Bradley Vasoli | The Ohio Star

Ohio County Democratic Auditor Comes Out Against U.S. Senate Candidacy of Tim Ryan

November 7, 2022November 6, 2022 Bradley Vasoli

A Cincinnati-area Democratic public official is urging Ohioans to vote against his party’s nominee for the U.S. Senate on Tuesday.

Supporters of Republican Senate nominee J.D. Vance and critics of Democratic hopeful Tim Ryan are enthusiastically sharing an opinion piece Hamilton County Auditor Dusty Rhodes (D) penned for The Cincinnati Enquirer on Friday. In the guest column, Rhodes calls Ryan “a fraud who must be defeated” and who “does not deserve your vote” irrespective of one’s party affiliation.

Study: Ohio Outside of Capital Area Is Losing Population

November 4, 2022November 3, 2022 Bradley Vasoli

A new study released this week by a Columbus-based nonprofit observed that, with the exception of Ohio’s capital city and its surrounding suburbs, the Buckeye State is losing population.

The paper by the Greater Ohio Policy Center (GOPC), titled “Ohio + Columbus: A Tale of Two States,” posits that “much of Ohio functions like a legacy state rather than a rapidly growing place.” In other words, many places in the state experienced manufacturing booms a century ago but have seen industrial activity quickly decline in recent decades.

Ohio’s Buckeye Institute Urges Circuit Court to Kill Biden Tax Mandate

November 2, 2022November 1, 2022 Bradley Vasoli

The Columbus-based Buckeye Institute this week filed an amicus brief in the federal court case challenging the authority the Biden administration has asserted to limit state tax-reduction efforts.

Opponents of the White House policy are urging the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit to rule in Texas v. Yellen that a provision of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) cannot condition states’ receipt of federal aid on accepting “ambiguous” federally prescribed tax policy. Plaintiffs and their supporters further argue that President Joe Biden and his Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen cannot invoke their regulatory power to fix ARPA’s lack of clarity.

Cygnal Ohio Poll Shows Vance and DeWine Getting Bigger Leads

October 31, 2022October 30, 2022 Bradley Vasoli

A poll released this weekend by the data company Cygnal shows Ohio Republican candidates for governor and U.S. Senate widening their leads against their Democratic opponents.

The survey of 1,776 likely voters shows J.D. Vance, the author, attorney and venture capitalist running to succeed retiring Republican Senator Rob Portman, with a 4.6-percent lead over Democratic Congressman Tim Ryan (D-OH-13). Among those polled, 9.2 percent said they were undecided.

Buckeye Institute Disputes Expanded Municipal Taxing Authority in Ohio on Behalf of Blue Ash Resident

October 27, 2022October 26, 2022 Bradley Vasoli

A Columbus-based think tank this week filed its legal response in the Ohio Supreme Court in defense of a Blue Ash man who believes the state cannot make him pay Cincinnati income taxes for a period of time he actually worked from home.

The Buckeye Institute argued that a state law passed in March 2020 to allow jurisdictions encompassing an “employee’s principal place of work” to levy taxes on that worker even when he or she works from home is unconstitutional. Specifically, the institute notes that the federal Constitution’s dormant commerce clause in Article I, Section 8 disallows states to enact statutes that “unduly burden interstate commerce.” Buckeye attorneys also believe the Ohio Constitution constrains lawmakers’ ability to broaden cities and towns’ tax-collection power.

Two New Polls Widen Vance’s Lead in Ohio Senate Race

October 24, 2022October 23, 2022 Bradley Vasoli

Data from two new surveys have contributed to a slightly widening lead for Republican J.D. Vance in his Ohio Senate campaign against U.S. Representative Tim Ryan (D-OH-13).

One of the polls comes from the Democrat-aligned group Data for Progress, which finds that Vance has garnered 49 percent of the 1,016 likely voters with whom the organization spoke.

