State Legislative Tracker: Two Ohio legislators resign

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December 8, 2014

Edited by Joel Williams
This week’s tracker includes an update on the recount situation in Maine and a look at two resignations in Ohio.

Weekly highlight

  • Maine: Last week, the Tracker reported on a still-unresolved State Senate election in Maine. As the Legislature met to begin its new session last Wednesday, the story took yet another turn. It was expected that Cathy Breen (D), the winner by 32 votes on election night, would be provisionally recognized as the District 25 incumbent as requested by Secretary of State Matt Dunlap (D). The Senate instead voted to seat her opponent, Cathy Manchester (R), by a party-line vote. Breen commented, "I think there was [sic] so many mysteries surrounding this election that nobody really should be sitting in that seat." Manchester countered that the district needed representation.[1] Manchester came out ahead in a controversial recount that saw the appearance of 21 additional ballots, all for Manchester, from the town of Long Island, although the number of ballots then exceeded the vote tally on election night, 192 to 171.[2][3] Democrats strongly objected to the result, which leaves the race to be decided by a vote of the Senate. A special committee for the purpose of investigating the matter was formed on Wednesday; Roger Katz (R) and assistant minority leader Dawn Hill (D) were named as chairs. The committee will meet tomorrow to interview several parties to the recount, including the Long Island town clerk and the candidates. Differences quickly appeared among the committee in its initial meeting; Katz expressed a wish for the committee to finish its work in one day, while Democrats suggested against rapidity. Bill Diamond, one of the Democratic committee members, said, "In my mind, there are no restrictions on time." Democrats are also looking for nine other ballots from Gray and Westbrook to be included in the investigation. Once the committee concludes its inquiry, it shall then make a recommendation to the full Senate.[4] Final results were certified last week; Breen defeated Manchester by the same margin as seen in election night returns.[5] Also last Wednesday, the legislature held its elections for three state executive offices; while Democrats were able to hold onto the offices of attorney general and secretary of state, the new treasurer is an independent, former Rep. Terry Hayes, who was nominated by the Republican caucus. Because Manchester was seated, Democrats currently hold exactly half of the 186 voting seats in the legislature.[6]
  • Ohio: Two members of the Ohio General Assembly, one state senator and one state representative, resigned within the past week. Former Sen. Shirley Smith (D-21), resigned on November 30, 2014, with only a few weeks remaining in her term. She was ineligible to run for re-election this year due to term limits.[7] She resigned because she would not be eligible for health insurance through her state pension plan if she did not resign before December 1, 2014.[8] Changed in October 2012 by the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System (OPERS), retirees must have at least 20 years of service, previously 10 years, and be age 60 or older to be eligible for health insurance through the pension system.[7] She will be replaced by senator-elect Rep. Sandra Williams (D), who won her seat in November. Rep. Peter Beck (R-54) resigned on December 1, 2014, citing "some personal matters" to take care of in December and an inability to attend the December legislative sessions.[9] In February 2014, Beck was indicted by a grand jury on 53 counts and on another 16 counts in July. Beck is charged with multiple counts of perjury, theft, fraud, money laundering, receiving stolen property and one count of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity.[10] All 69 charges against Beck are felonies and most of the charges stem from Beck's involvement in an alleged scheme to cheat investors of over $200,000 in a software company called C-Tech.[11] Beck's trial is scheduled for December 18, 2014.[12] Beck's resignation comes almost a year after House speaker William G. Batchelder (R) called for his resignation.[9] Beck was defeated in his re-election bid by Paul Zeltwanger (R) in the Republican primary. Zeltwanger was elected to the seat in November and could be soon appointed to the seat. With the resignations, both legislators will miss the lame duck session where key votes on education, concealed carry guidelines and redistricting are supposed to take place.[7]
  • South Carolina: A judge has set a $50,000 personal recognizance bond for former Sen. Robert Ford. Ford appeared in court on December 3, 2014, for a short hearing to set bond on eight charges that include ethics violations, misconduct in office and forgery.[13] Ford was indicted in October 2014 on misconduct in office, forgery less than $10,000 and six Ethics Act violations: two counts each of personal use of campaign funds, depositing campaign contributions into personal accounts and false reporting. State prosecutors claimed he improperly benefited from his public office, using campaign money for personal use, then filing false campaign reports and submitting forgeries to the Senate Ethics Committee.[14] According to South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, the charges stem from allegations that Ford deposited campaign funds into his own bank account and paid for personal expenses with campaign money.[15] In a case that is eerily similar to the controversy that embroiled former South Carolina House of Representatives Speaker Bobby Harrell, Jr. recently, Ford was charged in November with misconduct in office, forgery less than $10,000, two counts of personal use of campaign funds, two counts of depositing campaign contributions into personal bank accounts and two counts of false reporting.[15] All of the charges levied against Ford are misdemeanors, except for the forgery charge. If convicted of the latter, Ford could face up to five years in prison.[15]
First elected in 1993, Ford resigned from the South Carolina State Senate on May 31, 2013, amid similar corruption allegations.[16] According to officials, shortly after resigning from the State Senate, Ford took nearly $15,000 out of his campaign account to pay for personal expenses. In May, 2014, the Senate Ethics Committee fined him $30,000 for 15 violations of state ethics laws. He was ordered to donate $14,758 to a statewide organization that supports programs to prevent child abuse called the Children's Trust. At the time, however, Ford's attorney, William Runyon, stated that Ford did not have the funds to make such a donation to the organization. Runyon claims the former Senator is simply a sloppy bookkeeper, but is being targeted due to the "current zeal for taking lawmakers to task over questionable campaign spending."[13]

