Summary

Ohio is located in the Midwestern region of the USA with Columbus as its capital. Mike DeWine (R) is Governor.

The Ohio General Assembly has 33 Senate members and 99 House members.

OnAir Post: Ohio onAir

News

i
Latest Ohio onAir News

The base content in each post in this Ohio onAir Hub has been updated as of 12/20/23. In addition to the eight posts on the home page, in depth posts on each US House member and posts on Ohio government and elections have been started. These posts have been shared with the US onAir Hub and will updated in the US onAir automatically when they are updated in this hub.

If your university or nonpartisan organization (such as a government focused research center, citizen engagement program or a League of Women Voters chapter) is interested in assisting the US onAir network to help curate new  issue posts or other posts on this Hub and moderate the forums in each post, contact Ben Murphy at Ben.Murphy@onair.cc.

We are also supporting college students to start an onAir chapter on the their campus to coordinate the curation and moderation of posts especially on state and local representatives and government.

About

The Ohio onAir Hub is managed by students supporting Ohioans to become more informed about and engaged in local, state, and federal politics while facilitating more civil and positive discussions with their representatives, candidates, and fellow citizens.

  • Ohio onAir is one of 50 state governance and elections hubs that the US onAir Network is providing to help reinvigorate US democracy.  This post has short summaries of current state and federal representatives with links to their complete Hub posts.  Students curate post content from government, campaign, social media, and public websites.  Key content on the Ohio Hub is also replicated on the US onAir nations Hub at: us.onair.cc.
  • Ohio students will be forming onAir chapters in their colleges and universities to help curate Hub content.  As more students participate and more onAir chapters are started, we will expand to include more state and local content as well as increase the number of aircasts – student-led, livestreamed, online discussions with candidates, representatives, and the public.

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Web Links

State Representatives

Governor Mike DeWine

Mike DeWine 2Current Position: Governor since 2019
Affiliation: Republican
Former Positions: Attorney General from 2011 – 2019; US Senator from 1995 – 2007; US Representative from 1983 – 1991

Mike DeWine served as the 50th Attorney General of Ohio from 2011 to 2019, and in both houses of Congress: in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1983 to 1991 and in the U.S. Senate from 1995 to 2007. He is a member of the Republican Party.

At age 25, DeWine started working as an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney for Greene County, Ohio, and in 1976 was elected County Prosecutor, serving for four years.[11][12] In 1980 he was elected to the Ohio State Senate and served one two-year term.

OnAir Post: Mike DeWine – OH

US Representatives

Senator Sherrod Brown

Sherrod BrownCurrent Position: US Senator since 2006
Affiliation: Democrat
Former Positions: US Representative from 1993 – 2007; State Delegate from 1975 – 1982
Other Positions:  Chair, Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

Sherrod Brown taught at the Mansfield branch campus of the Ohio State University from 1979 to 1981.

Brown is the senior United States senator from Ohio, a seat which he has held since 2007. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the U.S. representative for Ohio’s 13th congressional district from 1993 to 2007 and the 47th secretary of state of Ohio from 1983 to 1991. He started his political career in 1975 as an Ohio state representative.

Featured Quote: 
When you get your Child Tax Credit payment, just remember: Every single Republican in Congress voted against it.

OnAir Post: Sherrod Brown – OH

Senator JD Vance

J.D. Vance 1Current Position: US Senator since 2023
Affiliation: Republican
Former Positions: Venture Capital since 2017; Author, Hillbilly Elegy

After working at a corporate law firm, Vance moved to San Francisco to work in the tech industry. He served as a principal at Peter Thiel’s venture capital firm, Mithril Capital.

n 2016, Harper published Vance’s book, Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis. It was on The New York Times Best Seller list in 2016 and 2017. In 2017, Vance joined Revolution LLC, an investment firm founded by AOL cofounder Steve Case, as an investment partner, where he was tasked with expanding the “Rise of the Rest” initiative, which focuses on growing investments in under-served regions outside the Silicon Valley and New York City tech bubbles.

