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Ohio’s Redistricting Advocates Set their Sights on their Next Goals

photo of dark money
KAREN KASLER
/
STATEHOUSE NEWS BUREAU
Catherine Turcer with Common Cause Ohio says so-called "dark money" is the next target.

Now that they’ve had success in changing the way the maps for lawmakers at the state and federal level are drawn, Ohio activists who worked on those ballot issues are turning their attention to other concerns.

Jen Miller from the League of Women Voters of Ohio says the Congressional redistricting issue that passed in the primary is still top of mind for her group.

“We need to make sure we have a great Census and then we need to work together to make sure we have really great maps,” she said.

Catherine Turcer with Common Cause Ohio has worked for decades on redistricting and says she knows her next target.

“It’s really clear to me that people want to follow the money. They want to understand who’s influencing elections. And I think the next batter up is dark money,” she said.

The Ohio Environmental Council also worked on redistricting reform and says it’ll be focused on clean energy issues.

Karen is a lifelong Ohioan who has served as news director at WCBE-FM, assignment editor/overnight anchor at WBNS-TV, and afternoon drive anchor/assignment editor in WTAM-AM in Cleveland. In addition to her daily reporting for Ohio’s public radio stations, she’s reported for NPR, the BBC, ABC Radio News and other news outlets. She hosts and produces the Statehouse News Bureau’s weekly TV show “The State of Ohio”, which airs on PBS stations statewide. She’s also a frequent guest on WOSU TV’s “Columbus on the Record”, a regular panelist on “The Sound of Ideas” on ideastream in Cleveland, appeared on the inaugural edition of “Face the State” on WBNS-TV and occasionally reports for “PBS Newshour”. She’s often called to moderate debates, including the Columbus Metropolitan Club’s Issue 3/legal marijuana debate and its pre-primary mayoral debate, and the City Club of Cleveland’s US Senate debate in 2012.