Ohio House Speaker Jason Stephens called on Republican Rep. Bob Young to resign after Young’s first arrest but has not stripped Young of a committee leadership position that comes with a pay bump.
Young, R-Green, serves as chairman of the House Pension Committee, which comes with an additional $9,000 above the $69,876 base salary for state lawmakers. Stephens, R-Kitts Hill, controls who serve as chairs and vice chairs of House committees.
Asked about Young’s chairmanship, Stephens spokesman Aaron Mulvey replied: “The speaker stands by his original statement.”
Young is accused of assaulting two relatives, slapping one and charging at another, on July 7, according to police reports. The altercations occurred shortly after a July 6 Republican fundraiser that Stephens attended. Young has pleaded not guilty to domestic violence and assault, both first-degree misdemeanors.
“I was disappointed and shocked to hear what allegedly transpired sometime after I had left the Young house,” Stephens said in July. “Although I believe that people are innocent until proven guilty, I asked Bob for his resignation as state representative so he can focus on his family at this time.”
On Monday, Young was arrested again, this time for “recklessly” violating the terms of a protection order. The second arrest prompted Democratic Reps. Tavia Galonski, of Akron, and Rep. Casey Weinstein, of Hudson, to ask Stephens to remove Young from the chairman position and sanction him.
“We have a responsibility to represent our constituents and our state with just and moral behavior. Rep. Young has unfortunately failed to live up to that responsibility,” Galonski and Weinstein said in a joint statement.
Stephens, as leader of the Ohio House of Representatives, has the authority to appoint lawmakers to or remove them from leadership positions in the chamber’s more than two dozen standing committees. These legislators run the committees, which review bills on certain topics, such as insurance, public utilities or transportation.
The speaker can change chair and vice chair positions at any point, for any reason. For example, Stephens removed Rep. Derek Merrin, a Republican rival for the speaker’s job, from vice chair of the House Ways and Means Committee earlier this year. GOP Reps. Ron Ferguson, of Wintersville, and Jena Powell, of Arcanum, also lost leadership roles. A House GOP spokesman told Cleveland.com at the time that the three were removed to make room for newly appointed lawmakers.
Stephens also removed Rep. Scott Wiggam, R-Wooster, from the House Constitutional Resolutions Committee, which was overseeing a proposal to make it harder to amend the state constitution.
Akron Beacon Journal reporters Doug Livingston and Bryce Buyakie contributed to this article.
Jessie Balmert is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Arrested Ohio Rep. Bob Young keeps chairmanship, pay bump