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December 2008
Strickland on Jones-Kelley: “A good human being”
Helen Jones-Kelley resigned last Wednesday, Dec. 17, as director of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services amidst the continuing controversy over her role in the “Joe the Plumber” saga.
In a year-end interview, Gov. Ted Strickland, who appointed Jones-Kelley to the state job, said he did not ask for her resignation.
He had suspended her for a month without pay earlier after Ohio Inspector General Tom Charles reported that Jones-Kelley, of Clayton, had improperly authorized searches of state databases for personal information on Samuel Joseph “Joe the Plumber” Wurzelbacher during the presidential campaign.
“Helen Jones-Kelley is a good human being and has lived her life in service to others and I wish her the very best,” Strickland said in the interview.
Strickland has said that he plans to sign legislation aimed at cracking down on unauthorized snooping into state databases. Asked if the controversy has hurt his credibility with the state legislature, he said “I don’t know.”
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TweetObama’s choice of Rick Warren sparks controvery
Democratic President-elect Barack Obama has ignited a firestorm of controversy with his decision to invite Pastor Rick Warren of the Saddleback Church in southern California to give the invocation at Obama’s inauguration.
Some of Obama’s liberal supporters consider the choice almost a betrayal because of some of Warren’s views including his strong opposition to gay marriage and gay and lesbian rights. Columnist Katha Pollitt outlined the case against the choice in a recent column.
“Warren has compared gay marriage to incest and pedophilia,” writes Pollitt.
Meanwhile, E.J. Dionne praised the choice in one of his columns, pointing out Warren’s support for more church involvement with poverty, social justice and other issues that Obama has championed.
“On balance, inviting Warren opens more doors than it closes,” writes Dionne.
Here’s an opportunity to get involved in the discussion.
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TweetGOP leader questions Boyce appointment as state treasurer
Kevin DeWine, deputy chairman of the Ohio Republican Party, isn’t thrilled with Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland’s choice of Columbus City Councilman Kevin Boyce for state treasurer. An earlier blog post reported that Strickland announced today, Dec. 23, that he plans to appoint Boyce.
“Ohioans need confidence in this uncertain economy that their investments are being properly managed,” DeWine said in a press release today. “And I’m not sure this appointment does that. It’s hard to believe that a two-term city councilman is the most qualified person the governor could find to safeguard Ohio’s tax dollars.”
DeWine said the last time the Democrats disregarded qualifications and experience, “we ended up with Marc Dann in the attorney general’s office.” Without naming him, DeWine also brought up Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, caught up in a scandal over finding a replacement in the U.S. Senate for President-elect Barack Obama.
“The recent scandal involving the governor of Illinois proves the importance of full disclosure in the appointment process..,” DeWine said.
DeWine called on Strickland to release all communication between his office and anyone seeking to influence his decision on the Boyce appointment.
Keith Dailey, Strickland’s spokesman, called DeWine’s comments “ridiculous.”
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TweetStrickland signs “Safe Havens” bill
The Safe Havens law that allows mothers to drop their newborn babies off at hospitals or police stations with no questions asked will be extended from 72 hours to 30 days.
Gov. Ted Strickland today, Dec. 23, signed Senate Bill 304, sponsored by Sen. Gary Cates, R-West Chester, that provides the extension.
Since Ohio first passed the Safe Havens law in 2001, dozens of infants have been dropped off and later placed with adoptive families.
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TweetColumbus City Councilman Boyce picked for state treasurer
Columbus City Councilman Kevin Boyce is Gov. Ted Strickland’s choice for state treasurer.
Strickland announced today, Dec. 23, that he’ll appoint Boyce to the job, effective, Jan. 6.
Boyce, 37, will earn $109,985 in the job. He will be in charge of managing the state’s money and will supervise a staff of about 150.
He will be the first black Democratic statewide non-judicial officeholder. He said he plans to run for election to a full four-year term in 2010.
Republicans have had two black, statewide non-judicial officeholders - Ken Blackwell, who served as treasurer and secretary of state, and Jennette Bradley, who was lieutenant governor and treasurer.
Asked about the challenge of winning election in his first statewide race two years from now, Boyce (pictured) said:
“The best politics is doing a good job.”
He will replace Treasurer Richard Cordray in what has become the Democrats’ version of musical state offices.
Cordray was elected attorney general in November to serve out the final two years of the term of fellow Democrat Marc Dann. Dann resigned in May in a sexual harassment scandal and was the subject of a scathing inspector general’s report released on Monday, Dec. 22, that accused Dann of using his campaign finance account like a “personal honey pot.”
Boyce has served on Columbus City Council since 2000 and is chairman of the Finance Committee. He has a B.A. degree from the University of Toledo and a master’s degree in public administration from Central Michigan University, Strickland said.
He was accompanied by his family at a Statehouse news conference and led reporters in singing “Happy Birthday” to his son K.J., who just turned 10.
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TweetDann fires back at IG: Report ‘filled with innunendo instead of fact’
Former Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann today, Dec. 22, lashed back at Inspector General Tom Charles and the scathing report Charles issued blasting Dann’s conduct, including a charge that Dann used his campaign fund as a “honey bucket.” See earlier post on Charles’ report.
“The Inspector General’s report is filled with innuendo instead of fact,” Dann said in a conference call with reporters. Dann resigned in May in the wake of a sexual harassment scandal.
In the conference call, Dann said he had a “long history” of being critical of Charles’ work and that Charles had a “clear bias.” Dann, in a later phone call, said he had criticized Charles for moving too slowly and not digging deeply enough in the Tom Noe “Coingate” scandal involving the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation.
Charles declined comment.
Dann said that he was practicing law in Cleveland and was preparing to go to Michigan to spend the holidays with his family.
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TweetInspector General: Dann used campaign funds as “personal honey pot”
Ohio Inspector General Tom Charles today, Dec. 22, reported that former Attorney General Marc Dann used his campaign fund as “a personal honey pot - an account that he used to pay his everyday living expenses.”
Charles’ report also said that Dann’s office “squandered tens of thousands of dollars by issuing expensive BlackBerry wireless devices to nearly one-quarter of his staff, a perk that cost the state nearly $30,000 a month.”
A special audit conducted by Auditor Mary Taylor, released along with Charles’ report, found that Dann “ballooned the size of the Attorney General’s fleet by 99 vehicles at a cost of $1.9 million. Taylor’s audit found that 167 of the vehicles - at a total cost of $308,968 - were purchased with money that the AG’s office appropriated from improper funding sources.
Taylor’s audit identified 175 expenditures totaling more than$3.6 million “for further examination.”
Copies of the Charles’ report are being sent to the Franklin County Prosecutor’s office, the Columbus City Attorney’s office, the Internal Revenue Service, the Ohio Department of Taxation, the Ohio Supreme Court’s Disciplinary Counsel, the Ohio Elections Commission and the Ohio Ethics Commission.
Dann, a Youngstown-area Democrat, resigned last May 14 in the wake of a sexual harassment scandal after serving less than half of the four-year term that he was elected to in 2006. He admitted having an affair with a staff member 18 years his junior.
The report also found that Dann used an unregulated non-profit business he organized shortly after his election in 2006 to direct thousands of dollars to “Feisty Dishes,” a dinnerware sales company controlled by his wife Alyssa Lenhoff.
Lenhoff also personally received a $9,955 check that ended up in the Danns’ personal bank account, said the report.
In a call with reporters, Dann said the payments were legitimate. The payments to his wife’s business was for gifts - jams and jellies - to people who helped in his campaig. The check was to reimburse expenses, he said.
Two top Dann aides in the AG’s office- Anthony Gutierrez and Leo Jennings III - also got thousands of dollars from the account, the report said. Gutierrez and Jennings were fired in the wake of the scandal.
Dann also made “similarly lavish payments” from his campaign account to Jennings and others, the report said.
Also, Dann hired a group of young women into his office who were dubbed “the Dannettes.”
“So unprofessional was the dress and conduct of some of these young women that a project assistant in the office was assigned to conduct etiquette classes for them,” the report said.
The report added:
“While it is appalling that the office of the ‘people’s lawyer’ should have to conduct classes on civility and decorum, we find it even more appalling that Dann hired friends and acquaintances into key management positions despite the fact that the people were unqualified or faced serious legal problems that should have raised red flags.”
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TweetSpeaker Husted considers 2010 races for secretary of state or treasurer
House Speaker Jon Husted, R-Kettering, is considering a run for statewide office in 2010 - either for secretary of state or treasurer.
In a year-end interview today, Dec. 22, Husted (pictured) said he probably would make up his mind next year on whether to run statewide.
“I believe that those are very different jobs. They both have responsibilities for things that I believe in,” he said.
He said that he was not interested in running for governor in 2010.
Husted, 41, is term-limited in the Ohio House but was elected to the state Senate in November and will begin serving a four-year term in January, representing the 6th District, The district includes part of Dayton and suburban communities.
