COMMENTS FROM

COMMENTS FROM

STATE CENTRAL COMMITTEE MEETING

JUNE 24, 2011

SB 5

Ohio will be watched across the US as SB 5 & the Ohio health care bill will be on the ballot.Vaughn Flasher has been appointed by the Governor to Chair the committee “Building a Better Ohio.”   This committee responsibility will focus on giving Ohioans a true snapshot of Senate Bill 5.

The unions have received 1,000,000 signatures to put SB 5 on the November ballot.  Polling indicates that SB5 could remain if a strong campaign is mobilized by the Republican Party. 

There are approximately 8 million registered voters with the Democrats having a slight voter advantage.  The unions will raise $25 to $30 million dollars to defeat SB5.

  Ohio Health Care Bill (Obama Health Care) was not on the agenda but it was stated that if there were sufficient signatures this will have an additional impact on which voters will be at the polls.  On July 9,  over 500,000 signatures were collected & brought to Columbus.   

      Judge Judy French, 10^th District Court of Appeals Presiding Judge and Judge Sharon Kennedy, Butler County Domestic Relation Court were introduced.  Both judges are campaigning to be on the ballot at the 2012 primary as they would like to unseat Supreme Court Judge Brown who was appointed by former Governor Strickland to fill the vacancy of Judge Maureen O’Connor when she elected as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

The 2012 primary will be held May 8, 2012.  Ohio is losing 2 Congressional seats (dropping from 18 to 16 Congressional districts).  New district lines for Congressional, State Senate & House districts will be drawn.  The new district lines will be completed by October 2011. 

Republican National Convention will be held August 27 - 30 in Tampa, Florida