COLUMBUS, Ohio — One of the Statehouse's Democratic leaders is reacting to a number of polarizing issues currently circulating through the Statehouse. At the same time, the Ohio House Minority Leader has a decision to make about her own political future.

In her final term in the Ohio House of Representatives, Emilia Sykes, D-Akron, is leading the charge for Democrats, but as the name suggests, the minority party does not have the power to get things done on its own.

One thing Sykes and her fellow party members are hoping to get Republican cooperation on is redistricting. The process of drawing new legislative and congressional maps takes place every 10 years and the lines for each district are drawn based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau. However, the information needed for 2022 maps is expected to be delayed due to the pandemic.

Both parties have tried to come up with solution. Ohio Senate President Matt Huffman, R-Lima, had an idea for a constitutional amendment to extend the deadlines to draw legislative maps but that did not come to fruition.

Sykes and Senate Minority Leader Kenny Yuko, D-Richmond Heights, have said they want the Ohio Supreme Court to step in and extend the deadlines.

"The constitution does not give us the wiggle room that we need to adjust for a once-in-a-lifetime situation. We could get help from the state supreme court. It might be favorable. It may not be," said Sykes.

When asked if Ohio will ultimately get a four-year map, Sykes said that is not inevitable.

"That's going to be completely up to the Republicans," Sykes said.

Sykes referred to current law which says, without a bipartisan agreement lawmakers would have to draw new maps in four years instead of 10.

Also at the state level, legislators are also grappling with how to address deadly shootings between police and citizens and the protests that have continued to spawn as a result. While Democrats would like to see more accountability for officers, Republicans have introduced bills trying to further protect the officers.

Sykes does not believe the conversation is headed in the direction of unifying the community.

"One of the greatest parts of our ability to live here is to protest the government without being punished and they're eliminating that. This is un-American,” Sykes said. “I think they are afraid of what would happen if more people had the opportunity to speak up and speak out about what's going on and they're trying to quash that.”

There also is the issue of former House Speaker Larry Householder, R-Glenford. He remains in office following his arrest in what prosecutors call the largest bribery scheme the state has ever seen.​

While current Speaker Robert Cupp, R-Lima, has repeatedly called on Householder to resign and has privately sought a resolution to expel Householder, nothing has been publicly introduced.​

"I am shocked that we remain here,” Sykes said. “I don't know why they're unwilling to bring integrity back to our chamber. I don't know why they're unwilling to deal with a major distraction in the Ohio House. And again, I think all of this comes down to maintaining power.”

However, Householder would not have become speaker if it were not for the deal Sykes and the Democrats struck with him. Sykes did not specifically say she regretted backing Householder as speaker but did express disappointment. 

"I mean, disappointed is probably not even a strong enough word to hear about the allegations against former speaker Householder and that was not a part of what we imagined would happen when we were here," said Sykes.

As for Sykes' future, she has a year-and-a-half left until her time in the Ohio House is up, and her name has been rumored as a possible democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate.

When asked directly if she is running for Senate, Sykes said, "I am in my final term in the Ohio House and that is what I am focused on at the moment. What I do next, I'm just not really sure. I want to be helpful. I want to be useful and I want to be happy in whatever I do and my next steps will have to check all three of those boxes. I've really enjoyed being a legislator. I think I've been a great legislator and having the opportunity to be a legislator would be really incredible."