COLUMBUS — Ohio Farm Bureau leaders gathered in Columbus Feb. 16 to discuss legislative priorities with their elected officials and also to look ahead to judicial races that could affect Ohio’s agricultural future.
This year’s Farm Bureau Ag Day at the Capital drew in about 350 members from across the state.
Ohio Supreme Court Justice Sharon Kennedy, who is a candidate for chief justice, spoke to the group on the role of the court system in interpreting the state’s laws. Even though legislators are responsible for making laws, court rulings on those laws determine how they are carried out, she said.
Do research
Court rulings on eminent domain and other property rights issue are particularly important for those in the ag community. Voters don’t always give as much attention to judicial elections as they do to executive and legislative races, Kennedy added.
She urged farmers to research judicial candidates and select those who will interpret laws as they are written rather than trying to change laws through judicial activism.
Judicial rulings affect the issues Americans are most concerned about, including personal freedoms and community safety, she said, “The fate of Ohio is in your hands.”
Two other members of the Ohio Supreme Court, Patrick Fischer and Pat DeWine, also addressed the farm bureau members during a panel discussion on the role of the court system in agriculture. Fischer told the group he opposes legislating from the bench because it makes the law unpredictable.
“Businesses such as farms can adapt if they know what the law is,” he explained.
DeWine agreed, adding that one of the reasons doing business can be difficult in developing countries is that laws are not clear or consistently applied.
Party designations
Voters will notice a change on their ballots for judicial races in 2022. A bill signed into law last summer changes Ohio’s ballot rules, so now political party designations will be listed on ballots for Ohio Supreme Court and appellate court races. The change gives voters more information to use in making their decisions.
“We ought to err on the side of transparency,” DeWine said.
In the past, judicial races have shown 20-30% lower vote counts than other races in the same election, Fischer said.
Some people skip over those races because they don’t know much about the candidates.
“Getting more and more people to care about judges is a good thing,” he said.
He encouraged voters to do their research ahead of judicial elections. Judges can’t comment on pending cases, but people can look at court rulings to see how they’ve ruled in previous cases.
“You know more about what we think than anybody in the legislative branch because it’s all in writing,” he said. Fischer also suggested that people talk with friends who are lawyers to find out more about judicial candidates. Another source he recommended is the website, judicialvotescount.com.
Legislative priorities
In addition to hearing from Supreme Court justices, farm bureau members met at the Statehouse with their legislators or legislative staff members. During those meetings, they reviewed farm bureau’s priority issues for 2022, including protecting landowner rights, strengthening the food supply chain, supporting the next generation of farmers, providing broadband connectivity throughout the state and investing in responsible land management practices.
Bill Patterson, president of the Ohio Farm Bureau, stressed the importance of the face-to-face meetings with lawmakers. But farmers also need to keep in touch with their senators and representatives throughout the year.
“We need to continue to have these conversations so the message is reinforced and updated,” he said.
