Dems launch plan for voters to recall Gov. Kasich

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COLUMBUS — Two House Democrats on Wednesday announced plans for legislation to let Ohio voters recall Republican Gov. John Kasich, other statewide nonjudicial officeholders and state legislators.

“Folks are upset with the direction of the state. Folks are upset with the direction of the governor,” said Rep. Mike Foley, D-Cleveland, a Dayton native and brother of Montgomery County Commissioner Dan Foley.

Kasich brushed off the effort.

“My whole purpose is to fix this state. When you take a look at what we did over the period of the last 90 days, it’s pretty remarkable...,” Kasich said. “That’s where my focus is. I don’t pay a lot of attention to the other political things that are going on.”

Foley and Rep. Robert Hagan, D-Youngstown, said Kasich’s low approval ratings – 30 percent in last month’s Quinnipiac University poll — indicate that people are upset with the governor over Senate Bill 5, legislation he signed restricting public employee collective bargaining, and other issues.

The recall legislation, to be introduced next week, may go nowhere because Republicans control the House and Senate. House Speaker William Batchelder, R-Medina, believes Ohioans already have “recall” authority with statewide elections every four years and legislative elections every two and four years, said Mike Dittoe, Batchelder’s spokesman.

Dan Birdsong, a University of Dayton political scientist, called the proposal “political posturing at this point.”

“It’ll be interesting to see how it’s responded to,” said Birdsong.

Ohio permits voters to recall local, but not state, elected officials before their terms are up. Nineteen states permit the recall of state officials, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

The Foley-Hagan plan would require a recall petition to be signed by the number of registered voters equal to 15 percent of the total vote for governor in the last election or in a particular legislative district.

For governor, the number would be 577,871.

Voters would be asked two questions: should the officeholder be recalled and who should replace him or her, with choices coming from a candidate list filed for the ballot.

Contact this reporter at (614) 224-1608 or whershey @DaytonDailyNews.com.