Joyce Beatty

Gov. Ted Strickland and U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown made the announcement with Service Employees International Union District 1199 President Becky Williams Thursday morning that the union-led coalition is ending its campaign to put an issue on the ballot Nov. 4 that would require employers to give full-time workers seven paid sick days a year.

The coalition leaders, including SEIU and the Healthy Families Act Coalition, will instead work to pass a federal paid sick-leave bill co-sponsored by Brown that would apply to all states.

Ohio leaders have praised the removal of the contentious issue from Ohio's ballot, but Democrats and Republican leaders are still divided over the issue. Ohio Democrats support the measure in national form, while Ohio Republican leaders criticize any "mandates" on businesses and say that making the issue national makes the presidential election that much more important.

DENVER - Various Ohio leaders, old and new, praised House Leader Joyce Beatty (D-Columbus) during the Ohio House Democratic caucus lunch reception Monday. Speakers included Ohio Democratic Party chair Chris Redfern, former Ohio Gov. Dick Celeste, current Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, and Ohio first lady Francis Strickland, as well as Beatty herself.

All of the leaders also spoke about Democratic efforts to win the Ohio House this November, latching onto the theme set by Celeste of "four and more."

Redfern opened the remarks by saying he was delighted to be there to recognize Beatty's leadership in the Statehouse.

Redfern thanked his colleagues for joining him and thanked candidates throughout Ohio for joining him in spirit. He said those candidates "will turn a minority into a majority when Democrats capture the Statehouse."

DENVER - Ohio Democratic Party chair Chris Redfern spoke to PolitickerOH.com about the Democratic effort to take over control of the Ohio House of Representatives by picking up four plus seats this November. Redfern spoke during the Ohio House Democratic caucus reception at the Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library.

"The generic track, which means the Democrat versus the Republican in any given, shows an advantage of, on average, 15 points," Redfern said. "Now, there's a big leap between generic track and a named candidate, and what we may believe in. So our job over the next five weeks is to define our opposition and ourselves, and contrast ourselves from what the Republicans have provided over the course of the last 16 years."

Redfern compared the combined 16 years of former Governors George Voinovich and Bob Taft in office to the two years of Gov. Ted Strickland's administration.

"As you know, the Democrats carry the agenda of Ted Strickland," he said. "The Republicans supported massive tax increases during their years of power in the Governor's office. [If] we talk about those things and we put it at a human level we'll be productive. And we will pick up, on average, five to six pickups - a one seat majority - which is very thin. But many people don't realize, or don't know, the lines were drawn by Republicans. And [for Democrats] to win with Republican-drawn lines really speaks to the tenacity of Joyce Beatty and the team she's put together. The state party will invest resources that I believe will more than double what the Republican Party will invest in their house caucus, because there's a sense of urgency now."

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Back in the late 1970s, an organization was formed by some young, motivated Franklin County black Democrats. They included Michael B. Coleman, who went on to become Mayor of Columbus; Bill Anthony, who went on to become chairman of the Franklin County Democratic Party; and Patsy Thomas, who went on to serve as an Ohio judge.

Other founders included Cathy Mock, James Evans and Dannette Palmore, amongst others.

Their organization, the Ohio Young Black Democrats, eventually seemed to fizzle out. But a new generation of motivated young people has come along to pick up the torch. In November 2006, Anthony met with a small group of individuals, with the hope the group would re-emerge to help contribute to the gubernatorial race as well as other races that year. They took up the challenge and organized an African-America beauty and babershop initiative, in which they canvassed local shops and salons, distributing political literature, and talking to patrons about voting.

In 2007, they elected officers to lead the organization, including Crystal M. Cook as president, Samantha Simpson as vice president, Clifton Williams III as treasurer and Sydney Saffold as secretary.

The organization has been on the ground in 2008, canvassing barbershops, salons and neighborhoods, and extending their efforts to help down ballot candidates get out the vote. Vice president Samantha Simpson sat down with PolitickerOH.com to talk about their efforts.

Simpson said the newly revitalized organization will be targeting Ohio congressional districts 1, 12 and 16, as well as the race for attorney general and the race for president.

House Minority Leader Joyce Beatty (D-Columbus)Superdelegate and Ohio House Minority Leader Joyce Beatty (D - Columbus) announced her support for Barack Obama in a statement, saying he is the right person for the job. Beatty becomes the seventh Ohio superdelegate to support Obama, compared to eight for Clinton and six more who are still undecided.

"I have spoken to Sen. Obama several times about his ideas for moving our nation past the failed policies of the Bush administration," Beatty said. "I like Sen. Obama's stances on issues important to all Americans, and I am proud that an African-American has the trust and the support of people across all cross-sections of our society in this historic campaign. He has brought energy and an excitement to this race that inspires people, and he is the right person for the job."

Ohio's new Attorney General, Nancy Hardin Rogers: Moritz College of Law PhotoGov. Ted Strickland tapped Ohio State University's Moritz College of Law Dean Nancy Hardin Rogers to act as interim attorney general Wednesday, two weeks after Marc Dann resigned from the position amidst scandal.

Rogers will serve as attorney general until voters go to the polls Nov. 4 to pick a successor to Dann. Rogers became Dean in 2001, after serving as vice provost for academic administration. She is a graduate of the University of Kansas and Yale Law School, and after serving as law clerk for U.S. District Judge Thomas D. Lambros in Cleveland, began teaching at Ohio State in 1976.