Push for unity delays House speaker vote
Backers of Speaker Ryan Smith are expected to very soon push state Rep. Jim Butler for answers on a leadership vote, or possibly find another way to call a vote.
Smith, R-Bidwell, and Rep. Larry Householder, R-Glenford, have been locked in a bitter fight over who will lead the House next session, starting in January. Though Senate Republicans voted two weeks ago to keep President Larry Obhof, R-Medina, as their leader, and House Democrats voted Tuesday to retain Rep. Fred Strahorn, D-Dayton, as minority leader, the House speaker vote remains unscheduled.
“I think a lot of people are getting anxious. I think their patience is wearing thin,” Smith said, adding that he talked to Butler before Thanksgiving. “He said he’s working on it. It’s hard for me to get any clarity on that from Jim.”
As the dean of the caucus — the member with the longest consecutive service in the House — Butler, R-Oakwood, is responsible for calling the informal leadership vote. Butler said he has reached out to every member of the caucus and “it is clear that neither candidate has the required 50 votes.”
“We need to ensure we are unified so we can effectively govern with the new DeWine administration for the people of Ohio. I am inviting both candidates to sit down and discuss how we can work together and ensure a strong start to the 133rd General Assembly.”
Smith has said since the election that he is ready to take the vote, arguing he has majority support in the new 61-member caucus. Butler is backing Householder, a political heavyweight and strong fundraiser who served as House Speaker from 2001 to ‘04 and returned two years ago looking to reclaim the gavel.
Having the caucus dean call the leadership vote is tradition, but it is not in rule or law. Rep. Scott Ryan, R-Newark, chairman of the House Finance Committee and a Smith supporter, said, “We like to honor tradition, but tradition includes timing.”
A few close House races were decided within the past few days as votes were finalized. A seat in Hamilton County likely flipped to the Democrats after provisional ballots were counted — a seat held by Rep. Jonathan Dever, R-Cincinnati, a Householder supporter. Republicans won two other close races, in the Dayton and Youngstown areas.
The two camps also have continued to work behind the scenes to secure support.
“For planning purposes, it’s really important that we start looking at the next (General Assembly),” Smith said. “There’s staffing needs and a lot of different things we need to plan for. And obviously we have a new administration to work with, and it would help crystallize things for them as well.”
Technically, House Republicans don’t need to meet privately for an informal leadership vote — the official vote must be done in open session in early January after members are sworn in on opening day.
But there are practical and logistical reasons to working out that vote ahead of time, including fairness to staffers, the potential for a circus-like floor vote, and delays in organizing committees.
Typically, the informal vote results in most, if not all, members agreeing to support whichever candidate has the majority within the caucus. That didn’t happen in June when Smith tried to replace former Speaker Cliff Rosenberger, who resigned in April amid an FBI investigation related to overseas trips with payday-lending lobbyists.
Smith had a majority of the caucus, but those loyal to Householder, or outgoing members who preferred a short-term speaker, refused to back him. He got the job only on the 11th vote, when he earned a plurality.