Why Jon Husted is right for Secretary of State (originially posted on Kyle Sisk's blog)
“Why Jon Husted is right for Secretary of State” is penned by Let The Truth Be Told. Let The Truth Be Told is a lifelong GOP grassroots volunteer/coordinator, friend to many of you (you know this woman…and no she is not from Montgomery or Franklin County), big fan of Matt Hurley (usually), Ben Keeler, Jonathan Keeling & Kyle Sisk. After reading Hurley’s post on Husted she could not help herself…so here goes her first foray into the blogosphere…enjoy!
Whether you are a Republican, Democrat, Green Party or Independent... Jon Husted is right for Secretary of State.
As Ohio's chief election officer, the Secretary of State oversees the elections process and appoints the members of boards of elections in each of Ohio's 88 counties. The Secretary supervises the administration of election laws; approves ballot language; reviews statewide initiative and referendum petitions; chairs the Ohio Ballot Board, which approves ballot language for statewide issues; canvasses votes for all elective state offices and issues; investigates election fraud and irregularities; and trains election officials and reimburses counties for poll worker training costs. The office also licenses ministers to perform marriage, registers nonresident alien land and issues apostilles, which are certifications verifying signatures on documents to be used outside of the United States. All laws passed by the Ohio General Assembly, municipal charters, administrative rules adopted by agencies and all executive orders issued by the governor are filed with this office as well.
Jon Husted got his start in the Dayton area business sector, where he worked for the Montgomery County Commissioners, and then as VP of Business and Economic Development at the Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce. Jon was elected to his first political office in 2000 serving as Representative for Ohio's 37th House District. In 2005 and 2007 Husted was elected by his colleagues to Speaker of the House. He is now serving his first term in the Ohio Senate.
Jon Husted has a list of awards that truly speaks volumes about his character, and the many facets of the community that he works for.
Ohio Association of Electon Officials and Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell - The 2006 Robert E. Hughes Memorial Award
Omeris, Ohio's Business Association - Representative of the Year (2005)
The Ohio Economic Development Association - 2006 Distinguished Legislator Award
The Presidential Roundtable Commission (Republican Presidential Roundtable) - Commission of Accomplishment
Ohio Jewish Communities - Recognition (2005)
Ohio SchoolNet - The Robert R. Cupp Legislative Award (2004)
The Ohio Association of Career Colleges & Schools- Distinguished Governmental Service Award (2004)
National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP) of Ohio - Legislator of Ohio (2004)
Ohio Charter School Association - Courage in Leadership Award (2002)
AMVETS Department of Ohio - Legislative Award (2004)
The Ohio Center for Law-Related Education - Star Player for Democracy (2005)
Ohio Nursing & Landscape Association - Legislator of the Year (2005)
American Subcontractors Association of the Miami Valley, Ohio - Outstanding Public Official (2004)
Appalachian New Economy Partnership - Award for Economic Development (2006)
Ohio Cast Metal Association - Speaker Award (2006)
The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation - 9th Annual Celebrity Concert for Cystic Fibrosis (2006)
Ohio Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) - Policy Maker of the Year (2006)
United Conservatives of Ohio - Watchdog of the Treasury Award (2005-06)
The Aspen Institute - Aspen-Rodel Fellowship (2006)
Montgomery County Republican Party - Frederick N. Young Memorial Award
Ohio Jewish Communities - Recognition (2006)
Adoption Network Cleveland - Adoption Triad Advocate (2006)
Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow - Honorary Diploma (2007)
Ohio Society of Professional Engineers - Legislator of the Year
Cable in the Classroom - Cable Leaders in Learning Award (2007)
Ohio Youth-in-Government Committee - Chairman
Ohio Council of Home Care - Ohio Council of Home Care2007 Excellence in Caring Award
Moms for Ohio - Legislator of the Year 2007
Ohio Alliance for Public Charter Schools - 2007 Distinguished Service Award
OARDC Ohio State University - Friend of OARDC and Ohio State University 2006-2007
Ohio Coalition for Quality Education - Putting Kids 1st Award
Horizon Science Academy Cleveland High School - Honorary Director (May 23, 2008)
National Electrical Contractors Association - July-2008
American Israel Public Affairs Committee - July-2008
Ohio Environmental Council - 2008 Ohio Environmental Council Public Servant Award (November 15, 2008)
Rebuttal points to Matt Hurley’s post on WMD which you can readily reference here:
http://massdiscussion.blogspot.com/2009/04/why-i-dont-like-jon-husted-very-much.html
There is a definite split among Ohioans regarding the CAT tax but here are some things to think about...
