Staff writer
Liz Walters, Summit County Council president, was elected Ohio Democratic Party chairwoman, and Jane Timken was re-elected state Republican chairwoman.
Timken was first elected in January 2017 after the Republican central committee deadlocked on two votes between her and incumbent Chairman Matt Borges. Timken, who was backed by President Donald Trump, emerged as the winner after negotiations behind closed doors.
It was a lot easier Friday with Timken being the only candidate and winning another four-year term.
“I’m honored and humbled for your continued support,” Timken told the Republican central committee. “We’ve accomplished so much together and we have so much more to accomplish.”
Cincinnati Enquirer
COLUMBUS – Money from Akron-based FirstEnergy Corp. comprised more than one-third of all contributions to a dark money group supporting Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and likely all of the cash given to one backing his daughter s county prosecutor bid, newly revealed 2019 tax records show.
The donations came the same year that Ohio s GOP-controlled Legislature passed House Bill 6, which included a $1 billion subsidy for two nuclear plants, then-owned by FirstEnergy Solutions. DeWine signed the bill within hours of it reaching his desk.
DeWine s daughter Alice DeWine announced her campaign for Greene County prosecutor in September 2019.
Federal investigators say former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and four others used nearly $61 million from energy companies, chiefly FirstEnergy, to fuel Householder s leadership fight, House Bill 6 s passage and an extensive effort to block a ballot initiative to upend the bailout.
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This is some next level pressuring, Rep. Rick Carfagna, R-Genoa Township, wrote in a text message.
Carfagna s text was one of thousands of documents released in response to a public records request for emails and messages given to the FBI as part of their investigation into whether five men committed federal crimes while trying to pass House Bill 6.
Agents arrested former House Speaker Larry Householder, R-Glenford, in July on federal racketeering charges. The indictment alleged that he and four other men funneled $61 million through dark money groups and PACs to pass the nuclear subsidy bill and defend it against a referendum.
Ohio Nuclear Bailout Hit With Injunction
A bribery scandal said to be the largest in history for the state of Ohio has prompted a Franklin County judge to slap an injunction on the state’s nuclear power bailout law.
House Bill 6 included rate hikes for Ohio consumers that were expected to start in January with fees as low as 85 cents a month for some families and up to $2,400 for the state’s largest energy users. The funds were earmarked for Energy Harbor, at one time a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp. Energy Harbor is the owner of Davis-Besse and Perry nuclear power plants.