Addressing the Moral Crisis at the Ohio Statehouse – A Statement from the Ohio Christian Alliance

November 28th 2017

A moral crisis has emerged at the Ohio Statehouse in recent weeks and requires the attention of people of goodwill to address it. The serious nature of the moral failures of some people who serve the public trust in their capacity as public servants has cast a dark shadow over The People's House. That is why we the undersigned urge a call to action. Here is what is known, according to recent media reports, and it is disturbing. Senator Cliff Hite of the 1st Ohio Senate District recently resigned because of his inappropriate contact with female staffers at the Ohio Statehouse. His seat is now vacant. It was then reported by the House leadership that Rep. Mike Henne had been ordered to undergo sensitivity training 2-1/2 years ago due to inappropriate remarks. The House has stated they will release the documents in relation to the incident, but have not yet done so. Then came the news of Ohio Senate Democratic chief of staff Michael Premo's sudden resignation, about which no details were provided by Democratic Senate leadership. Senate President Larry Obhof has requested to speak to the woman who filed the complaint against Premo.

Then comes the most shocking and disturbing report to date about Rep. Wes Goodman of the 87th House District, who resigned on November 14th. It was reported in the Columbus Dispatch on November 15th that Goodman had engaged in inappropriate contact with another man in a consensual situation in his office. According to the Dispatch, Goodman confirmed the allegations when confronted with the evidence by Speaker Rosenberger. As to what the nature of that evidence is, only the Speaker and his staff know. They have not released the information to the public. House leadership provided a statement, but did not provide the documents or the details. Then came more substantive reports from the Cleveland Plain Dealer, the Washington Post, and an article titled, "30 Sources Expose Sexually Explicit Evidence of Harassment by Ohio GOP Rep. Wes Goodman" from the Independent Journal Review. These reports portray a more disturbing and alarming pattern of moral misconduct and sexual harassment behavior by Mr. Goodman. Therefore, we are calling for the Legislative Inspector General to obtain all records from House and Senate leadership pertaining to these incidents. In addition, if any known registered lobbyist was involved with the reported inappropriate behavior, that person should lose their lobbying privileges and be restricted from the Riffe Center. We are also calling on Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine to investigate in partnership with local law enforcement whether any crimes may have been committed. It is important to support the good men and women who serve us in public office day in and day out, and not let these bad examples reflect poorly on those who serve the people of their districts faithfully and with good character. These actions are also being called for on behalf of the young people who work in state government as pages, legislative aides, and interns. They need to know that the adults that are serving the public's trust do so with the utmost highest standards. It is important for these young people to feel confident and not threatened in the environment as they work in state government. We will be watching carefully to see that the Legislative Inspector General and the Attorney General follow up on our request today. It is our sincere hope that this matter can be thoroughly investigated and brought to a conclusion, and that by these actions the public's trust can be regained.

We, the undersigned dutifully call for our public officials to serve the people of this great state with integrity and transparency.

Sincerely,

Christopher R. Long
President, Ohio Christian Alliance

Rev. Alfred B. Davis
Richfield Bible Baptist Church

Bob Burney
President, CrossPower Ministries

Pastor Phil Fulton
Union Hill Church

Linda Harvey
President, Mission America

Rev. Dr. Kenneth Johnson
Pastor Seaman Community Methodist Church

Rev. James Tasker
Priest in the Anglican Church North America

For additional information contact - Chris Long  330-887-1922