In 2019, Vance co-founded Narya Capital in Cincinnati, with financial backing from Thiel, Eric Schmidt, and Marc Andreessen. In 2020, he raised $93 million for the firm.

OnAir Post: JD Vance – OH

Greg Landsman OH-01

Greg Landsman OH-01 1Current Position: US Representative of OH 1st District since 2023
Affiliation: Democrat
Former Position: Cincinnati City Council from 2018 to 2022
District:   city of Cincinnati, all of Warren County and borders the state of Kentucky.
Upcoming Election:

in 2004, Governor Ted Strickland appointed Landsman to be his director of faith-based and community initiatives in 2007. Landsman served as executive director for Strive until December 2015. He then led Preschool Promise, an initiative to make two years of preschool available to all three- and four-year-olds in Cincinnati.

OnAir Post: Greg Landsman OH-01

Brad Wenstrup OH-02

Brad Wenstrup 1Current Position: US Representative of OH 2nd District since 2012
Affiliation: Republican
Former Position: Physician, US Army Reserve from 1998 – 2013
District: Adams, Brown, Pike, Clermont, Highland, Clinton, Ross, Pickaway, Hocking, Vinton, Jackson, Gallia, Meigs, Lawrence, and Scioto counties, as well as parts of Fayette county.
Upcoming Election:

Wenstrup is a colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve[3] and an Iraq War veteran. After the shooting of Congressman Steve Scalise on June 14, 2017, Wenstrup attended to Scalise until he was transported to MedStar Washington Hospital Center. For his actions during the shooting, he was awarded the Soldier’s Medal.

Wenstrup practiced podiatric medicine in Cincinnati for more than 24 years before being elected to Congress.

Featured Quote: 
Inflation does matter. Long-term inflation makes it that much harder for working class families to get by. It also depreciates the value of Americans’ hard-earned retirement savings and makes every-day necessities harder to afford. We can’t spend our way out of this problem.

OnAir Post: Brad Wenstrup OH-02

Joyce Beatty OH-03

Ohio onAir 2Current Position: US Representative of OH 3rd District since 2013
Affiliation: Democrat
Former Position: State Delegate from 1999 – 2008
Other Positions:   Subcommittee on Diversity and Inclusion – Committee on Financial Services
District:  Franklin County and includes most of the city of Columbus.
Upcoming Election:

Beatty has been a national spokesperson for the American Heart Association. She served on the Columbus American Heart Association Board, Ohio Democratic Committee, Women’s Fund, NAACP, and Delta Sigma Theta sorority.

She was also previously the senior vice-president for outreach and engagement at Ohio State University.

Featured Quote: 
You can arrest me. You can’t stop me. You can’t silence m

 Rep. Joyce Beatty arrested during voting rights demonstration in Washington D.C

OnAir Post: Joyce Beatty OH-03

Jim Jordan OH-04

Jim Jordan 1Current Position: US Representative of OH 4th District since 2007
Affiliation: Republican
Former Positions: State Senator from 2001 – 2006; State Delegate from 1995 – 2000
Other Positions:  Chair, Committee on the Judiciary
District: was redrawn from the previous district to stretch from Lima, to include the northwestern suburbs of Columbus, up to Tiffin and Elyria on the shores of Lake Erie
Upcoming Election:

Jordan is a two-time NCAA national champion wrestler and a former college wrestling coach. In Congress, Jordan helped start the right-wing populist House Freedom Caucus, serving as its first chair from 2015 to 2017, and as its vice chair since 2017. Jordan was a prominent critic of Speaker of the House John Boehner, who resigned under Freedom Caucus pressure in 2015.

He was the ranking member of the House Oversight Committee from 2019 to 2020, when he left to become the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, of which he became chair in 2023.

