Carruthers leaves Columbus at the end of the month after three terms, losing a primary bid to her eventual successor Diane Mullins, a pastor from Hanover Twp., who won election in November.
She also will not miss what she called “the nonsense that has preoccupied this town for way too long.” Carruthers advised her colleagues that will remain in the 136th General Assembly that begins in January to “please learn to work together,” saying the infighting among Republicans and disagreeing with Democrats just because they’re politically on the other side of the aisle needs to stop.
“Please keep in mind you are representing people who are different than you, not just like you. Not with your same opinions,” said Carruthers, adding it’s easy to forget “especially when you’re in the majority.”
Carruthers' path to the Statehouse started in May 2018 when she won the Republican Party’s nomination to represent the then-51st Ohio House District over incumbent Wes Rutherford and challenger Greg Jolivette. She beat challenger Susan Vaughn, who later was elected to Hamilton City Council, that November. After redistricting, the seat was reorganized as the 47th Ohio House District.
Her dad, Pat Carruthers, died a month after her primary victory, and without her “rock,” she and other freshman lawmakers had baptism by fire their first day with a very tough vote for Ohio House speaker.
Then governing through a pandemic, and considering difficult bill added to the personal life of trials and tribulations everyone experienced as most of her tenure had been post-COVID.
“Thankfully we’ve had friends here and at home to talk to,” she said. “I honestly don’t think sometimes I don’t think I would have made it through without my girl friends and my guy friends.”
Ohio Rep. Bride Rose Sweeney was one of the first lawmakers Carruthers had met in Columbus. She admitted she was “absolutely terrified” and Carruthers apparently noticed.
“Sara came right up to me, complimented my dress, gave me a hug and made me sit down with her before even knowing I was from the other party,” said Rose Sweeney, a Democrat from Westlake in the Cleveland area. “I knew from that moment she would be somebody that would be a dear friend.”
She called Carruthers “fearless,” “unapologetically herself,” and “a force of nature who’s not afraid to take charge.”
Ohio House Speaker Pro Tempore Scott Oelslager, a Republican from North Canton, said Carruthers always had “incisive questions” and was always seeking additional information ahead of votes, which is an admirable characteristic for someone on the Finance Committee and the chair of the Health and Human Services subcommittee.
“You are very generous in many ways in your life,” he said.
She fought for her legislation, Oelslager said, including championing what became Lauren’s Law, which created “permissive language” to be adopted by ICF/IIDs and residential facilities, enabling residents and their guardians to use electronic monitoring within the resident’s room. And she fought for capital budget funds for Butler County projects, including most recently for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Hamilton, redevelopment of Hamilton’s RiversEdge stage, and the Shuler and Benninghofen redevelopment project.
Carruthers said this past election broke political norms, saying Republican caucus members in the Statehouse were “actively working against” fellow members in primaries.
“Politics have changed, and it’s become more ugly than ever, and in many ways I’m glad to be leaving,” she said. “I came here to be a positive force in change in helping people. I think I’ve done that. I didn’t come here to be a partisan divider. My children wanted me to run, and I know they’re proud.”
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