Gilbert Runs Hard Against Pelosi Speakership in Close Race for Ohio’s 13th Congressional District

October 21, 2022October 20, 2022 Bradley Vasoli

When U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA-12) came to Shaker Heights, OH this week to fundraise for Democratic 13th-District congressional candidate Emilia Sykes, Republican hopeful Madison Gesiotto Gilbert was happy to let constituents know about it.

This wasn’t the speaker’s first major show of support for Sykes; Pelosi cut her a $30,000 check via her campaign organization in July. When Pelosi flew east to support Sykes, a state representative from Ohio’s 34th Legislative District who the National Republican Congressional Committee calls Pelosi’s “protégé,” Republican spokesperson Courtney Parella put out a statement saying, “Emilia Sykes is bought and paid for by Nancy Pelosi and would serve as a rubber stamp for Pelosi’s failed economic agenda.”

Ohio Republican Legislators Appeal Congressional Map Ruling to the Supreme Court

October 18, 2022 Bradley Vasoli

Ohio’s Republican state legislators are in the process of appealing a state Supreme Court ruling on congressional redistricting to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The state’s high court has repeatedly ruled against maps created by Ohio’s Redistricting Commission. Despite the GOP having a one-seat majority, Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor (R) has sided with the Democrats in redistricting cases. (O’Connor, who is 71, is retiring from the court after this year.)

Ohio Republican Legislators Appeal Congressional Map Ruling to the Supreme Court

October 18, 2022October 17, 2022 Bradley Vasoli

Ohio’s Republican state legislators are in the process of appealing a state Supreme Court ruling on congressional redistricting to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Progressive Ohio College Town Continues Push to Let Noncitizens Vote

October 17, 2022October 16, 2022 Bradley Vasoli

Democratic officials who run the village of Yellow Springs, a progressive college town near Dayton, are persisting in their effort to legalize noncitizen voting.

Mayor Pam Conine (D) is pushing for the enactment of a state constitutional amendment that would actualize the policy. Yellow Springs voters approved a referendum in 2019 allowing dozens of noncitizen residents of the village to participate in local and state elections, but the measure never went into effect.

Ohio Congressional Candidate Landsman Runs as a Tax Cutter But Hiked Taxes

October 14, 2022October 13, 2022 Bradley Vasoli

Greg Landsman, the five-year Democratic Cincinnati City councilman vying for Congress against Steve Chabot (R-OH-1), is running a television advertisement contending that he cut taxes while Chabot raised them.

The facts suggest otherwise.

Ohio Think Tank Wins Lawsuit for D.C. Tavern Against COVID Mandate

October 13, 2022October 12, 2022 Bradley Vasoli

A Columbus, Ohio-based think tank this week prevailed in an administrative case on behalf of a Washington, D.C. tavern owner against D.C.’s since-rescinded mandate forcing indoor establishments to require that patrons wear masks and submit proof of COVID-19 vaccination.

The Buckeye Institute handled the matter for Eric Flannery, a Navy veteran and co-proprietor of The Big Board, a bar and grill operating three blocks east of Washington’s Union Station. Despite the city’s mask and vaccine-card rules, Flannery announced that “everyone is welcome” at his restaurant. This winter, the D.C. Department of Health (DOH) officials responded by suspending the tavern’s operating and liquor licenses, ordering the place to temporarily shutter and slapping Flannery with a $2,000 fine.

American Greatness Ohio Schedules Forum for November 1 Near Cincinnati

October 12, 2022October 11, 2022 Bradley Vasoli

A new event in the forum series American Greatness PAC is hosting throughout the Buckeye State will take place in the Cincinnati area on Tuesday, November 1, one week before Election Day.

The forum is the third the conservative political action committee is hosting, having already held an event in the Cleveland-Akron-Canton region and planning a forum that will occur east of Columbus on October 25 but for which tickets are no longer being sold online.

Some Ohio Political Institutions Refused to Acknowledge Columbus Day

October 11, 2022October 10, 2022 Bradley Vasoli

On Columbus Day 2022, the disconnect between institutions over whether to commemorate Christopher Columbus persisted, with many organizations aligned with progressives and the Democratic Party making no mention of America’s discoverer and celebrating “Indigenous People’s Day” instead.

