(Columbus) - State House Speaker Larry Householder is said to have made campaign contributions to a number of candidates for the House, as part of his alleged scheme to get House Bill 6 to pass.
Cleveland.com says ten current first-term members of the state House all received campaign contributions from Householder in 2018, and Householder recruited nine of those ten. Nine of the ten voted for HB6, which provides state support for the Perry and Davis-Besse nuclear power plants, operated by Energy Harbor, which was formerly known as FirstEnergy Solutions, and was a subsidiary of FirstEnergy.
Most of these House members also received contributions from FirstEnergy's political action committee, either in the GOP primary, in the general election, or both.
- Brian Baldridge, received $25,415 from Householder, and $13,000 from FirstEnergy's PAC
- Jamie Callendar, of Lake County, received $7.707 from Householder, and $13.700 from the PAC
- Jon Cross, received $25.415 from Householder, and $12,900 from the PAC
- Brett Hillyer, received $17,707 from Householder, and $12,707 from the PAC
- Don Jones, received $20,415 from Householder, nothing from the PAC
- Jena Powell, received $20,415 from Householder, and $12,707 from the PAC. She voted against HB6
- Tracy Richardson, received $8,344 from Householder, and $10,000 from the PAC
- Bill Roemer, of Summit County, received $10,221 from Householder, and $1,000 from the PAC
- J. Todd Smith, received $10,000 from Householder, nothing from the PAC. He was not Householder's choice in the GOP primary,
- Shane Wilkin, received $10,207 from Householder, $13,000 from the PAC
Householder, one of his top aides, and three lobbyists, are all accused of creating a scheme that got Householder elected State House Speaker, so he could push for passage of HB6.
(Photo courtesy State House of Representatives)
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