Speaker Saga Goes On Through Holiday Weekend With Some Talk But No Action

There is no official action scheduled in the Ohio House today. Over the holiday weekend there was talk, but little change in the saga over who will be the Speaker till the end of the year - with the acting Speaker saying he’s willing to stay on and the representative with the most votes saying no deal. Speaker Pro Tem Kirk Schuring (R-Canton) confirms he’s talked to his fellow Republicans about keeping that post but changing House rules so voting sessions can continue. But Rep. Ryan Smith (R-Bidwell) said he wants another speakership vote, and that Schuring’s proposal is "incredibly disrespectful" to the majority of the 65-member caucus who support him for Speaker. But Schuring has said he fears Smith still is shy of the 50 votes needed to win a full House vote. The runner up in the latest Speaker vote was Rep. Andy Thompson (R-Marietta), who Smith described as a proxy of Rep. Larry Householder (R-Glenford), who is also interested in running for Speaker next year, but who Smith says doesn’t have what he calls the “courage” to run for the short term office now.  Smith said he offered the Speaker Pro Tem position to Thompson, but he refused it.Meanwhile, Householder said on Facebook that he and Schuring met without Smith on Friday and, as he put it, quickly “resolved the issue”. And a spokesman for Ohio Republican Party Chair Jane Timken said she was asked to help broker a deal, and that she credits Schuring and Householder for working toward a compromise – and that she’s encouraging others to also take what was termed “responsible action”. Copyright 2018 The Statehouse News Bureau. To see more, visit The Statehouse News Bureau.