy, are passing with 68 percent and 73 percent of the votes, respectively.
Twenty-two of Mason’s 26 precincts have reported results. Leading the City Council race are Tom Grossman (19.90 percent), Barbara Berry Spaeth (19.33 percent) and Victor L. Kidd (17.36 percent). Mason’s Charter Amendment is leading with 85.61 percent of the vote.
UPDATE, 8:38 p.m.: Warren County election results are trickling in, with 63 of 172 precincts reporting. In Mason, 2 of 26 precincts have reported results. Stay tuned to MasonBuzz for final election results, or follow MasonBuzz on Twitter for more frequent live updates.
Original post
Voters were flocking to the polls in Warren County with a turnout of 45 percent to 50 percent, estimates Keir Holeman, Warren’s elections director.
Some local issues with heavy interest such as the Little Miami School District levy appear to be attracting voters, with an “unreal” high number of absentee/early votes cast, he said.
In Mason, voters cast their ballots for a charter amendment, which would clarify that a partial term to which a Council member is appointed is not included in the calculation of consecutive years of service, and three seats on Mason’s City Council.
Two unopposed school board races and a Sunday liquor sales for Raja were also on the Mason ballot, along with two Warren County levies for mental health and senior services.
As of 7:30 p.m. none of Mason’s 26 precincts were reporting local election results. Be sure to check back throughout the evening for live results and coverage.
What brought you to the polls today? Tell us how you voted and why, using the ‘comments’ below.
Speaking at the “Yes on Issue 2″ pancake breakfast, Huckabee jokingly urged the crowd of 350 to call on their friends and family with advice that appeared to suggest how they can support the measure, which will appear on the Nov. 8 ballot.
“Make a list… Call them and ask them, ‘Are you going to vote on Issue 2 and are you going to vote for it?’ If they say no, well, you just make sure that they don’t go vote. Let the air out of their tires on election day. Tell them the election has been moved to a different date. That’s up to you how you creatively get the job done.”
“Huckabee’s disgusting comments show that Building a Better Ohio and its corporate-funded supporters will do anything, even advocate for illegal tactics, to keep Ohioans from voting against Issue 2,” said NAACP Ohio Conference President Sybil Edwards-McNabb.
“These types of comments are worrisome because could incite further attempts to suppress the vote of Ohioans. It is time for Building a Better Ohio to denounce Huckabee’s disgraceful remarks.”
Get the latest updates on this story by following @MasonBuzz on Twitter or on Facebook
Jason Mauk, spokesman for Building a Better Ohio, said yesterday that Issue 2 opponents are “doing a phony soccer flip” over Huckabee’s comments.
“Huckabee has clearly been using the voting joke for years, and no one takes it seriously, except the Democrats who immediately cry voter suppression,” he said. “He should probably get a better joke, but opponents of Issue 2 can stop the phony outrage and get back to the real debate.”
Huckabee made similar comments in 2009 while campaigning for Republican Virginia gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell.
Opponents of Issue 2 say the former governor’s comments are no laughing matter. The point to House Bill 194, the bill passed by the Republican Ohio General Assembly that would cut the time of early absentee voting from 35 to 21 days and limit in-person early voting at boards of elections around the state.
Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted is currently reviewing the more than 389,000 signatures gathered to put a referendum on the bill on the Nov. 2012 ballot.
HB 194 – which Republicans say is simply an effort to make the same election rules apply in all of Ohio’s 88 counties – is nothing more than a “voter suppression bill” that would “disenfranchise many Ohioans,” says Rev. Joel L. King Jr., a first cousin of Martin Luther King, Jr. and chair of the Columbus Civic Betterment Community.
“Voter suppression is no laughing matter,” he said.
Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee’s comments in Mason on Friday have gained national attention and are now ‘blowing up’ say Democratic and liberal groups.
As reported by the Enquirer’s Politics Extra blog, the story has been picked up in Politico, which noted: ’Huckabee didn’t say he was joking, though the laughter suggests his audience knew he was; a similar riff in Virginia in 2009 drew criticism from Democrats.’
The Huffington Post wrote about it today, and quoted We Are Ohio’s Melissa Fazekas: “These comments reflect an entire campaign of deceit from Issue 2 supporters. They are willing to go to any extremes to keep Ohioans from letting their voices be heard…Enough is enough.”
Liberal Mother Jones picked it up too, adding: “Given that the fight over SB 5 has been a front line in the national clash over union rights, what happens on November 8 will hardly be a joke.”
