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Youngstown
Vindicator...
Kasich’s
taking speech on road splits lawmakers
January 26, 2012
State
lawmakers were split Tuesday on Gov. John Kasich’s plans to take his
State of
the State address on the road next month.
It’s
nothing against Steubenville, the location of the Feb. 7 speech to a
joint
session of the General Assembly. But Democrats and Republicans both
voiced
concern Tuesday about the costs involved and in the traditions being
broken by
having the annual event away from the Statehouse.
“I love
Steubenville, but I love my taxpayers more,” said Rep. Lynn Wachtmann,
a
Republican from Napoleon, who will have to drive more than four hours
from his
hometown in northwestern Ohio to attend.
“The State
of the State should be held in this chamber right here,” added Rep.
Ronald
Gerberry, a Democrat from Austintown, a little more than an hour from
Steubenville. “To take the State of the State out of this chamber is
wrong.”
Kasich
announced earlier this month that he will give the State of the State
from
Wells Academy, a top-ranked public school in Steubenville. It’s the
first time
in modern history that a governor has given the speech away from
Columbus, and
he has defended the decision.
“I think
it’s just a great thing to think that everybody’s going to drive across
Ohio
and go and visit a place that has basically been ignored for 50 years,”
the
governor told reporters last week.
The issue
was the focus of a debate in the Ohio House on Tuesday, as it and the
Ohio
Senate moved a resolution to have the joint session for Kasich’s
address. The
speech technically is a combined meeting of lawmakers for the purpose
of
hearing a message from the governor.
“We are
looking forward to hosting the State of the State address,” said Sen.
Lou
Gentile, a Democrat from Steubenville. “There is much enthusiasm about
the
opportunity to showcase our great part of the state. ”
House
Speaker Bill Batchelder, a Republican from Medina, said he did not
expect the
move to lead to any additional cost, though lawmakers will have to pay
for
extra mileage out of pocket.
The House,
he said, would provide no additional funding for travel, other than
allowances
already made that cover the distance between lawmakers’ homes and the
Statehouse.
Batchelder
also said he did not expect the governor to give future State of the
State
speeches away from the Statehouse.
Senate
President Tom Niehaus said his chamber is still considering whether to
provide
additional mileage reimbursement for members or, possibly, renting
vehicles to
drive senators to the site.
Many
lawmakers are supporting the governor’s taking the speech on the road.
“I wonder
why someone hasn’t done this a long time ago,” said Rep. Matt Huffman,
a
Republican from Lima. “It’s a good idea. I hope they come to Lima.”
He added,
“This is a good opportunity to show folks not just in Steubenville but
around
the state that it’s not just about what happens in Capitol Square. The
rest of
the state counts, too.”
The House
adopted the joint-session resolution by a vote of 52-42, and the Senate
followed suit, 24-7.
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