Conservative politicians and candidates happily celebrated the holiday.

Judge Grants Injunction Against Ohio Abortion Law

October 10, 2022October 9, 2022 Bradley Vasoli

On Friday, the Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas sided with Ohio abortionists in granting a preliminary injunction against a law forbidding termination of pregnancies in cases when the unborn child has a detectible heartbeat.

Governor Mike DeWine (R) signed the Heartbeat Act in 2019, though the statute could only take effect after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned its 1973 Roe v. Wade decision this June. Judge Christian Jenkins (D) placed a freeze on the law pending a determination. The state of Ohio is expected to appeal the injunction.

Ohio Congressional Candidate Landsman Changes Tune on Police Funding

October 8, 2022October 7, 2022 Bradley Vasoli

In a new television advertisement, Ohio Democratic congressional candidate Greg Landsman, who is challenging longtime Cincinnati-area incumbent Steve Chabot (R-OH-1), suggests in contrast to his actual record that he consistently supported robustly funding police.

The spot, which features Hamilton County Sheriff Charmaine McGuffey (D) and Cincinnati City Councilman Scotty Johnson (D), posits that Landsman actually backed substantially increased funding for law enforcement in his tenure as a Cincinnati City Council member. These officials blast Republicans for insisting that Landsman wanted to defund city police.

Ohio House Democrats Tout Pro-Abortion Legislation in Wake of March for Life

October 7, 2022October 6, 2022 Bradley Vasoli

Pro-abortion Ohio state representatives are following up the anti-abortion Ohio March for Life that occurred earlier this week by championing a bill to codify rights established by the obsolete Roe v. Wade decision.

Representatives Michele Lepore-Hagan (D-Youngstown) and Jessica Miranda (D-Forest Park) introduced the policy in May and it has yet to receive committee consideration, let alone a vote of the House chamber. The bill lacks sufficient time for passage and both the GOP-controlled legislature and pro-life Governor Mike DeWine (R) are poised to reject it if they remain in power. But in a year when Democrats face an uphill fight in the Buckeye State, the party is investing much hope in abortion advocacy to better its electoral fortunes.

Abortions Increased in Ohio from 2020 to 2021

October 6, 2022October 5, 2022 Bradley Vasoli

Pro-lifers who marched on Ohio State Capitol Square in Columbus on Wednesday had some cause for celebration in light of the June Dobbs decision by the U.S. Supreme Court. But marchers also had much to lament, including an increase in the number of abortions performed in the Buckeye State.

According to the Ohio Department of Health’s recent report titled “Induced Abortions in Ohio, 2021,” deliberate killing of unborn children via surgery or medication rose seven percent from 2020 to the following year. In total, 21,813 pregnancies were so terminated in the state in 2021, 95 percent of those terminations obtained by women who reside in Ohio.

Cleveland Area Gets Nearly $8 Million in State Grants for Anti-Crime Efforts

October 5, 2022October 4, 2022 Bradley Vasoli

Governor Mike DeWine (R) announced this week that a new $12.3 million funding package would go to local law enforcement agencies to address violent crime, with Cleveland and Cuyahoga County getting two-thirds of those funds.

Nearly $1 million will go to the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s office, mainly to hire three new staff attorneys to help the jurisdiction make headway in its backlog of sexual and domestic violence cases. The Cleveland Division of police, the Cleveland State University Police Department and the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office will meanwhile receive an approximate total of $6.5 million, largely to enhance police-officer pay. Euclid’s Police Department will also get $107,000, for technological improvements.

Legislation Would Exempt Ohio’s Fully Disabled Veterans from Property Taxes

October 4, 2022October 3, 2022 Bradley Vasoli

State Representative Tom Patton (R-OH-Strongsville) is spearheading an effort to end property taxation for fully disabled military veterans and their surviving spouses in the Buckeye State.