It was passed as part of the state budget on July 1st and originally proposed by Ohio Gov. Bob Taft, the new tax code eliminates the tangible personal property tax over four years and immediately got rid of that tax on purchases of new manufacturing equipment in 2005.
The bill also eliminated the corporate franchise tax, lowered personal income tax rates and replaced those taxes with a lower tax rate on commercial activity.
The state estimates that the tax package will increase the state's gross state product by $5.6 billion by 2010 and increase personal income by $3.6 billion. The state also estimates it will create 78,500 new jobs and bring $6.3 billion in new capital investment into Ohio's economy during the same time period.
Simply put, it is supposed to remove a roadblock for new businesses coming into Ohio, making the state much friendlier to the industry.
Senator Husted not only led the effort in the passage of the two lowest growth budgets in 40 years, he implemented a cap on government spending. He then cut the personal income tax by twenty-one percent across-the-board, supported the largest personal property tax cut in Ohio history and helped our elderly in the process. Taxpayers in Ohio will pay $2 billion less this year in taxes thanks to Husted's reforms. He is fighting to bring more businesses and jobs into Ohio by eliminating the Corporate Franchise Tax, Tangible Personal Property Tax and reducing the Kilowatt Hour Tax. All while enacting an expansion of Ohio's high-tech research capabilities and helping start-up companies create high-tech, higher paying jobs across the state. We were recently ranked as 10th in the nation as a tax friendly state for entrepreneurs, and by all measures Ohio's ranking on tax climate has improved every year since Senator Husted was elected Speaker.
As far as House Bill 545 goes, yes it was a possibility that jobs would be lost and a few of these payday lending companies would go out of business. However, that doesn't mean we should sit back and allow these companies to take advantage of people by charging ridiculous interest rates, and in turn trapping them into a bigger cycle of debt. Also, an honest and thoroughly more accurate finger could be pointed at Batchelder (check the record) than Husted. Ask around and you will find that to be true.
Policy Matters Ohio, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research institute dedicated to researching an economy that works for Ohio and The Housing Research & Advocacy Center, another nonprofit whose mission is to eliminate housing discrimination and assure choice in Northeast Ohio by providing those at risk with effective information, intervention and advocacy -- urged Ohio lawmakers to protect consumers by first capping interest rates. Arguing that those who go get caught up in the cycle of debt are likely to be on fixed incomes like Social Security, retirement or disability assistance, the authors say Ohio should follow the lead of the federal government, which addressed the problem for the military and their families in 2006 by passing the Talent-Nelson amendment. It capped the annual percentage rate at 36 percent. The report points out that Oregon, New Hampshire and Georgia have adopted caps on the interest rates of payday lenders, and that nearby states like Pennsylvania, West Virginia and New York have no payday lenders. Other states like Kentucky, Virginia, and Colorado are also grappling with payday lending reform bills. Concluding its policy recommendations, the report calls for greater transparency, more legal protections and more thorough reporting, and says Ohio should enact a linked-deposit program with credit unions and banks to offer loans at low rates.
