43
State Sen. Capri Cafaro talks legislation at Girard Multi-Generational Center
By Sarah Lehr
GIRARD
State Sen. Capri Cafaro of Liberty, D-32nd, told close to 20 people gathered at the Girard Multi-Generational Center she planned to go vote immediately after her presentation.
The senator, a Hubbard native, opened her Monday morning talk by stating she wasn’t there to push stances on any of the issues, though she did disclose her previously stated positions.
“I just don’t want to tell anyone how to vote,” she said.
Cafaro, who was formerly the Ohio Senate’s Minority Leader, offered a rundown of state Issues 1, 2 and 3. Issue 1’s bipartisan backers say the proposed state constitutional amendment will restrict gerrymandering.
Under the current system, a group of five legislators, who belong to whichever party controls state government, redraw districts every 10 years.
Issue 1, which Cafaro supports, would give the minority party more power by adding two more legislators to the redistricting panel. The panel will have to reconvene again after four years to redraw districts if the map doesn’t receive bipartisan support.
Issue 2, an anti-monopoly measure, would enable individuals appointed to Ohio’s Ballot Board to decide whether proposed initiatives would create a monopoly or otherwise financially benefit a select group of people.
Though groups such as ResponsibleOhio say Issue 3 wouldn’t create a marijuana monopoly, Issue 2 could derail Issue 3. Cafaro, however, urged voters to consider Issue 2 beyond the impact on marijuana legalization.
She has come out against Issue 2, warning that it could conceivably affect measures such as homestead tax exemptions, if the ballot board decides such a measure provides undue financial benefit to specific group.
Cafaro said she’s against Issue 3, which would legalize recreational and medicinal marijuana for those 21 and older in Ohio.
Among other concerns, she noted that the Mahoning Valley borders with Pennsylvania, and raised the possibility of law-enforcement complications such as an Ohio resident in possession of marijuana being arrested in another state.
Cafaro, who cannot run again after her term expires in December 2016, became animated when discussing the Youngstown Developmental Center, a residential facility for adults with disabilities in Austintown, which is slated to close in 2017 due to a line-item veto by Republican Gov. John Kasich.
“There’s no good reason for these facilities to close,” Cafaro said. “There’s no money issue. ... Don’t get me started. I’m a Democrat with a very good relationship with Governor Kasich. He knows how emotionally invested I am in this issue.”