Matt Szollosi

Matt Szollosi
Member of the Ohio House of Representatives from the 49th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 2, 2007
Preceded by	Jeanine Perry
Personal details
Born	September 27, 1973 (1973-09-27) (age 38) Toledo, Ohio
Political party	Democratic
Residence	Oregon, Ohio
Alma mater	University of Toledo
Profession	Attorney
Religion	Catholic

Matthew A. "Matt" Szollosi (June 4, 1972) is a Democratic member of the Ohio House of Representatives, representing Toledo and Lucas County. He is the assistant minority leader.

Career

Szollosi was born in Toledo on June 4, 1972. His parents, Francis M. and Emma J. Szollosi (née Oravecz), have Hungarian roots. He received both his B.A. in English and his Juris Doctor from the University of Toledo. His wife is Melanie L. Szollosi (née Czubek), they have a daughter, Audrey Mae.

His grandfather, Fritz Szollosi served as a postmaster and as a Lucas County Commissioner, his other grandfather, John Babarcsik, who also had Hungarian roots, had worked at the Powertrain facility for close to thirty years.

His brother, Francis J. Szollosi, has been elected twice to serve on the Toledo City Council, and sits on the State Democratic Party Executive Committee. Szollosi was a four-time city councilman in Oregon, Ohio and is a partner with downtown Toledo lawfirm Cosme, D'Angelo & Szollosi Co., L.P.A.

Ohio House of Representatives

With incumbent Jeanine Perry unable to run for reelection due to term limits, Szollosi entered the race to replace her. Facing Republican Steve Hornyak in the general election, he won by 14,000 votes.^[1] Early in his first term, Szollosi was already being mentioned as a contender for Speaker of the House if Democrats were to win majority, as he proved to be a formidable fundraiser. Later on in the 2008 cycle, the Ohio Democratic Party endorsed the leadership team of Szollosi and Armond Budish to lead the next assembly's Democratic caucus.^[2]

In his 2008 reelection campaign, Szollosi won against Jeff Wingate by 21,000 votes.^[3] Subsequently House Democrats regained the majority, and due to his fundraising prowess, Szollosi was named Speaker pro tempore behind Armond Budish.

In 2010, Szollosi again won an easy election against Republican Jeff Wingate by 11,000 votes.^[4] However, this time Republicans won the majority, and Szollosi now serves as assistant minority leader for the 129th General Assembly. Currently, he also serves on the committees of Public Utilities, Rules and Reference, Commerce and Labor, Judiciary and Ethics, and as a member of the Joint Legislative Ethics Committee.

Policies, initiatives, and positions

Szollosi has been critical of Governor John Kasich's agenda, stating "I'm concerned about some of the priorities that seem to be emanating from the Republican majority and the Kasich administration. People across the state want to see cooperation. Base-on-base political grinding is not going to be tolerated by the electorate."

He also has been critical about the lack of diversity in Kasich's cabinet. "I can tell you at this juncture, with respect to the lack of diversity in his Cabinet, at best, at best, his actions demonstrate poor judgment. And, I'm afraid, at worst his actions represent something much, much more troubling."^[5]

Szollosi is against Penn National Gaming's decision to move Toledo's Raceway Park horse racing track to the Youngstown, Ohio area. “This is entirely about maximizing profit,” he told The Blade later. “Irrespective of all other perspectives and consequences, Penn Gaming and the other track owners are speculating that, given the budgetary challenges, the state is going to approve video slot machines at racetracks.^[6]

A vocal opponent of the proposed legislation that aims to limit collective bargaining for public employees, Szollosi is looking to help defeat the mandates through a ballot measure.^[7] Szollosi doesn't agree with a specific aspect of the bill that allows for individuals to opt out of paying union dues. He says it would allow certain individuals who opt out with the benefits of collective bargaining without contributing to it.^[8] He states that peoples rights are being trampled,^[9] and that the House of Representatives has actually made the bill worse that it was.^[10] He believes that if the government needs to reign in on costs, then they could ask public employees to take concessions, as they have in previous years.^[11] The current provision, he stated is politically motivated attack on unions, who traditionally have not supported Ohio Governor John Kasich of the Ohio Republican Party.^[12] He stated that the Kasich administration had zero communication with labor unions throughout the process.^[13]

Szollosi has also been vocal about the current budget proposals which cut funding for much of what he finds are critically in need of funding, like local government and education. He believes in other ways to garner more funding, like closing some tax loopholes and allowing video lottery terminals at racetracks.^[14]

References

1. ^ Blackwell, Kenneth 2006 general election results (11-07-2006)
2. ^ The 411 on the '08 Statehouse/Speaker Battle
3. ^ Brunner, Jennifer 2008 general election results (2008-11-04)
4. ^ Brunner, Jennifer 2010 general election results (2010-11-02)
5. ^ Fields, Reginald (2011-01-27). "Ohio Statehouse Democrats demand Gov. John Kasich embrace diversity, add minorities to his all-white cabinet". The Plain Dealer. http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2011/01/ohio_statehouse_democrats_dema.html. Retrieved 2011-03-15. 
6. ^ Moving track ups tax revenue, Raceway Park firm tells state
7. ^ Provance, Jim (2011-03-14). "Toledo rally attacks labor bill". Toledo Blade. http://www.toledoblade.com/local/2011/03/15/Toledo-rally-attacks-labor-bill.html. Retrieved 2011-03-15. 
8. ^ Siegel, Jim (2011-03-30). "Collective-bargaining vote could come today". Columbus Dispatch. http://www.dispatchpolitics.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2011/03/30/copy/collective-bargaining-vote-could-come-today.html?adsec=politics&sid=101. Retrieved 2011-03-30. 
9. ^ Provance, Jim (2011-03-30). "Labor bill advanced by Ohio House committee". Toledo Blade. http://toledoblade.com/State/2011/03/30/Labor-bill-advanced-by-House-committee.html. Retrieved 2011-03-30. 
10. ^ Bischoff, Laura (2011-03-30). "Unions vow repeal as bargaining bill nears passage". Dayton Daily News. http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/ohio-news/unions-vow-repeal-as-bargaining-bill-nears-passage-1121714.html. Retrieved 2011-03-30. 
11. ^ Siegel, Jim; Joe Hardon (2011-03-31). "Assembly sends SB 5 to Kasich". Columbus Dispatch. http://www.dispatchpolitics.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2011/03/31/copy/assembly-sends-sb-5-to-kasich.html?adsec=politics&sid=101. Retrieved 2011-04-01. 
12. ^ Bischoff, Laura (2011-03-31). "Backers defend need for bargaining bill; unions promise referendum". Dayton Daily News. http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/ohio-news/backers-defend-need-for-bargaining-bill-unions-promise-referendum-1122755.html. Retrieved 2011-04-01. 
13. ^ Kovac, Marc (2011-03-31). "Tempers flare as SB 5 approved". Youngstown Vindicator. http://www.vindy.com/news/2011/mar/31/tempers-flare-sb-5-approved/. Retrieved 2011-04-02. 
14. ^ McKinnon, Julie M. (2011-04-27). "Opposition to Kasich's budget urged". Toledo Blade (Toledo Blade Company). http://toledoblade.com/Education/2011/04/27/Opposition-to-Kasich-s-budget-urged.html. Retrieved 2011-04-27. 

External links

• The Ohio House of Representatives: Representative Matt Szollosi (D-Oregon) official site
• Matt Szollosi for State Representative campaign site

Persondata
Name	Szollosi, Matt
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	September 27, 1973
Place of birth	Toledo, Ohio
Date of death
Place of death