Driehaus for 31st House District

Since being elected to serve Cincinnati's West Side in the Ohio House in 2000, Rep. Steve Driehaus, a Democrat, has distinguished himself through his keen understanding of complex issues, his expertise on housing, his mostly moderate-to-conservative stances and his solid legislative ideas that some GOP colleagues seek to emulate.
Driehaus has been a key player against property "flipping" and predatory lending that have plagued his district.

He's taken the GOP majority to task for enabling billions in budget-bleeding giveaways through "tax expenditures," and has offered creative solutions on election laws, redistricting, auditing of public agencies and more.
Though a member of the minority party, he's been able to at least influence legislation and help shape the debate, and in the past he's shown a good ability to work with political rivals. He will be a strong voice in the next session of the General Assembly.

We see no reason why the district's voters should not return him to Columbus, and we endorse him for re-election.

That being said, we are impressed with his opponent, 23-year-old Republican Scott Gehring, who is running uphill against Driehaus.

An aide to Cincinnati City Council member Leslie Ghiz, Gehring is about as West Side as they come, in the best sense - an Elder High School grad with a political science degree from the University of Cincinnati, fixing up a family house on Montana Avenue. He has coordinated swim programs for the city and has tutored and mentored younger students.
Gehring's campaign focuses on the critical issues of crime and housing.

He wants stiffer sentences for repeat offenders, greater oversight and more equitable use of Section 8 housing vouchers, and wider use of tax credits for those who rehab older homes. He has good working relationships with many elected officials, and is refreshingly nonpartisan and open-minded.
Driehaus could use a bit of Gehring's outlook these days.

He's understandably frustrated by what he's seen in Columbus the past six years - scandal and waste, the "arrogance" of a party in such wide control of legislature that they doesn't even need to seek Democrats' support or input. But he's become more strident in his criticisms since becoming minority whip in 2003, and the more he's caught up in that, the harder it is to be an effective advocate for his district.
If Gehring were to pull off an upset, we believe he could be a good representative.

If he does not win - more likely, given the incumbent's advantages in name recognition and resources - we hope he'll make another run for office. We need more young leaders like Gehring to serve their communities.
But Steve Driehaus is our clear choice to represent House District 31 in Columbus.