MasonBuzz.com

Carl Weiser reports:

State Rep. Ron Maag, a Lebanon Republican, plans to introduce right-to-work legislation soon – but only for public sector workers.

In a request to fellow House members asking for co-sponsors, Maag wrote: ”Right to Work, also known as “Workplace Freedom,” would eliminate compulsory unionism in Ohio. This means simply that employees would be free to choose whether or not to join a labor union.”

Ohio would be the 25th state to pass right-to-work laws, he said.

• Read Maag’s letter

State Democratic chairman Chris Redfern has already pounced, saying “Here we go again,” a reference to the bitter 2011 battle over Senate Bill 5, which would have reined in the powers and rights of public sector unions.

“Just as SB 5 was soundly rejected by Ohio voters, we expect this unnecessary sideshow – which will do nothing to create more good-paying jobs – to fail, and we intend to hold Governor Kasich accountable for choosing to focus on distractions over Ohio’s middle class,” he said in a statement.

Posted in: Government, News, Ohio |

Tags: Tags: democrats, kasich, lebanon, ohio, politics, representative, republicans, right to work, ron maag, sb5, senate bill 5, union, warren county

Gov. John R. Kasich

Paul E. Kostyu reports:

Income taxes on small businesses will go down next year, Ohio’s governor promised Wednesday, but he wouldn’t say by how much.

In a year-end press conference with statehouse reporters on Wednesday, Gov. John R. Kasich said the “income tax is too darn high. We’ve lowered it, but it’s too high.”

Kasich said he will send legislation to the General Assembly to lower income taxes on small businesses, but he didn’t say how that would be accomplished or by how much. The state income tax rate ranges from 0.58 percent to 5.92 percent based on income.

Incorporated businesses pay federal income taxes, state income taxes in most states and local income taxes in some areas. The bulk of small businesses in Ohio pay their taxes through the personal income tax, according to the Kasich administration.

“We’re talking about something that’s reasonable,” he said. “We can significantly lower it to help us grow faster.”

Democrats criticized the governor for not being specific.

“The governor’s comments covered a wide range of issues,” said Senate Minority Leader Eric H. Kearney, D-North Avondale, in a statement, “but offered few specifics about his forthcoming proposals for school funding and tax reform. If he truly wants to be bipartisan, then Gov. Kasich should invite Democrats to be part of the process from beginning to end.”

(more…)

Posted in: News, Ohio |

Tags: Tags: democrats, eric kearney, general assembly, governor, income taxes, John Kasich, ohio, republicans, small businesses, taxes

Paul McKibben reports:

With one contested race, Warren County Republicans maintained complete control of county government in Tuesday’s general election.

With 92 percent of precincts reporting, Warren County Court Judge Donald Oda II was leading Libertarian Roger Staton, 64 percent to 36 percent, in unofficial preliminary results for Common Pleas Court judge. The seat is held by Neal Bronson, who is retiring.

Republicans who didn’t face opposition were Commissioner Dave Young, Commissioner Pat South, Clerk of Court James Spaeth, Coroner Russell Uptegrove, Engineer Neil Tunison, Prosecutor David Fornshell, Recorder Linda Oda, Sheriff Larry Sims, Treasurer James Aumann and County Court Judge Joseph Kirby.

In the contested race for a seat on the 12th District Court of Appeals, Judge Michael Powell was leading attorney Raymond Lembke of Clermont County’s Pierce Township, 79 percent to 21 percent.

Powell will fulfill the rest of the late Rachel Hutzel’s term through February 2017. Hutzel died in August. Gov. John Kasich earlier had appointed Powell to the seat.

The district is comprised of Butler, Warren, Clermont, Preble, Clinton, Brown, Fayette and Madison counties.

A proposed charter amendment to fund fire and emergency medical services was leading in Mason, 73 percent to 27 percent, with 92 percent of precincts in.

The income tax hike would affect employees at key employers that have facilities in Mason, such as Procter & Gamble and Cintas. An estimated 21,000 people work in the city, which is home to more than 1,100 businesses.

Posted in: Election, News |

Tags: Tags: 12th district court of appeals, charter amendment, dave young, election, issue 7, mason, miachel powell, neal bronson, pat south, rachel hutzel, ramond lembke, republicans, roger staton, safety services, warren county

Howard Wilkinson reports:

Former House speaker Newt Gingrich is suddenly the leading candidate among GOP presidential contenders among Ohio voters – and by a huge margin.

The Quinnipiac University poll released Thursday morning also showed that both Gingrich and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney are in a dead heat with President Obama in Ohio.

Gingrich is also leading among Republicans in two other key states polled by Quinnipiac – Florida and Pennsylvania. It matches the recent surge by Gingrich in national polls.

