Snollygoster

An important election is just around the corner. Ohio will elect a new governor and decide who will represent the state in the U.S. Senate. A new poll provides a snapshot of what voters are thinking, and the results are interesting.

We look back at a time when Ohio was blue politically, or at least purple. We talk with longtime Democratic activist Dale Butland, who worked for U.S. Sen. John Glenn and has a new book out When Ohio Was Blue.

JobsOhio is in the news not because of a big new project, but because of the role, however small, it played in the sudden resignation of Ohio State University President Ted Carter.

While its end was unusual, Ted Carter’s tenure may not be all that uncommon. The job has always been difficult, but it seems to be increasingly challenging. To examine the politics of being a college president, Josh Moody, reporter for Inside Higher Ed, joins the show.

Les Wexner answered questions from members of the House Oversight Committee for about five hours about how much he knew about the sex offender and what role he may have played in Epstein’s alleged sex trafficking.

The Tax Foundation says Ohio has the eighth-highest effective property tax rate in the country. Some residents are fed up. Citizens for Property Tax Reform member Beth Blackmarr joins the show.

It has been an eventful year for the Trump–Vance administration. We’ve focused more on Trump than Vance, but Vance has been more visible than many vice presidents.

The new year started with a firehose-like stream of political news. Venezuela, ICE activity, the tragic shooting of Renee Good in Minneapolis and false daycare fraud claims in Ohio have dominated the news.

The public authority that owns the arena says it needs 400 million dollars—more than double the original cost—to renovate it. And it’s looking for taxpayers to pick up much of the tab.

President Trump campaigned on releasing the Epstein files and then refused to do so. He tried hard to persuade Congress to drop its demand to release them, but he failed. Then, the president reversed course and told Republicans in Congress to vote to release the files.

For those of us tired of talking about redistricting, we’re happy. The Ohio Redistricting Commission has approved a bipartisan map and the issue appears settled for six years. But we might be the only ones who are happy.

For homeowners worried about skyrocketing property tax bills, a radical solution is gaining traction, but experts warn that abolishing these taxes could cause Ohio's income tax to increase drastically.

It’s a Politics and a Pint edition of Snollygoster. As we did in August, we gathered about 200 of our closest friends at Seventh Son Brewing in Columbus, where we talked politics while enjoying craft beers.