Cleveland City Council adopted rule changes at the August 18 meeting to allow public comment at regular council meetings beginning at the September 20 Meeting.

The new rules make public comments the fifth item in the order of business at council meetings.

Anyone may speak, regardless of whether they are a resident of Cleveland and public comments will not be limited to current agenda items, but anyone who wants to speak must register.

Registration will open at noon on Wednesdays before a Monday council meeting and will close at 2:00 pm on the day of the council meeting.

Speaking slots of up to three minutes each will be allotted by order of registration up to a maximum of 10 speakers.

Mike Carey, a coal lobbyist backed by former President Donald Trump, won the Republican primary to succeed former Rep. Steve Stivers over 10 other candidates for the Ohio Congressional District 15 seat.

Carey will face Democratic state Rep. Allison Russo, a health policy consultant who won the Democratic nomination, on Nov. 2.

Cuyahoga County Council member Shontel Brown defeated former state Sen. Nina Turner in Tuesday’s Democratic primary for Ohio Congressional District 11 to succeed former Rep. Marcia Fudge.

Brown will be on the ballot on Nov. 2 with Laverne Gore, the business owner, consultant, trainer and community activist who won the Republican nomination.

Cleveland City Council is drafting legislation to change the council’s meeting rules to create a public comment period.

Currently, the public is only allowed to speak at committee meetings at the discretion of the committee chairs.

Members of the public have not been allowed to speak at City Council meetings except in the 1920s when the city was under a city manager form of government.

The new legislation is expected to be enacted in August and effective in September.

Ohio State Rep. Mark Fraizer and Rep. Brian Stewart filed a resolution to expel Rep. Larry Householder from the House of Representatives.

Lawmakers voted unanimously to remove Householder from his position as House speaker in July 2020, though he retained his seat in the Legislature and was reelected in November.

Householder pleaded not guilty on Thursday in connection with a $60 million federal racketeering case related to House Bill 6, Ohio’s nuclear bailout law.

Three co-defendants in the case have pleaded guilty.

Following the indictment of former House Speaker Larry Householder on federal racketeering charges in the biggest bribery case in Ohio history, lawmakers are seeking to shed more light on dark money groups through legislation.

House Bill 13, entitled the Light of Day Bill, is currently in committee and requires nonprofit 501(c)(4) organizations to disclose contributions and expenditures.

These organizations currently do not have to disclose contributions and disclose limited information on expenditures on forms filed annually with the IRS.

House Bill 306, entitled the Ohio Anti-Corruption Act, was introduced this week, and requires 501(c)(4) organizations to disclose contributions and more information about the ownership of the organization.

The bill also prohibits foreign companies from making political contributions directly or indirectly through nonprofit organizations.

Cincinnati City Council failed to adopt an ordinance proposing additional campaign finance disclosure.

Ordinance 2021-01549 would have required the mayor and City Council members to report contributions above $200 within 48 hours.

Only Council Member Greg Landsman, who introduced the proposal, voted to adopt the ordinance.

Voters passed two charter amendments in Cincinnati by a 3 to 1 margin.

Issue 1 requires the city solicitor to hire a special prosecutor to consider removal of the council member indicted for a crime to eliminate potential conflicts of interest.

Issue 2, introduced by Councilwoman Betsy Sundermann permits removal of an indicted council member with a vote by seven of their fellow council members, and if convicted, five council members can vote to remove within 10 days of the conviction.

A council member who is convicted or pleads guilty automatically forfeits his or her seat.

Issue 2 also makes ethics training mandatory for all council members.

There was previously no process for removal in the Cincinnati Charter and four of the nine council members have been indicted for crimes in the last year.

As soon as the election results were announced, Sundermann called for Councilman Wendell Young to be suspended.

The vote to remove him cannot happen until the Hamilton County Board of Elections certifies the election in about two weeks.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced special election dates for Congressional District 15 to fill the vacancy due to Steve Stivers resignation to become the president and CEO of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce.

The dates August 3 for the special primary and November 2 for the special general election are the same as the special election to fill the vacancy in Congressional District 11 created by the departure of Marcia Fudge, who is now the U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.

The regularly scheduled primary election for ballot issues and municipalities remains on May 4.

Rep. Steve Stivers announced he is resigning from Congress on May 16 to become the president and CEO of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce.

Stivers has been representing Ohio’s 15th Congressional District since 2011 and had been viewed as a potential candidate to run for the seat held by retiring Republican Sen. Rob Portman.

A decision on when to hold the special election for Congressional District 15 will be made by Gov. DeWine and has not been announced.

Voters in Ohio’s 11th Congressional District will choose the successor to former Rep. Marcia Fudge in a special primary on August 3 and the special election on November 2.

A bill to shine light on dark money groups is the latest attempt to ensure better transparency in Ohio’s political spending.

House Bill 13 would end an exception for nonprofit 501(c)(4) groups who are currently not required by Ohio law to disclose who funds them.

While these nonprofits are to promote general social welfare and cannot spend a majority of resources on political activity, there is opportunity for flouting the rules, allowing dark money groups to influence elections without being publicly exposed.

House Bill 13 would require disclosure of donations to the nonprofit meant to influence elections, but would allow groups to separate their accounts to limit such disclosures.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced a special election for November 2 to fill the vacancy in U.S. House District 11 created by the departure of Marcia Fudge, who is now the U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.

The special primary election will be held August 3, whereas the regularly scheduled primary election for ballot issues and municipalities remains on May 4.

The Ohio Secretary of State’s office released the 2021 Campaign Contribution Limits.

These limits will be effective from February 25, 2021 through February 24, 2023.

Beginning Wednesday, PACs, PCEs and individuals may contribute $13,704.41 per election period to statewide candidates and candidates for the General Assembly; $13, 704.41 per calendar year to other PACs and PCEs with which the contributing PAC or PCE is not affiliated; $41,113.24 per calendar year to state parties; and, $20,556.62 per calendar year to legislative campaign funds.

Two proposed charter amendments establishing procedures to handle council members indicted for crimes will be on the ballot for voter approval on May 4.

There is currently no process in the Cincinnati Charter and three of the nine council members were indicted on federal bribery charges last year.

Both proposals prohibit indicted council members from changing their successor designee.

Vice Mayor Christopher Smitherman’s proposed amendment requires the city solicitor to hire a special prosecutor to consider removal of the council member to eliminate potential conflicts of interest.

A second amendment proposed by Councilwoman Betsy Sundermann permits removal of an indicted council member with a vote by seven of their fellow council members, and if convicted, five council members can vote to remove within 10 days of the conviction.

If no vote is taken, the convicted council member automatically forfeits his or her seat on the 11th day.

Sundermann’s proposal also makes ethics training mandatory for all council members.