Rotunda Rumblings
Stalking clarification: Ohio’s Supreme Court says you can be convicted of menacing by stalking even if you never make an explicit threat and aren’t told to stop. The unanimous ruling came Tuesday in a case where a man repeatedly messaged a woman on Instagram, showed up at her apartment uninvited, and continued contacting her even after police warned him. Anna Staver reports the justices decided his actions formed a “pattern of conduct” that caused her mental distress even if the messages weren’t in themselves threatening.
Kick into gear: Cleveland State University announced Wednesday that it will re-enter a student transit pass program with the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority. The school blamed the recently passed budget for forcing it to leave the U-Pass program. However, Gov. Mike DeWine’s press secretary called the school’s interpretation “a ridiculous reading of the law.” The Ohio Department of Higher Education said CSU had received an exemption to state law in 2005 to run the U-Pass program from the Ohio Board of Regents, the predecessor agency to the Department of Higher Education, Laura Hancock reports.
City Club visit: Sen. Bernie Moreno will participate in a public forum at The City Club of Cleveland next week, Mary Frances McGowan reports. The event, scheduled for Aug. 20, will feature NBC News’ Henry Gomez in conversation with the Westlake Republican. Moreno also will take questions from the audience, as is The City Club’s tradition.
Parenting in the spotlight: When 3-year-old children have public meltdowns, it’s typically just another day of parenting. But when you’re vice president of the United States, those same toddler tantrums can become viral moments that follow your family forever, Sabrina Eaton writes. JD Vance has developed a specific strategy for handling these situations, and it differs sharply from his wife’s approach. In a podcast interview this week, the Cincinnati Republican revealed how he and second lady Usha Vance navigate the unique challenges of parenting small children under constant public scrutiny.
Fishy trip: British Foreign Secretary David Lammy has admitted he did not have a license to go fishing with Vice President JD Vance this week and has blamed the oversight on an “administrative error,” BBC reports. He has since purchased a license and written to the nation’s Environmental Agency to confess the mistake. The foreign secretary did not catch any fish when he went angling with the US vice-president at his official residence at Chevening House, Kent, last week, but Vance’s children did. All fish that were caught were returned to the private lake. BBC has asked Vance’s office if the Cincinnati Republican had bought a license.
Machine ban blocked: Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose has blocked efforts in Seneca and Monroe counties to repeal the use of voting machines, saying state law only allows voters to adopt them, not abolish them. Signal Ohio reports the ruling is a setback for a GOP-aligned activist group seeking to return all Ohio counties to hand-counted paper ballots.
Same cup of tea? In England on Wednesday morning, Vance met with Nigel Farage, the leader of the insurgent, anti-immigrant party Reform U.K., The New York Times reports. Farage and the vice president’s office would not reveal what they discussed, but the two share common ground on issues like free-speech rights, which both have claimed are under threat in Britain.
Game change? New legislation from Ohio House Democrats would prohibit state lawmakers from accepting any free or discounted tickets to professional sports games that aren’t also available to the general public. As Haley BeMiller of the Columbus Dispatch reports, state Rep. Sean Brennan, a Parma Democrat co-sponsoring House Bill 409, says accepting such tickets -- as a handful of lawmakers from both parties have in recent years -- is a “clear conflict of interest,” given the legislature is providing $600 million toward a new Cleveland Browns stadium. Brennan said the proposal wouldn’t apply to college sports games because lawmakers could interact with school leaders and there isn’t a perception that team owners are rewarding them.
Full court press: The Democratic former state officials behind a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of raiding Ohio’s unclaimed funds account to provide $600 million for a new Browns stadium have urged the U.S. Supreme Court to accept a lawsuit filed against similar rules in California. In an amicus brief filed earlier this week, attorneys Marc Dann and Jeff Crossman argued that, like Ohio’s new law, a California law allowing the state to seize dormant assets “lacks a legitimate public purpose and violates fundamental constitutional protections for private property rights.”
Full Disclosure
Here are five things we learned from the May 9, 2025 ethics disclosure form filed by state Sen. Andrew Brenner, a Powell Republican, about his 2024 finances:
1. In addition to his $82,198.92 Senate salary last year, Brenner made somewhere between $1,000 to $9,999 each in rental income and from working as an insurance agent for Brenner Insurance Group LLC.
2. Besides his insurance group, Brenner and/or his wife, Sara Marie Brenner, do business under a variety of other names as well. They include: The Right Idea LLC, Cedar Grove Properties LLC, Engage Strategies, Empowerment Family Financial Group, Brenner Homes LLC, Crane & Pearl Realty LLC, Brenner Real Estate Team LLC, and Brenner Beach Bungalow, LLC.
3. The Ohio Senate paid Brenner $1,281.80 in mileage reimbursements last year.
4. At some point in 2024, Brenner owed at least $1,000 to 11 entities, including mortgage servicers Select Portfolio Servicing, Specialized Loan Servicing, Fay Servicing LLC, BFI Loan Servicing LLC, and First Community Mortgage. Other creditors included NelNet (a student-loan servicer), Capital One, Huntington National Bank, Verizon Wireless, and a Best Buy credit card.
5. Brenner reported owning two properties besides his home: a single-family house in the city of Delaware and an agricultural property northeast of the city.
Birthdays
Grace Flajnik, legislative aide to state Rep. Gayle Manning
State Rep. Thomas Hall
Kaitlyn May, Ohio Senate Democrats’ policy advisor
Straight From The Source
“I do think a @SenSherrodBrown and @TimRyan ticket … US Senate and Governor would be formidable… hope it happens!”
- Jamie Harrison, former Democratic National Committee chair, posting on X about who he wants his party to nominate for U.S. Senate and governor in Ohio next year. Harrison’s post followed news Tuesday that Brown has decided to attempt a return to the Senate, as well as a statement from a Ryan spokesman that the former congressman’s interest in running for governor has been “renewed and heightened” by Brown’s decision.
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