GLENFORD, Ohio -- Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and four others have been arrested and are expected to appear in a federal courthouse later today.
Also in custody is Matt Borges, a former Ohio Republican Party chairman turned lobbyist, Neil Clark, a prominent Columbus lobbyist, Jeff Longstreth, a close Householder aide and Juan Cespedes, a Columbus lobbyist.
All five are set to appear via video conference before federal Magistrate Judge Stephanie Bowman in Cincinnati at 1 p.m., according to the judge’s clerk.
All are well known within Capitol Square circles, but may not be familiar to those who aren’t immersed in state government and politics. All worked on the campaign to pass House Bill 6, a nuclear bailout bill signed into law by Gov. Mike DeWine last year that financially rescued plants previously owned by FirstEnergy and a successor company, Energy Harbor.
Here’s more about each. None has responded to messages seeking comment.
Larry Householder
Although he is not a household name, Householder is a major player in Ohio politics, perhaps the most powerful figure in the Statehouse. A Perry County Republican, he first became House speaker in 2001, holding the gavel until 2004. While he officially left office due to term limits, he departed Columbus amid an FBI investigation that closed without charges.
After spending more than a decade largely out of the public eye, Householder ran for his old legislative seat in 2016. And after winning a bruising and lengthy political conflict with Republicans aligned with a different candidate for House speaker, Householder regained his old leadership position with Democratic support in January 2019.
Householder’s campaign effort — which included electing other House members pledged to support his leadership — was funded by FirstEnergy and others with an interest in the nuclear power plant legislation. One of the first actions Householder took upon becoming speaker was to introduce the bailout legislation.
For a more in-depth story about Householder’s political career, check out this article that published on cleveland.com in June 2019.
Neil Clark
Clark, founder of Grant Street Consultants, is a longtime fixture in Columbus lobbyist circles. His current list of clients include some of the biggest special interests in Statehouse business, including the Ohio Health Care Association, which represents nursing homes and the Wholesale Beer and Wine Association, according to state ethics disclosures.
Clark has not disclosed officially working on the House Bill 6 campaign. But he is a close adviser to Householder. He is a former state Senate aide who specializes in fiscal issues.
He’s had his ups and downs with Householder over the years.
He told The Plain Dealer in December 2004, as Householder prepared to leave office due to term limits: “I’ve never seen anybody abuse that position as much as he has. I think people can breathe a lot easier now, knowing they won’t be shaken down. Democracy did not work under his leadership.”
But he had a different take when interviewed last year.
“The discussions that he and I have are always about, what is he going to do to help people make their lives better,” Clark said. “We didn’t have a lot of conversations like that years ago.”
Matt Borges
Borges also is a long-time fixture in Ohio GOP politics. He was hand-picked in 2013 by then-Gov. John Kasich to lead the Ohio Republican Party. But allies of Donald Trump ousted him shortly after Trump was elected president in November 2016.
Today, he largely focuses on lobbying, and currently officially represents professional associations representing medical-marijuana growers and pharmacy-benefit managers, companies that negotiate drug prices on behalf of state-run health-care plans. But he continues to dabble in politics. That includes helping launch a Super PAC backing this year’s Democratic presidential nominee, former Vice President Joe Biden, a move which recently led to his formal censure by the party he used to run. He also is a top political adviser to Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, a Republican. He recently departed Roetzel & Andress, a Cleveland lobbying and legal firm, to start his own company, 17 Consulting.
Borges and an aide worked on the House Bill 6 campaign, largely working behind the scenes, including helping defend the bill against an attempted repeal campaign.
Borges previously was implicated in a corruption case in the 2000s when he was an aide to then-State Treasurer Joe Deters. He pleaded guilty in 2004 to a misdemeanor charge of misuse of a public office following a pay-to-play investigation. The case was later expunged, and Borges has called the case a political prosecution.
Juan Cespedes
Cespedes is a lobbyist who serves on the board for the Ohio Civil Rights Commission, after he was appointed in 2016 by Kasich. His only current registered client is Energy Harbor, formerly known as FirstEnergy Solutions, which was spun off from its parent company last year after FirstEnergy completed bankruptcy proceedings.
Jeff Longstreth
Longstreth is a longtime operative in Ohio Republican circles who began working for Householder when he made his political comeback. He specializes in state ballot campaigns, and has kept a low public profile. He was closely involved in the campaign to help elect Householder speaker, and also had connections to the campaign to build support for House Bill 6.
He currently runs the House Republican Campaign Committee, the campaign arm for the House GOP, and is a key member of Householder’s political team.
Cleveland.com reporters Jeremy Pelzer and Eric Heisig contributed.