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Cliff Hite
Clifford 'Cliff' K. Hite is a former Republican member of the Ohio State Senate, representing District 1 from 2011 to 2017. He resigned his seat on October 16, 2017. On October 18, 2017, he released a statement on Twitter saying his resignation was related to both health issues and what he called "inappropriate behavior" with a legislative staffer.[1]
Hite served in the Ohio House of Representatives, representing District 76 from 2007 to 2011.
Biography
Hite earned his B.S. in Secondary Education and Social Studies from the University of Kentucky in 1977. His professional experience includes working as a teacher and coach at Findlay High School.[2]
Committee assignments
2017 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:
| Ohio committee assignments, 2017 |
|---|
| • Agriculture, Chair |
| • Education |
| • Energy and Natural Resources |
| • Public Utilities |
| • Rules and Reference |
| • Correctional Institution Inspection, Chair |
| • Joint Education Oversight |
| • Legislative Service Commission |
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Hite served on the following committees:
| Ohio committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Agriculture, Chair |
| • Education, Vice Chair |
| • Energy and Natural Resources |
| • Health and Human Services |
| • Public Utilities |
| • Rules and Reference |
| • Ways and Means |
| • Correctional Institution Inspection, Acting Chair |
| • Legislative Service Commission |
2013-2014
In the 2013-2014 legislative session, Hite served on the following committees:
| Ohio committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Agriculture |
| • Education |
| • Energy and Natural Resources |
| • Insurance and Financial Institutions |
| • Public Utilities |
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Hite served on the following committees:
| Ohio committee assignments, 2011 |
|---|
| • Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resources |
| • Education |
| • Financial Institutions |
| • Government Oversight |
| • Insurance, Commerce and Labor |
2009-2010
In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Hite served on the following committees:
| Ohio committee assignments, 2009 |
|---|
| • Consumer Affairs and Economic Protection |
| • Education |
| • Faith-based Initiatives |
| • State Government |
Issues
Senate Bill 5
Before Senate Bill 5 passed the Ohio State Senate, the bill almost stalled in the Insurance, Commerce and Labor Committee. Needing 7 votes to advance the bill to the floor, Republican leadership realized that only six yes votes were present on the committee. Republican leadership quickly removed Bill Seitz (R-Cincinnati), who opposed the bill, and replaced him with Hite.[3] The change, effective just hours prior to the bill's passage, was sharply criticized by Democratic leadership. Republicans, however, defended the move, saying that it was necessary to move the process forward.[4] The law was repealed in a referendum on November 8, 2011.
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2014
- See also: Ohio State Senate elections, 2014
Elections for the Ohio State Senate took place in 2014. A primary election took place on May 6, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was February 5, 2014. Incumbent Cliff Hite defeated Milo Schaffner and Corey Shankleton in the Republican primary and was unchallenged in the general election.[5]
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
 Cliff Hite Incumbent |
60.6% | 17,890 |
| Corey Shankleton | 21.7% | 6,395 |
| Milo Schaffner | 17.7% | 5,233 |
| Total Votes | 29,518 | |
2012
- See also: Ohio State Senate elections, 2012
Hite won re-election in the 2012 election for Ohio Senate, District 1. Hite was unopposed in the March 6 Republican primary election and was also unopposed in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[6][7]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Cliff Hite |
100% | 107,472 | |
| Total Votes | 107,472 | |||
2010
On November 2, 2010, Hite won re-election to District 76 of the Ohio House of Representatives.[8] He defeated Jeffrey Detmer (D) and Steven Gossard (I) in the general election.[9][10]
| Ohio House of Representatives, District 76 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| Cliff Hite (R)
|
27,037 | 70.78% | ||
| Jeffrey Detmer (D) | 7,631 | 19.98% | ||
| Steven Gossard (I) | 3,528 | 9.24% | ||
2008
On November 4, 2008, Hite won re-election to the Ohio House of Representatives.[11][12] He defeated Patrick Matheny (WI,I) in the general election.[13]
| Ohio House of Representatives, District 76 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Cliff Hite (R)
|
43,555 | |||
| Patrick Matheny (WI) (I) | 712 | |||
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Ohio scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2017
In 2017, the 132nd Ohio General Assembly was in session from January 2 through December 31.