Two months ago, when Quinipiac polled Ohio GOP voters, Gingrich languished near the bottom with only seven percent support, while Herman Cain – who has since suspended his campaign – lead with 28 percent.

But now Gingrich is the leader among Ohio Republicans by a two-to-one margin – 36 percent to Romney’s 18 percent. No other GOP candidate has more than seven percent support.

In head-to-head match-ups with President Obama, Gingrich has 43 percent among all Ohio voters, to Obama’s 42 percent. Romney holds the same slim lead over Obama.

“The White House is very concerned about the Buckeye State becuse of the large numbers of white without college educations – a group among which Obma has been doing poorly,” said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinipiac University Polling Institute in Connecticut.

The poll was conducted Nov. 28-Dec. 5 among 1,437 Ohio voters, including 500 Republican voters. The margin of error for the the match-ups with President Obama is plus or minus 2.6 percent. The margin of error among GOP voters is plus or minus 4.4 percent.

Posted in: Election, News |

Tags: Tags: barack obama, election, herman cain, mitt romney, newt gingrich, ohio, peter a. brown, president obama, presidential election, quinnipiac university poll, republicans, voters

Republicans in the Ohio House introduced a new congressional redistricting plan Tuesday that would expand Rep. Steve Chabot’s 1st Congressional District to include all of Warren County.

Thousands of residents of Warren County who have had either Rep. Mike Turner (R-Dayton) or Rep. Jean Schmidt (R-Loveland) as their representative in Congress are going to wind up with Chabot as their new Congressman, if he wins the 2012 1st District race –a prospect that became more likely with the unveiling of the new map Tuesday.

• View a detailed map of new 1st District (PDF link)

As the Enquirer’s Howard Wilkinson reports, the move would give the Westwood Republican “a county so rich with republicans that any GOP congressman in America would give his eye teeth to have it in his district.”

Having Warren County in his district can do another nothing but help Chabot in future campaigns.

Warren 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.

Democrats who live in Chabot’s present district will suddenly find that the hill to they have to climb if they want a Democrat to represent them in Congress has suddenly become much more steep. The 1st District, which has been a battleground in the national war for control of Congress for the past 16 years, will become more of a skirmish than a full-fledged battle.

Chabot’s new district will retain nearly all of western Hamilton County, which has always been his base of support. The city of Cincinnati will remain split between the two districts.

Chabot, first elected to Congress in 1994, went through several tough fights with Democrats from Roxanne Qualls to John Cranley to Steve Driehaus, who ended up defeating him in the Obama surge of 2008. Chabot won back his seat in 2010, defeating Driehaus.

Chabot spokesman Jamie Schwartz would not discuss the political implications of the newly-redrawn 1st district but said “our office will continue to work hard to represent and serve the people of the current First District. And we are looking forward to the opportunity to meet and provide the same level of service to the new constituents in the district.”

Going to District 1: All of Warren County, Montgomery, Symmes Township, Indian Hill Going to District 2: Wyoming, Reading, Mount Healthy, North College Hill, Lincoln Heights, Lockland, part of Woodlawn, all of Clinton County, part of Ross County Going to District 8: Southwest Butler County – Morgan, Ross, Hanover, and Reily townships.

House Republicans also strengthened Schmidt’s 2nd District. She will lose a portion of northeast Hamilton County, but will pick up Clinton County and extend east into part of Ross County. Her district will also pick up Wyoming with the result being a heavily Republican district.

Hamilton County GOP chairman Alex Triantafilou said he was pleased with both the new 1st and 2nd districts.

“We think Chabot’s district comes out of this very solid for Republicans,’’ Triantafilou said. “And the 2nd District remains a dependable Republican district.”

Haley Morris, a spokeswoman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, denounced the map as “partisan” and “heavy-handed.”
House Democrats were angered Tuesday that the GOP intends to move so quickly on their redistricting plan.

Majority Leader Armond Budish, D-Cleveland, put out a statement saying the Democrats were pulling out of an earlier agreement with the GOP to push next year’s primary election from March to May.

House Republicans are likely to pass the bill this week after which it will move on to the Republican-controlled Ohio Senate, which is expected to pass it with few, if any, changes. It then goes to the desk of Republican Gov. John Kasich to be signed into law.

The new district boundaries will be in place for next spring’s primary election.

As with any redistricting plan, it is subject to a lawsuit if an individual or group believes that it violates the Constitution or federal laws such as the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

For complete details on the redistricting plan and how it affects other parts of Ohio, see Wilkinson’s story at cincinnati.com.

What do you think of the new redistricting plan or having Chabot as your new representative? Post your comments below.

Posted in: Community, Election, News |

Tags: Tags: 1st congressional district, 2nd congressional district, democrats, jean schmidt, ohio, politics, redistricting, republicans, steve chabot, warren county