Tom Brinkman - His Stands in Columbus

His Stands in Columbus

When University of Cincinnati law students in 2003 persuaded the General Assembly to ratify the Fourteenth Amendment, which a post-Civil War-era legislature had rejected, only one member voted against ratification: Brinkman. Brinkman told The Enquirer his vote was because of how the amendment has been misused:

It's misapplied constantly by the country to get states to do things they don't want to do. Most importantly to me, 45 million babies have been murdered since judges forced Roe v. Wade down the throats of citizens.

Following the repeal of Article XII of the Cincinnati city charter, which forbade the city from passing an ordinance protecting homosexuals from discrimination, the Cincinnati city council approved a hate crime ordinance that included sexual orientation. Brinkman said the ordinance "send the message that you openly approve of homosexuality," citing the Catechism of the Catholic Church . Brinkman had previously served as treasurer of the committee which opposed repeal of Article XII .

Brinkman prided himself on his perfect attendance and for coming home to Cincinnati every night from Columbus, but when Columbus Monthly in late 2003 did a survey of legislators, lobbyists, and others working in the State House asking them to rate the members of the Ohio General Assembly, Brinkman was rated the single worst legislator in the 132-member General Assembly. The magazine said Brinkman was "an uncompromisingly principled man. But he's a terrible, terrible legislator." Those surveyed ranked him as least knowledgeable, least hardworking, least likeable, least compassionate, and least savvy. Brinkman, for his part, points to his principled stance on the issues as the reason lobbyists don't like him.

In 2007, Representative Brinkman was named the chairman of the House Commerce and Labor Committee.