Latta hops from capital to capitol

WASHINGTON — Some people, having been elected to Congress, might not worry about the last day of an Ohio General Assembly session. But Bob Latta, sworn in Thursday to his U.S. representative’s seat, was in Columbus working Wednesday until about 10 p.m. Latta has long been proud of his record of not missing a vote in the Legislature. Thursday morning he and his family were on a plane to the capitol for his first day on the new job.Latta, a Republican from Bowling Green, won a special election Tuesday to the Ohio 5th Congressional District seat. Latta fills a vacancy created when the late U.S. Rep. Paul Gillmor died in a fall Sept. 5.Previous thought was that Latta couldn’t be sworn in until election results were official in January, but that wasn’t the case.Minority Leader John Boehner called Wednesday and asked if he’d like to be sworn in sooner, "like tomorrow," Latta said.Latta resigned his Columbus posts, and went with wife, Marcia, and two daughters, to be sworn in by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.Congress is wrapping up a session before the holidays that was supposed to finish today, but could last into next week. Latta will participate in any votes that develop in the next few days. He will work out of Gillmor’s office in the Longworth Building for the remainder of the term, but lose the space to a more senior member next year.Without a staff of his own yet, Latta is taking up other members’ offers to lend some of their staff to help get the office running.Latta’s father, Del, held the seat for decades before Gillmor and Latta said his dad was on his mind Thursday."We spent part of the school year there and there were lots of times when I would be on the floor with him," Latta said.Thursday, it was Latta getting off Washington’s Metro subway system looking up at the Capitol Building’s dome."It’s a truly humbling experience," he said. "You’re one of 435. It makes you think of your responsibility."You can comment on this story at www.limaohio.com.