Both the secretary of state’s and treasurer’s offices now are held by Democrats. Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, the state’s top elections officer, is expected to seek re-election.
Treasurer Richard Cordray was elected attorney general in November to take over for Marc Dann who resigned in a sexual harassment scandal and Gov. Ted Strickland will appoint Cordray’s replacement.
The secretary of state is one of five members of the Apportionment Board that will draw new legislative districts based on the 2010 census. If Democrat Strickland and Republican Auditor Mary Taylor win re-election in 2010, the secretary of state race will determine who controls the board. The board also includes one legislator from each party.
Husted suggested that his four-year experience as speaker would help him in a first-time statewide race.
“I think the difference you have when you’re running statewide as a first time candidate, you have no track record for people to judge you on and you don’t have the network of political and fundraising capabilities,” he said.
“…While I would be a first-time statewide candidate, those two things are not problems for me. I already have those relationships and a track record people know about.”
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TweetSupport for Congress plunges to single digits
Support for Congress’ job performance has plunged to single digits for the first time since early September, according to Rasmussen Reports.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey, released Friday, Dec. 19, found that just 9 percent gave Congress good or excellent ratings. Fifty-four percent gave national lawmakers poor marks. Just 2 percent - one out of 50 - said Congress is doing excellent work.
The report comes against the backdrop of a bad economy and controversy over a bailout for the Big Three automakers. Congress didn’t approve the bailout but President Bush on Friday, Dec. 19, announced plans to help the automakers.
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TweetBoehner on auto bailout
Here’s House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-West Chester, on President’ Bush’s announcement that he’s directing money to the domestic auto industry out of the $700 billion bailout:
“The action today is disappointing news for autoworkers and taxpayers, who deserve better - particularly from their Congress, which essentially punted on this difficult issue and is gearing up to move radical environmental legislation next year that will wreak havoc on American jobs.
“The no-bailout restructuring plan House Republicans put forth this month, which relied on private funds rather than taxpayer funds, was the responsible way for Washington to respond to the troubles in the American auto industry. By declining to take the responsible approach, Washington has failed both autoworkers and taxpayers. The use of TARP (financial bailout) funds is also regrettable, the latest in a growing list of TARP money uses that were not discussed with or envisioned by Congress when the program was authorized.
“Now that billions in taxpayer funds are being put at risk, it is more essential than ever that our Democratic counterparts back away from threats to impose extreme environmental mandates on the auto industry that will jeopardize millions of American jobs.”
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TweetC.J. McLin, Jr. “Legacy Celebration” set
A “Legacy Celebration” to mark the 20th anniversary of the death of the late C.J. McLin, Jr. will be held Saturday, Dec, 27, at Corinthian Baptist Church, 700 James H. McGee Blvd., in Dayton.
The celebration, open to the public, is “in honor, recognition and celebration of the great legacy C. J. McLin, Jr. left to his family, friends, his colleagues, the city of Dayton and the state of Ohio,” a notice of the celebration said.
McLin, a Democrat, died in December 1988 at 67. He served 22 years in the Ohio House and founded the Black Elected Democrats of Ohio and led the group for 20 years. The group is now the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus.
McLin’s daughter Rhine McLin serves as Dayton mayor.
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TweetBush to give bailout money to U.S. auto industry; Voinovich breathes sigh of relief
Here’s Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, on President Bush’s announcement Friday, Dec. 19, that he’s prepared to approve $17.4 billion in emergency loans for auto makers. Of that $13.4 billion will be available this month:
“On behalf of all Ohioans, I am grateful the president stepped in to help thwart a disaster that would have sent our state over the cliff.
“I spoke again yesterday with White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten urging them to act by today because the dominoes are falling. The president has supplied oxygen to a patient fighting to get healthy through restructuring and becoming more competitive.
“My only regret is that Sen. Levin and I couldn’t convince Congress to get this done back before Thanksgiving when our bipartisan compromise was completed. I’m pleased that the president’s plan models the protections to taxpayers that we provided in our legislation. While we are not out of the woods, there are millions of hard-working Americans today who can breathe easier this holiday season.”
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TweetCounty hotel-motel tax plan dies in Ohio Senate
A proposal to permit Montgomery County commissioners to levy up to an extra 4 percent lodgings tax died today, Dec. 18, in the Ohio Senate but could be brought up again next year, legislators said.
County commissioners wanted to be able to consider using revenue from the tax hike to finance an event center and hockey arena at the Austin Pike interchange on Interstate 75 south of Dayton. The House passed legislation that included the plan on Wednesday, Dec. 17.
The Senate declined to take up the bill, however, before adjourning for the year.
Senate President Bill Harris, R-Ashland, said he didn’t learn until 2 p.m. Thursday, about an hour before adjournment, that all the interested parties in Montgomery County had agreed on the proposal.
“I said it was too late,” Harris said.
If commissioners approved the 4 percent increase, the combined tax for a hotel-motel guest in most of Montgomery County would go to 17 percent, among the highest in the nation.
County officials said the Austin Pike project could generate 21,000 jobs. An additional 4 percnet tax would raise about $3.2 million annually, according to Montgomery County Administrator Deborah Feldman
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TweetDann converted campaign cash for personal use, Brunner says
Former Ohio attorney general Marc Dann illegally converted campaign cash for his own personal use, according to a complaint filed by Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner’s office with the Ohio Elections Commission on Thursday, Dec. 18.
Dann personally benefited from $40,610 in security improvements to his Liberty Twp. home in Trumbull County that was paid for by the campaign committee, the complaint said. The expense wasn’t related to his official duties or to influence an election, as state law requires, the complaint said.
Dann’s attorney, Donald McTigue, however, argued that the security system would not have been needed had Dann not been the attorney general. Dann has maintained that he and his family received threats that necessitated police protection and the security system. Rather than use tax money for the security system, the Dann for Ohio Committee paid. Taxpayers footed the bill for police protection by the Ohio Highway Patrol, the Bureau of Criminal Investigation and Identification, and the Liberty Twp. police department.
McTigue told Brunner’s office that the Dann for Ohio Committee would sell the security system once it was no longer needed or the house sold.
The secretary of state’s office is also questioning $4,369 in cell phone bills paid directly by the campaign committee. The phones were used by Dann, his wife and their children for personal and campaign calls.
Dann, a Democrat, resigned in May after a sexual harassment scandal involving friends and neighbors he had appointed to his administration. He also admitted having an affair with a staff member 18 years his junior.
The state inspector general, Ohio Ethics Commission, Ohio Highway Patrol and other agencies are now investigating allegations tied to Dann and his administration.
The bi-partisan elections commission is expected to consider the case Jan. 22. They have the power to dismiss the case, make findings, level fines or refer it to the Franklin County prosecutor for criminal charges, Ohio Elections Commission Director Phil Richter said.
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TweetVets bonuses get final approval; Strickland veto coming
The Senate today, Dec. 18, gave final approval to legislation providing bonuses to veterans of the 1990-91 Persian Gulf War and the continuing fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan using money from the state’s “rainy day fund” - basically the state’s savings account.
House Bill 649 now goes to Gov. Ted Strickland who has pledged to veto it. If he does the legislation will be dead for this year. The House has left for the year and the Senate plans to finish work today. There wouldn’t be time for an override attempt and there don’t appear to be enough votes in the House to override Strickland.
The vote today was 23-8.
Strickland opposes using “rainy day fund” money for the bonuses. Instead, he wants to issue bonds to borrow money for the bonuses. If the bill dies, it’s expected the bond proposal will come up next year when Rep. Jon Husted, R-Kettering, no longer is House Speaker. Husted opposes issuing bonds for the bonuses.
The bill would appropriate $150 million for the bonus and make an additional $50 million available if needed.
It would provide bonuses of up to $1,000 to veterans of the conflicts and up to $500 for veterans who served in other locations during the conflicts. It also would provide $5,000 to families of those killed in action.
“To me, this isn’t about the funding source, it is about honoring men and women who put themselves in harm’s way to defend our freedom,” Senate President Bill Harris, R-Ashland said in a press release. “I am fully aware of the fiscal challenges in which we find ourselves as a state, but I believe it is fitting and appropriate for the state make this small sacrifice to honor their sacrifice.”
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TweetBrown to White House: Please send domestic auto industry money now
Reacting to the news that Chrysler is going to shut down for a month, Sen. Sherrod Brown asked the White House Wednesday, Dec. 17, to send some of the $700 billion in financial bailout money to the auto industry immediately.
Brown, D-Ohio, who spoke with the White House last Friday about using that money, reiterated his request Wednesday in a call with Interim Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Financial Stability Neel Kashkari.
He also urged the Federal Reserve to take action to get lines of credit flowing to the industry.
“The Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve need to act quickly to put funds to work to help America’s workers,” he said in a statement released by his office. “On behalf of 250,000 Ohio families and millions of Americans who depend on the auto industry for their livelihood, I implore the White House to take action this week.”