All that prompted a blast email from Ohio AFL-CIO spokesman Andy Richards:
It is blowing up Nationally now… The question still remains will Building a Better Ohio denounce these comments since they happened at one of their events and will they finally apologize to Marlene Quinn for their ad twisting her words? Jason Mauk has some answering to do.
UPDATE, 6:23 p.m.: Jason Mauk, spokesman for Build a Better Ohio, which sponsored the event on Friday, says Issue 2 opponents are “doing a phony soccer flip” over Huckabee’s comments.
“Huckabee has clearly been using the voting joke for years, and no one takes it seriously, except the Democrats who immediately cry voter suppression,” he said. “He should probably get a better joke, but opponents of Issue 2 can stop the phony outrage and get back to the real debate.”
Update, 10:37 p.m.: MSNBC’s Ed Schultz played MasonBuzz’s audio recording of Huckabee’s comments on The Ed Schultz show this evening. “Republicans are playing dirty” by making it harder for people to vote,” said Schultz. “Republicans aren’t confident about the issues so they’re trying to suppress the vote. For Mike Huckabee to joke about voter suppression when his party is actively trying to prevent people from voting is sleazy psycho talk.”
Update, Oct. 18: MSNBC’s Hardball with Chris Matthews also played MasonBuzz’s audio recording of Huckabee’s SB 5 comments in Mason. “Need proof some Republicans want to try and keep you from voting?” Matthews asked in the lead-in. “These guys love to say ‘I was just joking’ after they make their right-wing points. It sounds like he was going for the laughs there, but you do get the point.”
MasonBuzz will continue to monitor this story and will update the blog.
Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee galvanized hundreds of supporters of Issue 2 Friday in Mason – by jokingly urging them to stop opponents from voting.
The 2008 presidential candidate and Fox News host drew laughs from a packed room with advice that appeared to suggest how they can support the measure, which will appear on the Nov. 8 ballot.
In addition to personally committing to vote and engaging in prayer, Huckabee advised the crowd of 350 to reach out to their friends and family in support of Issue 2.
“Make a list… Call them and ask them, ‘Are you going to vote on Issue 2 and are you going to vote for it?’ If they say no, well, you just make sure that they don’t go vote. Let the air out of their tires on election day. Tell them the election has been moved to a different date. That’s up to you how you creatively get the job done.”
Ohio Democrats immediately pounced, accusing Huckabee of advocating “criminal activity.”
“Add this to the list of despicable tactics from supporters of Issue 2,” said the statement from party spokesman Seth Bringman. “These tactics include accusing middle class supporters of defecating in the Statehouse and, more recently, attacking a woman whose great-granddaughter was saved by heroic firefighters.”
Huckabee and other Republican and Democratic supporters of Senate Bill 5 spoke at the “Yes on Issue 2″ breakfast and rally at the Manor House. The Warren County Republican Party and Building a Better Ohio sponsored the event.
Issue 2 is a petition-driven referendum to repeal Senate Bill 5, a collective bargaining overhaul that limits the ability of public workers to negotiate for wages, working conditions and pension benefits.
The bill would also make public employees contribute at least 15 percent of their health care costs and to pay at least 10 percent of pay toward pension contributions.
Huckabee defended SB 5 as a “reasonable, common sense” approach to Ohio’s budget woes while deflecting criticism that it is anti-union.
“In every state and in every municipality in this country, there is a huge crisis going on. In Ohio, an 8 billion dollar one. And that has to be made up somewhere,” he said. “I don’t know how many Ohioans you’re willing to put out of work in order to fund a bigger and bigger and bigger government.”
Huckabee’s message resonated with Sandra Tugrul of Lebanon, who agrees that budget cuts are necessary.
“We have to find a way to balance the budget in Ohio and the only way to do that is to cut costs,” she said. “The policemen and firemen are important, but there’s a point where we have to tighten our belts.”
Jack Chrisman of Lebanon gathers around the "Values Voter" bus for a post-breakfast rally supporting conservative candidates and issues in Ohio. The Enquirer/Rachel Richardson
Democrat Jeff Berding, the former Cincinnati council member who left council earlier this year after he opposed the party on a union issue, spoke in support of Issue 2, saying he knows he no longer has the support of Democratic voters.
Berding said that the current collective bargaining system is tilted unfairly towards unions and that taxpayer money is misused to provide free, or nearly free, health care, pensions and automatic raises for public employees.
“The unions care too much about the pay, the perks, the pensions, but not too much about the public,” he said. “The current political bargaining system doesn’t give you a seat at the table. Issue 2 gives you a seat at the table.”
Mason Mayor Don Prince said that Huckabee’s visit demonstrates the growing influence of Warren County voters.
