If you have any tips, comments, or questions, please send them my way. I can be reached at 614-981-1422, avery.kreemer@coxinc.com or @AveryKreemer on X. You can also follow our political coverage on our website and through our Ohio Politics Facebook page.
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Walz: Exemplary Democrat? Sigh of relief? Radical liberal?
• The story: Having shot up from relative obscurity to household name recognition in a matter of days, public perception on Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is still subject to change, and many in the world of politics hoped to put their finger on the scale over the past week.
• Democrats’ view: Dayton state Rep. Willis Blackshear, Jr., told me that he was excited by the Walz pick, given his track record of supporting families as governor, including initiatives that provided free meals for school children, free college tuition for low-income students, paid medical and family leave and a child tax credit.
• Republicans’ view: On the other side of the aisle, Rep. Brian Stewart, R-Ashland, said he breathed a sigh of relief when Walz was picked. “(Walz) does almost zero to hurt Republicans in suburban areas where we’ve struggled recently, and absolutely zero to take any rural voters away from Trump,” he wrote.
• Experts’ view: Various local political science experts were split on Walz. One expert viewed the pick as a missed opportunity to shore up support in critical battleground state of Pennsylvania (whose Gov. Josh Shapiro was also considered), while others said Walz offered a helpful, wide appeal as a former educator, football coach and national guardsman.
• Here’s the full story from myself and Lynn Hulsey.
Ohio GOP proposal would make tips tax exempt
Credit: Bill Lackey
Credit: Bill Lackey
• The story: An Ohio representative is running with an idea of former President Donald Trump to make tips and gratuities exempt from state income tax.
• The origins: Trump teased exempting tips from federal income taxes at a presidential campaign stop earlier this year, underscoring a policy difference between Republicans and Democrats as each tries to appeal to service workers. While Democrats are pushing for a higher tipped minimum wage (it’s $5.75 in Ohio), Republicans are looking for tax relief.
• Quote: “We have all these tax carve outs for business income deductions and all these sorts of things, and sometimes I think we’re overlooking the working, middle-class folks and I’m trying to figure out how to help them out,” said Rep. Jay Edwards, R-Nelsonville, who introduced the bill.
• Here’s my full story on the new Ohio proposal.
Local political news of the week
• Dayton Police under investigation: Multiple police officers are under investigation for allegations that may be criminal, according to Dayton Police Department. The officers, yet to be identified to the public, have been moved off enforcement duties. Here’s what we know so far, from Jen Balduf.
• Reynolds’ overturned conviction appealed: Former Butler County Auditor Roger Reynolds’ case has been appealed by the state to to the Ohio Supreme Court following a lower court’s decision to overturn his 2022 conviction for for unlawful interest in a public contract. Here’s the story from Lauren Pack.
• Grassroots hospital effort fails: Members of the Clergy Community Coalition called on the Dayton city commission to put a proposed 1-mill property tax levy on the November ballot to build a West Dayton hospital, despite a lack of signatures for the proposal. Here’s Cornelius Frolik’s full coverage.
State political news of the week
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
• New laws for back-to-school: Multiple new laws and court decisions will impact school districts this fall, including several on teacher licenses, staff licenses, keeping more student data private from technology providers, and impacting schools’ cellphone policies. Here’s a legislative roundup from myself and Eileen McClory.
• Gender affirming care ban upheld: An Ohio law that blocks minors from receiving gender affirming medical care can go into effect, according to a Tuesday ruling from the Franklin County Common Pleas Court. The ACLU of Ohio, which challenged the law on behalf of two Ohio families with transgender children, said it will immediately appeal. Here’s my story.
• Legal weed: Southwest Ohio residents were shopping for recreational cannabis as soon as doors opened for dispensaries across the region Tuesday morning, which marked the first day any Ohio dispensary was permitted by the state to sell recreational marijuana. Sydney Dawes, Kristen Spicker and Aimee Hancock have the story.
National political news of the week
• Harris nominated: Vice President Kamala Harris is now the official presidential nominee of the Democrats following a virtual roll call voting process that concluded this week. Local delegates who voted for the unopposed Harris said the Democrats’ excitement is is akin to the 2008 candidacy of Barack Obama. Lynn Hulsey has the story.
• Brown touts flag bill: Ohio U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown traveled to the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force this week to celebrate the signing of a bill he helped draft that requires flags purchased with federal taxpayer dollars be made in America. Tom Gnau has the story.
• Next debate set: ABC says both Donald Trump and Kamala Harris have agreed to a Sept. 10 presidential debate, setting up a face-off between the Republican and Democratic nominees. The confirmation comes days after posting on his social media network that he would not appear on the network, citing a lawsuit he has filed. The Associated Press has the story.