John Becker
John Becker
From former State Rep. John Becker

Former State Rep. John Becker, R-Clermont County, seconded and spoke in favor of a resolution intended to counter the Ohio Republican Party’s intent to stack the deck against Gov. Mike DeWine’s potential primary election challenger(s).

The Clermont County Republican Party Central Committee last week passed a resolution asking the Ohio Republican Party to not endorse in the 2022 primary election.

At the January meeting of the Clermont County Republican Party, chaired by Greg Simpson, Becker said: “Gov. DeWine has flagrantly and repeatedly violated the U.S. Constitution, the Ohio Constitution and civil rights. He has lockstep support from the Democrats for a reason. He’s the most liberal governor we’ve had in recent history and must be defeated by any legal means necessary.”

According to a news release from Becker, the party is "disenchanted by Gov. DeWine’s dictatorial control and unlawful orders to unilaterally destroy Ohio’s economy and fabric of society."

The news release cites:

• Unlawfully canceling an election.

• Unlawfully placing 11.7 million Ohioans under house arrest.

• Unlawfully ordering schools to close.

• Unlawfully closing healthcare facilities in violation of Article I, Section 21 of the Ohio Constitution.

• Unlawfully picking winners and losers by arbitrarily deciding which businesses should live and which ones should die.

• Unlawfully creating curfews.

• Unlawfully requiring face coverings. (Many find them insulting, humiliating, degrading and arguably dangerous. The science and experience supporting their value (other than N-95) is negligible and even laughable.)

• Cruelly weaponizing the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation and other state agencies against businesses and the people.

“No public servant, under color of his office, employment, or authority, shall knowingly deprive, or conspire or attempt to deprive any person of a constitutional or statutory right. Whoever violates this section is guilty of interfering with civil rights, a misdemeanor of the first degree,” Ohio Revised Code 2921.45.

"Additionally, it’s interesting to note that Gov. DeWine’s son, Supreme Court Justice Pat DeWine, recently set the example for all of us by ignoring unlawful orders and frolicking maskless at a crowded indoor Hamilton County Party event." (See https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/politics/2021/01/20/ohio-gov-mike-dewine-mask-mandate-son-supreme-court-justice-pat-dewine-gop-maskless-party/4227055001/.)

The Clermont County GOP resolution was approved by 73 percent of those present.

John Becker was Clermont County’s 65th District state representative from 2013-20. Due to term limits, he was prohibited from running for re-election. He served on the Republican State Central Committee (Ohio Republican Party) from 2004-12 and has served on the Clermont County Republican Party Central Committee since 1993.