Home area torn on Householder
GLENFORD — The divisiveness of Larry Householder extends even to his hometown and home county.
One day after he was charged in a $60 million bribery scheme, the Ohio House speaker was called everything from a crook to a fighter for the common man Wednesday in Glenford and Perry County.
Early Tuesday morning, federal officials arrested Householder, R-glenford, at his farm, located just outside the heart of Glenford, as part of a racketeering and bribery investigation that prosecutors described as one of the largest public corruption cases in Ohio history. Four other individuals and a nonprofit also face charges.
The rural village of Glenford sits in the northern portion of Perry County. The village proper has a population of roughly 200, while the county has fewer than 40,000 inhabitants. Many of Glenford’s residents live on country roads, and the heart of the village holds an auto repair shop, an elementary school, a pizzeria and a few churches.
On Wednesday, Village Councilman Jeff Ours, who has owned Jeff’s Automotive Service since 1985, didn’t hold back in his criticism of Householder. He noted that he felt Householder had personally cheated him out of money in the late 1980s and only wasn’t punished because he was connected to the power brokers in New Lexington.
Householder’s district includes Perry County, Coshocton County and a portion of Licking County. The village of New Lexington, with a population of less than 5,000, is the county seat in Perry.
Asked his reaction to Householder’s arrest, Ours said: “Good. Great. What took them so long?
“With this issue here, he is a straightup liar, a cheat and a thief. That’s all there is to it.”
At nearby Montell’s Pizza & Drivethru, manager Carl Schmus said Householder is a regular customer, and his neighbor.
“I sometimes would see him pull out right onto that road past my house, and he would be the kind of guy that if you waved at him, he would wave back . ... Everybody knew who he was. I didn’t hear of a lot of people having problems with him,” Schmus said, although he noted a few people disagreed with him on politics.
“It’s really nice having somebody with some political standing here in Glenford,” Schmus said. “A lot of people around here, they don’t think ill of him or anything like that. They would love to have a conversation with him. He would go to town hall meetings all the time . ... But now, if you can’t trust the most important political power in the town, then who are you going to trust?
“One more crooked politician — except this time, it’s your neighbor.”
About 15 miles away at the Perry County Fairgrounds, the booth for the Perry County Republican Party was empty Wednesday morning. Filled with banners supporting President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and local politicians, the booth was noticeably without any banners supporting Householder.
In one of the buildings housing 4-H projects, Crooksville resident Ron Hoopes said he’s always believed Householder would do his best to help people while making sure he got something out of it, even under the table.
In another building, Rushville resident David Pridemore said he had problems with Householder regarding House Bill 6, the 2019 energy bailout bill at the center of the corruption case.
Now, “It serves him right if he thinks he can dip his hand in the cookie jar more than once,” Pridemore said.
Nearby, Brittany Renick, of New Lexington, said when she heard the news of Householder’s arrest, her thought was that he was being set up because some were upset that the Perry County Fair went on despite the coronavirus pandemic. Householder pushed for fairs to be allowed to open this summer.
Theresa Hartman, who currently lives in Licking County but previously lived in Perry County for 23 years, also suspected ulterior motives in the prosection.
“I think he’s being railroaded because he spoke out against (Ohio Gov. Mike) Dewine,” she said. “I think (Householder’s) done a great job for what he does and he’s shown support for this county. I think he took a stand for what he believes and what a majority of the people believe, and they don’t like it.”