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TweetContributions to judges increase
The Ohio Supreme Court approved a 15 percent increase to campaign contribution limits for judicial candidates, starting Jan. 1. The increase, the first in four years, is based on inflation measures.
The new limits will be: For Supreme Court races: $3,450 for individual contributions and $6,325 for organization contributions for the primary and general elections; political parties may give $172,500 in a contested primary and $316,250 in a general election
For Court of Appeals races: $1,150 for individual contributions and $3,450 for organization contributions for the primary and general elections; political parties may give $34,500 in the primary and $69,000 in the general election
For other judicial races: $575 for individuals and $3,450 for organizations for the primary and general elections; political parties may give $34,500 in the primary and $69,000 in the general election in counties with populations of more than 750,000.
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TweetTwo more out in “Joe the Plumber” case
Two of Helen Jones-Kelley’s top aides in the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services are leaving their jobs along with Jones-Kelley.
Jones-Kelley of Clayton, the key figure in the “Joe the Plumber” snooping investigation, announced her resignation on Wednesday, Dec. 17.
Doug Thompson, deputy director of child support, had his job “revoked,” effective Monday, Dec. 22, said Scarlett Bouder, department spokesman. Fred Williams, department assistant director, resigned effective Jan. 31, Bouder said. Thompson came to Columbus with Jones-Kelley, who previously was director of the Montgomery County Department of Job and Family Services.
Both were cited in Inspector General Tom Charles’ report that found that Jones-Kelley had improperly authorized searches of state databases for personal information on Samuel Joseph “Joe the Plumber” Wurzelbacher of suburban Toledo during the presidential campaign.
Bouder said that Thompson served at the director’s pleasure and could be dismissed without citing a specific reason. Acting Director Jan Allen made the decision, said Bouder.
The actions were taken to “refocus the agency on the work at hand,” said Bouder.
Jones-Kelley was suspended for a month without pay in the incident and Thompson was suspended for four weeks without pay. Williams was suspended for two weeks without pay.
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TweetCaffeinated booze drinks being removed
Alcoholic energy drinks may be popular with young consumers but they sure aren’t a hit with state attorneys general who won another victory in their push to clear them from store shelves.
Ohio Attorney General Nancy Rogers and 13 other state attorneys generals announced Thursday, Dec. 18, that they struck an agreement with MillerCoors to stop producing its best-selling “Sparks” and not produce any caffeinated alcoholic beverages in the future.
“Young people in particular drink more when an alcoholic drink contains caffeine,” Rogers said in a written statement. “When they feel alert, they don’t realize that they are already impaired. As an educator, I have seen many young people destroy promising futures because of excessive drinking.”
Earlier this year, research about the dangers of these products and concerns about how they were marketed to under age drinkers led attorneys general to investigate the content and advertising claims made by MillerCoors.
The investigation focused on misleading health-related statements and the marketing of Sparks that may have been directed at under age drinkers.
Sparks will no longer have caffeine or other stimulants and MillerCoors agreed to stop using images in its marketing that imply energy or power, like the battery-themed +/- symbols on the can.
In May, attorneys general reached a settlement with Anheuser-Busch to stop producing alcoholic-energy drinks, including Tilt and Bud Extra.
The deals with MillerCoors and Anheuser-Busch means nearly 85 percent of all alcoholic energy drinks that had been on the market at the beginning of 2008 will be gone.
Do you think alcoholic energy drinks are usually marketed to under age drinkers?
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TweetHelen Jones-Kelley resigns from state job
Helen Jones-Kelley has resigned as director of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, Gov. Ted Strickland’s office announced today, Dec. 17.
State Inspector General Tom Charles found that Jones-Kelley, of Clayton, improperly authorized state database searches for personal information on Samuel Joseph “Joe the Plumber” Wurzelbacher during the presidential campaign.
Strickland suspended Jones-Kelley for a month without pay on Nov. 20 in the wake of Charles’ report.
Strickland had first put Jones-Kelley, a former director of the Montgomery County Job and Family Services department, on paid administrative leave Nov. 7 because of reports that she used her state e-mail account for political fund raising. Charles’ report also confirmed that she used the account to raise money for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.
She earned $141,980 in her state job.
“My professional career and the legacy of service I have established has been and continues to be far too important for me to allow my reputation and my commitment as a servant to be disparaged,” Jones-Kelley said in a statement released by Strickland’s office. “I also remain concerned for the safety of my family and myself.”
Strickland spokesman Keith Dailey released this statement:
“The governor values Helen Jones-Kelley’s years of public service as a tireless advocate for the most vulnerable among us. He understands her decision and accepts her resignation.”
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TweetSenate Approves “Joe the Plumber” bill
Columbus Bureau reporter Laura A. Bischoff is monitoring the Senate as the legislative session winds down and reports that “Joe the Plumber” legislation is moving toward Gov. Ted Strickland’s office:
A bill to safeguard personal information held by state government agencies passed the Senate by a 30-2 vote.
Substitute House Bill 648 was proposed after it was discovered that 18 records checks were done on Samuel “Joe the Plumber” Wurzelbacher, a Toledo area man who catapulted to fame after he discussed tax policy with Democrat Barack Obama.
The state inspector general determined that eight of the 18 records checks had no legitimate business purpose.
The annual costs to enforce the new rules would fall below the original $100 million estimate but state Sen. Mark Wagoner, R-Toledo, did not provide more specifics.
The bill will help restore Ohioans trust that state government will not misuse personal information, Wagoner said.
State Sen. Ray Miller, D-Columbus, defended Ohio Department of Job and Family Services Director Helen Jones-Kelley, saying people make mistakes and that Jones-Kelley has been appropriately disciplined by Gov. Strickland. He and Sen. Dale Miller, D-Cleveland - who are not related - voted “no.”
The Senate made slight changes in the bill that the House passed earlier so it will be returned to the House for concurrence before being sent on to Strickland.
The Senate version prohibits an person from accessing confidential personal information in violation of agency rules. Violating the prohibition would be a first degree misdemeanor and if convicted the person would lose his or her job.
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TweetAbortion clinic sign bill approved; goes to Strickland
The Ohio House today, Dec. 17, gave final legislative approval to a bill that would requireabortion clinics to hang posters in their waiting rooms that state: “No One Can Force You to Have an Abortion.”
Substitute House Bill 280 now goes to Gov. Ted. Strickland.
The bill also beefs up the penalty under the state’s domestic violence laws for offenders who cause physical harm against women they know are pregnant at the time of the offense.
It also lumps in increased penalties for human trafficking offenses. State Sen. Tim Grendell, R-Chesterland, said earlier “This bill is about protecting Ohio women, protecting Ohio children.”
State Sen. Teresa Fedor, D-Toledo, said she was shocked to learn in a newspaper series that Toledo has been a hub of human trafficking. “I am not for sale, you are not for sale, no one should be for sale.”
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TweetMontgomery County lodgings tax plan gets Ohio House OK
By an 87-5 vote, the Ohio House today, Dec. 17 approved legislation giving Montgomery County commissioners permission to levy up to an additional 4 percent lodgings tax to finance an event center and hockey arena at the Austin Pike interchange on Interstate 75 south of Dayton.
The vote came after city of Dayton and Montgomery County officials met earlier today to discuss Mayor Rhine McLin’s concerns with the proposal. The plan was added as an amendment to Substitute Senate Bill 306, which deals with housing cooperative and homestead tax exemption issues.
McLin said that she was neutral on the bill but would not try to block it. She said county officials assured her there were no immediate plans to raise the tax but wanted it for a “tool” in their tool box.
Montgomery County Administrator Deborah Feldman said county officials want to meet with all those who would be affected by a tax increase before moving forward.
If commissioners approved the 4 percent increase, the combined tax for a hotel-motel guest in most of Montgomery County would go to 17 percent, among the highest in the nation.
The Senate must also approve the legislation before it goes to Gov. Ted Strickland.
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TweetDayton to receive Clean Ohio money
The city of Dayton will receive nearly $900,000 in state Clean Ohio Fund money to clean up the NIBCO Foundry site at 1800 McCall St. and get it ready for redevelopment as an industrial park. Plans call for removing contaminated soil and underground structures.
The money is part of $12.7 million in Clean Ohio grants announced on Wednesday, Dec. 17. The grants are contingent on approval by the State Controlling Board in February.
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TweetBrown to Obama: Remember Ohio in stimulus package
Sen. Sherrod Brown wants President-elect Barack Obama to remember how hard-hit Ohio has been by current economic crisis. So on Wednesday, Dec. 17, he shot the president-elect a letter reminding him to remember Ohio in his upcoming economic stimulus package.
In a two-page letter, Brown, a Democrat, reminded Obama that more than 200,000 Ohioans lost their manufacturing jobs during a five-year period. He reminded Obama how the closure of a DHL facility in Wilmington will cost the state nealry 10,000 more jobs.
