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Tuesday, September 16
Scioto County Daily News
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  • Public Safety
    Overdose Death

    Another Life Lost: Fatal Overdose 

    Warrants, Camps & Chaos: Portsmouth’s Homeless Crisis Plays Out Across the City 

    PPD Night

    Marathon Madness: Late-Night Disturbance Lands Portsmouth Woman in Jail 

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    Vacant Children Services Building May Get New Life as Youth Mental Health Center 

    McDonalds

    Police Called Three Times in Two Hours to Gallia Street Gas Station, McDonald’s 

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    He Won’t Stop Talking While I’m Cooking! Deputies Play Family Counselor in Domestic Disputes

    Officer Injured

    Inmate Attacks Jail Staff During Intake, Officer Injured 

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    Check Fraud Scheme: Victim Says Niece “Washed” and Reused Check 

    SCDN File Photo

    Chaos in the Checkout Line: Police Break Up Kroger Meltdown

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    Mom Calls 911 on Teen — Ends Up in Handcuffs Herself 

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    Woman in Crisis Tries to Jump From Moving Ambulance, Saved by First Responders 

    Ohio House Bill 247

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    Police Turn to Facebook to Nab Rural King Thieves 

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    Scioto County Grand Jury Indictments

    28 New Scioto County Grand Jury Indictments

  • Lawrence County
  • Politics
    Recorder Gary Jenkins

    Scioto County Recorder’s Office Increases Fees 

    Scottie Powell

    Commissioner Powell Responds to Conflict of Interest Questions 

    FOP Endorses Malone, Neff in Portsmouth City Election 

    Bryan Davis

    Where’s Bryan Davis? GOP Says Step Down — Court Says Suspended

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    Where’s Bryan Davis? After Two Missed Meetings, GOP Says It’s Time to Step Down 

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    Scottie Powell

    Powell Calls on Commissioner Davis to Resign 

    Scioto County Bryan Davis Scandal

    🗓 Timeline of a Scandal: How Scioto County’s Economic Development Crisis Unfolded 

    Bryan Davis

    Commissioner Bryan Davis and Wife Indicted in Scioto Scandal 

    Joey Sandlin

    Joey Sandlin Announces Inauguration Ceremony  

    Erie Canal Lock 50

    After Nearly a Decade of Talk, Scioto County Moves Closer to Restoring Historic Lock 50 

    Portsmouth City Council 2023

    Portsmouth City Council Considers More Cash for Lawsuit Defense 

    West Virginia SNAP

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    “I’m Not Here to Replace Cathy”: New Commissioner Merit Smith Says He’ll Lead with Life Experience 

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    Scottie Powell

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  • Obituaries
    Joan Hair

    Joan Hair 80 of Lucasville

    Donald Lee Jamison

    Donald Lee Jamison 73 of McDermott

    Joan Dunham

    Joan Dunham, 89 of Sciotoville

    Philip Coles Penn, 79 of Otway

    Patricia Ann Brammer

    Patricia Ann Brammer, 94 of West Liberty

    Jack R. Jenkins

    Jack R. Jenkins, 78 of Waverly

    Christopher Lee Parker

    Christopher Lee Parker, 48 of Piketon

     Ronald Lee Clay

     Ronald Lee Clay, 69 of Wheelersburg

    Norma Jean Walls

    Norma Jean Walls, 90 of Waverly

    Dwight Lee Shoemaker

    Dwight Lee Shoemaker, 83 of Portsmouth

    Matthew Carson

    Matthew Carson Little, 35 of Portsmouth

    Barbara Jeanette Bretz

    Barbara Jeanette Bretz, 76 of South Shore

    Walter Skaggs

    Walter Skaggs, 83 Wheelersburg

    Timothy E. Borders

    Timothy E. Borders, 66 of Portsmouth

    Harry W. Ketter, 89 of West Portsmouth,

    Edgar Adams, 89 of Rarden

    Donald Gilliam

    Donald Lee “Sock” Gilliam, 71, of South Shore

    Barbara Lyons

    Barbara A. (Ray) Lyons, 80, of South Shore

    Patricia A. Tarr Wheeler

    Patricia A. Tarr Wheeler, 80 of Rubyville

    Pamela Sue Mowery

    Pamela Sue Mowery, 74 of Sciotoville

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Justin Pizzulli Controversy: Ohio 90th District State Representative in Divides GOP