OnAir Post: Jim Jordan OH-04

Bob Latta OH-05

Current Position: US Representative of OH 5th District since 2007
Affiliation: Republican
Former Positions: State Delegate from 2001 – 2007; Wood County Board of County Commissioners from 1991 – 1997
Other Positions:  Subcommittee on Communications and Technology – Committee on Energy and Commerce
District: northwestern and north central Ohio and borders Indiana.
Upcoming Election:

Bob Latta’s father, Del Latta, represented the 5th from 1959 to 1989 and served as ranking Republican on the House Budget Committee from 1975 to his retirement. Latta worked as a private practice attorney before entering politics.

Featured Quote: 
Congratulations to Karley Stant, a junior at Miller City-New Cleveland High School, for winning the #OH5 2021 Congressional Art Competition! “Neon Lights” will be displayed in the U.S. Capitol Tunnel for 1 year. Karley used colored pencils to create her impressive artwork.

OnAir Post: Bob Latta OH-05

Bill Johnson OH-06

Current Position: US Representative of OH 6th District since 2011
Affiliation: Republican
Former Position: Air Force CIO and IT executive from 1973 – 2011
District:  Eastern side of the state, bordering West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. It stretches from Marietta through several Ohio River industrial towns all the way to the city of Youngstown.
Upcoming Election:

Bill Johnson retired as a Lieutenant Colonel after a military career of more than 26 years.  During his tenure in the U.S. Air Force, Johnson was recognized as a Distinguished Graduate from the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps, Squadron Officers School, and Air Command & Staff College.

He co-founded Johnson-Schley Management Group, an information technology (IT) consulting company that increased revenues by more than 200% in three years under his leadership. In 2003, he left the company to form J2 Business Solutions, where he provided executive-level IT support as a defense contractor to the U.S. military. From 2006 to 2010, he served as chief information officer of a global manufacturer of electronic components for the transportation industry.

Featured Quote: 
Radical environmentalists and the far-left have forced New Englanders to rely on foreign natural gas instead of natural gas produced in America. What’s wrong with American energy companies producing and supplying Americans with the natural gas we need?

OnAir Post: Bill Johnson OH-06

Max Miller OH-07

Current Position: US Representative of OH 7th District since 2023
Affiliation: Republican
Former Position: Former aide to Donald Trump from 2016 to 2020
District:  northeastern section of the state, including southern and western Cuyahoga County, all of Medina and Wayne Counties, and a sliver of northern Holmes County.
Upcoming Election:

Miller is the grandson of Samuel H. Miller, the former co-chair emeritus of Forest City Realty Trust. His grandmother, Ruth Miller, was a candidate for Ohio’s 22nd congressional district in 1980. His uncle is Aaron David Miller, a scholar of Middle East studies.

Miller worked at a Lululemon store in Ohio before joining the Marine Reserve in 2013. He was a corporal and made no deployments. In 2019, he was transferred from the Selected Marine Corps Reserve to the Individual Ready Reserve.

OnAir Post: Max Miller OH-07

Warren Davidson OH-08

Current Position: US Senator of OH 8th District since 2016
Affiliation: Republican
Former Position: US Army officer from 1988 – 2016
District:   west side of Ohio, bordering Indiana. The cities of Hamilton, Fairfield, Middletown, Springfield, Eaton, Greenville, Piqua, and Troy are part of the district.
Upcoming Election:

Before entering politics, he was an officer in United States Army special operations and led his family’s manufacturing business. Davidson served as chairman of the Dayton Region Manufacturers Association, an industry trade group. From 2004 to 2005, he served on the Concord Township, Ohio, Board of Trustees.

Featured Quote: 
I am Warren Davidson. I love this country with a soldier’s passion. It is an honor to continue representing #OH08 in Congress. Thank you!

OnAir Post: Warren Davidson OH-08

Marcy Kaptur OH-09

Current Position: US Representative of OH 9th District since 1983
Affiliation: Democrat
Other Positions:  Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development – House Appropriations
District:   northwestern part of the state, bordering Michigan, Indiana, and Ontario, Canada (via Lake Erie), and includes all of Defiance, Williams, Fulton, Lucas, Ottawa, Sandusky, and Erie counties, and a portion of northern Wood County.
Upcoming Election:

Kaptur is the longest-serving woman in congressional history.

