COLUMBUS, Ohio - In what could be a rare display this year of bi-partisanship related a politically charged issue that will have direct consequences over which major political party wields power in the legislature in Columbus, some Republican House reps broke party ranks last week to vote for a Democratic bill on apportioning the state for General Assembly districts, a bill some said they didn't like but would nonetheless support, all because they hope a political logjam can be broken that could lead to a brokered deal with a Senate bill on the same subject they say Ohioans want because it will elections fairer and more transparent.
The measure in question, HJR 15, sponsored by Democrats Tom Letson of Warren and Jennifer Garrison of Marietta, passed 69-28 with the help of 17 Republicans, some of whom expressed their strong concerns in comments made from the floor.
Letson said the measure would take the politics out of the reapportionment process, that has given the political party that controls the three key seats on the state apportionment board - governor, auditor, and secretary of state - the opportunity to draw district lines to favor their party. He said HJR 15 would make districts competitive and "unarguably fairer for citizens, who would be reassured that their officials will represent them." With support from newspapers to citizen interest groups like Ohio Citizen Action and the Ohio League of Women Voters, Letson said the transparency and public competition built into the measure will help elections be better.
Jay Hottinger (R-Newark), a former two-term senator now serving in the House, said he was voting for the bill despite it being far from perfect, but that his vote should not be considered an endorsement of everything in it. "It needs work," he said, adding that reform "has been at an impasse in the Ohio statehouse for a very long time." One of the 17 Republicans who broke ranks with his party, Hottinger said, "Ohioans want and Ohioans need reform in how their legislative districts are drawn; they no longer want a system where elected official are choosing their voters, as opposed to one where voters choose their elected officials."
He emphasized that Senate Joint Resolution 5, a similarly focused measure sponsored by State Send. Jon Husted (R-Kettering) that was passed by the Senate in September of last year, hasn't not found traction in the House. "My vote is a recognition that bipartisan reform can't be Republican or Democratic reform," he said, adding that it passing the measure would "keep hope alive of 'bi' partisan legislation for another day." But confessing he had reservations and "total disdain for some language in this resolution," Hottinger said, "I stand and ask in bipartisan fashion that we support this resolution today."
Republicans tried without success to replace the Ohio redistricting commission with the Ohio Supreme Court. Jarrod Martin (R-Greene) and Minority Leader Bill Batchelder (R-Medina) offered amendments to do just that, arguing the bill undermines the Ohio Constitution and Article IV which creates the supreme court and an independent judiciary. If the supreme court's jurisdiction can be eliminated this time, they said it could be eliminated in other areas someday too.
Letson countered, saying courts are elected bodies, and that black robes cover up political stripes. The redistricting commission or tribunal "gives us non-partisan oversight because they won't be standing for election" he said.
Robert Mecklenborg (R-Hamilton Co) said the addition of the redistricting tribunal shows a "distrust for the supreme court" and that the reliance on computer generated models will lead to a process he said will be, "hey, I'll take what's behind door number 3, because we sure don't know."
Shortly after the Ohio House passed HJR 15, Sen. Husted, the sponsor of Senate Joint Resolution 5, a redistricting reform measure that passed the Ohio Senate in September of last year, issued the following statement:
"As someone who has been fighting for redistricting reform for six years, today is a big day for reform in Ohio. I would like to commend the Republican and Democrat members of the House who voted to change the system that has for too long put the interests of the politically-powerful ahead of the rights of voters. I recognize that there are still many points of disagreement on how to best reform the system, but this is an important step in the process. I will work over the weekend to identify the changes necessary to build support in the Senate for passage in the coming days. This reform has momentum and we must act now."
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