Householder got by with a little help from his (unlikely) friends
Several things stoked the hubbub over Republican Larry Householder’s return to the Ohio House’s speakership last week, when Householder unseated fellow Republican Ryan Smith of Gallia County, who’d been speaker from June 6 through Dec. 31.
First, though, here’s a hint about why the speakership may be so coveted: Champaign County Republican William Saxbe of Mechanicsburg was among Ohio’s most popular officeholders. Voters elected Saxbe to the Ohio House; as Ohio attorney general; and to the U.S. Senate. Saxbe then was U.S. attorney general, followed by service as American ambassador to India.
In 1953 and 1954, Saxbe was the Ohio House’s speaker. This is what Saxbe wrote about being speaker in his excellent autobiography, co-authored by Peter D. Franklin:
“Looking back … I think being speaker (of Ohio’s House) was the highlight of my political career,” Saxbe said. “I was able to do things in the legislature that needed to be done, and that was immensely satisfying.” If that doesn’t explain the lure of the House’s gavel, nothing can.
As for the nuts-and-bolts politics of Householder’s victory over fellow Republican Smith:
• Only twice since World War II has a challenger beat a speaker of the same party. In 1953, Saxbe unseated fellow Republican Gordon Renner of Cincinnati. In 1975, Scioto County Democrat Vern Riffe unseated fellow Democrat A.G. Lancione of Belmont County’s Bellaire.
• Householder could become the first three-term Ohio House speaker since the three terms (1995 through 2000) served by Speaker Jo Ann Davidson, a suburban Columbus Republican. Ohio’s (lunatic) term limits forbid a House member to serve more than four consecutive terms. After that, she or he can’t run for the House for at least four years.
Last week marked the beginning of Householder’s second House term (this time around). He’s eligible to seek a third House term in 2020, and a fourth in 2022. Householder could run for re-election as speaker each time, potentially giving him six years (three terms) as speaker. (Last week’s column erroneously said Householder could only seek one more term as speaker.)
• Householder won with 26 Republican votes — and 26 votes from Democrats, including the votes of many black legislators. Meanwhile, 34 House Republicans and 12 House Democrats backed Smith. That is, Householder was backed by a minority, not a majority, of his fellow Republicans.
Among House members supporting Perry County’s Householder were 12 of the House’s black Democrats, including nine legislators from northeast Ohio as well as Reps. Erica Crawley of Columbus, Sedrick Denson of Cincinnati and Paula Hicks-hudson, former mayor of Toledo. Three of the Ohio House’s black Democratic lawmakers supported Gallia County’s Smith: House Minority Leader Fred Strahorn of Dayton, Rep. Bernadine Kennedy Kent of Columbus and Rep. Catherine Ingram of Cincinnati.
• Householder appears to be the first Ohio House speaker in almost 150 years to have recaptured the House’s gavel after a long interval without it. In January 1858, Athens Republican Nelson H. Van Vorhes, once the Athens Messenger’s owner, was defeated for re-election as speaker by Rep. William B. Woods of Newark (later a U.S. Supreme Court justice). But Van Vorhes became the House’s speaker again in January 1872. That 14-year gap was as long as Householder’s 2005-19 gap.
But this is the key political takeaway of Householder’s win: He promised he wouldn’t support union-busting bills. That prompted organized labor to lobby Ohio House Democrats to support Householder for speaker — and 26 of the 38 House Democrats did.
In terms of electing statewide candidates in Ohio, organized labor isn’t the force it was. Still, in 2011, organized labor helped kill GOP Gov. John Kasich’s union-busting Senate Bill 5. And now there’s this key takeaway of last week’s Ohio House speakership election. Unions scored a win for their members by helping return the Ohio House of Representatives’ gavel to Householder — a Republican.
In helping Householder regain the speakership, labor unions can expect the Ohio House to at least hear them out. Given today’s politics, that could be a huge counterweight to corporate power.
Thomas Suddes is a former legislative reporter with The Plain Dealer in Cleveland and writes from Ohio University. tsuddes@gmail.com