The county, one of the fastest growing counties in the state, is heavily Republican — it voted for John McCain over Barack Obama by over 2-1 in 2008; and, in 2010, gave Republican gubernatorial candidate John Kasich 54,536 votes to only 22,271 for Democratic incumbent Ted Strickland.
“Warren County, and specifically Mason and Deerfield Township, is becoming a well known area of conservative values,” he said. “On a national and state level, politicians pay attention to Warren County.”
Huckabee’s folksy appeal held clout with many supporters, like Michelle Seigel of Mason, who says she’s a member of the Mason Tea Party and fears public employee layoffs in the event of an overturn of SB 5.
“He was amazing,” she said. “I feel I need to do more. I need to make some calls.”
Vote by mail Go to the Ohio Secretary of State’s website at www.sos.state.oh.us. Click on “Vote by Mail” to download an early voting application.
The deadline to request an absentee ballot is noon on Nov. 5. But that would not give voters enough time to get the ballot in the mail to the boards of elections by Monday. Elections officials advise that absentee ballot requests should be made at least a week before the election.
Absentee ballots can be returned in person up until 7:30 p.m. on election night. Most county boards of elections also have an application on their websites. The last day to register to vote is Oct. 11.
Vote in person
Boards of election in Southwest Ohio begin early in-person and mail-in absentee ballots today.
Warren County Elections director Keir Holeman said early in-person voting would be from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the board office at 406 Justice Drive, Lebanon. The board may decide to have early voting from 8 a.m. until noon on the Saturday before the Nov. 8 election, but that decision has yet to be made.
Absentee ballot applications can be filled out and printed on the board’s website, www.co.warren.oh.us/bdelec/index.asp. Voters can also call the board at 513-695-1358 to obtain absentee ballots.
Click to see what’s on the ballot for Mason voters.
If you missed last night’s debate between State Rep. Connie Pillich (D-Montgomery) and state Sen. Shannon Jones (R-Springboro), you didn’t miss much.
The Enquirer’s Paul D. Kostyu reports that the same arguments that have been trotted out before in favor of or in opposition to Issue 2 were heard again in last night’s debate at Cedar Village.
Ohio voters will decide on Nov. 8 whether to keep or repeal Senate Bill 5, legislation passed last year by the General Assembly.
Among other issues, SB5 limits the ability of public workers to negotiate for wages, working conditions and pension benefits.
Pillich and Jones landed no knockout punches but aggressively attacked each other’s position in the two-hour debate at Cedar Village Retirement Community.
Both generated applause for the positions they took throughout the night, though it appeared SB 5 opponents outnumbered proponents. The crowd included tea party members sporting red T-shirts and other area residents adorned with buttons advocating rejection of Issue 2.
Pillich called the legislation flawed, unfair and overreaching, saying it takes away public employees’ rights, particularly police and firefighters, to bargain “so they can come home alive at the end of the day.”
“I’ve heard a lot what we’re not for, but I’ve not heard what Rep. Pillich is for,” said Jones midway through the debate. She said state and local governments and school districts don’t have enough money to keep the staff and services.
“Good grief. Are we going to ignore the fact that our cities can’t make their payrolls? I’m for accepting the reality” instead of the status quo, Jones said.
Pillich countered that the terms of Issue 2 are “like going into divorce court and finding out your spouse is the judge.”
“I don’t understand why public employees are the culprit,” Pillich said. “It’s not about balancing the state budget; it’s about taking away people’s voices. There’s no good-faith bargaining.”
Jones disagreed, saying there will be good-faith negotiating. She said SB 5, which she helped write, makes public employees and officials more accountable and negotiations more transparent.
“I find it increasingly offensive that the senator keeps saying there will be good-faith bargaining,” Pillich said. “There won’t be. There’s no risk for management” by allowing them to make the final decision on a contract instead of an arbitrator.
Jones called some of Pillich’s answers “bizarre.”
“The facts are we have less money and the public won’t give us more,” she said. “For years, Ohio has lost hundreds of thousands of jobs. We need to give local communities the ability to get costs under control. We have unsustainable labor costs. The public has had enough.”
Both Jones and Pillich used examples of school districts and local governments that would either benefit or lose should Issue 2 pass. They often countered each other’s examples, adding more information. They also quoted opposing studies.
“It’s long-overdue reform that can save millions annually,” Jones said.
“It’s heads I win, tails you lose,” Pillich said of SB 5.
The Northeast Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce sponsored the debate to help it decide whether to support, oppose or stay neutral on Issue 2.
What are your thoughts on Issue 2 and SB5? Are you for or against it, and why?
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