New Ohio House district maps split Athens County

ATHENS COUNTY, Ohio — New legislative district maps approved last month scoop out the city of Athens and three townships from Athens County’s center, splitting the county between two Ohio House districts.

The Ohio Redistricting Commission adopted the new maps in the late evening of Sept. 26 with support from its Democratic members. As with previous attempts, the latest maps are being challenged in the Ohio Supreme Court. If the maps are confirmed, they will be in effect for the 2024 election cycle.

The new maps shifts part of Athens Township — including all precincts in the city of Athens — as well as Canaan, Bern and Rome townships into Ohio House District 95. That district now stretches northeast across six counties, encompassing all of Morgan, Noble and Harrison counties and half each of Guernsey and Belmont counties in addition to the Athens County townships. 

District 94 now includes all of Washington and Meigs counties plus 10 Athens County townships and a small section of Athens Township.

Although he was not part of the redistricting commission, Edwards said he isn’t too surprised by the change.

“I know folks in Athens, now they’re seeing this, they might be getting upset by it,” he said. “But it’s not uncommon for Appalachian counties to be split. I’ve dealt with it my entire time in the legislature.”

When he first took office in 2017, Trimble Township was excluded from the 94th District, he noted; in his first three terms, he represented only half of Vinton and Washington counties. 

“Marietta city was split in half,” he said.

Given that history, he said, someone will always be unhappy. “If you say it’s not fair for Athens County [to be split], does that mean you’re saying it’s fair for Washington County that’s been split for the last two decades?” Edwards said.

Split districts can make representation challenging, Edwards said, noting that Trimble Township was not part of District 94 during his first term.

“It makes it really tough for the people in that one little area to really have, you know, the representation it needs,” he said.

But being split can actually work to Athens County’s advantage, Edwards said.

“The county commissioners and anything involving county-wide issues will now have two representatives and a senator,” he said. “Three members of the legislature out of 132 will be representing them.”

District 95 is represented by Don Jones (R-Freeport), who first took office in 2019. 

“I am excited to continue to represent the largest geographical district in the Ohio House of

Representatives,” Jones said in an emailed statement. “I will continue to navigate the challenges of a district that spans six counties and represent the interest of the people of Southeast Ohio in Columbus.”

Rep. Don Jones (photo courtesy Ohio House of Representatives)

Meet Don Jones

According to his House biography, Jones taught agriculture and was FFA advisor at Harrison Central High School in Cadiz, Ohio, for 23 years. He works with the Deersville Community Volunteer Fire Department and Emergency Squad as a certified firefighter and EMT. His family has a farm equipment dealership in Cadiz.

Jones has an 89% rating from the Conservative Political Action Conference, the same as Edwards. He has lower scores than Edwards from Equality Ohio, the Ohio Environmental Council and Innovation Ohio for his voting record on LGBTQ+, environmental and progressive issues, respectively. 

Jones serves on the House’s committees for agriculture, commerce and labor, and primary and secondary education. He also is a member of the House Finance Committee, which Edwards chairs; he chairs the subcommittee on agriculture, development and natural resources.

Since the start of the 135th Ohio General Assembly in January, Jones has sponsored three bills. One would designate a stretch of SR 39 in Carroll County as “Sheriff Dale R. Williams Memorial Highway” in honor of the previous sheriff, who died in September 2022 after serving 18 years.

The other two bills, however, are more substantial. 

Jones sponsored the House bill making sweeping changes to the Ohio Department of Education, which are being challenged in a Franklin County court. The substance of Jones’ bill and its senate counterpart were incorporated into the biennial budget bill passed in June, creating a new Department of Education and Workforce that is controlled by the governor. 

The new structure replaces the state superintendent with a director of education and workforce appointed by the governor. Instead of being elected, the state board of education would be appointed by the director of education and workforce.

Jones also is a primary sponsor of House Bill 103, which mandates Ohio primary and secondary social studies standards based on “American Birthright,” a set of standards developed by the Civics Alliance. Among the standards’ primary themes is “the unique development of Western science and technology and the consequent transformation of most of the world from poverty to affluence” [emphasis in the original].

According to the National Council for the Social Studies, a professional association for social studies teachers and professors, “The writers of the suggested standards use outdated language, have a clear political motive, and promote content and approaches to social studies and history education that do not align with those recommended by experts in social studies content areas.”

Among the recommended curricula to teach the standards is the 1776 Curriculum developed by Hillsdale College, a private, conservative Christian college in Michigan. (Hillsdale College curricula are also used by Hillsdale-affiliated K-12 charter schools, one of which is planned for southeast Ohio.)

Backers of the American Birthright standards include conservative and right-wing organizations such as Eagle Forum, the Family Research Council, Moms for Liberty, and No Left Turn in Education.

The new standards would be developed by a nine-member task force with three members each appointed by the governor, the president of the Ohio Senate, and the speaker of the House of Representatives — positions all held by Republicans. 

So far in this session, Edwards has sponsored four bills, all related to budget and appropriations. He is not listed as a cosponsor on either of Jones’ education bills.

Jones and Edwards both are listed as cosponsors of:

• House Bill 8, which would require schools to notify parents about “sexual content,” which the bill describes as “any oral or written instruction, presentation, image, or description of sexual concepts or gender ideology” except for those dealing with education about sexually transmitted diseases and prevention of sexual abuse or violence. The bill also would require schools to notify parents if their child asks to be identified as a gender different from the one assigned at birth. That bill is now before the Senate Education Committee.
• House Bill 100, which would prevent landlords, mobile home park operators, or homeowners associations from banning displays of thin blue line flags or emblems. The act is named for Steven DiSario, the Kirkersville police chief who was killed in a shooting at a nursing home in 2017. The bill is currently before the Senate General Government Committee.
• House Bill 68, which bans gender affirming care for minors, including prescribing puberty blockers, and requires mental health professionals working with children to screen for “comorbidities abuse, and traumas” before diagnosing “a gender-related condition.” The bill also includes the “Save Women’s Sports Act,” which bars transgender women from competing in high school or college sports and prohibits lawsuits against entities that comply with the act. The bill is now before the Senate Government Oversight Committee.