DISCUSSION: IS STATE REP. SCOTT OELSLAGER OVERRATED?

Last week the STARK COUNTY POLITICAL REPORT (The Report) went to a meeting conducted by Ohio Board of Regents Chancellor Eric Fingerhut.

Also at the meeting was Ohio Representative Scott Oelslager.

The number of references Fingerhut made to Oelslager made The Report wonder why Oelslager wasn't one of Fingerhut's panelists.

As if to emphasize how long Oelslager has been a political figure, the now graying Fingerhut kept referring to the days that he and Oelslager served in the Ohio Senate together.

That is the point of this satirical piece. The point being that Oelslager has been in the Legislature for over 20 years and for most of it (if not all) as a member of a majority or super-majority caucus.

But to what effect?

Undoubtedly, he has some achievements. But what has he achieved that leaves an indelible mark on Stark County.

The Report is reminded of a statement made by editorial board members of the Akron Beacon Journal in a face-to-face encounter. Yours truly referenced Oelslager with respect to a certain piece of legislation. The editors laughed. The editors said of Oelslager: "Anything that gets done in Columbus that affects Stark County, Oelslager takes credit for."

The editors' have a point. Isn't this guy mostly just a grandstanding politician who really gets very little done given how long he has been a legislator and given the fact that he has been a majority party member?