According to the legislature’s official analysis of Patton’s bill, Ohio presently exempts $50,000 of the assessed value of homes owned by honorably discharged veterans who the federal Department of Veterans Affairs has given a 100-percent disability rating. Individuals so designated are considered severely impaired and unable to function professionally. A deceased veteran’s surviving wife or husband can access the exemption if the veteran received the benefit the year he or she died, lived at the residence during the veteran’s passing and continues to own that home.

DeWine Calls for Expansion of Medicaid, Other Services for Ohio Families

October 3, 2022 Bradley Vasoli

Governor Mike DeWine (R) on Friday announced a plan to expand a number of social services in Ohio, including an increase in eligibility for Medicaid for pregnant women and children whose families make up to three times the federal poverty level.

The policy enlarges upon his Bold Beginning Initiative, which has already spent about $1 billion on services to expectant families. The broadening of Medicaid would make the program available to single expectant mothers earning up to $54,930 annually and to families of three earning as much as $69,090 per year. Legislative approval would need to occur for this measure to take effect.

Ohio Senate Candidate Ryan Fundraises in California, Says Absence Is Owed to ‘Public Health Emergency’

September 30, 2022September 29, 2022 Bradley Vasoli

U.S. Representative Tim Ryan (D-Ohio-13) spurred a firestorm of Republican reprehension this week after he declared himself unable to attend House proceedings “due to the ongoing public emergency” and then went to Los Angeles, California for a fundraiser.

Ryan reportedly traveled to the Hollywood home of Jay Sures, currently the vice chair of United Talent Agency, for a campaign event expected to bring $100,000 into the congressman’s coffers. The candidate, who faces Republican attorney, venture capitalist and author J.D. Vance on November 8, permitted Representative Madeleine Dean (D-PA-4) to cast proxy votes in his absence. Later on Ryan’s agenda during his Golden-State visit was a Thursday-morning event featuring numerous Hollywood celebrities, including actors Brian Tyler Cohen and Howie Mandel.

Ohio Congressional Candidate Majewski Backs Up Military Record in Conversations with Bannon and Frantz

September 29, 2022September 28, 2022 Bradley Vasoli

Ohio congressional candidate J.R. Majewski appeared on the War Room with Stephen K. Bannon and Always Right Radio with Bob Frantz this week to corroborate Majewski’s record of military service, something political opponents and media figures have recently assailed.

Majewski is a Republican Air Force veteran running to unseat 40-year U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH-9) in a district that encompasses many of the state’s northwestern and north-central communities including Toledo. The newly redrawn House district is one of five that former President Donald Trump won in 2020 but to which a Democratic incumbent seeks reelection.

Ohio Judge Rules Pennsylvanian Needn’t Pay Cleveland Taxes for Work Done from Home

September 28, 2022September 27, 2022 Bradley Vasoli

A Cuyahoga County, OH court this week ruled in favor of a Pennsylvania resident employed in Cleveland who argued she did not need to pay taxes to that city for work she did from home during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The plaintiff, Dr. Manal Morsy, executive vice president at the Athersys biotechnology company who lives in the southeastern Pennsylvania town of Blue Bell, would commute to Cleveland and stay through her workweeks before COVID hit in 2020. Whenever she worked outside of Cleveland previously, she would receive income-tax refunds from the municipality. Pursuant to a state law passed in March 2020 which stated that work from home during the public emergency would be deemed to take place “at the employees principal place of work,” the city collect the municipal income tax from her employer without refunding it.

Ohio Think Tank Joins Minnesotan’s Fight for Property Rights

September 27, 2022September 26, 2022 Bradley Vasoli

The Columbus, OH-based Buckeye Institute filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday defending Minnesota widow Geraldine Tyler’s right to the profit from the forced sale of her home.

