Ohio election battle is fierce

By Jim Siegel

Columbus Dispatch

COLUMBUS

For the second consecutive election, the battle over control of the Ohio House is fierce and will determine how the state deals with a looming $8 billion budget shortfall and how congressional districts are drawn for the next 10 years.

Democrats picked up a net seven seats in 2008, giving them control of the House for the first time since 1994. Now, with a shifting political tide, Republicans want it back, and they need to net a four-seat gain to do it.

“We’re going to work with, hopefully, future Gov. John Kasich to look at state government and decide what are things that we’re spending money on that we shouldn’t be,” said Rep. Matt Huffman of Lima, chairman of the House Republicans’ campaign effort.

But House Speaker Armond Budish, D-Beachwood, said history shows that a government with Democrats in charge has had much slower budget growth than those when Republicans were in control.

With a 53-46 majority, Democrats did some things differently, such as creating new committees that focused on consumer affairs and urban revitalization. The number of session days and bills passed into law were well below recent years (partially because of the GOP-controlled Senate).

House Democrats passed a number of bills that were opposed by at least two-thirds of Republicans. Among them:

House Bill 4, creating a six-month moratorium on foreclosures, a $750 foreclosure-filing fee to fund foreclosure-prevention efforts and new licensing standards for loan servicers.

House Bills 8 and 81, mandating that health-insurance plans cover autism and diabetes.

House Bill 318, delaying a 4.2 percent income-tax cut to fill an $800 million budget hole.

House Bill 486, reducing fees charged by payday lenders.

If Democrats keep control, “The No. 1 fear is you’re going to see the same kind of gridlock and inability to get anything done that you’ve seen in the last year and a half,” Huffman said. If Republicans win, some fear deep cuts for parks, libraries, universities and education institutions around the state.’

The Ohio Senate is almost certain to remain strongly in Republican hands.

The victorious party also will play a major role in drawing congressional districts next year. Ohio is expected to lose two seats — and whether those will be split one for each party, or if both are Democratic seats could largely be decided by who takes the Ohio House and the governor’s office.