Getting traction with blogging

For many of us in elected office, finding time to share information and thoughts on a regular basis is difficult. Witness the last time I posted on this blog was in May!

An incredible array of developments unfolded since the last post. A sampling of the variety pack:

1. I did something I would never have predicted. When the state budget came up for debate in the Ohio Senate, my turn came up about 2/3rds of the way into the debate, and I said something to this effect: "Members of the Senate, on this budget, I recommend a restrained group hug!" And, there was a unanimous "yes" vote on the state operating budget for the two-year period, which started on July 1, 2007. I did go on to explain a number of signifant short-comings and problems in the budget plan.
   
2. I entered a period of exploring a possible run for the U.S. Congress in the district represented by Ralph Regula since 1973. This has been a fascinating experience and is coming close now to the time when I'll add up the positives and negatives and make a decision.
   
3. Among my personal major legislative work that is currently at the top of my stack: A) legislation attempting to steer the Muskingham Watershed District back on course as it continues down a path of attempting to impose what amounts to a tax on property owners in 18 counties B) attempting to protect small and medium sized businesses that would be hurt by a multi-state sales tax project unless Ohio's proposal is adopted in a December meeting of the state in Dallas, Texas C) considerations of redrafts of a major electricty industry regulatory bill this weekend and into next week -- a set of policy decisions that will seriously impact Ohio future economic position and the quality of life for our citizens.

These are a few things going on, as of 6:15 PM on Saturday, October 27, 2007!

Community Development and SOBs

Although many legislators are spending long hours helping to write Ohio's next two-year budget, and on a host of major legislative projects, I spend 22 seconds on a bill on Tuesday, May 22, 2007 -- on SB 16, a citizen initiated bill dealing with statewide standards for sexually oriened businesses, which was up for final vote in the Ohio Senate.

This has been a very controversial bill.

Changes in process, but what kind?

Change has been in the wind across many government fronts for months. Now we are beginning to see more specifics begin to appear. Last week Governor Ted Strickland introduce a budget proposal that contains more than 2,000 pages. The week before that he released more than 1,000 pages of information laying out proposals for changes in state government.

On March 14, Governor Strickland delivered the State of the State address to a joint session of the legislature. This too contained a lot of language about change.

All these things are raising question. What should our state's priorities be? How should state government participate in setting these priorities? In many ways the campaign discussions that took place last year are an important part of setting the agenda for state government for 2007.

We are often reminded of the important truth: "The devil is in the details." Now the details are beginning to become evident. In the days ahead I will be calling citizens' attention to a number of issues as they surface in various proposals. There will be a lot to like and a lot to dislike for many who are concerned about our state. I look forward to this important work.

Picking up where we left off

This blog has promise for communicating with the many friends with interest in the issues of the day. It could provide two-way communication. All of us have limited time, so the challenge is to use our time carefully.