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Akron Rep. Greta Johnson Quits the Statehouse for a Summit County Post

photo of Democratic Reps. Hearcel Craig, Greta Johnson (at podium) and Nickie Antonio
JO INGLES
/
STATEHOUSE NEWS BUREAU
Rep. Johnson was elected to her first term in the Ohio House of Representatives in 2014.

A Democratic state representative who some saw as a possible candidate for higher office is leaving the Legislature after just winning her second term.

Rep. Greta Johnson of Akron says she’ll be a deputy law director under Summit County Executive Ilene Shapiro, who Johnson calls an incredible mentor. Johnson is one of 33 Democrats in the House, in which Republicans hold a 66-member super-majority. She says the lack of movement on bills she’s proposed isn’t why she’s leaving, but it’s frustrating.

“It’s clear to me that you can’t be a legislator who has rallies on the Statehouse steps, questioning the majority and the administration, and still expect your bills to pass," Johnson said.

This year Johnson has backed bills to require automatic voter registration, to outlaw marital rape and to eliminate the sales tax on feminine hygiene products.

Karen is a lifelong Ohioan who has served as news director at WCBE-FM, assignment editor/overnight anchor at WBNS-TV, and afternoon drive anchor/assignment editor in WTAM-AM in Cleveland. In addition to her daily reporting for Ohio’s public radio stations, she’s reported for NPR, the BBC, ABC Radio News and other news outlets. She hosts and produces the Statehouse News Bureau’s weekly TV show “The State of Ohio”, which airs on PBS stations statewide. She’s also a frequent guest on WOSU TV’s “Columbus on the Record”, a regular panelist on “The Sound of Ideas” on ideastream in Cleveland, appeared on the inaugural edition of “Face the State” on WBNS-TV and occasionally reports for “PBS Newshour”. She’s often called to moderate debates, including the Columbus Metropolitan Club’s Issue 3/legal marijuana debate and its pre-primary mayoral debate, and the City Club of Cleveland’s US Senate debate in 2012.