She did doctoral studies in urban planning development finance at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1981. Kaptur served on the Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions from 1969 to 1975. She was director of planning for the National Center for Urban Ethnic Affairs (1975–1977), founded by Geno Baroni. She later served as a domestic policy advisor during President Jimmy Carter’s administration.

OnAir Post: Marcy Kaptur OH-09

Mike Turner OH-10

Current Position: US Representative of OH 10th District since 2003
Affiliation: Republican
Former Positions: President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly from 2014 – 2016; US Senator; Mayor of Dayton from 1994 – 2002
District:  southwestern Ohio and consists of Montgomery County, Greene County, and a portion of Clark County.
Upcoming Election:

He practiced law with local firms and businesses in the Dayton area before entering politics. He also practiced law during the brief time between his service as mayor of Dayton and as a member of Congress.

Turner served as the president of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly[1] from 2014 to 2016.

Featured Quote: 
Ranking Members @RepMikeRogersAL& @JimInhofe released the following statement after receiving a letter from the Nuclear Weapons Council outlining their concerns with President Biden’s budget request for the National Nuclear Security Administration.

OnAir Post: Mike Turner OH-10

Shontel Brown OH-11

Shontel Brown OH-11 1Current Position: US Representative of OH 11th District since 2008
Affiliation: Democrat
Former Position:  Cuyahoga County Council from 2015 to 2021
District:  portions of Cuyahoga County in the Northeast part of the state—including all of Cleveland
Upcoming Election:

Shontel Brown won her congressional seat in a special election on November 2, 2021, after Marcia Fudge resigned to become Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.

Brown founded Diversified Digital Solutions, a marketing support company. She was elected to the Warrensville Heights City Council in 2011, where she held office for three years.

OnAir Post: Shontel Brown OH-11

Troy Balderson OH-12

Troy Balderson OH-12Current Position: US Representative of OH 12th District since 2018
Affiliation: Republican
Former Positions: State Senator; State Delegate from 2011 – 2018
District: includes communities east of Columbus including Zanesville, Cambridge, and Mount Vernon.
Upcoming Election:

Balderson started working for his family’s car business, Balderson Motor Sales, as a mechanic while a college student. He was vice president and general manager of the company from 1987 to 2008,[4] the third generation of his family to run the business.

Featured Quote: 
The Administration’s decision to turn a blind eye to the crisis at our southern border: – jeopardizes our national security, – worsens the flow of drugs into our communities, – endangers desperate individuals who rely on cartels to make the dangerous trek #BorderCrisis

OnAir Post: Troy Balderson OH-12

Emilia Sykes OH-13

Emilia Sykes OH-13 1Current Position: US Representative of OH 13th District since 2023
Affiliation: Democrat
Former Position:  Ohio House of Representatives 34th district from 2015 to 2022 & Minority Leader from 2019 to 2021
District:  portions of the Akron area.
Upcoming Election:

Sykes grew up in the Akron area and is the daughter of state senator Vernon Sykes and former state representative Barbara Sykes, who successively held the same seat from 1982 to 2014. Between Vernon, Barbara, and Emilia, the Sykes family held the seat for 40 years.

Sykes has served as an administrative adviser in the Summit County fiscal office.[

OnAir Post: Emilia Sykes OH-13

David Joyce OH-14

David Joyce OH-14Current Position: US Representative of OH 14th District since 2013
Affiliation: Republican
Former Position: Prosecutor of Geauga County from 1988 – 2013
Other Positions:   Subcommittee on Interior, Environment and Related Agencies – House Appropriations Committee
District:   far northeast corner of the state, bordering Lake Erie and Pennsylvania
Upcoming Election:

From 1983 to 1984, Joyce was a public defender for Cuyahoga County, and from 1985 to 1988 a public defender for Geauga County. In 1989, he was hired as an assistant county attorney in Lake County. He assisted County Prosecutor Steven C. LaTourette in prosecuting serial murderer and cult leader Jeffrey Lundgren for the Kirtland cult killings.