Mark Craycraft by Mark Craycraft
3 years ago
in Politics, Regional
Justin Pizzulli Ohio State Representative
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A firestorm of controversy surrounds Justin Pizzulli’s nomination for the Ohio 90th District State Representative. The controversy runs so deep and wide that his proposed appointment was withdrawn from last week’s House of Representatives session because, sources tell SCDN, there were not enough votes within the Ohio House Republican Caucus. This selection comes after the resignation of Brian Baldridge, who was appointed Director of the Ohio Department of Agriculture by Governor Mike DeWine.

Pizzulli is a political operative and a realtor. He has also worked as a conductor for Norfolk Southern Railroad. Articles allegedly bought and paid for in large metropolitan areas like Cleveland have greatly overblown this detail. Those articles focused on elevating Pizzulli as the face of an industry under severe scrutiny following the derailment in East Palestine. 

Justin Pizzulli could likely be the first appointee in Ohio history to receive opposition from his own party in a vote filling a vacancy. Pizzulli sought the 90th District seat in 2018, coming in third place to Brian Baldridge and Gina Collinsworth.

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The appointment of Pizzulli was controversial among statewide and local Republicans. According to documents obtained exclusively by SCDN, Pizzulli has been active in supporting left-wing causes despite his registration as a Republican. The Facebook posts from Pizzulli’s personal page demonstrate that he has supported many agenda items that are typically endorsed by the far left.

Local Republicans also voiced disappointment about the fact that the Ohio House Democrat Leader Allison Russo introduced Pizzulli’s nomination to the Rules and Reference Committee. Documents obtained from the Ohio House website confirm this.

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Others locally are concerned about the negative push Pizzulli made to obtain this seat. According to documents obtained exclusively by SCDN, Scioto County Republican Party Chairman Rodney Barnett wrote a letter supporting Pizzulli and disparaging Gina Collinsworth. In his letter, Barnett claimed that Pizzulli hadn’t attacked his opponents in 2018, and asserted that Collinsworth went negative. 

In fact, many sources have reported that Pizzulli repeatedly targeted and contacted Collinsworth supporters and requested extended conversations with them.

Moreover, endorsement letters generally don’t take potshots at the other candidates. SCDN has obtained every endorsement letter for all 9 original applicants for the position. Not a single other endorsement letter mentioned the other candidates in any form or fashion.

Previously, Barnett served as chair of Scioto County Board of Children’s Services, which was plagued with problems culminating in the deaths of children that attracted mass media attention.

In addition to his real estate and railroad endeavors, Pizzulli was the Scioto County director for U.S. Senate candidate Mike Gibbons in 2022. Gibbons received the Scioto County Republican Party endorsement ahead of the primary, but received a mere 10% of the vote.

According to our sources, the 6-member committee was mostly stacked with supporters of Speaker Jason Stephens, who came to power after 22 House Republicans voted with the entire Democrat caucus to elect Stephens as speaker. Included in that committee was Ohio Representative Jay Edwards, who made headlines after his “slave” comment on the House Floor.

Of the mountain of information SCDN has on file, we looked at the submissions of each of the 9 applicants. Portsmouth City Councilperson Joey Sandlin’s packet (referred as Applicant #5) contained 13 pages. This packet included Sandlin’s resume, followed by letters of support.

Justin Pizzulli’s packet (referred as Applicant #2) contained 32 pages. Gina Collinsworth’s packet (referred as Applicant #4) contained 71 pages with letters of support. This was the largest show of public support among any of the 9 applicants.

With the vote stalled last week, the House will again attempt to put forward a Candidate for this position. We are told a new committee has been selected. We do not know if these committee members have been approached with sweetheart deals to support Pizzulli. However, we are told that the previous committee will not be involved in the process.

SCDN along with USA Today have reviewed all of the information and have decided to publish the details we’ve been sitting on for some time.

The House was set to meet again on Tuesday, March 8th, at 2pm to try this vote again. However, that has been cancelled. Once there is a firm date, we will provide a live link to that meeting so you can see it unfold live.  

Justin Pizzulli Ohio State Representative,Justin Pizzulli Ohio State Representative
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