Sessions

Regular sessions

Current sessions capture for the week of December 8, 2014
See also: Dates of 2014 state legislative sessions
Click here to see a chart of each state's 2014 session information.

Currently 3 out of 50 state legislatures is meeting in regular session. Ohio is meeting in Skeleton Session. A Skeleton Session typically includes very short nonvoting sessions instead of regular sessions with a full chamber.[17]

The following states have adjourned their 2014 regular session:[18]

In recess

As of today, December 8, there are no state legislatures currently in recess.[19]

2014 Legislative Elections

See also: State legislative elections, 2014

A total of 87 of the 99 chambers held state legislative elections on November 4, 2014.

The 87 chambers with elections in 2014 were in 46 states. They were:

The Kansas, Minnesota, New Mexico and South Carolina senates also typically hold elections in even years. However, senators are elected to 4-year terms in those states and those were not up for election again until 2016.

1,099 of the country's 1,972 state senate seats were up for re-election in November 2014, and 4,958 of the country's 5,411 state house seats were up for re-election. Altogether, 6,057 of the country's 7,383 state legislative seats were up for re-election on November 4, 2014.

Election results

Heading into the 2014 elections, Republicans held a majority of state legislative chambers. Fifty-nine chambers, counting the New York State Senate and Washington State Senate, were under Republican control. (Although the New York State Senate and Washington State Senate technically had Democratic majorities, in both states a coalition arrangement between several break-away Democrats and the minority Republicans gave the Republicans effective control of those chambers.) Democrats held effective controlling majorities in 39 chambers: 18 state senates and 21 state houses. Although technically nonpartisan, the Nebraska State Senate was controlled by a Republican majority.[20]

The following table details partisan balance in all 99 chambers.

Partisan Balance of All 99 Chambers Before and After 2014 Elections
Pre-election Post-election
Legislative Chamber Democratic Party Republican Party Split balance Grey.png Democratic Party Republican Party Split balance Grey.png
State senates 18 31* 0 1 14 35[21] 0 1
State houses 21 28 0 0 16 33 0 0
Total: 39 59* 0 1 30 68 0 1

*Note: Although Democrats had numerical majorities in both the New York State Senate and Washington State Senate, coalitions gave Republicans control of those chambers.

Fourteen independent candidates were elected to state legislatures in 2014, two in state senates and twelve in state houses. Of the 218 independent candidates that ran for election in 2014, 6.4 percent won election.[22]

Primary Information

See also: Signature requirements and deadlines for 2014 state legislative elections

The state legislative filing deadlines and primary dates were as follows:

Note: Ballot access is a complicated issue. The dates in the table below are primarily for candidates filing for access to the primary. For more detailed information about each state's qualification requirements -- including all relevant ballot access dates for the primary and general election -- click to our detailed pages in the state column.

