POLITICS Reappointment of Verich to SERB opposed by some

The former Trumbull legislator is up for another six-year appointment.
COLUMBUS -- Some Senate Democrats are fighting the proposed reappointment of Democrat Michael G. Verich to the State Employment Relations Board because of Verich's endorsement of President Bush for re-election.
"I oppose his appointment," state Sen. Robert F. Hagan, a Youngstown Democrat, said of Verich.
"I think he has abandoned the principles of the Democratic Party."
To be discussed
Verich's proposed appointment by Republican Gov. Bob Taft to another six-year term on the three-member board comes up for discussion today before the Senate Insurance, Commerce and Labor Committee, committee officials say.
A vote by the full Senate is needed for confirmation, state officials said.
Some Democrats plan to raise questions surrounding Verich's proposed appointment and possibly move to block it. But with Democrats deep in the minority, it wasn't clear if they could be successful.
"If Verich decided he was going to change parties, I would have more respect for him," Hagan said.
Senate Minority Leader Gregory L. DiDonato, a Dennison Democrat, said: "There are many that feel that [Verich] is not representing the Democratic interest." "This is a Democratic appointment," DiDonato said.
Consider concerns?
DiDonato said he hoped majority Republicans, who control the chamber 22 to 11, would consider the Democratic party's concerns when considering this appointment as the Legislature moves into a new two-year session next month faced with challenges that might need bipartisan support.
"It's going to be a tough next year with the budget," DiDonato said
referring to the new two-year multi-million state budget that must be adopted by July 1.
Verich couldn't be reached for comment Monday. Directory assistance in Warren said Verich's number was nonpublished.
SERB, made up of two Republican appointees and a Democratic one, has administered Ohio's public employees' collective bargaining act since 1984.
Verich, a former Democratic state representative from Trumbull County, was originally appointed to SERB by Gov. George V. Voinovich in 1998.