Tyler’s one-bedroom Minneapolis condominium was taken and sold by Hennepin County after the elderly resident could no longer afford her real-estate taxes. She quickly moved out of the condo in 2010, determining she could not safely stay in light of rising violent crime. For five years she incurred tax debt on the original residence while paying rent on a new apartment.

Vance Tells ‘A Tale of Two Tims’ in Ad About Ohio Senate Opponent Ryan

September 26, 2022September 25, 2022 Bradley Vasoli

Ohio Republican Senate candidate J.D. Vance released a new television advertisement this weekend contrasting his Democratic opponent Tim Ryan’s hard-left record with his moderate rhetoric.

In his ad monologue, Vance tore into the 13th-District congressman’s voting history.

Ohio Senator Portman Urges Additional Ukraine Funding to Prosecute War Crimes

September 23, 2022September 23, 2022 Bradley Vasoli

U.S. Senator Rob Portman (R-OH) this week urged allocation of additional funding to support Ukraine as it prepares to prosecute alleged war crimes committed by Russian military personnel.

The senator said his view of the need for more aid was informed through discussions he and Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) had with Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin on Wednesday concerning how America can help its ally to pursue war-crime cases against enemy soldiers. Portman and Durbin co-chair the Senate Ukraine Caucus.

Hold on Ohio Abortion Restriction to Last at Least Two More Weeks

September 22, 2022September 21, 2022 Bradley Vasoli

Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas Judge Christian Jenkins (D) this week indicated he will extend his hold on a significant Ohio abortion-restricting law for two additional weeks.

Jenkins’s decision prolongs the effect of a decision he made last week to obstruct the Heartbeat Act’s implementation, with the initial freeze to last two weeks. The state General Assembly passed and Governor Mike DeWine (R) signed the bill (SB 23) in 2019. The legislation, which prohibits aborting unborn children who have detectable heartbeats, could not take effect until this year after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion nationwide.

Ohio State Board of Education Considers Resolution Against Gender Ideology

September 21, 2022September 20, 2022 Bradley Vasoli

Ohio’s State Board of Education on Tuesday heard public comment on a proposed resolution treating biological sex as an “objective, scientific fact” and opposing school policies that seek to blur the lines on this subject.

Board member Brendan Shea (District 5) introduced the measure, which balks at regulations recently proposed by President Joe Biden. If finalized, the federal Department of Education rules would effectively force schools to call gender-dysphoric K-12 students by their preferred names and pronouns rather than their given names and biological pronouns. They would also require school athletic programs to assign children to teams based on avowed gender identity rather than physiological sex.

Left Compares Republicans to Nazis in Wake of Trump Ohio Appearance

September 20, 2022September 19, 2022 Bradley Vasoli

In the two days following former President Donald Trump’s appearance in Youngstown, Ohio on Saturday in support of Republican Senate candidate J.D. Vance, numerous high-profile leftist commentators suggested attendees gave Trump the Nazi salute when they pointed their index fingers outward in solidarity during his speech.

The gesture doesn’t very closely resemble the Sieg Heil gesture that German fascists made to signal adherence to Adolph Hitler in the 1930s and 40s, in which saluters held all their right-hand fingers side-by-side. Progressive pundits nonetheless exclaimed, with varied degrees of self-assurance, that Trump supporters were adverting to either Naziism or the conspiracy-trafficking QAnon movement or both.

In Ohio, Trump Says Vance, Other Republicans Will Rescue America from Democrats’ ‘Mayhem and Despair’

September 19, 2022September 18, 2022 Bradley Vasoli

Former President Donald Trump addressed a packed rally at the Covelli Centre in Youngstown this weekend, reprehending Joe Biden, Tim Ryan and other Democrats for economically crushing working Buckeye Staters with unrelenting inflation.

Trump further laid into the leftists who control Congress and the White House for advancing policies that exacerbate illegal immigration and impress anti-American civic and historical narratives upon K-12 students. He urged listeners to back Republican Senate candidate J.D. Vance as well as GOP U.S. House candidates to reverse these trends. He showed particular ehtusuasm for the reelection of U.S. Representative Jim Jordan, a Republican who represents the north-central and western Fourth District.

