Cuyahoga County, Ohio Council Rep. Shontel Brown will succeed former Rep. Marcia Fudge and fill the vacant seat in U.S. House District 11.

Brown, a Democrat, soundly defeated Republican Laverne Gore by over 57 percentage points.

Aftab Pureval defeated City Councilman David Mann to become the first Asian Pacific mayor in Cincinnati’s city history and the only one in the Midwest.

Pureval, a former refugee from New Delhi, is currently the Hamilton County Clerk of Courts.

Justin Bibb, a nonprofit executive, will be the next mayor of Cleveland, Ohio.

Bibb defeated Cleveland City Council President Kevin Kelley by 26 percentage points to become the city’s second-youngest mayor.

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum has called a special session of the Legislature to begin November 8.

Lawmakers had announced a special session in September to begin November 8 but Burgum’s announcement means lawmakers will not be limited to the four days allotted under the constitution when the Legislature calls itself into session.

House Majority Leader Chet Pollert said they will determine whether a veto session will be necessary during the special session.

This does not affect lobbyist reporting.

The Iowa Legislature adjourned sine die October 28 after a one-day session in which lawmakers passed the second redistricting plan after rejecting the first one in a special session on October 5.

The plan passed the Senate 48-1, with one senator absent, and the House 93-2.

This does not affect lobbyist reporting. 

Cincinnati City Council voted unanimously to approve two ordinances addressing corruption in city government.

Ordinance 0415-2021 prohibits City Council members from soliciting campaign contributions from developers who have an interest in any ordinance before the council.

The ordinance will be effective when council appropriates funding to establish the administrative staffing and enforcement needs imposed by the ordinance.

Emergency Ordinance 0413-2021 is effective immediately and establishes a new position of ethics and good government counselor within the Department of Law to support ethics, election, and campaign finance transparency.

The ordinance transferred $375,000 from the general reserve for weather-related events to fund the position and to buy software to implement a program to make campaign finance disclosures more transparent.

Democrat Corina Magofna defeated Republican Grace Sablan Vaiagae in the special general election on October 16 for Northern Mariana Islands House of Representatives District 3.

Magofna fills the vacancy caused by the death of Ivan A. Blanco and will complete the remainder of Blanco’s unexpired term which ends in 2022.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds issued a proclamation to convene a second special legislative session on October 28 to consider a second set of maps as part of the redistricting process.

The nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency (LSA) will release a second set of maps by October 21.

Lawmakers are permitted to reject the first two maps without amendment. This does not affect Alerts reporting.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker certified the changes to Senate Bill 539, an ethics omnibus bill passed with an amendatory veto in September.

Public Act 102-0664 is effective January 1, 2022, and requires state registration under the Lobbyist Registration Act by persons lobbying local officials in counties, townships and municipalities, preempting and superseding all existing laws and ordinances that are inconsistent with the Act, except in municipalities with a population over 500,000.

The bill also requires registration by persons lobbying other specified state officials, and requires any consultant hired by a lobbyist or lobbying entity to register if they communicate with an official, and all consultant expenditures to be reported on the lobbying entity reports.

The bill also further restricts fundraising anywhere in the state during sessions of the General Assembly.

The bill also creates a revolving door restriction for the General Assembly and officers of the executive branch prohibiting any activities that require registration for six months after leaving office.

The bill also adds anyone who participated personally and substantially in the award or fiscal administration of state contracts to the revolving door prohibitions for procurement officers and employees, prohibiting them from accepting employment within a period of one year immediately after termination of office or state employment.

The Marion Superior Court ruled that the Indiana General Assembly has the authority to convene emergency legislative sessions without the governor’s consent under House Enrolled Act 1123.

Gov. Eric Holcomb filed the lawsuit, claiming the new law was unconstitutional because it impermissibly infringes upon his constitutional authority.

Marion Superior Judge Patrick Dietrick ruled that the General Assembly now has complete authority to set the rules governing the timing of its sessions.

It may extend its session, as it did this year to complete the redistricting process, or enact measures such as HEA 1123, giving it the ability to commence a session limited to a specified agenda.

Gov. Holcomb is expected to appeal the decision.

Ohio’s Eighth District Court of Appeals Judge Larry A. Jones Sr. died unexpectedly on October 7, the third sitting judge in Cuyahoga County to die in nine days.

Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Judge Nancy McDonnell died September 28 and Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Judge Joseph Russo died October 2.

Judge Jones was first elected to the court in 2008, and won re-election to this third term on November 3, 2020.

Under the Ohio Constitution, Gov. DeWine will appoint a temporary replacement until a successor is elected at the general election on November 8, 2022, to fill Judge Jones’ unexpired term which ends February 9, 2027.

The Iowa Legislature adjourned sine die October 5 after a one-day session in which lawmakers voted to reject the redistricting plan and passed a resolution outlining their concerns with the plan to be sent to the nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency (LSA), which is tasked with drawing the maps.

The LSA has 35 days to submit a new plan addressing lawmakers’ concerns.

After the plan is submitted, Gov. Kim Reynolds is expected to call for another special session so lawmakers can consider it.

This does not affect lobbying reporting.

North Dakota lawmakers announced they will convene on November 8 for a special session to adopt a redistricting plan and to allocate funds from the American Rescue Plan Act.

Gov. Doug Burgum has not called the Legislature into session as expected under House Bill 1397, which would permit lawmakers as much time as needed for the session.

If the Legislature calls itself into session, the session can only last four days.

Under the North Dakota Constitution, any bills passed after August 1 are effective 90 days after filing.

For the redistricting plan to take effect earlier, upon filing with the Office of Secretary of State, it must pass by a two-thirds vote of each house.

This does not affect lobbyist reporting.

The South Dakota Legislature will convene a special session beginning November 9 to debate the impeachment of Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg.

Ravnsborg was charged with two misdemeanors and received no jail time for hitting and killing Joe Boever in September of 2020.

Under the South Dakota Constitution, the Legislature may be convened in special session by the presiding officers of both houses upon the written request of two-thirds of the members of each house.

The Senate voted to proceed last week, and the House has more than the necessary 47 signatures to proceed.

The proclamation sets the special session to immediately follow a special session for redistricting on November 8.

Gov. Kristi Noem has repeatedly called for Ravnsborg’s resignation, but he refused to resign.

This does not affect lobbyist reporting.