Tuesday, Democrats helped elect Jason Stephens, a vaguely mainstream conservative, Republican Speaker of the Ohio House, denying it to vicious MAGAt Derek Merrin, who won the leadership vote in the very far right GOP caucus last month and expected to waltz into the speakership with his fully fascist agenda. All 32 Democrats joined 22 Republicans to elect Stephens.
Yesterday, Anna Staver reported it was a stunning upset, “that essentially let Democrats pick the leader of a chamber where Republicans outnumber them two to one. Conservatives called it ‘absurd’ and ‘disgusting.’ House Minority Leader Allison Russo (D-Upper Arlington) called it an opportunity to work with a speaker who ‘would work with us on the issues we could agree on.’ And Stephens promised to ‘try to do my best to communicate and to listen and to be there for all members of the House regardless of party. I intend to listen, and I intend to be very open and receptive to all members of the Ohio House,’ he said. ‘We represent all of Ohio… I'm really looking forward to working with Rep. Merrin and those who may not have voted for me,’ Stephens said. Merrin declined to comment.”
Russo told reporters she made no "grand deal" with Stephens in exchange for her party's 32 votes, but she did say they reached an understanding about how to work together on everything from education policy to redistricting.
"There was lots of discussion about things and areas of agreement," Russo said.
Stephens gave reporters a similar answer about bipartisanship but declined to get into specifics.
When asked whether a failed plan to make it harder to amend Ohio's constitution would be coming back, he said, "We will have to look at that."
Conservatives in Stephens' party aren't so sure that will happen.
Rep. Brian Stewart (R-Ashville) wrote on Twitter after the speaker vote that he suspected stopping his resolution to require 60% of the vote to amend Ohio's constitution was part of the deal.
Stephens is "very much" not a Democrat, Equality Ohio Public Policy Director Mario Bruno wrote on Twitter, but his election changes what she expects to see in terms of anti-LGBTQ legislation over the next two years.
She expected "a full-court press" against the gay community but now wonders whether "there's potential for proactive stuff."
"There is this concept where people can disagree dramatically and still have a functional decision-making process rather than just burning everything to the ground," Bruno wrote.