Candidate for Cuyahoga County Executive Backs Noncitizen Voting

September 15, 2022September 14, 2022 Bradley Vasoli

Chris Ronayne, the Democratic candidate for Cuyahoga County executive, said in a public forum this week that he would support Ohio’s municipalities allowing noncitizens to vote in local elections.

The former Cleveland city administrator and former president of University Circle, Inc., a community-development corporation, explained to attendees at the Global Cleveland panel discussion at Jukebox that he believed cities can use their home-rule powers to adopt that election policy.

Republican Ohio Lawmakers Unveil New Website for Regulatory Transparency

September 14, 2022September 13, 2022 Bradley Vasoli

Two Ohio Republican state lawmakers on Tuesday unveiled the new Cut Red Tape Ohio website, which they say will serve to make the state’s regulatory process more transparent.

The site, developed in consultation with business leaders and the legislature’s Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review (JCARR), came about via Senate Bill 9 which instructs state agencies to end three of every 10 state regulations over the next three years. State Senator Theresa Gavarone (R-Bowling Green) and state Representative Jamie Callender (R-Concord), respectively chair and vice chair of JCARR, announced the site’s arrival online.

Buckeye Institute Cautiously Lauds Ohio’s Credit Rating Rise, Warns Ongoing Discipline Will Be Crucial

September 13, 2022September 13, 2022 Bradley Vasoli

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine’s announcement last week that Fitch Ratings upgraded the state’s credit rating from AA+ to AAA elicited both praise and caution from the Columbus-based Buckeye Institute.

Greg Lawson, research fellow at the center-right think tank, called the budgetary management to which state officials ascribed Fitch’s decision on Ohio’s long-term issuer default rating (IDR) “a mixed bag.” (The state has also seen its general-obligation bond rating rise from AA+ to AAA, its appropriation-backed bonds move to AA+ from AA, the Ohio School District Credit Enhancement Program Rating go to AA+ from AA and the Ohio Department of Transportation’s Portsmouth Bypass project obligations rating move to A+ from AA-.)

Ohio Senate Candidate Ryan: ‘Kill and Confront’ GOP’s MAGA Wing

September 13, 2022September 14, 2022 Bradley Vasoli

On Tuesday, speaking to Joe Scarborough and his “Morning Joe” panel on MSNBC, Ohio Democratic Senate candidate Tim Ryan made a dramatic statement regarding how he wants to deal with members of the Republican Party he regards as “extremist.”

“We’ve got to kill and confront that movement,” Ryan said of a group he termed “the extremists that we’re dealing with every single day,” strongly implying he meant supporters of former President Donald Trump, or the “Make America Great Again” [MAGA] movement. The candidate, a who represents Ohio’s 13th District in the U.S. House of Representatives, faces attorney, author and venture capitalist J.D. Vance — an outspoken MAGA candidate — in the November election.

New Columbus Police Chief Announces Major Changes for Issuing Warrants

September 12, 2022September 11, 2022 Bradley Vasoli

Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant on Thursday issued a policy change regarding the serving of warrants during nighttime.

According to the chief’s message to sworn personnel, any pre-planned warrants to be served for misdemeanors or nonviolent felonies between the hours of 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. must have the prior authorization of an officer ranked as a lieutenant or higher. Bryant described as “pre-planned” any arrest warrant serving as the “sole reason” an officer travels to an address. She wrote that the new policy excepts SWAT teams and other tactical units.

Biden in Ohio: ‘Bury’ the ‘Rust Belt’

September 12, 2022September 11, 2022 Bradley Vasoli

Speaking on Friday at the groundbreaking of Intel’s new semiconductor factory in Licking County, Ohio, President Joe Biden said that “it’s time to bury the label ‘rust belt…’” when describing the region in which he stood.