2014 State Legislative Primary Information
State Filing Deadline Primary Date Days from Deadline to Primary
Alabama Red padlock.png 2/7/2014 Red padlock.png 6/3/2014 116
Alaska Red padlock.png 6/2/2014[23] Red padlock.png 8/19/2014 78
Arizona Red padlock.png 5/28/2014[24] Red padlock.png 8/26/2014 90
Arkansas Red padlock.png 3/3/2014[25][26] Red padlock.png 5/20/2014 78
California Red padlock.png 3/7/2014[27][28][29] Red padlock.png 6/3/2014 88
Colorado Red padlock.png 3/31/2014[30][31] Red padlock.png 6/24/2014 85
Connecticut Red padlock.png 6/10/2014[32] Red padlock.png 8/12/2014 90
Delaware Red padlock.png 7/8/2014 Red padlock.png 9/9/2014 63
Florida Red padlock.png 6/20/2014[33][34] Red padlock.png 8/26/2014 67
Georgia Red padlock.png 3/7/2014 Red padlock.png 5/20/2014 74
Hawaii Red padlock.png 6/3/2014[35] Red padlock.png 8/9/2014 67
Idaho Red padlock.png 3/14/2014 Red padlock.png 5/20/2014 78
Illinois Red padlock.png 12/2/2013 Red padlock.png 3/18/2014 106
Indiana Red padlock.png 2/7/2014 Red padlock.png 5/6/2014 88
Iowa Red padlock.png 3/14/2014 Red padlock.png 6/3/2014 81
Kansas Red padlock.png 6/2/2014 Red padlock.png 8/5/2014 65
Kentucky Red padlock.png 1/28/2014[36][37] Red padlock.png 5/20/2014 112
Maine Red padlock.png 3/17/2014[38] Red padlock.png 6/10/2014 85
Maryland Red padlock.png 2/25/2014[39] Red padlock.png 6/24/2014 119
Massachusetts Red padlock.png 6/3/2014[40] Red padlock.png 9/9/2014 98
Michigan Red padlock.png 4/22/2014 Red padlock.png 8/5/2014 105
Minnesota Red padlock.png 6/3/2014 Red padlock.png 8/12/2014 70
Missouri Red padlock.png 3/25/2014 Red padlock.png 8/5/2014 133
Montana Red padlock.png 3/10/2014 Red padlock.png 6/3/2014 85
Nebraska Red padlock.png 3/3/2014[41] Red padlock.png 5/13/2014 85
Nevada Red padlock.png 3/14/2014 Red padlock.png 6/10/2014 88
New Hampshire Red padlock.png 6/13/2014 Red padlock.png 9/9/2014 88
New Mexico Red padlock.png 2/4/2014 Red padlock.png 6/3/2014 119
New York Red padlock.png 7/10/2014 Red padlock.png 9/9/2014 61
North Carolina Red padlock.png 2/28/2014 Red padlock.png 5/6/2014 67
North Dakota Red padlock.png 4/7/2014 Red padlock.png 6/10/2014 64
Ohio Red padlock.png 2/5/2014 Red padlock.png 5/6/2014 90
Oklahoma Red padlock.png 4/11/2014 Red padlock.png 6/24/2014 74
Oregon Red padlock.png 3/11/2014 Red padlock.png 5/20/2014 70
Pennsylvania Red padlock.png 3/11/2014 Red padlock.png 5/20/2014 70
Rhode Island Red padlock.png 6/25/2014 Red padlock.png 9/9/2014 76
South Carolina Red padlock.png 3/30/2014 Red padlock.png 6/10/2014 72
South Dakota Red padlock.png 3/25/2014 Red padlock.png 6/3/2014 70
Tennessee Red padlock.png 4/3/2014 Red padlock.png 8/7/2014 126
Texas Red padlock.png 12/9/2013 Red padlock.png 3/4/2014 85
Utah Red padlock.png 3/20/2014 Red padlock.png 6/24/2014 96
Vermont Red padlock.png 6/12/2014 Red padlock.png 8/26/2014 75
Washington Red padlock.png 5/17/2014 Red padlock.png 8/5/2014 80
West Virginia Red padlock.png 1/25/2014 Red padlock.png 5/13/2014 108
Wisconsin Red padlock.png 6/2/2014 Red padlock.png 8/12/2014 71
Wyoming Red padlock.png 5/30/2014 Red padlock.png 8/19/2014 81


Special Elections

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See also: State legislative special elections, 2014

There are two special elections scheduled this week: one each in California and Virginia.