Featured Quote: 
The surge of anti-Semitic violence, harassment and rhetoric targeting Jewish Americans makes me sick. Simply condemning anti-Semitism is not enough. We must work together as a nation to prevent this hatred from ever taking root in the first place.

OnAir Post: David Joyce OH-14

Mike Carey OH-15

Mike Carey OH-15 1Current Position: US House of Representatives for District 15 since 2021
Affiliation: Republican
Former Position: Coal lobbyist
District:   parts of Clark, Fayette, Franklin, Miami, and Shelby counties as well as all of Madison County.
Upcoming Election:

Carey served in the Army National Guard from 1989 to 1999. As a college student, he worked as an aide to State Senator Merle G. Kearns. He has since worked as vice president of government affairs for American Consolidated Natural Resources, a coal company. He is also chairman of the board of the Ohio Coal Association.

OnAir Post: Mike Carey OH-15

More Information

Wikipedia


The government of the U.S. state of Ohio consists of the executive,[1] judicial,[2] and legislative[3] branches. Its basic structure is set forth in the Constitution and law of Ohio.

Executive branch

The daily administration of the state’s laws are carried out by six elected statewide officials; the chief executive the Governor, and their second in command the Lieutenant Governor, the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, the State Treasurer, the State Auditor, and by the staff and employees of the executive branch agencies.

All are elected statewide for four-year terms, all on a partisan ballot, with the Governor and Lieutenant Governor elected on a single ticket.

Departments

The state government is primarily organized into several cabinet or administrative departments:[4][5]

Notices and proposed rules are published in the Register of Ohio,[6] which are codified in the Ohio Administrative Code (OAC).[7][8]

Legislative branch

The House of Representatives Chamber of the Ohio Statehouse

The legislative branch, the Ohio General Assembly, is made up of two houses: the Senate and the House of Representatives. The House of Representatives is composed of 99 members elected from single-member districts of equal population. Each of the 33 senate districts is formed by combining three house districts. Senators serve four-year staggered terms and representatives serve two-year terms. The General Assembly, with the approval of the Governor, draws the U.S. congressional district lines for Ohio’s 16 seats in the United States House of Representatives. The Ohio Apportionment Board draws state legislative district lines in Ohio.

In order to be enacted into law, a bill must be adopted by both houses of the General Assembly and signed by the Governor. If the Governor vetoes a bill, the General Assembly can override the veto with a three-fifths supermajority of both houses. A bill will also become a law if the Governor fails to sign or veto it within 10 days of its being presented. The session laws are published in the official Laws of Ohio.[9] These in turn have been codified in the Ohio Revised Code.[10]

Judicial branch

The judicial branch is headed by the Ohio Supreme Court, which has one chief justice and six associate justices, each elected to staggered six-year terms.

The Ohio Supreme Court building in Columbus

There are several other levels of elected judiciary in the Ohio court system:

  • State court of claims, which has jurisdiction over all civil actions against the State of Ohio in situations in which the state has waived its sovereign immunity.
  • State courts of appeal (12 district appeals courts): These are the intermediate appellate courts.
  • County courts of common pleas: 88 county common pleas courts – These are the principal courts of first instance for civil and criminal matters. In populous areas, there are often several divisions, such as general, juvenile, probate, and domestic relations.
  • Municipal courts and county courts – these courts primarily handle minor matters, such as traffic adjudication and other misdemeanor and small claims.

Judges in Ohio are generally elected, except for the Court of Claims, for which judges sit by assignment of the chief justice. When there are temporary vacancies in elected judgeships, those vacancies are also filled by assignment by the chief justice.

Local government

Columbus City Hall

There are also several levels of local government in Ohio: counties, municipalities (cities and villages), townships, special districts and school districts.