“As you work with Congress to craft an economic stimulus package, I urge you to acknowledge the disproportionate impact of the economic downturn on states like Ohio by taking factors like higher than average unemployment and foreclosure rates into account as you allocate stimulus funding,” Brown wrote. He urged Obama to give cities like Wilmington “special attention” in the package, and to use the bill to rebuild crumbling infrastructure in the state.
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TweetSafe Haven window to expand to 30 days
Gov. Ted Strickland plans to sign a bill that expands Ohio’s Safe Haven law that allows mothers to drop off newborn babies at hospitals or police stations with no questions asked.
Current law allows for drop offs the first 72 hours after birth but the bill expands the window to 30 days.
Since Ohio first passed the Safe Havens law in 2001, dozens of infants have been dropped off and later placed with adoptive families. State officials did not have a current number available on Wednesday, Dec. 17.
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TweetPolitical rivals unite to ring bells for Salvation Army
Peace on earth?
Maybe that’s too much to expect.
How about bell ringing at Broad and High - the intersection right in the middle of downtown Columbus?
That’s where State Rep. Kevin DeWine, R-Fairborn, who’s also Ohio Republican Party deputy chairman, will face off on Thursday, Dec. 18, with his political rival Chris Redfern, Ohio Democratic Party chairman and a state representative from Catawba Island, in a “Red Kettle Duel.”
They’ll see who can raise the most money for the Salvation Army as part of the celebrity bell ringers campaign. If you’re in town, the dueling pols are set to start ringing at 10 a.m.
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TweetMontgomery County lodgings tax vote back on the agenda
City of Dayton and Montgomery County officials have worked out their differences and a vote today, Dec. 17, now is expected in the Ohio House on legislation to permit county commissioners to levy up to an additional 4 percent lodgings tax.
The tax increase would be used to finance a multievent center and hockey arena at the Austin Pike interchange on Interstate 75 south of Dayton. The Senate also would have to approve the measure before it goes to Gov. Ted Strickland.
“We got their attention,” said Dayton Mayor Rhine McLin. She said that she, Dayton City Commissioner Nan Whaley and City Manager Rashad Young met with county Administrator Deborah Feldman and County Commissioner Debbie Lieberman for about 90 minutes.
McClin said she was “neutral” on the legislation but wouldn’t seek to block it. Reps. Fred Strahorn and Clayton Luckie, both Dayton Democrats, on Tuesday voiced opposition to the bill, causing House Speaker Jon Husted, R-Kettering, to delay the vote.
Commissioners just want to have a “tool in their tool box” and have made no final decision on whether to levy the tax, McLin said she was assured. Commissioners need to make sure all those who would be affected by a tax hike are “at the table” as the issue is discussed, the mayor said.
With the economy so shaky, “it raises concerns” to even discuss a tax hike, McLin said.
Feldman said she and Lieberman “were really glad we had a chance to talk to the city.”
“We want to continue to do that,” she said. County officials also want to talk to others who would be affected by such a tax hike, she said.
“This legislation is just really giving us a tool to explore what our options are but we’re by no means ready to take action,” said Feldman.
Strahorn said he expects to vote for the legislation and that he believes any differences have been resolved.
If the tax were raised 4 percent, the combined tax for a hotel-motel guest in most of Montgomery County would be 17 percent, among the highest in the country. This would include the lodgings tax and the 7 percent sales tax.
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TweetIt’s Wright Brothers Day
President Bush issued his annual proclamation Wednesday, Dec. 17, that today is Wright Brothers Day.
“On Wright Brothers Day, we commemorate two brothers, Orville and Wilbur Wright, who took great risks and ushered in a new era of travel and discovery,” he wrote in his proclamation.
The first Wright Brothers Day was in 1963, when Congress designated Dec. 17 of each year as “Wright Brothers Day.” Since then, the president has annually issued a proclamation inviting the people of the United States to observe that day with appropriate ceremonies and activities.
The proclamation is after the jump.
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION
Our history is rich with pioneers and innovators who used their God-given talents to improve our Nation and the world. On Wright Brothers Day, we commemorate two brothers, Orville and Wilbur Wright, who took great risks and ushered in a new era of travel and discovery.
With intrepid spirits and a passion for innovation, Orville and Wilbur Wright became the first to experience the thrill of manned, powered flight. On December 17, 1903, Orville Wright flew for 12 seconds over the North Carolina sand dunes in the presence of only five people. In the span of one lifetime, our Nation has seen aviation progress from the first tentative takeoff at Kitty Hawk to an age of supersonic flight and space exploration.
On this Wright Brothers Day, we recognize all those who have taken great risks and contributed to our country’s legacy of exploration and discovery. This year, we also celebrate the centennial of the world’s first passenger flight. By remaining dedicated to extending the frontiers of knowledge, we can ensure that the United States will continue to lead the world in science, innovation, and technology, and build a better future for generations to come.
The Congress, by a joint resolution approved December 17, 1963, as amended (77 Stat. 402; 36 U.S.C. 143), has designated December 17 of each year as “Wright Brothers Day” and has authorized and requested the President to issue annually a proclamation inviting the people of the United States to observe that day with appropriate ceremonies and activities.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim December 17, 2008, as Wright Brothers Day.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this sixteenth day of December, in the year of our Lord two thousand eight, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-third.
GEORGE W. BUSH
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TweetHouse votes to use “rainy day” money for vets’ bonuses
The Ohio House today, Dec. 16, voted to use the state’s “rainy day fund” for bonuses for veterans of the 1990-91 Persian Gulf War and the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The vote was 54-42.
The bill now goes to the Senate but it appears that there wouldn’t be enough votes in the house to survive a veto threatened by Gov. Ted Strickland. It would take 60 votes in the House to overcome a veto.
The bill would appropriate $150 million from the “rainy day fund” but also would permit state officials to release an additional $50 million if needed.
Democrat Strickland and Democrats in the House said the state should pay for bonuses by borrowing money through issuing bonds as was done with previous veterans’ bonuses.
House Speaker Jon Husted, R-Kettering, said the pay-as-you-go approach is more fiscally responsible.
The bill calls for bonuses of up to $1,000 for veterans who served in the conflicts and bonuses of up to $500 for veterans who served elsewhere during the wars. Also, family members of those killed in action would receive $5,000.
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TweetBrown calls dibs on Kennedy’s desk
This from our buddies over at the Opinion Blog:
Sen. Sherrod Brown was at the newspaper Tuesday for a wide ranging discussion with the editorial board and others. There was much serious talk, which will get various forms of attention in the paper.
But the big news, the hot story demanding to be reported even as he’s on his way out of the parking lot is this:
Asked what he thought of the idea of Caroline Kennedy for the Senate, he was non-commital. But he said, “I’ve got Bobby Kennedy’s desk. If she thinks she’s getting that….”
He was referring to a desk on the floor of the Senate. Many of the desks have some historical story. But Sen. Brown is very big on the Kennedys. He said Ted Kennedy is the best member of the Senate ever, as measured by important legislation he has fostered. And Brown enjoys an informal relationship with him, often having the chance to listen to his stories about the past.
Nevertheless, any bets on who gets the RFK desk?
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TweetHouse votes to end election “golden week’
The Ohio House today, Dec. 16, voted largely along party lines to end the so-called “Golden Week”, a brief period when people can register to vote and cast an absentee ballot on the same day.
The version of Senate Bill 380 approved by the House differed slightly from the version approved earlier by the Senate so the Senate now will be asked to concur before sending the bill to Gov. Ted Strickland.
The House vote was 55-43, with Republicans in support and most Democrats in opposition.
Strickland and Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, both Democrats, both have said the Republican-controlled legislature should hold off on changes in election law until next year when Democrats will control the House. There will be more time for a comprehensive review, Brunner and Strickland have said.
The bill also requires the secretary of state to notify county boards of elections when there are differences between voter registration information and a voter’s personal information on other government databases.
House Speaker Jon Husted, R-Kettering, said the legislation puts into law Ohio Supreme Court rulings and clarifies laws that Brunner has said are confusing.
The bill would prohibit same-day registration and absentee voting. Under the legislation, elections boards would mail out absentee ballots 28 days before Election Day and set the start of in-person absentee voting for 20 days before an election.
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TweetVoinovich not pleased with how financial bailout is being handled
U.S. Sen. George Voinovich has a few questions for Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson about the financial bailout passed earlier this year.
For example: Why is most of the bailout going to large banks, as opposed to smaller community banks which are also hurting? How is Treasury determining who to help? And, perhaps most importantly, how has this bailout actually helped to increase lending?
Voinovich laid out those concerns in a letter he sent Tuesday, Dec. 16, to Paulson.
“As far as I can see the large domestic banks that have been the receipt of capital infusions are hoarding the funds,” he wrote. ” Treasury must ensure that capital infusions result in increased lending. The congressional intent was for banks to start lending again and we must demand these banks start lending to spur economic activity.”
The letter is after the jump.
