FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
17 JANUARY 2021
Nepotism aside, Republican State Senator Steve Huffman remains uniquely unsuited to hold the position of Chairman of the Ohio Senate Health Committee due to past racist comments about the health of Black Ohioans.
Columbus, OH – Ohio State Senator Steve Huffman, a Republican from Senate District 5, has been named Chairman of the Ohio Senate Health Committee for the 134 th General Assembly. Ohio Young Democrats unequivocally condemns this choice in committee leadership due to previous racist comments made by Senator Steve Huffman during a past committee hearing that resulted in termination from his position as an emergency room physician for Teamhealth.
On June 9, 2020, during an Ohio Senate Health and Human Services committee hearing concerning racism as a public health crisis, Senator Steve Huffman asked, “Could it be that the African American, or the colored community, does not wash their hands as much as other groups?” The comment garnered national media attention for its overt racism in publications such as the Washington Post and NBC News .
We at Ohio Young Democrats believe that if a state senator is deemed too racist to continue working as an emergency room physician by his employer, he is equally unqualified to be the Chairman of the Senate Health Committee. As Chairman, Senator Steve Huffman will have full control over which health-related bills make it to the floor of the Ohio Senate for a vote. As he demonstrated previously, Senator Steve Huffman is unable to view the health concerns of Black Ohioans in an unbiased and scientifically informed manner.
We believe that the appointment of Senator Steve Huffman as the Chairman of the Health Committee by his cousin, Senate President Matt Huffman, is entirely inappropriate and must be rescinded immediately. If it is not, Senator Steve Huffman alone will be empowered to use his ill-informed and Jim Crow-esque worldview to determine which bills related to the health of Black Ohioans are moved through committee. This will potentially give opportunity for racial prejudice to become codified into law.
Ohio Young Democrats asks our members, and all concerned Ohioans, to contact Senate President Matt Huffman and ask that he remove his cousin, Senator Steve Huffman, from his position as Chairman of the Ohio Senate Health Committee.
Ohioans can contact the Senate President at (614) 466-7584 and via the contact form at https://www.ohiosenate.gov/senators/huffman-m/contact.