Ohio is divided into 88 counties.[11] Ohio law defines a structure for county government, although they may adopt charters for home rule.[12][13] Summit County[12] and Cuyahoga County[14] have chosen an alternate form of government. The other counties have a government with a three-member board of county commissioners,[15] a sheriff,[16] coroner,[17] auditor,[18] treasurer,[19] clerk of the court of common pleas[20] prosecutor,[21] engineer,[22] and recorder.[23]

There are two kinds of incorporated municipalities, 251 cities and 681 villages.[12][24][25] If a municipality has five thousand or more residents as of the last United States Census it is a city, otherwise it is a village.[12][26] Municipalities have full home rule powers, may adopt a charter, ordinances and resolutions for self-government.[27] Each municipality chooses its own form of government, but most have elected mayors and city councils or city commissions. City governments provide much more extensive services than county governments, such as police forces and paid (as opposed to volunteer) fire departments.

Cleveland City Hall

The entire area of the state is encompassed by townships.[12] When the boundaries of a township are coterminous with the boundaries of a city or village, the township ceases to exist as a separate government (called a paper township).[12] Townships are governed by a three-member board of township trustees.[12] Townships may have limited home rule powers.[28]

There are more than 600 city, local, and exempted village school districts providing K-12 education in Ohio, as well as about four dozen joint vocation school districts which are separate from the K-12 districts. Each city school district, local school district, or exempted village school district is governed by an elected board of education.[12] A school district previously under state supervision (municipal school district) may be governed by a board whose members either are elected or appointed by the mayor of the municipality containing the greatest portion of the district’s area.[12]

See also

References

  1. ^ Constitution of Ohio, Part 3, Section 1
  2. ^ Constitution of Ohio, Part 4, Section 1
  3. ^ Constitution of Ohio, Part 2, Section 1
  4. ^ Gargan, John J. (1994). “The Ohio Executive Branch”. In Sharkey, Mary Anne (ed.). Ohio Politics. Kent State University Press. pp. 263–264. ISBN 0-87338-509-8. LCCN 94-7637.
  5. ^ Ohio Revised Code § 121.01 et seq. Ohio Revised Code § 5703.01 et seq. Ohio Revised Code § 3301.13.
  6. ^ Smith, Lori L.; Barkley, Daniel C.; Cornwall, Daniel C.; Johnson, Eric W.; Malcomb, J. Louise (2003). Tapping State Government Information Sources. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 306. ISBN 1-57356-387-0. LCCN 2002044846.
  7. ^ Putnam, Melanie K.; Schaefgen, Susan M. (1997). Ohio Legal Research Guide. Wm. S. Hein Publishing. p. 198. ISBN 1-57588-087-3. LCCN 96-16186.
  8. ^ “Ohio Legal Research” (PDF). Supreme Court of Ohio. Retrieved 30 August 2013.
  9. ^ Putnam & Schaefgen 1997, pp. 31–32.
  10. ^ Putnam & Schaefgen 1997, pp. 65–66.
  11. ^ Individual State Descriptions: 2007 (PDF), 2007 Census of Governments, United States Census Bureau, November 2012, p. 235
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h i Census 2007, p. 235.
  13. ^ Putnam & Schaefgen 1997, pp. 106–114.
  14. ^ “Charter” (PDF). council.cuyahogacounty.us. 2018. Retrieved 2019-07-17.
  15. ^ Ohio Revised Code § 305.01 et seq.
  16. ^ Ohio Revised Code § 311.01
  17. ^ Ohio Revised Code § 313.01
  18. ^ Ohio Revised Code § 319.01
  19. ^ Ohio Revised Code § 321.01
  20. ^ Ohio Revised Code § 2303.01
  21. ^ Ohio Revised Code § 309.01
  22. ^ Ohio Revised Code § 315.01
  23. ^ Ohio Revised Code § 317.01
  24. ^ Ohio Secretary of State. The Ohio Municipal, Township and School Board Roster.
  25. ^ Bureau, U. S. Census. “American FactFinder – Results”. factfinder.census.gov. Archived from the original on 2017-12-03. Retrieved 2019-07-17. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  26. ^ “Ohio Revised Code Section 703.01(A)”. Retrieved 2007-09-12.
  27. ^ Putnam & Schaefgen 1997, pp. 106–114.
  28. ^ Putnam & Schaefgen 1997, pp. 110–111.