Hi Friend,
First, WHAT a weekend! We were thrilled with the turnout for #NoKings protests around the state. Joyful and passionate and full of democratic (and Democratic!) energy – we got chills seeing video and still images from every corner of Ohio.
We’d love to share how Blue Ohio members joined in the weekend’s events – and help emphasize that protests happened in every corner of the state. If you have images you’d like us to amplify, you can send them to us by email here (info@blueohio.org), or tag us on social media. Thanks to Rachel Coyle, we’re now on Threads and Instagram, as well as Facebook and Bluesky!
Second, down to the business of this week. We’ve reached a crucial step in Ohio’s budget process: the conference committee.
Three state reps and three state senators comprise the budget conference committee. They decide what to do about any item in the massive, 5,600-page budget where the House and Senate disagree.
They’re going to start their work this week.
The budget conference committee members are:
- Senate Finance Chair — Jerry Cirino (R): 614-644-7718
- Senate Finance Vice Chair — Brian Chavez (R): 614-466-6508
- Senate Ranking Member — Paula Hicks-Hudson (D): 614-466-5204
- House Finance Chair — Brian Stewart (R): 614-466-1464
- House Finance Vice Chair — Mike Dovilla (R): 614-466-4895
- House Finance Ranking Member — Bride Rose Sweeney (D): 614-466-3350
The House Speaker and Senate President can also still influence the budget:
- House Speaker — Matt Huffman (R): 614-466-6344
- Senate President — Rob McColley (R): 614-466-8150
These eight people need to hear from you — even if they don’t represent you!
There’s no public testimony during conference committee, so we need to make phone calls, send emails, share social media posts, contact the press, and do anything we can to reach these legislators.
Together, we will demand that the most harmful items be improved before the budget heads to the governor.
Here are eight key items to focus on:
- Ohio kids deserve the full, bipartisan Fair School Funding Plan, including updated cost inputs. Nothing less.
- Ohio loves our libraries. Tell the committee to:
- Restore the Public Library Fund to AT LEAST a fixed 1.7% of state revenue (the current amount).
- Remove the language forcing libraries to hide books
- Tell the committee to remove the massive “flat tax” for the rich. Stop giving our tax dollars to billionaires!
- Tell the committee to remove the money for a new Cleveland Browns stadium. Again, billionaires don’t need our help. Ohio children do.
- Save Ohio Medicaid expansion. Save lives. Remove the deadly “Medicaid Trigger Language” from the budget.
- Do not legalize HB 6 corruption. Remove all budget language that weakens Ohio’s ban on corporate political spending
- Remove the budget language that creates an “Election Integrity Unit” and expands prosecutions for election law violations. This is a major policy change. It should have committee hearings. Ohioans should be allowed to testify. If it’s actually good policy, don’t hide it.
- Remove the budget language that would make all state board of education and local school board elections partisan. Our children’s education should not be partisan or polarized. And if this were actually good policy, they wouldn’t be hiding it in the budget.
We are fighting every day to improve Ohio’s state budget. Follow us on Facebook, Bluesky, Instagram, and Threads for more simple actions you can take.
We’ve got an uphill battle to try and force Republican politicians to care about kids and families. But we will never give up. Ohio is worth fighting for.
Fight Everywhere, for Everyone
Blue Ohio Team
P.S. Blue Ohio crowdfunds for underfunded Democratic nominees running in some of the reddest, roughest, toughest districts in Ohio. We use a monthly donation model, which means it’s an easier lift for each of us individually, and a massive impact collectively.
In 2024, we raised and distributed over $385,000 to 59 Democratic nominees for Ohio state house and senate, creating a funding floor for nominees of over $12k. Our Blue Ohio community funded over half of the Democratic nominees – supporting races in literally in every corner of the state.
Most of the races that we funded are in rural and small town districts – places where Democrats traditionally have a hard time making our message heard. Here’s a map of the state house districts we supported. The rural areas are shaded green:
| Not only is our grassroots community one of the top donors to state legislative races in Ohio, we’re one of the top donors in Rural Ohio. And because we directly support nominees, we’re making it easier for people to decide to run in the first place! |
| We also get together on the last Friday of the month for a virtual lunch meeting hosted by David Pepper. It’s a great chance for members to get together, visit, vent, and hear from great guest speakers about what’s happening in Ohio.So if you believe we should be running everywhere with everything we’ve got – and supporting the folks who are holding Ohio Republicans accountable – we sure do hope you’ll join this community. We’ll be proud to have you. Join Blue Ohio. |
