Ashland's Harris expected to become Ohio Senate president

July 21, 2004
Gannett News

COLUMBUS — Sen. Bill Harris, R-Ashland, is expected to take over as president of the Ohio Senate in 2005, after his primary rival dropped out of the race today and endorsed him.

Harris, 69, a former U.S. Marine, auto dealership owner and state lawmaker for nearly 10 years, is expected to take over for Senate President Doug White, who is term-limited at the end of the year.

A future power vacuum opened up last month when presumptive Senate president-elect Jeff Jacobson withdrew from consideration after media reports tied him to a pair of controversial GOP consultants at the heart of state and federal investigations into alleged campaign and fund-raising misdeeds.

Gardner, the current No. 2 Senate leader, and Harris, chairman of the powerful Senate Finance Committee, emerged as the early favorites to take the Senate’s top post.

But in a memo to colleagues on Wednesday, Gardner threw his support behind Harris, who he said, “has the legislative experience and work ethic, but even more important the integrity to serve superbly as Senate president.”

Harris would succeed Senate President Doug White of Adams County, who is term-limited at the end of this year.

Commentary:
Last December, Senator Bill Harris joined a handful of term-limited Republicans and refused to commit to a veto-override, thus ensuring that the media gain access to private information about CHL-holders.

Now that the media has abused this privilege, will he work as President to assist in reforming the law to protect his constituents' privacy, or will he hold Bob Taft's hand, standing in the way of concealed carry reform, as past Senate Presidents have done?

The answer may depend, in part, on the make-up of the Senate, one-half of which is up for re-election this November.

Related Story:
December 17, 2003: Senate Veto-Override Outlook