When Congress passed the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act (EESA), Treasury ensured that this act would strengthen the financial infrastructure of our country and encourage banks to start lending again. To date, Treasury’s actions have been focused on bringing stability to the financial markets, particularly providing capital infusions to banks with the largest market share. The Treasury has invested in all but one of the twenty-five largest domestic banks, including several that continue to incur losses. The fundamental shift in the focus of EESA from buying toxic mortgage assets to direct capital infusions shows a rift in the legislative intent at the time of passage and Treasury’s priorities today. Treasury must do more to ensure community banks are receiving the assistance they need so they can continue to play a vital role in providing lending across the country.
In order to truly aid economies like my home state of Ohio, community banks must be a part of the solution to ensure wider stability in the financial sector. It is unacceptable that Treasury only provide aid to the country’s largest domestic banks and ignore the community banks. Community banks are an essential link to capital in smaller communities across the nation. EESA must make restoring credit portfolios a priority, just as it has made large financial institutions a priority.
It is still unclear how Treasury is determining which financial institutions receive a capital infusion. In order to understand why one bank is receiving assistance and another is not, the public must be able to clearly understand the factors Treasury is relying upon to make the decision. It has been said that capital infusions are only going to financially viable banks; if this is indeed the case, Treasury needs to define what makes an institution viable. How can I explain to Ohioans why a bank in Honolulu recently received a capital infusion when they were told directly by a regulator to raise capital to address its financial problems, but banks in Ohio have been denied assistance when regulators determine increased capital is needed? If ailing banks are receiving assistance from the EESA to meet regulatory requirements, then the intent of the program has certainly changed.
In closing, I would like to ask you how have the actions by Treasury to date increased lending? As far as I can see the large domestic banks that have been the receipt of capital infusions are hoarding the funds. Treasury must ensure that capital infusions result in increased lending. The congressional intent was for banks to start lending again and we must demand these banks start lending to spur economic activity. As the Treasury prepares for the transition in January to President-elect Barack Obama’s administration, it is critical that assistance to community banks is at the core of the next steps in carrying out the next stages of the EESA.
Sincerely,
George V. Voinovich
United States Senator
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TweetUpdated- Montgomery County lodgings tax vote delayed in House
A vote in the the Ohio House has been delayed on a provision to permit Montgomery County commissioners to levy up to an additional 4 percent lodgings tax to finance a multievent center and hockey arena at the Austin Pike interchange south of Dayton.
House Speaker Jon Husted, R-Kettering, added the proposal as an amendment to legislation dealing with housing cooperative and homestead tax exemptions issues. Husted acted at the request of Montgomery County commissioners.
The bill was scheduled for a vote today, Dec. 16, but the vote has been put off until Wednesday, Dec. 17.
The Senate also would have to approve the measure before it would be sent to Gov. Ted Strickland.
The lodgings tax in most of Montgomery County now is 6 percent and it takes a change in state law to increase it. Currently, 3 percent goes to the locality in which a hotel or motel is located and 3 percent to the county. Of the county’s share, 70 percent goes to the Dayton-Montgomery County Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Combined with the 7 percent sales tax, the overall rate for a hotel-motel guest now is 13 percent in most of the county. Of the 7 percent, 5.5 percent goes to the state, 1 percent to the county and .5 percent to the Greater Dayton RTA.
If the 4 percent were added, the combined 17 percent rate would be the same as that levied in Cincinnati, according to the Ohio Department of Taxation.
County commissioners hope for legislative action this year but wouldn’t move until next year on increasing the tax rate if that’s what they decide to do, Deborah Feldman, county administrator has said.
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TweetOhio nabs $1 million to prevent driver’s license fraud
Ohio is likely to garner $1.1 million as part of the fiscal year 2009 Driver’s License Security Grant Program, U.S. Sen. George Voinovich announced Tuesday.
The program is intended to prevent terrorism, reduce fraud and improve the reliability and accuracy of state driver’s licenses. Voinovich wrote a letter to Senate appropriators seeking additional funding for driver’s licenses security earlier this year.
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TweetOhio’s bond rating outlook now ‘negative’
The state of Ohio’s bond rating outlook has been revised from stable to negative by Fitch Ratings because of the long-term decline in the state’s economy. Fitch kept the state’s AA+ rating on general obligation bonds and AA rating on appropriation bonds.
Bond ratings are important because the lower the bond rating the more expensive it is for the government to borrow money to finance big ticket projects.
Fitch is taking a negative view about the likelihood that Ohio’s economic performance and the state’s budget revenues will improve in the near future. Ohio has been hard hit by a decline in manufacturing jobs, a slowing of service sector jobs, and a severe down turn in the housing market.
State revenues are falling below forecasts and budget officials may need to cut $641 million before the fiscal year ends June 30. And without an economic turnaround, a federal bail out, or tax increases, Ohio will need to cut $7.3 billion from the upcoming two-year operating budget. The state constitution prohibits officials from deficit spending.
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TweetIt’s official: Ohio electors back Obama, Biden
It’s official.
Ohio’s Electoral College convened today, Dec. 15, and on separate ballots unanimously cast 20 votes for Democrat Barack Obama for president and 20 votes for Democrat Joe Biden for vice president.
Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner convened the 52nd meeting of the Ohio Electoral College.
“Today we participate in history,” Gov. Ted Strickland said at the beginning of the hour-long session in the Ohio Senate chambers.
“It was really neat,” said Dayton City Commissioner Nan Whaley, the elector from the 3rd Congressional district.
Electoral college members are assigned by congressional district, plus two at-large members, Gov. Strickland and Ohio Democratic Chairman Chris Redfern. Others from the Dayton area were:
District 2: Victoria Wulsin
District 4: John Kostyo
District 7: Martha Jane Brooks
District 8: Kelly Gillis
Electors in all 50 states and the District of Columbia were to cast their votes today, with Obama assured of getting more than the required majority of 270.
Obama and Biden carried Ohio on Nov. 4 resulting in the electoral votes cast for them today. Certificates of the results will be send to the president of the U.S. Senate, the Archivist of the United States and the U.S. District Court in Columbus.
“It’s a real honor,” said Martha Jane Brooks, the elector from the 7th District.
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TweetIs Ohio more corrupt than Illinois?
Is Ohio more corrupt than Illinois?
Ohio Republican Gov. Bob Taft’s conviction on misdemeanor ethics charges in the 2005 Tom Noe scandal may seem like chump change compared to the charges now swirling around Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevic.
Democrat Blagojevic was caught on tape talking about trying to sell Barack Obama’s Senate seat to the highest bidder. George Ryan, Blagojevic’s Republican predecessor, already is in federal prison on corruption charges.
Last year, however, the “Corporate Crime Reporter”, based on data from the U.S. Justice Department, ranked Louisiana the most corrupt state, followed by Mississippi, Kentucky, Alabama, Ohio and then Illinois in sixth place.
The New York Times on Sunday, Dec. 14, listed three rankings - one based on the number of guilty officials, a second based on convictions per capita and a third based on a survey of journalists.
In the first one, Florida ranked at the top. Ohio tied with California for fifth, followed by Illinois.
In the second, Washington, D.C. led the way, with Ohio way down at 16th and Illinois at 22nd, barely making the top 25.
Journalists put Illinois and Ohio in a tie for 10th. The scribblers ranked Rhode Island the most corrupt.
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Tweet‘Master of Disaster’ now giving cash to presidential inaugural committee
Cincinnati lawyer Stan Chesley is so far the lone Ohioan on the list of President-elect Barack Obama’s inaugural donors.
Chesley has given $50,000 to the Presidential Inaugural Committee, according to an online of Obama’s donors. Obama plans to release information on all donors contributing more than $200 to the 2009 Presidential Inaugural Committee.
The committee, which released the list this week, said it does not accept contributions from corporations, political action committees, labor unions, current federally-registered lobbyists, non-U.S. citizens and registered foreign agents. It also doesn’t accept individual contributions of more than $50,000.
Chesley, a trial attorney nicknamed “The Master of Disaster” has been a prolific donor to both political parties, and raised money for Hillary Clinton during the 2008 Democratic presidential primary.
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TweetStrickland calls on President Bush to aid automakers
Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland hasn’t exactly been a cheerleader for Republican President Bush but Strickland’s now looking to the White House to help domestic automakers.
Strickland today, Dec. 12, asked Bush to step in with financial help now that Republicans in the U.S. Senate have blocked a bailout plan. Here’s what Strickland said in a prepared statement:
“I am deeply disappointed that some in the U.S. Senate have managed to block efforts to pass a bipartisan and widely-supported piece of legislation that would have strengthened the viability of the auto industry in the United States. I strongly urge President Bush to take swift action to save our domestic manufacturing sector by making TARP funds available to our automakers.
“The auto industry is critical to the economic stability of our country and state. In Ohio alone, auto manufacturers and parts suppliers account for tens of thousands of jobs. Immediate action by the federal government is necessary to avoid the collapse of the auto industry, which could not only cripple manufacturing as we know it in the United States, but could impact all other sectors of our economy.”
