COLUMBUS — Larry Householder wasn't even supposed to be speaker of the Ohio House in 2001, much less lead his green troops through a budgetary crisis.

        The laid-back 42-year-old House leader from Perry County doesn't exude the political power and savvy he obviously possesses and uses behind closed doors to raise money and keep his Republican caucus in line.

        Had he lacked those traits, his rough first year would have been even more challenging.

        “What was surprising to me was it went a lot smoother than I thought it would,” said Rep. David Evans, R-Newark, who has known Mr. Householder for more than 20 years.

        “He seemed to be able to visit with those members who were way out there and bring them in.”

Householder

        After a year of debating with Republican leaders and Democrats over school funding and budget woes, and doing it all with a caucus full of fresh faces and conservative ideas, Mr. Householder ended the year standing tall.

        “He exceeded expectations,” said Herb Asher, a political science professor at Ohio State University who watches state government closely. “There were some predictions that there would be a meltdown — that everything would come to a crashing halt. It didn't.”

        Not only was there no meltdown, but the House managed to mark some accomplishments along the way.

        “I think we accomplished what we wanted to accomplish,” Mr. Householder said. “We set out with nine agenda items, and we were successful with those nine items. Some folks felt that was a pretty aggressive agenda.”

        That agenda included creating an environmental cleanup fund, prescription drug discounts for the elderly, a study of election laws, a jobs bill, tougher penalties for methamphetamine labs and sex offenses committed over the Internet.

        Many agree that Mr. Householder's greatest accomplishment in his first year was his ability to keep his caucus together on tough budget votes.

        He persuaded several reluctant lawmakers to twice vote for a bill to correct a $1.5 billion budget deficit.

        “His biggest success was getting his members to pass the budget that they passed, which included tax increases and the multistate lottery,” said Rep. Dean DePiero, D-Parma, leader of the House Minority Caucus. “Both of those issues were issues his members pledged they would not do.”

        Thanks to term limits, the GOP caucus contained several new members. But Mr. Householder quickly built strong loyalty when he seized the speaker's post.

        In January 2000, Householder and then-Rep. Bill Harris of Ashland agreed to split the speaker's post. The deal, brokered by then-Speaker Jo Ann Davidson, gave Mr. Harris the top job in 2001, with Mr. Householder in charge in 2002.

Building loyalty

        Mr. Householder smiled for the cameras and shook Mr. Harris' hand. He then proceeded to out-hustle and out-muscle Mr. Harris, especially with incoming freshman members looking for help in their first elections.

        He helped recruit new candidates and raise money for them. In turn, they pledged their loyalty.

        It wasn't long before Mr. Householder was calling for Mr. Harris to get out of the way. In August 2000, a Senate seat opened up and Mr. Harris promptly was appointed to fill it.

        That caucus loyalty from the election carried through the year and was a key asset when it came to discussions with political veterans Gov. Bob Taft and Senate President Richard Finan, R-Evendale.

        “You're going to be a more effective leader in negotiating with the governor and Senate if you have your own caucus behind you, and he did a very good job of building that,” Mr. Asher said.

        In March, Mr. Householder became the first state leader in 10 years to introduce a school-funding plan that had the full support of the coalition of schools suing the state.

        Seven days later, Mr. Taft and Mr. Finan killed the plan, pushing Mr. Householder to support a much cheaper version.

        But months later, during arguments over filling the budget deficit, Mr. Householder positioned himself as mediator between the feuding Mr. Taft and Mr. Finan.

        Mr. Asher is not surprised that Mr. Householder has stood up well against his more experienced colleagues.

        “The speaker was very, very effective in representing the interests of his chamber,” he said. “When you saw how he accomplished becoming speaker, you certainly had a sense that here was a very, very politically savvy person.”

        Mr. Householder said the biggest job he's had this year was educating new members, which included mock sessions and including the entire caucus, rather than just key leaders, in many budget discussions.

        “We kept the wheels on the bus,” Mr. Householder said. “Here we are in December, and I think a lot of the things folks were concerned about in term limits we've been able to dispel.”

        Mr. Householder also has proven to be a fund-raising bulldog.

        House Republicans raised $3.4 million for the 2000 elections and used it to maintain their 59-40 majority. Mr. Householder expects the caucus to raise $2.5 million in 2001 alone to prepare for the November 2002 elections.

Budget crisis a threat

        The speaker plans to contribute at least $400,000. He makes stringent fund-raising demands on his members, ranging from $5,000 to $100,000 each, and openly laments that some term-limited committee chairmen are not raising enough.

        Some lobbyists and GOP lawmakers have privately criticized Mr. Householder for pushing too hard to raise money.

        He took heat in the media earlier this year when, while in the midst of a budget crisis, he spent $11,300 on a plasma television and video teleconferencing equipment for his office. While he argues the system will save money on travel in the long run, many considered it a major case of bad timing.

        Though Mr. Householder navigated a budget crisis this year, there's a chance that next year could be just as challenging.

        Mr. DePiero is looking for more bipartisanship, after seeing a year when Mr. Householder and other GOP leaders shut Democrats out of most discussions.

        If the economy fails to turn around, or even worsens, state leaders again can expect to go searching for ways to fill a budget deficit.

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