California State Senate District 35

See also: California state legislative special elections, 2014

Isadore Hall, III (D) defeated Louis L. Dominguez (D), Hector Serrano (D) and James Spencer (R) in the special election on December 9, 2014.[42][43]

The seat was vacant following Roderick Wright's (D) resignation on September 22, 2014, after he was convicted in a perjury and voting fraud case.[44]

A special election for the position of California State Senate District 35 was called for December 9, with a runoff on February 10, 2015, if necessary. The filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was October 17, 2014.[45]

California State Senate, District 35, Special Election, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngIsadore Hall, III 55.9% 17,951
     Republican James Spencer 25% 8,014
     Democratic Louis L. Dominguez 12.7% 4,067
     Democratic Hector Serrano 6.4% 2,069
Total Votes 32,101


December 9 special election candidates:
Democratic Party Louis L. Dominguez
Democratic Party Isadore Hall, III
Democratic Party Hector Serrano
Republican Party James Spencer

Virginia House of Delegates District 4

See also: Virginia state legislative special elections, 2014

Todd E. Pillion (R) defeated Donnie W. Rife (D) in the special election on December 9.[46][43]

The seat was vacant following A. Benton Chafin's (R) election to the Virginia State Senate on August 19, 2014.[47]

A special election for the position of Virginia House of Delegates District 4 was called for December 9. Candidates were nominated by their party rather than chosen through a primary. The nominating deadline for parties was October 9.[48]

Virginia House of Delegates, District 4, Special Election, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngTodd E. Pillion 66.3% 4,570
     Democratic Donnie W. Rife 33.7% 2,327
Total Votes 6,897


December 9 special election candidates:
Democratic Party Donnie W. Rife
Republican Party Todd E. Pillion

Recent results

☑ Texas State Senate District 18

See also: Texas state legislative special elections, 2014

Lois W. Kolkhorst (R) defeated Cindy Drabek (D), Christian E. Hawkins (D), Gary Gates (R) and Charles Gregory (R) off in the special election on December 6, 2014.[49][43]

The seat was vacant following Glenn Hegar's (R) election as Texas Comptroller on November 4, 2014.[50]

A special election for the position of Texas State Senate District 18 was called for December 6, 2014. The filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was November 19, 2014.

Texas State Senate, District 18, Special Election, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngLois W. Kolkhorst 55.8% 21,961
     Republican Gary Gates 34.2% 13,439
     Democratic Cindy Drabek 4.8% 1,893
     Democratic Christian E. Hawkins 3.3% 1,280
     Republican Charles Gregory 2% 779
Total Votes 39,352

[50]

December 6 special election candidates:
Democratic Party Cindy Drabek
Democratic Party Christian E. Hawkins
Republican Party Gary Gates
Republican Party Charles Gregory
Republican Party Lois W. Kolkhorst

Looking ahead

Upcoming special elections include:

See also

Footnotes

  1. ↑ WCSH, "Republican seated in disputed Maine Senate District 25 seat," December 3, 2014
  2. ↑ WGME, "Cumberland Co. Senator sworn into office even though election results are in dispute," December 3, 2014
  3. ↑ NECN, "Republican Placed in Disputed Maine Senate Seat," November 3, 2014
  4. ↑ Bangor Daily News, "Maine Senate votes to seat GOP candidate Manchester in still-contested race," December 3, 2014
  5. ↑ Maine Secretary of State, "State Senator," accessed December 4, 2014
  6. ↑ Portland Press Herald, "Maine Legislature re-elects two Democratic officers," December 3, 2014
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Cleveland.com, "Cleveland Sen. Shirley Smith resigns Senate seat," December 3, 2014
  8. ↑ Wosu.org, "A Second State Lawmaker Resigning Before End Of Session," accessed December 5, 2014
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Columbus Dispatch, "Indicted state Rep. Peter Beck resigns," December 2, 2014
  10. ↑ www.fox19.com, "State Rep. Peter Beck indicted on 53 more counts," accessed February 13, 2014
  11. ↑ www.upi.com, "Ohio state representative indicated on 69 counts," accessed February 13, 2014
  12. ↑ Cleveland.com, "Rep. Peter Beck resigns from Ohio House," December 1, 2014
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Meg Kinnard, Associated Press, Daily Reporter, "Judge sets bond for ex-Sen. Robert Ford on multiple charges including misconduct, forgery," December 3, 2014
  14. ↑ Meg Kinnard, Associated Press, The Augusta Chronicle, "Judge sets bond for former South Carolina Sen. Robert Ford," December 3, 2014
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 Casey Vaughn, Fox Carolina, "Former SC Sen. Robert Ford indicted, accused of misconduct in office," November 14, 2014
  16. ↑ WYFF 4 "SC Senator resigns amidst ethics investigation," May 31, 2013
  17. ↑ Cleveland.com, "Ohio's 2014 legislative calendar will be crammed with election-year politicking and backroom pleading: Thomas Suddes," December 15, 2013
  18. ↑ Stateside Associates, " Session Calendar 2014," accessed December 8, 2014
  19. ↑ StateNet, " Daily Session Summary," accessed December 8, 2014
  20. ↑ Omaha.com, "Democrats cut into GOP lead in Nebraska Legislature," accessed May 13, 2014 (dead link)
  21. ↑ Note: West Virginia was originally tied but State Senator Daniel Hall changed from the Democratic to the Republican Party the day after the election, giving partisan control to the Republicans.
  22. ↑ ballot-access.org, "Fourteen Independent Candidates Elected to State Legislatures," November 6, 2014
  23. ↑ Alaska Statutes, "Section 15.25, Nomination of Candidates," accessed October 31, 2013
  24. ↑ Secretary of State Website, "2014 Election Important Dates," accessed November 4, 2013
  25. ↑ Running for Public Office, "A 'Plain English' Handbook for Candidates," 2012 Edition, accessed October 21, 2013 (dead link)
  26. ↑ Arkansas Code of 1987, "Title 7, Elections," accessed October 30, 2013
  27. ↑ Summary of Qualifications and Requirements for the Office of State Senator, Member of the Assembly, "June 3, 2014, Primary Election," accessed October 21, 2013
  28. ↑ California Elections Code, "Section 8100-8107," accessed October 28, 2013
  29. ↑ California Secretary of State Website, "Key Dates and Deadlines," accessed October 21, 2013
  30. ↑ Colorado Secretary of State Website, "Major Political Parties FAQs," accessed October 31, 2013
  31. ↑ Colorado Revised Statutes, "Title 1, Elections," accessed October 31, 2013
  32. ↑ Connecticut Secretary of State Website, "Frequently Asked Questions, Nominating Papers," accessed October 31, 2013
  33. ↑ Florida Department of State Division of Elections, "2013-2014 Dates to Remember," accessed November 6, 2013
  34. ↑ 2013 Florida Statutes, "Section 99.061," accessed December 2, 2014
  35. ↑ Hawaii State Legislature, "HRS §12-6 Nomination papers: time for filing; fees", accessed May 22, 2013
  36. ↑ 2014 Kentucky Election Calendar, accessed November 12, 2013
  37. ↑ Kentucky State Board of Elections "Candidate Qualifications and Filing Fees" accessed November 26, 2011
  38. ↑ Maine Secretary of State "State of Maine 2014 Candidate's Guide to Ballot Access," accessed February 11, 2014
  39. ↑ The State Board of Elections, "Candidacy," accessed November 5, 2013
  40. ↑ 2014 Massachusetts State Primary and State Election Schedule, accessed December 2, 2013
  41. ↑ Official Election Calendar for the State of Nebraska, accessed November 18, 2014
  42. ↑ California Secretary of State, "Notice to Candidates," accessed October 20, 2014
  43. ↑ 43.0 43.1 43.2 California Secretary of State, "Official election results," accessed December 31, 2014 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "result" defined multiple times with different content Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "result" defined multiple times with different content
  44. ↑ Los Angeles Times, "Sen. Wright to resign Sept. 22, start sentence Oct. 31," September 15, 2014
  45. ↑ California Secretary of State, "State Senate District 35 - Special Election," accessed September 29, 2014
  46. ↑ Virginia Department of Elections, "Official candidate list," accessed October 31, 2014
  47. ↑ Virginia Department of Elections, "Unofficial special election results," accessed August 20, 2014
  48. ↑ TriCities.com, "Special election set to fill 4th District House of Delegates seat in Virginia," September 16, 2014
  49. ↑ Texas Secretary of State, "Official candidate list," accessed November 21, 2014
  50. ↑ 50.0 50.1 statesman.com, "As Hegar resigns, Dec. 6 special election set for Senate District 18," November 14, 2014
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