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TweetVoinovich, Brown relieved White House will step in on auto bailout
Sen. George Voinovich and Sherrod Brown were breathing a sigh of relief Friday, Dec. 12 after hearing indications that President Bush would send financial bailout money to ailing U.S. automakers.
The U.S. Senate’s bill to use existing money for an auto maker bailout failed late Thursday night. That bill evolved from a measure cosponsored by Voinovich and Brown, and was aimed at being an acceptable compromise for lawmakers uncomfortable with using financial bailout money for auto makers.
But the bill couldn’t pass Voinovich’s fellow Senate Republicans, and Voinovich said Friday that he was disappointed his colleagues wouldn’t support it. By not supporting it, he said, they essentially forced Bush to use the money that Senate Republicans were initially adamant against using.
“What we came up with was about a good a deal as they’ll ever get,” he said, saying that by not voting on that measure, Senate Republicans opened up the possibility that financial bailout money would be used for other purposes without congressional consent in the future.
“How these things are handled in the future is now out of the hands of the people who raised the biggest fuss about not doing it the right way,” he said.
Voinovich and Brown had both advocated using financial bailout money for auto makers from the start.
He said he expected President Bush might use the financial bailout money when Senate talks began crumbling, saying Bush did not want to earn the nickname “George Herbert Hoover Bush” in his final days in office.
“I think people in the back of their mind said, ‘if we can’t get this done, the administration will come in and get it done,’” he said.
Brown, meanwhile, began to think yesterday that the administration would use financial bailout money.
He said shortly after the vote, he called an administration official to request that the administration use that money to help auto makers. He talked to the administration again Friday morning.
“They could not let these companies go bankrupt,” he said.
He said he was disappointed that the Senate could not pass a bill.
“I guess I thought most of the people working here are grownup,” he said. “That when it’s a really serious matter, they’d do the right thing.”
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TweetStrickland political guru Pickrell leaves the Statehouse
Aaron Pickrell, who helped Democrat Ted Strickland win the governor’s office and then directed Barack Obama’s victory in the presidential race, has left the Statehouse.
Pickrell resigned effective Dec. 1 as the governor’s chief operating officer, and now is working on Obama’s transition team, Strickland’s office said. Pickrell had taken a leave of absence from the governor’s office to serve as Obama’s Ohio campaign manager.
In 2006, he was Strickland’s campaign manager when Strickland clobbered Republican Ken Blackwell in the governor’s race.
Pickrell, 36, earned $100,006 a year in the governor’s office. He said he expected to return to Ohio, but wasn’t sure what his next career step would be.
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TweetCordray names top aides in AG’s office
Ohio Treasurer Richard Cordray will take some of his top aides along with him when he becomes Attorney General next month.
Democrat Cordray announced five AG appointments today, Dec. 12, and four currently work for him in the Treasurer’s office:
*Chris Glaros, now Treasury general counsel, will become first assistant attorney general.
*Sue Hamilton, now Treasury chief operating officer, becomes AG chief operating officer for administration.
*Robin Hurst, now Treasury legislative director, becomes the AG’s director of legislative affairs.
*Helen Ninos is the only non-Treasury employee named to the AG’s staff. Ninos, chief operating officer for the United Way of Central Ohio since 2004, becomes the AG’s chief operating officer for human resources.
Cordray was elected in November to replace fellow Democrat Marc Dann who resigned as attorney general in the wake of a sexual harassment scandal.
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TweetBrown reacts to Bush decision to use financial bailout for auto industry
Here’s Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, on the Bush administration’s announcement that they were prepared to use money approved in an earlier financial bailout for the auto industry:
“When it comes to the auto industry, inaction is not an option. Following last night’s vote, I called the White House shortly after midnight and spoke to the head of Legislative Affairs this morning. I again urged the administration to use funds from the $700 billion economic stabilization package to help the auto industry.
“Last month, Treasury Secretary Paulson acknowledged to me that he had the authority to do this. The White House must act now to protect middle class jobs.”
Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, and U.S. Rep. Mike Turner, R-Centerville, have also signaled a willingness to use financial bailout money for the auto industry.
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TweetHermit Crabs, Hamsters and Other Classroom Animals for Moyer
Most candidates name their campaign committees something straight forward, generic or even boring.
But that just wouldn’t do for 30-year-old James Moyer’s attempt this year to win a seat on the State Board of Education.
He named his committee “Hermit Crabs, Hamsters and Other Classroom Animals for Moyer” and he received 71,621 votes, coming in third in a three-way race.
“It was kind of a neat way of, at the very least, honoring the animals that were in my school and honoring the elementary school experience,” said Moyer, who is an information technology consultant and recent Ohio State University graduate.
Although Moyer lost, he applied for an appointed position on the state board.
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TweetMajority wouldn’t buy from bankrupt automaker; would you?
Bankruptcy might be a legal option for the Big Three automakers but it wouldn’t do much for business.
In a Rasmussen Reports Daily Update released Thursday, Dec. 11, 51 percent said the would not buy an automobile from a company that was in bankruptcy, while 31 percent said they would.
Eighteen percent were undecided. The poll was based on a national survey of 1,000 adults, conducted Saturday, Dec. 6 and Sunday, Dec. 7 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
Here’s a chance to get in on the question.
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TweetBrown, Voinovich disappointed that Senate fails to act on auto bailout
Ohio’s two U.S. Senators, who had been solid supporters of efforts to provide federal assistance to U.S. auto makers, sent out dueling statements expressing disappointment after Senate talks on the package fell apart late Thursday, Dec. 12.
Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, was one of the few Senate Republicans to support the package.
“There are millions of hard-working Americans tonight who are worried about their jobs and providing for their families. And tonight, Congress failed them,” he said.
He had introduced a bill earlier this month with a group of senators including Brown addressing an auto bailout that he called a “true, bipartisan compromise.” But he said he was disappointed that it “never saw the light of day.”
“The politics need to end before even more companies fall through the ice,” he said, calling for President Bush to use some of the financial bailout money approved earlier this year to help auto makers.
“Of we can use the funds for the financial industry, we can use them for the auto industry,” he said. “We’ve said all along this money was for Main Street and not Wall Street. I think it’s about time we prove it. Time is running out.”
Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, called it “unfathomable to me that Senate Republicans would turn their backs on millions of American families.”
“Senate Republicans rejected a plan that had been painstakingly negotiated by the White House to rescue the American auto industry. The auto companies agreed to strict oversight and tough measures to protect taxpayers, and workers made major concessions. As they head off for the holidays, Senate Republicans rejected our best hope for preventing millions of lost jobs in Ohio and across the nation.”
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TweetState union warns against layoffs, closing facilities
The doomsday scenario drawn today, Dec. 11, by Gov. Ted Strickland got the attention of Ohio’s largest state employees’ union.
That’s probably putting it mildly when it comes to the reaction from the Ohio Civil Service Employees Association.
Strickland outlined - but didn’t recommend - a series of layoffs and facilities closings that would be necessary if the state has to cut the budget by 25 percent to close a projected $7 billion hole.
A press release said union officials were “stunned at the news that as many as 12 state facilities could be shuttered.”
“While the magnitude of the fiscal crisis is of such proportions that every means necessary must be utilized to stem the tide of red ink, laying off thousands of state employees will jeopardize the health and safety of every citizen in every community in Ohio,” Andy Douglas, OCSEA executive director, said in the release.
The union supports Strickland’s pleas for “a $5 billion package of federal aid to bolster Ohio’s budget,” the release said.
OCSEA represents 36,000 state employees, including 10,000 state prison employees, the release said.
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TweetOn GM, Turner listens to Dad’s advice
U.S. Rep. Mike Turner’s dad worked for General Motors for 42 years, but when Turner was faced with voting for a $14 billion bill that could help keep U.S. auto companies including GM out of bankruptcy, his dad gave him an interesting piece of advice.
Don’t vote for it.
Turner listened to his dad, becoming one of eight Ohioans who voted against the bill late Wednesday. He said his dad told him that the company had a lot of work to do before he’d be confident of their success.
“In the end, I felt like I was financing their exit from Dayton,” Turner said. “GM turned its back on Dayton and both Delphi and GM are exiting…I’m very concerned that these monies might be used to outsource the globalization of the jobs that are leaving.”
Turner said he’d rather the money used for an earlier bailout of the financial industry be used for the auto industry. He said the auto industry has not presented a plan that reassured him that they would keep jobs in the United States.
He said the financial bailout - which he opposed - demostrated that there’s been little accountability over bailout money.
“These are very sketchy plans where only a handful of people are put in charge of monitoring the expenditure of funds, and taxpayers are going to be holding the bag,” he said.
Turner, R-Centerville, David Hobson, R-Springfield, John Boehner, R-West Chester, Jim Jordan, R-Urbana and Jean Schmidt, R-Loveland, all voted against the bill.
Schmidt said she voted against the bill becasue she believed “there is a better path to reform that does not put taxpayer dollars at risk.”