The ‘rust belt’ is a term often used to denote an area extending from western New York through the midwest that saw heavy industrial activity from the late 19th century to the mid-20th century, particularly concerning steel production and automobile manufacturing. The region suffered significant economic decline by the late 20th century and many communities therein have struggled since.

Ohio GOP Chair Paduchik Holds Onto Job for Now

September 9, 2022September 9, 2022 Bradley Vasoli

Ohio Republican Party (ORP) Chairman Bob Paduchik will hold onto his job until at least January, the party having decided on Friday at their meeting in the Columbus suburbs to refrain from voting on its officers until next year.

The question of whether the ORP could legitimately defer its executive-board elections until its January gathering has been a controversial one. This week, the national law firm Thompson Hine issued a legal opinion stating that, because the Ohio Revised Code requires the “members-elect” of both parties’ state committees to vote on their officers, those elections had to take place on September 9. The assessment reasoned that because those elected in August to serve on the committee would be sworn in at the autumn meeting, none would remain members-elect in January.

Trump Endorses DeWine for Re-Election as Ohio Governor

September 9, 2022September 8, 2022 Bradley Vasoli

Former President Donald Trump this week endorsed Ohio Republican Governor Mike DeWine’s reelection bid against Democratic former Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley.

“… We have an outstanding person running, Mike DeWine, who quietly, but professionally and patriotically, goes about doing his job, and really well,” the former chief executive said in a statement. “Running alongside his very talented and loyal Lieutenant Governor, Jon Husted, Ohio has been in strong hands with the Economy ‘roaring,’ especially in the four years that I was President.”

New Legal Opinion Says Ohio GOP Must Proceed with Leadership Elections

September 9, 2022September 8, 2022 Bradley Vasoli

A new legal opinion from the national law firm Thompson Hine says Ohio Republican Party (ORP) chairman candidate Bryan Williams and his supporters are correct to insist that new leadership elections must take place at their organization’s meeting on Friday near Columbus.

Members of the ORP’s State Central Committee (SCC) will meet at the Nationwide Hotel and Conference Center in Lewis Center Friday morning for a party reorganization pursuant to the election of new members last month. A notice of the meeting, which members of the general public may attend, indicated, “Business will include swearing in all qualified members.”

Buckeye Institute Report Offers Solutions to Ohio Students’ Learning Loss

September 8, 2022September 7, 2022 Bradley Vasoli

Responding to major learning loss suffered by Ohio students as a result of the school closures following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Columbus-based Buckeye Institute recommended policy solutions this week to help students regain what the education system did not provide.

On March 30, 2020, Republican Governor Mike DeWine ordered all in-person K-12 schooling closed throughout the state for the remainder of that school year. Students instead participated in “virtual classrooms” wherein they would watch their teachers’ instructions online. During the 2020-21 school year, many school districts continued to keep school buildings closed at least part-time.

Trump to Hold Mid-September Ohio Rally with J.D. Vance

September 7, 2022September 6, 2022 Bradley Vasoli

Former President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday he will hold a rally with Republican Ohio Senate candidate J.D. Vance at the Covelli Centre at 229 East Front Street in Youngstown in the afternoon and evening of Saturday, September 17.

Trump’s arrival on behalf of Vance, who the ex-president strongly endorsed in the primary, comes as the candidate maintains a slight polling lead against Democratic opponent Tim Ryan, a congressman representing the Buckeye State’s 13th District. An August Emerson College survey showed Vance, an attorney, venture capitalist and author, with the support of 45 percent of Ohio voters while Ryan had the support of 42 percent. Another poll from the Trafalgar Group later that month showed the Republican with a four-point lead.

Ohio Senate Candidates Divided on Electric Vehicle Subsidies

September 7, 2022September 6, 2022 Bradley Vasoli

Electric vehicle (EV) creation is among the latest policy fissures to open up between Republican Ohio Senate candidate J.D. Vance and his Democratic opponent U.S. Representative Tim Ryan (D-OH-13).

Vance emphasizes the disadvantage many auto workers could suffer if EV manufacturing — less labor-intensive than traditional car making — expands.

