Former Gov. Strickland, not running in 2014.

According to twitter and the Ohio Dems. Former Governor Ted. Strickland will not be running for Governor in 2014. The statement pulled from the Ohio Dems is below.

COLUMBUS, OHIO – Today, former Governor Ted Strickland released the following statement:

“Today, I am announcing my decision not to seek election as Governor of Ohio in 2014.
“In many ways, this has been a very difficult decision. I look back fondly on my time as Ohio’s 68th Governor –and am proud of my Administration’s efforts to guide our state through the greatest national economic crisis since the Great Depression. With the help of my First Lady — Frances Strickland– my dedicated and loyal Cabinet, and my incredibly hard-working Executive Staff, we held the ship steady. With the help of President Obama, who provided the funds necessary to keep Ohio and all of America from slipping into another Great Depression, we were able to preserve the social safety net, make important investments in education, and position Ohio’s economy for the recovery that started in February 2010.
“And when I look back on my four years as Governor, I am equally proud of those in the Strickland Administration who served the public with honor, integrity, and humility. We sought to make Ohio better.
“My administration was about positioning Ohio as a leader in our rapidly changing economy and global world. We worked to rebuild our infrastructure with a special effort to make sure the national system for rail transportation included Ohio. We worked to ensure there were more Ohioans with affordable health care coverage. We significantly improved our national standing in public education, made sure it did not suffer from deep cuts during the economic crises, and worked to satisfy the Supreme Court’s ruling for equitable funding with a new formula that was less dependent on property taxes. We enacted a comprehensive energy reform bill that helped to stabilize the energy market for consumers and business while creating a renewable portfolio standard that has positioned Ohio as a leader in advanced energy. And, we made college more affordable. Most significant for jobs, we were leaders in investments in alternatives sources of energy and went to bat for the automobile industry; working closely with President Obama on the rescue plan that has been so pivotal in Ohio’s economic recovery.
“In short, I believe my Administration stood and spoke for the causes that count.
“Frances and I will continue to be politically active private citizens. We will continue to stand with working men and women to build a stronger Ohio —and to defeat anti-worker and anti-middle class legislation that may arise.”

Ohio Dems Given the ok to Mobilize against the Gerrymandering

So you may remember, Ohio Republicans are trying to gerrymander and force Democrats out of office.  However, Ohio's Supreme Court has ruled to allow Democrats to move forward with a petition to stop the Republican congressional redistricting plan that has thrown the 2012 congressional elections into chaos.  So, candidates for Congress may have to wait and when they should file and if the districts they plan to run in will exist.

So at this point we're not sure, but the candidates will file petitions to run for office by the Dec 7th deadline for districts that may not exists by the planned March 6th primary.  Or they could be forced to run in a statewide primary election for Ohio's 16 U.S. House seats.  This could mean that the top 16 Republicans face the top 16 Democrats in the November 2012 election.  Or this could mean the candidates could run in vastly different districts than they expect to, provided the Republicans and Democrats work out a solution. If the March 6th date holds, the primary would be held on Super Tuesday, when the presidential primaries take place.  However, if the primary is pushed back till May, the filing deadline could be pushed back and the primary could lose some significance (particularly in the national GOP race).  The head of the petition effort, Chris Redfern, Ohio Democratic Party chairman, must collect 231,147 valid voter signatures to get the GOP congressional redistricting plan on the November 2012 ballot.  If he does, it would force an election where candidates for Congress in a statewide race next year and that the Ohio primary might be pushed back to May or June.  He's planning on collecting them on November 2, 2011, you know when everyone turns out to vote against Issue 2.

If no agreement is reached, it could mean a federal court could draw up Ohio's congressional map.  Republicans would not be happy about this.

Ohio House Speaker William Batchelder, R-Medina, said:

“warned the public that the Democrats’ plan was to stymie the General Assembly’s constitutional duty to pass a congressional redistricting plan, and ultimately have a map imposed on Ohio by unelected federal judges, who may be judges from Michigan, Kentucky and Tennessee.”

The decision came out of the Ohio Supreme Court (7-0) said the referendum petition from the group called Ohioans for Fair Districts plan to submit a challenge to the GOP redistricting plan by putting it on the November 2012 ballot.  Of course some are arguing that the bill creating the new congressional districts isn't subject to referendum because Republicans wrote into the law a $2.5 million appropriation for local boards of elections, and referendums aren't allowed on appropriation bills under Ohio law.  Ohio's Supreme court (6 Republicans and 1 Democrat) disagreed.

The last time Ohio congressional district mapping was on the ballot was 1915, when Democrats forced a vote and Ohio voters rejected the Republican map (fingers crossed for a repeat).  Republicans are naturally defending their plan, and Batchelder are calling the Ohio Supreme Court decision "the first step into judicial interference in this process." You know the same lame argument whenever they are trying to screw us...not like union busting.  Batchelder went on to call the map, "fair and legal" or as Fox News would call it "fair and balanced."  The ruling actually doesn't say the map is unconstitutional, but instead that the appropriations inserted into the bill doesn't meet the criteria to shield it from a referendum effort.

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine (R) issued a brief saying:

the 16 Ohio congressional districts must be finalized by Dec. 7, in order to “ensure proper administration of the March 2012 congressional primary.” 

Clearly, the man is delusional.  So for those of you who hoped that after Issue 2 was over this pissing contest between Dems and Republicans would be over too bad, sucker.  The reality is it will more than likely get worse the closer we get to elections because Republicans are going to make a grab to hold onto power.  I just wish that the politicians remember who are actually getting screwed here: it isn't those of who might lose their district, but really the workers, their families, and those being systematically disenfranchised.

http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/201110151320/NEWS01/110160322