In this week's episode of Snollygoster, Ohio's politics podcast from WOSU, hosts Mike Thompson and Steve Brown discuss the change in leadership in the Ohio House as legislators voted to replace the newly-indicted Larry Householder.
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In this week's episode:
House Speaker Swap
Bob Cupp, a former Ohio Supreme Court Justice and current representative from Lima, became the third Ohio Speaker of the House in two years on Thursday. He was sworn in shortly after the his predecessor, Larry Householder, was indicted in a federal case and unanimously voted out of his leadership position hours earlier.
A federal grand jury indicted Householder and four associates on bribery, money landering and racketeering charges related to the successful bailout of Ohio two nuclear power plants.
Democrats sought to go further and expell Householder from the House, but Republicans tabled the motion.
Cupp was chosen over Rep. Jim Butler of the Dayton area who was also being considered for Speaker and is a close ally of Householder. Butler, who remains the second highest ranking Republican in the House is more conservative, but is also term-limited, which means he could only have held the position for five months.
Cupp is able to serve another two years and brings more stability to the Speaker’s chair.
Closing Time
As COVID-19 numbers continued to rise this week, Gov. Mike DeWine again urged Ohioans to remain vigilant in mask use and social distancing. He also said that liquor sales at bars, restaurants and other establishments should stop at 10 p.m.
The Ohio Liquor Control Commision approved the measure on Friday and it goes into effect tonight.
A similar order passed by the Columbus City Council is being challenged in court and it seems likley the state will face legal challenges from bar and restaurant oweners as well.
Snollygoster Of The Week: Larry Householder
The brash Republican from southeast Ohio who shoots televisions in campaign ads is accused of leading the biggest bribery scheme ever perpetarted against the state of Ohio.
Send questions and comments to snollygoster@wosu.org.
