Larry Lee Householder is an American politician who is the state representative for Ohio's 72nd District and was a two-time Speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives. He is a member of the Republican Party. His district includes Coshocton and Perry counties, as well as about half of Licking County. Householder represented the same district from 1997 to 2004, including as speaker from 2001 to 2004. In 2016 he was elected to the Statehouse again and on January 7, 2019, he was selected to serve again as speaker. On July 21, 2020, the FBI arrested Householder on federal RICO charges. The charges allege that his return to politics in 2016 was part of a criminal conspiracy. On July 30, 2020, the Ohio House of Representatives unanimously removed Householder as speaker.
Life and career
Born in Zanesville, Ohio, Householder was raised in Junction City, Ohio, where he worked on the family farm. He then attended Ohio University, receiving a degree in political science. He is married with five children. Householder ran an insurance agency and served as Perry County Commissioner before seeking higher office. In 1996, he ran for State Representative from Ohio's 78th district, challenging incumbent Democrat Mary Abel of Athens. Householder defeated Abel with 55.03% of the vote. He was reelected three times. In 1998, Householder was elected to serve as assistant majority whip. In 2001, he was elected to serve as Speaker of the OhioHouse of Representatives, the highest post in the House. He served two terms as speaker, during which he led major legislative reforms, including introducing concealed carry, passing tort reform and defunding Planned Parenthood—making Ohio the first state to do so. In 2004, Householder and several top advisers were under federal investigation for alleged money laundering and irregular campaign practices. The government closed the case without filing charges. He was term-limited in 2004. Householder later served as a Perry County Auditor.
When incumbent state Representative Bill Hayes ran for Licking County Prosecutor in 2016, Householder ran for his old seat, renamed District 72 after redistricting. Householder defeated Cliff N. Biggers in the Republican primary with almost 64% of the vote. He won the general election against Democrat John Carlisle with 72% of the vote. A former Speaker, Householder became a freshman legislator along with former President of the Ohio SenateKeith Faber. On January 7, 2019, a bipartisan majority of legislators elected him to serve again as speaker of the Ohio House.
Library programming controversy
In May 2019, Householder criticized the Ohio Library Council and the Newark Library in Licking County for providing an event for teens in the LGBTQ community at the taxpayers' expense. In response, the Newark Ohio Pride Coalition issued a formal statement noting that their organization paid for the event with a non-governmental grant. Later that evening, the Newark Library canceled the event. The Newark Ohio Pride Coalition found a new location for it. After his arrest for racketeering in 2020, the event organizers publicly asked Householder to reflect upon his own advice about being a good steward of public money.
Arrest
On July 21, 2020, the FBI arrested Householder and four others in connection with a $60 million bribery case involving the financial rescue of FirstEnergy's two nuclear plants in Ohio, Davis–Besse and Perry. U.S. Attorney David M. DeVillers called it "likely the largest bribery scheme ever perpetrated against the state of Ohio". During a July 21 press briefing, DeVillers said that money from FirstEnergy was filtered through a fake nonprofit organization to pay for bribes and evade campaign finance laws. Following DeVillers's press conference, Governor Mike DeWine asked Householder to resign. Later that day, Householder released a statement to the press saying he would not resign.