Jordan, meanwhile, said such bailouts do not work.
“It is wrong to saddle future generations with a debt currently approaching $11 trillion,” Jordan said. “…the same government that has given us record deficits and debt should not attempt to tell the auto industry how to run its business with concepts like the ‘car czar’.”
The House bill passed 237-170. Of the 18 members of the Ohio House delegation, eight supported it and eight voted against it. U.S. Rep. Deborah Pryce, R-Upper Arlington, did not vote.
A Senate bill appeared stalled early Thursday evening.
Ohio Democratic Party Chairman Chris Redfern criticized members who voted against the bill.
“A vote against this desperately needed rescue measure is a vote against Ohio jobs and the families that they support,” he said.
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TweetPoll: 48 percent disapprove of federal loans to automakers
Congress should put on the brakes.
That’s what 48 percent of Americans said in a new national poll from the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion on federal loans to automakers.
In the poll, 48 percent disapproved of the loans, 41 percent approved and 11 percent were unsure.
The results were similar for registered voter, but Democrats were more likely than Republicans to approve the loans.
Overall, 48 percent of registered voters disapproved the loan plan compared with 43 percent who supported it.
Among Democrats, 53 percent approved while 61 percent of Republicans disapproved.
Independents lined up closer to Republicans, with 51 percent disapproving and 40 percent approving.
The U.S. House has approved a $14 billion rescue plan for the automakers and the Senate now is considering it.
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TweetRep. Fessler: Electoral College should examine birth certificates
Rep. Diana Fessler, R-New Carlisle, today, Dec. 11, introduced a resolution that “encourages” members of the Electoral College to “exercise due diligence to ensure that the persons for whom they cast their ballots for President and Vice President of the United States are citizens of the United States.”
They should exercise the due diligence “through such means as examining the birth certificates of those persons,” the resolution said.
The U.S. Supreme Court has turned down an emergency appeal from a New Jersey man who says President-elect Barack Obama is ineligible to be president and federal courts in Ohio and several other states have dismissed suits questioning Obama’s citizenship.
Fessler (pictured) said that she didn’t expect a vote on the resolution before members of the Electoral College in Ohio and other states cast their ballots on Monday, Dec. 15.
She said she had “several phone calls” on the issue, urging her to act.
“I don’t know that it will change anything,” she said. “I have responded to the best of my ability.” She said she had no “first-hand knowledge” of Obama’s citizenship.
Ohio’s 20 electoral votes will be cast by a slate of electors representing Obama and Joe Biden, the presidential and vice presidential candidates who received the most votes in the state.
Fessler said that members of the Ohio House have to show proof that they were elected by providing “official paperwork.”I thought it was a good parallel,” she said of her resolution.
She said due diligence should be exercised “not just in this case but in all cases.”
House Speaker Jon Husted, R-Kettering, said the U.S. Supreme Court has settled the issue. “That issue is not going to be taken up,” said Husted.
The nonpartisan Web site Factcheck.org has examined Obama’s birth certificate from Hawaii and said it has a raised seal and the usual evidence of a genuine document.
Obama was born in Hawaii to a white American mother from Kansas and a Kenyan father.
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TweetHalf of Ohioans say their finances are good
A little more than half of Ohio voters say their personal finances are excellent or good. That’s the glass half-full side of a new poll by Quinnipiac University released Thursday Dec. 11.
The glass half-empty side is that 47 percent of Ohio voters say their financial house is not so good or poor.
Most Ohioans - 95 percent - say the national economy is not so good or poor and 94 percent say the state economy is not so good or poor. More than three-quarters of those surveyed said the economy is the most important problem facing Ohio while 5 percent named education as the top concern.
“There is no doubt that many, many Ohio families are in dire financial straits, and most say their finances have deteriorated in the last year, but the difference between how people view their own situation and that of the rest of the state and country is striking,” said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.
Voters support 64 - 33 percent Gov. Ted Strickland’s position not to raise taxes to balance the state budget. Given a choice, 24 percent prefer raising taxes to keep state services at the current level, while 62 percent say cut programs to keep taxes static.
Strickland announced earlier this month that there is a $641 million deficit in the current budget that must be made up by June 30 when the fiscal year ends and state leaders will have to chop $7.3 billion from the next two-year general operating budget if revenues don’t increase.
Quinnipiac also asked Ohioans about the state’s public education system and found that 69 percent rank their local schools as good or excellent but only 50 percent give such marks to schools throughout the state.
Voters are split 49 percent to 47 percent on whether they’d support a tax increase to boost spending in poorer districts. Sixty-nine percent of voters favor changing how schools are funded to better equalize the amount spent on students in rich and poor districts. Sixty-eight percent of voters are prepared to take money from rich districts and redistribute it to poor districts, the poll found.
“It’s fair to say that Ohio voters want to improve public education, especially in poorer school districts, but there is no consensus about how to do it, and significant opposition to raising taxes to pay for it,” said Brown.
The poll surveyed 1,468 Ohio voters from Dec. 4 to Dec. 8 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.6 percentage points.
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TweetPolls show varying views of Voino
Two polls in a 48-hour period portray Sen. George Voinovich’s political lot in different ways.
On Tuesday, Survey USA released a poll giving Voinovich a 46 percent approval rating and a 44 percent disapproval rating. Voinovich’s Democratic colleague, Sen. Sherrod Brown, had a 43 percent approval rating and a 43 percent disapproval rating, according to Survey USA.
Then, on Wednesday, Dec. 10, Quinnipiac University released a poll that found 36 percent of Ohio voters currently want to give Voinovich, a Republican, a third term. Thirty-five percent, meanwhile, were ready to back an unnamed Democratic candidate.
Still, that poll also found that Voinovich was viewed favorably by 51 percent of voters compared to 31 percent who disapproved.
Voinovich’s office wouldn’t comment on the poll, saying Voinovich, who won’t face re-election until 2010, is focused on other matters, including the package to help the auto industry.
So we’ll put it to you: How do you think Voinovich is doing?
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TweetHouse passes “Joe the Plumber” legislation
The Ohio House today, Dec. 10, passed a bill aimed at preventing the kind of government snooping that made Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher - “Joe the Plumber” - a household word nationwide and a player in the presidential campaign.
The vote was 69-26. The bill now goes to the Senate.
The bill, sponsored by Rep. Shannon Jones, R-Springboro, calls for firing any unclassified employee who violates privacy rules by improperly accessing confidential personal information.
It also sets criteria for determining who has access to and may authorize access to confidential, personal information.
Jones said it’s aimed at eliminating “dirt digging” on private citizens. Rep. Steve Driehaus, D-Cincinnati, said the issue was important but questioned whether the state could afford it in a tough budget time
A representative of the Department of Administrative Services estimated it could cost $100 million to implement.
Rep. Tom Brinkman, R-Cincinnati, said “in good times or bad” the privacy of citizens must be paramount.
Gov. Ted Strickland suspended Director Helen Jones-Kelley of the Ohio Job and Family Services Department for a month without pay for her role in the “Joe the Plumber” case. Four other employees were disciplined.
Ohio Inspector General Tom Charles concluded that Jones-Kelley improperly authorized the search of state databases with personal information on Wurzelbacher of suburban Toledo during the presidential campaign. He became a key figure in the Ohio campaign after questioning Democrat Barack Obama’s tax plans.
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TweetSteve Forbes backs Blackwell for national RNC chairman
In a letter sent Tuesday, Dec. 9, to Republican supporters, former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell announced that Steve Forbes (right) will serve as the honorary chairman of his campaign to lead the Republican National Committee.
In a letter to RNC members, Forbes called Blackwell “someone who is a reliable conservative who has a record of standing up for our conservative principles; Someone who can broaden the appeal of the Republican Party; Someone who has a history of winning elections Someone who has clearly established himself/herself as a successful fundraiser, and; Someone who is an articulate and experienced spokesperson.”
The letter was posted to Blackwell2009.com.
Forbes ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 1996 and 2000.
Here’s the full text of Forbes’ letter:
MEMORANDUM
To: Republican National Committee Members From: Steve Forbes Date: December 9, 2008 Subject: Ken Blackwell for Chairman
Ken Blackwell is a courageous and extraordinary leader and longtime personal friend. I have served with Ken on the boards of a number of conservative political organizations and worked with him for many years. He is a loyal, competent, and sincere individual.
During your discussions about the future of our party and the election of a new RNC chairman, I ask you to please consider supporting Ken Blackwell.
Ken brings a winning political record to the table, having been victorious 13 of the 17 times that his name has been listed on a primary or general election ballot. The significance of his three successful statewide elections in Ohio as a Republican should not be understated.
Were we to make a list of the qualifications for a new chairman, we might agree on these five:
Someone who is a reliable conservative who has a record of standing up for our conservative principles; Someone who can broaden the appeal of the Republican Party; Someone who has a history of winning elections Someone who has clearly established himself/herself as a successful fundraiser, and; Someone who is an articulate and experienced spokesperson; All five of these qualities are abundantly present in the life of Ken Blackwell.
