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Dem caucus re-elects Cafaro as leader
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State Sen. Capri Cafaro (D-Liberty)
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Jason Wilson
COLUMBUS
The Ohio Senate Democratic Caucus has re-elected state Sen. Capri Cafaro as its leader.
The caucus consists of the 10 Democrats who will serve in the state Senate, effective January.
The caucus met Wednesday to unanimously elect their four leadership positions.
None of the Democrats vying for leadership spots faced challengers, said Mike Rowe, the caucus spokesman.
Cafaro of Liberty, D-32nd, was re-elected as Senate minority leader, the top position for Democratic senators.
“I am honored that my colleagues have chosen me to serve another term as the leader of the Senate Democratic Caucus,” Cafaro said in a prepared statement. “Our state faces many challenges, and I want to make sure all Ohioans have their voices heard in the next General Assembly.”
Though state Sen. Jason Wilson of Columbiana, D-30th, said Tuesday that he was noncommittal about seeking re-election to assistant minority whip, he was elected to the No. 4 position a day later.
“I look forward to working with our leadership team in the 129th General Assembly,” Wilson said in a prepared statement. “We have a lot of work ahead of us.”
Cafaro and Wilson were first elected to their leadership positions on Nov. 12, 2008.
Democrats lost two seats in the Senate during last week’s election, and will hold only 10 of the legislative body’s 33 spots when the new session begins in January.
That is the lowest number of Democrats in the Senate since 1967, when there were also 10.
On Wednesday, the caucus re-elected state Sen. Shirley Smith of Cleveland, D-21st, as assistant minority leader, the number two position.
Also, state Sen.-elect Edna Brown of Toledo, D-11th, was elected minority whip, the No. 3 position for Democratic senators. Brown is finishing her ninth year in the Ohio House.