Abortion Supporters Sue to Restore Full Access in Ohio

September 6, 2022September 6, 2022 Bradley Vasoli

Abortion provider Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Ohio filed litigation in the Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas on Friday to kill Senate Bill 23, the Ohio law banning abortion after the unborn child has a detectable heartbeat.

Lawmakers passed and Republican Governor Mike DeWine signed that statute in 2019, though it only took effect this year after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. Although the high court refused to uphold that ruling’s stipulation that the federal Constitution bestows right to terminate a pregnancy — while mentioning neither pregnancy nor abortion — the abortion advocates argue that the Ohio Constitution — also silent on abortion — still grants that right.

Abortion Supporters Sue to Restore Full Access in Ohio

September 6, 2022 Bradley Vasoli

Ahead of Forum Series, Renacci Sees Opportunities for Conservative Ascendancy in Ohio

September 5, 2022September 4, 2022 Bradley Vasoli

Former Ohio Republican Congressman Jim Renacci has a hopeful outlook for conservatism in the Buckeye-State, though he expects progress to require serious toil and soul-searching as well as new leadership.

Renacci, who represented the 16th U.S. House District southwest of Cleveland and now chairs American Greatness PAC, spoke with The Ohio Star recently about the forum series his organization is commencing on September 15 in the Akron area and about other upcoming milestones for Ohio’s center-right movement.

Ohio Senate Candidate Vance Denounces Biden’s Slight Against MAGA Republicans

September 3, 2022September 2, 2022 Bradley Vasoli

Ohio Republican Senate candidate J.D. Vance on Friday denounced President Joe Biden for an oration he gave at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, PA the night before in which the president castigated pro-Trump Republicans as a danger to democracy.

Vance, an attorney, venture capitalist and author, blasted the speech as disuniting and inflammatory. He said Biden should instead turn to problems of consequence to Americans including crime, inflation and the educational and social compromises children have endured as a result of COVID-19 countermeasures.

Former Ohio Congressman Renacci Rebukes White House for Calling MAGA Movement an ‘Extreme Threat to Our Democracy’

September 2, 2022September 1, 2022 Bradley Vasoli

Former U.S. Representative Jim Renacci (R-OH-16), who now chairs American Greatness PAC, on Thursday castigated the Biden administration for its recent attacks on pro-Trump Republicans as an “extreme threat” to American governance.

Renacci lamented the White House’s reprehension toward its political opponents and asserted that the only danger posed by the the MAGA [Make America Great Again] movement, was to the president’s own electoral prospects.

Ohio Democrats Release Records on DeWine Seeking Legal Advice on FirstEnergy

September 1, 2022August 31, 2022 Bradley Vasoli

On Wednesday, the Ohio Democratic Party (ODP) released new records pertaining to the FirstEnergy scandal, indicating that Governor Mike DeWine (R) frequently spoke with a “risk communications team” as well as attorneys including Ohio Attorney General David Yost (R) concerning the issue.

Jeff Crossman and Taylor Sappington, respectively Democratic candidates for Ohio attorney general and Ohio Auditor, are also publicizing these documents via their campaign websites to underscore what their party suggests is increasing evidence of culpability on DeWine’s part. (Crossman will face Yost in this November’s election; Sappington is running against incumbent Auditor Keith Faber.)

Ohio Supreme Court Rules for Gibson’s Bakery over Oberlin College

August 31, 2022August 30, 2022 Bradley Vasoli

Ohio’s Supreme Court on Tuesday sided with Gibson’s Bakery in its libel case against Oberlin College, declining to hear the school’s appeal and permitting the family-owned establishment to collect over $36 million in damages.

The litigation against Oberlin and Dean of Students Meredith Raimondo stemmed from uncorroborated accusations of racism that the Gibson family believes initially cost their store half its patronage. In June 2019, a Lorain County court ordered the school to pay the bakers $32 million. About $4.5 million in interest has accumulated since that ruling.