One race that is starting to heat up locally is the contest for the 42nd Ohio House District. For the Republicans it is newly appointed State Representative Richard Nero against Hudson Councilman Mike Moran, Democrat. Nero was appointed last week to take over for John Widowfield who resigned last month. However even prior to the recent appointment this match up was already set for the fall. The 42nd encompasses Cuyahoga Falls, Hudson, Munroe Falls, Silver Lake and Stow.
Nero decided last December to challenge incumbent Republican John Widowfield in the March primary in the 42nd Ohio House District. Under Widowfield's "leadership" things were just not getting done. In a surprise move to some, Widowfield did not file at the last minute. Nero then defeated party establishment candidate Denny "Den" Robart in the primary. This week Rich was kind enough to sit down and talk about the race with me and to clear the air about a recent "controversy" that Democrats are making noise about.
We talked about various issues affecting the district and the state but one area where Rich was really passionate was health care and specifically the electronic sharing of medical records within the state. Other states are doing this now; Ohio is not. Rich gave a personal example in his own family to stress the importance that local hospitals are on the same page in case of an emergency. With better record sharing, patient care improves, and lawsuits go down. This is good for the overall cost of health care for everyone.
Nero also wanted to clear up what was written on this site on June 11. Having just been appointed and sworn in the morning of June 10, Nero had a presentation to give that same night in Las Vegas for Oracle at their corporate conference, something he had committed to months ago. He went to great lengths to make it back for the day before returning to the conference - flying just about 8,000 miles in less than a day to be sworn in and vote.
Earlier in the day (June 10) he voted on a Constitutional amendment for the ballot in November to property rights, SJR8. SJR8 works in conjunction with HB 416 - also known as the Great Lakes Compact. Later that day, the Senate deliberated for some time, but ultimately voted in favor of the Compact with only minor changes. Knowing the bill was coming back to the House with nothing controversial added, Nero was given permission to honor his commitment in Nevada and depart early. The Great Lakes Compact unanimously passed in the House that afternoon by a 92-0 count. To be clear, this bill was not in jeopardy. Had there been any type of threat to its passage though, Nero told me he would have adjusted his plans in the best interest of the state. It never came to that. In a related note, the guy who replaced Matthew Barrett, Democrat Thomas Heydinger, did not show up at all that day; he was sworn in during May. We didn't hear about that from the other side.
More after the jump.
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Yesterday, Richard Nero had his first day as an Ohio House Representative. Nero was appointed to replace John Widowfield, who resigned because he sold Ohio State tickets bought with campaign money on Ebay for a profit. In honor of his new job, Nero posted a statement on his campaign website that reads: "Today I was called upon by the Ohio House leadership in Columbus and appointed to the role of state representative for the 42nd Ohio House District, which encompasses Cuyahoga Falls, Hudson, Munroe Falls, Silver Lake and Stow. With great pride, honor, and a sense of purpose and responsibility, I have answered this call." Well, he answered the call for half a day…
The Columbus Dispatch blog The Daily Briefing reports that Nero missed a key vote on his first day because he left the House because of a "scheduling conflict." According to the article, Nero cast a number of votes during his first day, "but when the House reconvened after 3 p.m. to take up one more, major vote — the final concurrence of the Great Lakes Compact — Nero was noticeably absent."
Think of what would happen to you on your first day at a new job if you missed a key assignment because you had left work? You'd be replaced.
Side note: I wonder if Richard Nero will need to order new campaign materials that read "Re-Elect" instead of "Elect" since he is the incumbent? I don't know the exact law, but I'm pretty sure Nero would need to make some change to the material his campaign distributes.
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