Adding even more conclusive research to the notion that bankruptcy awaits many who get ensnared in the cycle of debt that often results from repeat borrowing, an average of eight loans a year, according to payday lending industry figures. Jeremy Tobacman of the University of Oxford and Paige Marta Skiba of the Vanderbilt University Law School make their statistical case that payday loans do indeed cause bankruptcy. Posting at Credit Slip, a blog on the topics of credit and bankruptcy, Tobacman and Skiba, using personal bankruptcy filings as a proxy for financial stress, compared filing rates for individuals in Texas who were just barely approved to borrow on payday loans with the same rates of those who were just barely denied. The researchers concluded that a small loan taken out by already financially distress borrowers tend to produce further borrowings, and that the cumulative interest burden can be about 11 percent of the total liquid debt interest burden at the time of filing for bankruptcy. Such lending, they conclude, results in a 2.3 percent per year increase in personal bankruptcies.
Senator Husted worked to help keep consumers out of this cycle of debt, and worked hard to pass HB 545 to limit interest rates on payday loans. We want someone who is looking out for our interest, not the interest of big business.
Husted on guns...
Jon Husted is endorsed by the Buckeye Firearms Association, and was endorsed by Ohioans For Concealed Carry (OFCC) PAC.
This excerpt is taken directly from the Buckeye Firearms Association website. http://www.buckeyefirearms.org/printable/node/6619
"As a State Representative, Husted voted for House Bill 274, an early concealed carry reform bill. And, it is worth noting, he voted for the clean bill, before the Ohio Senate wrecked it with every poison pill then Governor Taft could think of. Later, he also voted for HB12, the concealed carry reform bill that eventually became law in Ohio.
As Speaker of the Ohio House, Husted was a leader in passing statewide preemption, which ended a patchwork of conflicting and confusing laws and replaced it with uniform firearms laws throughout the state. Governor Taft vetoed the bill, HB347, but the General Assembly voted to override the veto - something that had not happened in almost 30 years. Husted also helped lead the effort to "de-Taft" Ohio's gun laws. Senate Bill 184 passed last year, eliminating the most dangerous and aggravating laws effecting law-abiding gun owners." - Jim Irvine, Buckeye Firearms Association
Listed below what House Bill 9 entails. It is part of a bill that requires public officials to take a public information request training program and also gives a better guide as to what information can and cannot be given out for public record, and what that information can be used for. Transparency in government is what we are looking for and this Bill does a great job promoting that. Senator Husted is the Chair for the Senate Government Oversight Committee, which promotes increased accountability and transparency in the operation of state government offices and agencies.
HB 9 - verbatim...
· Allows a journalist to submit to a sheriff a signed, written request to view the name, county of residence, and date of birth of each person for whom the sheriff has suspended or revoked a license to carry a concealed handgun or a temporary emergency license to carry a concealed handgun.
· Prohibits a journalist from copying the name, county of residence, or date of birth of each person to or for whom the sheriff has issued, suspended, or revoked a license as described above.
As far as helping other candidates, he was not in charge of the campaign committee in the last cycle (caucus elected Matt Dolan) However, campaign finance records show that Husted donated more to the OHRCC (to help candidates other than himself) than any member of the legislature has in history…more than Davidson, Householder, Aronoff, Finan, Harris or Batchelder. That including holding the House in 2006 when the Houses all flipped from R to D in Pennsylvania, Indiana, Michigan Iowa and Minnesota.
Below is a list of other Bills that Senator Husted worked on.
HB 132- Stricter penalties on sexual predators.
HB 514- Faith based task force to study and make recommendations for implementing religion into the correctional system.
HB 142- Stricter guidelines imposed on the Ohio Department of Health regarding the information of meningococcal meningitis and hepatitis B.
HB 219- Makes sure that only airbags which are in conformance with current safety standards are installed in vehicles.
HB 117- Requires that foster parents receive training before children are placed in their home, and permits criminal records checks on all foster families which includes federal background checks on criminal activities such as arson.
Senator Husted... a proven leader who is willing to stand up for what he believes in, and who understands the importance of reaching across the aisle. You can count on Senator Husted to work for you and your family’s best interests. That is why you should stand behind Jon Husted for Secretary of State!
If you are interested in learning more about Senator Jon Husted, please visit http://www.HustedForOhio.com or join his group and/or fan page on Facebook.
This article was not endorsed by any candidate or organization.
