Thursday, September 4, 2008

Victory (for now): Healthy Families Act to be pulled from ballot


Rumors started circulating early this morning that the Governor finally succeeded in getting the Healthy Families Act pulled from the ballot. Now, we have formal confirmation, courtesy of the Columbus Dispatch:

Ohioans for Healthy Families, the group that backed the paid sick-day amendment, said today that it has asked that the proposal be pulled off the Nov. 4 ballot.

Officials with the Service Employees International Union were holding a press conference this morning with Gov. Ted Strickland and U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, to announce the decision.

Strickland and Brown said they would push for a separate law requiring paid sick days.

The compromise almost certainly will be Sen. Brown pushing for similar legislation in the Senate. If Obama wins the election, it is guaranteed that we will see the Healthy Families Act, in some form, on a national level. More on this to come.

On a personal note, thank you Governor Strickland for standing up for Ohio's businesses and taking a position that might not be popular with your base, but is clearly in the best interest of Ohio.

Now, I have to go find something to do to fill all my time that's been taken up by this issue.