Gov. John Kasich was back in Ohio briefly this week, before launching for his appearance as one of the candidates in the “headlining” GOP debate, this time in Colorado. And he brought supporters together for a pre-debate rally in which he sounded a more aggressive, gloves-off tone. Kasich kicked off the week with an event that hits on something that’s been discussed on this show for the past two weeks – the state’s deadly opiate crisis. Lawmakers came back to the Statehouse before the election to take action on a bill that seeks to avert an unintended tax increase on thousands of small businesses and self-employed Ohioans. A Statehouse Democrat will try a fifth time to pass a bill that would ban employers and landlords from discriminating against LGBT Ohioans. And with election day just days away, the signs are growing that this election is going to be a very low turnout event.
Both sides of the marijuana legalization issue on the fall ballot defended their positions in a sometimes feisty debate this week before the Columbus Metropolitan Club. Ian James with ResponsibleOhio, the group that put Issue 3 on the ballot, explained why his group put the issue together, and attorney Chris Stock - who authored the amendment - talked about what he feels the issue would do. Rep. Mike Curtin (D-Columbus) speaks for Ohioans Against Marijuana Monopolies, which opposes the investor-driven proposal, and he and attorney Elizabeth Smith talked about the damage opponents feel it would do.
Meanwhile, backers of the redistricting issue that comes first on the ballot have struggled for attention – and when they’ve gotten it, they've noted it's been endorsed by many groups, and that it doesn't have any organized opposition. But now the conservative Ohio Roundtable has come out in opposition to Issue 1, along with the other two statewide issues. Vice President Rob Walgate explains his group's concerns.