© 2024 Ideastream Public Media

1375 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44115
(216) 916-6100 | (877) 399-3307

WKSU is a public media service licensed to Kent State University and operated by Ideastream Public Media.
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
2018 was a big election year in Ohio. Republicans held onto all five statewide executive offices including governor and super majorities in both the Ohio House and Senate. But there were a few bright spots for Democrats, among them the reelection of U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown and the election of two Democrats to the Ohio Supreme Court.With election 2018 over, the focus now shifts to governing. Stay connected with the latest on politics, policies and people making the decisions at all levels affecting your lives.

New Bipartisan Group Will Tackle Redistricting

Picture of Catherine Turcer
Karen Kasler

State legislative leaders have formed a four-member bipartisan group to work on creating a new way to redraw Ohio’s Congressional district map, which will be redone after the 2020 census. But supporters of an effort already underway to change the map drawing process aren’t backing down.

Lawmakers have been considering Congressional redistricting for years, but the goal of this group is a plan to present to voters in May. But Catherine Turcer with Common Cause Ohio says 142,000 signatures have already been gathered by nonpartisan groups for their 2018 proposed ballot issue.

“We will not get derailed by the legislative effort just because it’s hard to believe it will actually come to fruition.”

The legislative plan will likely keep the Congressional map drawing process with state lawmakers. The nonpartisan groups’ plan transfers that authority to the bipartisan commission that voters approved in 2015 to draw new maps for state lawmakers’ districts – a proposal that was created by lawmakers and endorsed by the nonpartisan groups.

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.