House GOP would rather play politics than help Ohioans

As I mentioned in the comments, this morning, at a Subodh Chandra event in Columbus, I saw Marian Harris, who was a leader in both Dean for America and the later Democracy for America-Central Ohio. She told me that a letter to the editor she had written had been published today in The Columbus Dispatch. Here it is...

House GOP would rather play politics than help Ohioans
Saturday, April 08, 2006

The budget-correction bill recently signed by the governor once again demonstrates that party politics dominate our state government. While House Bill 530 accomplishes a great deal, floor amendments were introduced in the Ohio House to address the critical needs of our residents. Those amendments were routinely tabled by the Republican majority.

And that means there's nothing correct about this budget-correction legislation.

This bill, as passed by the House, ignores the least among us, those for whom each House member promises to advocate and represent: widows, the elderly and the infirm.

For example, Rep. Peter Ujvagi, DToledo, offered an amendment to create the War Widows and Orphans Scholarship Fund to ensure that a college education is available to the spouses and children of servicemen and women killed in the war on terrorism. Ujvagi has offered this proposal on other occasions, and each time his Republican colleagues have tabled it.

The fund would provide some small compensation and a great measure of security to the families of those Ohio troops who make the supreme sacrifice to protect our country. But most Republicans voted to block the scholarship amendment not just once, but twice.

Similarly, Rep. Dan Stewart, D-Columbus, proposed an amendment to ensure the viability of the Home Energy Assistance Program, which helps elderly and poor Ohioans with their home heating costs. And likewise, that amendment was tabled by the Republican majority, signaling yet again the majority's lack of regard for the needs of certain Ohioans.

House Bill 530 did nothing to address school-funding issues. Our schools face budgetary crises and every child in Ohio will suffer, as do seniors on fixed incomes who see their property taxes increase on a regular basis. Nor did the bill repeal the secretive commercial-activity tax that allows state government to tax every link in the food-production chain, which results in higher costs passed on to consumers each week at the grocery store.

We endow our elected officials with the power to make decisions on our behalf, to represent fully and fairly the interests of everyone in Ohio. I am disappointed to learn that partisan politics appears to be more important than the public trust.

To my knowledge, every amendment offered by a Democrat in the current session of the House was tabled. There is no bipartisan concern about what is best for Ohioans, and I'm ashamed to say that my representative's role in the Republican leadership is to move to table any Democratic amendment that comes before the House.

We need legislators who can work together for the common good, who care about the least among us and who can put politics aside to accomplish good things for the people of this state.

MARIAN HARRIS
Candidate
19th Ohio House District
Columbus

Here's a link to Marian's campaign web site, for anyone who would like to help out:
http://www.marianforohio.com

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