- Legislators are scored based on their votes on bills impacting Ohio's business community.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
2016
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2016, the 131st Ohio General Assembly was in session from January 5 through December 31.
|
2015
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2015, the 131st Ohio General Assembly was in session from January 5 through December 31.
|
2014
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2014, the 130th Ohio General Assembly was in session from January 7 through December 31.
|
2013
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2013, the 130th Ohio General Assembly was in session from January 7 to December 31.
|
2012
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2012, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2012, the 129th Ohio General Assembly was in session from January 3 through December 31.
|
2011
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2011, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2011, the 129th Ohio General Assembly was in session from January 3 through December 31.[14]
|
Noteworthy events
Resignation following admission of inappropriate behavior (2017)
Hite resigned from the Ohio State Senate on October 16, 2017, releasing a statement on Twitter saying his resignation was related to both health issues and what he called "inappropriate behavior" with a legislative staffer.[15] On October 28, the Associated Press reported that the director of the Ohio Legislative Service Commission had written a memo detailing allegations of sexual harassment against Hite from August to October in 2017. Following the memo's release, Hite issued a statement saying that it contained inaccuracies.[16]
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Hite and his wife, Diane, have three children. They currently reside in Findlay, Ohio.[2]
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Cliff + Hite + Ohio + Senate"
- All stories may not be relevant to this legislator due to the nature of the search engine.
See also
- Ohio State Senate
- Senate Committees
- Ohio General Assembly
- Joint Committees
- Ohio state legislative districts
External links
- Profile from Open States
- Representative Hite's State Surge sponsored bills
- Campaign contributions via OpenSecrets
Footnotes
- ↑ Cleveland.com, "Cliff Hite says 'inappropriate behavior' with state worker led him to resign Ohio Senate," October 18, 2017
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Project Vote Smart, "Biography of Sen. Cliff Hite," accessed June 10, 2014
- ↑ Cleveland Leader, "Ohio Republicans Reconfigure Senate Committee to Ensure Passage of SB 5," March 2, 2011(Archived)
- ↑ Wall Street Journal, "Ohio Senate Passes Bill Curbing Bargaining," March 2, 2011
- ↑ Ohio Secretary of State, "Official primary election results for May 6, 2014," accessed July 3, 2014
- ↑ Ohio Chamber of Commerce, "2012 General Assembly Primary Candidates," January 17, 2012
- ↑ Ohio Secretary of State, "Ohio official results for 2012 General Election," accessed June 10, 2014
- ↑ Ohio Secretary of State, "State Representative: Results for general election on November 2, 2010," accessed June 11, 2014
- ↑ Ohio Secretary of State, "Democratic State Representative: Results for Primary: May 4, 2010," accessed June 11, 2014
- ↑ Ohio Secretary of State, "Republican State Representative: Results for Primary: May 4, 2010," accessed June 11, 2014
- ↑ Ohio Secretary of State, "Republican State Representative: Results for Primary: March 4, 2008," accessed June 11, 2014
- ↑ Ohio Secretary of State, "Democratic State Representative: Results for Primary: March 4, 2008," accessed June 11, 2014
- ↑ Ohio Secretary of State, "State Representative: Results for general election on November 4, 2008," accessed June 11, 2014
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "2011 Legislative Sessions Calendar," accessed June 6, 2014(Archived)
- ↑ Cleveland.com, "Cliff Hite says 'inappropriate behavior' with state worker led him to resign Ohio Senate," October 18, 2017
- ↑ U.S. News and World Report, "Memo Details Sexual Harassment by Ex-Ohio State Senator," October 28, 2017
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Stephen Buehrer (R) |
Ohio State Senate District 1 2011–2017 |
Succeeded by Robert McColley (R) |
| Preceded by ' |
Ohio House of Representatives - District 76 2007–2011 |
Succeeded by Robert Sprague (R) |
