House speaker taps 5 from area to lead committees

1/13/2005

COLUMBUS - New Speaker Jon Husted (R., Kettering) put his mark on the committee makeup of the House yesterday, naming five northwest Ohio representatives to chairmanships.

Rep. John Willamowski (R., Lima) will return as chairman of the influential House Judiciary Committee, a post he lost a year ago in a shake-up by former Speaker Larry Householder (R., Glenford).

He had been replaced on the influential committee by Rep. Scott Oelslager (R., Canton) during the lengthy debate over tort reform.

Rep. Steve Buehrer (R., Delta) was named the chairman of the State Government Committee. Reps. Mike Gilb (R., Findlay), Bob Latta (R., Bowling Green), and Steve Reinhard (R., Bucyrus) will return as chairmen of the Juvenile and Family Law, Criminal Justice, and Transportation, Public Safety, and Homeland Security committees, respectively.