Did the Ohio Speaker of the House abuse his Power in Removing Legislators for Purely Political Reasons?
Are Ohio's Laws "rules for thee but not for me?" Clearly what Speaker Jason Stephens did in removing the Chairs of Committee would have been illegal in the private sector and a felony.
Did Speaker Jason Stephen’s break the law? Well let’s lay out the facts and let you decide.
Stephens removed six chairs from committees in the Ohio House of Representatives for purely reasons of self interest - he got his panties in a knot. You see, Stephens is trying to ensure that he has at least 22 self absorbed power hungry Republican Representatives that will vote with all 32 Ohio Democrats to re-elect Stephens as Speaker of the House. These six members earn the wrath of Boss Hog because they spent their semolians on competitors of incumbent that are not likely to support Stephens - leaving Daisy Duke to wonder if he has no shame? The six members he removed were:
State Rep. Rodney Creech of Preble County as chair and a member of the House Agriculture Committee
State Rep. Phil Plummer of Dayton as chair and a member of the House Constitutional Resolutions Committee
State Rep. Darrell Kick of Loudonville as chair and a member of the House Energy and Natural Resources Committee
State Rep. Adam Bird of Clermont County as chair and a member of the House Primary and Secondary Education Committee
State Rep. Scott Lipps of Franklin as chair and a member of the House Public Health Policy Committee
State Rep. Marilyn John of Richland County as chair and a member of the House State and Local Government Committee
To make the case that Ohio Revised Codes 3599.04 and 3599.05 should prevent the Ohio Speaker of the House from removing any member as committee chair for supporting a candidate other than his chosen ones, let’s roll up our sleeves and dig into the gritty details.
First off, let’s get a handle on what these statutes are really about:
ORC 3599.04 is all about keeping the political playground fair. It says you can’t scare or trick voters into voting a certain way or punish them if they don’t.
ORC 3599.05 takes a swing at bosses. It’s there to stop employers from dangling the job axe over their employees' heads to sway their political choices.
Now, the Ohio Speaker of the House—let’s think of him as the foreman of the state’s legislative crew—has the hefty job of assigning roles like who gets to be the chair of which committee. It’s powerful stuff because these positions come with a lot of clout.
But here’s where the rubber meets the road: if these chair removals were purely because these folks backed the wrong political horse, then you could argue it smells a bit like what ORC 3599.04 and 3599.05 were meant to stop—using power to push people around politically.
Why These Laws Might Stretch to Cover the Speaker’s Actions:
Power Dynamics: Just like a boss in a factory might not be able to fire a worker for who they vote for, maybe a Speaker shouldn’t be able to strip a legislator of duties for their political leanings. It’s about keeping things square and above board. Seems like common sense to regular folks.
Freedom to Choose: These statutes are like the hard hats of political work—they’re there to keep folks safe from being muscled out if they don’t fall in line. And that should count in the statehouse to….shouldn’t it?
A plain reading of 3599.05 shows:
The employer of our elected House Reps is the State of Ohio - the State of Ohio is on your Representative’s check. The Speaker of the Ohio House is the presiding officer of the Ohio House of Representatives and makes the decision if members are paid to be a chairman of a committee or not. He can appoint and remove them (or hire and fire them.) Sounds like a boss to me! So let’s re-read this law with what we know - No employer (the State of Ohio) or his agent (the presiding officer of the Ohio House of Representatives, Speaker of the House Stephens) that if any particular candidate is defeated (the Blue 22) threats expressed or implied, intended to influence the political opinions or votes of his or its employees (the Chairs of the committees he removed).
Previous to their removal (the six chair of the committees) there were many articles in the news that pointed out the Speaker’s threats:
A plain reading of 3599.04 shows:
No person (The Ohio Speaker of the House is a person) shall, directly or indirectly (The Speaker threatened those that did not support incumbents and acted on those threats)….any valuable consideration (the $9,000 per year stipend) in the…..defeat of any candidate
Why is this important? We only have to look no further than - ORC 3599.40:
To me - and I am a plain kinda guy - it appears the speaker has broken the law for 3599.04 and 3599.05 for six members of the Ohio House - if my math is correct that is 12 Counts of corrupt practices and that would be more than enough for a fourth degree felony. A fourth degree felony would mean removal from office and no chance for the Speaker to be re-elected Speaker.
The Flip Side—Why It’s Not So Simple:
Attorney’s seem to be split on this novel approach to remove Stephens and we get that attorney speak that just doesn’t ring true to me.
Different Kind of Job: Being a lawmaker isn’t your typical 9-to-5. These guys are chosen by voters, not hired by the Speaker. So, the usual rules about bosses and employees do not fit perfectly.
It’s Politics: Let’s face it, politics is a tough game. Leaders often pick their teams based on loyalty and strategy, which doesn’t always play nice with the idea of absolute freedom.
So, while you could argue that yanking committee chairs for political non-compliance and self interest goes against the grain of what ORC 3599.04 and 3599.05 are all about, proving it in this political arena could be as tough as nailing jelly to a tree. It’s a bit of a legal stretch, but it’s not outside the realm of possibility. Whether or not this holds water would depend a lot on how much a judge would place on the emphasis of “laws for thee, but not for me”
Yeah He should have to step down
Talk, talk, talk! That's all that 'we the people' ever get!
Stop accusing and start proscecuting!
Yiour lack of ACTION makes you just as guilty and corrupt as the rest!!