Ken will be ready to lead our party on Day 1. He is well acquainted with Washington, but he has never become part of the system. He has ruggedly maintained his anti-establishment views and reform agenda. Simply put, Ken will affect Washington. It will not affect him. It never has.
For all of these reasons and more, I am pleased to inform you that I will serve as Honorary Chairman of the Ken Blackwell for RNC Chairman campaign.
In this capacity, and as a Republican voter from the state of New Jersey, I humbly ask you to vote for Ken Blackwell for Chairman.
Thank you for your service to our party.
Sincerely,
Steve Forbes
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TweetHow is Gov. Strickland doing?
A new Quinnipiac University poll released today, Dec. 10, shows Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland’s approval rating slipping a bit but he still appears to be in fairly strong shape for re-election in 2010.
The governor’s race is nearly two years away but to get to that re-election campaign Strickland will have to get a two-year budget passed next year during very tough economic times. Voters also are waiting for him to come through on his pledge to come up with a new plan for school funding.
Republicans are determined to field a strong candidate against Strickland in two years. Kevin DeWine, the deputy Ohio Republican Chairman, likes to mention former U.S. House members John Kasich and Rob Portman. DeWine’s cousin, former U.S. Sen. Mike DeWine, however, is better known to voters at this point than Kasich or Portman.
Here’s your chance to give Strickland a mid-term grade.
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TweetStrickland’s approval falls; still favored for re-election
Gov. Ted Strickland’s job approval rating has fallen to 54 percent, the lowest of the year, but the Democrat still appears in strong shape for re-election in 2010, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll released today, Dec. 10.
The poll also found that former U.S. Sen. Mike DeWine, the Cedarville Republican, is the best known of Republicans considering a challenge to Strickland in 2010, although former U.S. House members John Kasich of the Columbus area and Rob Portman of the Cincinnati area are well regarded among those who know them.
In another development, the poll found that Republican U.S. Sen. George Voinovich may face a tough fight for re-election to a third term in 2010. In the poll, 36 percent want to give him another term while 35 percent backed an unnamed Democratic candidate.
The poll also found that Democratic Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner could face re-election problems. She is viewed favorably by 26 percent of voters, compared to 24 percent who view her unfavorably and 49 percent who don’t know enough about her.
Her possible Republican opponent, House Speaker Jon Husted, R-Kettering, is a blank slate to 86 percent of voters who havent’ heard enough about him to have an opinion.
For full poll results, click here.
In the new poll, 54 percent approved Strickland’s job performance while 25 percent disapproved. This is down from a 60-25 percent approval rating in August. His highest approval rating in the polls since taking office in 2001 was 61-15 percent in November of 2007. His lowest was 45-12 percent in February of 2007.
“He’s in good shape,” said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. “Most governors would be very happy with those numbers half way during his term. He’d have to be considered a favorite for re-election…”
His approval rating still was higher than that of the Republican-controlled legislature. In the poll, 46 percent viewed the legislature’s performance favorably, while 35 percent had an unfavorable view.
Among possible Strickland opponents, Mike DeWine, defeated in his 2006 re-election bid, is viewed favorably by 43 percent of voters, compared to 24 unfavorably. Kasich is viewed favorably by 18 percent and unfavorably by 8 percent. Portman is viewed favorably by 12 percent and unfavorably by 7 percent. High percentages of voters hadn’t heard enough about Kasich or Portman to rate them.
While Voinovich is a nip and tuck battle in the poll with an unnamed Democratic opponent, he still was viewed favorably by 51 percent of voters compared to 31 percent who disapproved.
The contradictory results may indicate that voters are saying “he’s part of the past. We’re in the mood for something new,” said Brown.
The poll was taken Thursday, Dec, 4- Monday, Dec. 8 with 1,468 Ohio voters and has a margin of error of plus of minus 2.6 percentage points.
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TweetStrickland threatens veto on vets’ bonuses - updated with Speaker Husted response
Gov. Ted Strickland today, Dec. 9, issued a veto threat in his battle with the Republican-controlled legislature over how to pay for bonuses for veterans of the 1990-91 Persian Gulf War and the continuing fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.
House Speaker Jon Husted, R-Kettering, however, did not appear to be backing down.
The House is expected to vote next week on legislation to use money from the state’s “rainy day” fund to pay for the bonuses. Strickland supports borrowing money by issuing bonds to pay for the bonuses. A vote had been expected on Wednesday, Dec. 10, but now is scheduled for next week, said Karen Stivers, Husted’s spokeswoman.
Democrat Strickland said he supports honoring veterans with bonuses paid for by selling bonds as has been done in the past.
“However, considering the historic budget challenges before us, I do not believe it is fiscally responsible to pay for this worthy priority with ‘rainy day’ funds that are designed to be used for budget emergencies,” he said in a prepared statement.
“Therefore, if the bill remains in its current form I would veto it.”
Stivers, Husted’s spokeswoman, responded:
“It’s clear that Gov. Strickland spent too many years in Congress - he’s used to spending what we can’t afford and then sending the bill on to future generations.”
The proposal calls for bonuses up to $1,000 for veterans who served in the conflicts and bonuses of up to $500 for veterans who served elsewhere during the conflicts. Also, family members of those killed in action would receive $5,000.
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TweetElectoral College meets Monday in Columbus to officially elect Obama
Ohio’s Electoral College will meet at noon Monday, Dec.15 in the Ohio Senate chambers in in Columbus to officially elect Barack Obama as the winner of Ohio’s 20 electoral votes.
According to a release from Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, “certificates of the electoral votes cast on Monday will be sent to the president of the U.S. Senate, the Archivist of the United States and the U.S. District Court in Columbus.
Ohio’s 20 electoral votes will be cast by a slate of electors representing Barack Obama and Joe Biden, the presidential and vice presidential candidates who received the highest number of votes in the state.”
Obama and Biden won Ohio’s popular vote in the Nov. 4 election.
A total of 537 electoral votes will be cast on Monday in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, with the majority of 270 required for election.
The Dayton area’s Electoral College members are assigned by congressional district. The local electors are:
District 2: Vic Wulsin
District 3: Dayton City Commissioner Nan Whaley
District 4: John Kostyo
District 7: Martha Jane Brooks
District 8: Kelly Gillis
Ohio Democratic Party Chairman Chris Redfern and Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland are at-large electors.
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TweetFormer Ohio congressman headed to halfway house
According to a story today by the Associated Press, Former U.S. Rep. James Traficant, D-Youngstown, sentenced to federal prison for accepting bribes and other charges, is expected to be released to a halfway house in March.
Inmates at the Community Corrections Association in Youngstown have house assignments such as cleaning the laundry room and bathroom, vacuuming and washing dishes, said Richard Billak, the transition facility’s chief executive.
Traficant is incarcerated at the Federal Medical Center in Rochester, Minn., but why he is at a medical facility has not been made public.
Billak said the halfway house received a request from federal prison officials to place Traficant there. Traficant will be allowed to go home for limited weekend visits, Billak said.
Traficant, 67, a Democrat, represented the Youngstown area in Congress for 17 years. He was convicted in 2002 of charges that included racketeering, bribery, obstruction of justice and tax evasion.
The jury, after a 10-week trial, believed that he took kickbacks from high-level staffers, used other staff members as farmhands on work time and accepted cash gifts and services from businessmen.
Traficant’s federal prison sentence expires Sept. 2, 2009. He must then serve three years’ supervised release.
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TweetStrickland, Fisher urge congressional action to save auto industry
With reports emerging of a deal between President Bush and Congress on a bailout for the auto industry, Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland and Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher, also state development director, got in the act today, Dec. 8.
“We strongly urge our congressional leaders to provide financial support to our domestic automakers to ensure the continuation of the automotive industry in the United States,” they said in a prepared statement.
The industry and its suppliers “employ tens of thousands of people in Ohio alone,” they said.
If Congress doesn’t act, Ohio will urge the administration to make funds available through the U.S. Treasury’s Troubled Asset Relief program, they added.
Here’s the full Strickland-Fisher statement:
“We strongly urge our congressional leaders to provide financial support to our domestic automakers to ensure the continuation of the automotive industry in the United States.
“The significance of the automotive industry to our economy and to our way of life can’t be overstated. Chrysler, Ford, General Motors, and their suppliers employ tens of thousands of people in Ohio alone.
“Immediate financial support is critical - the failure of General Motors, Ford Motor Company or Chrysler Corporation would cascade through parts suppliers, materials industries, and technology companies that support the automotive market, and, in turn, the services industries that are tied to all those businesses.
“This financial crisis can be an opportunity if we assist this industry and its vast workforce in developing alternative energy technologies that would dramatically improve both the health of the economy and the health of the planet.
“If our congressional leaders do not take action, the State of Ohio will urge the current administration to make funds available from the U.S. Treasury’s Troubled Asset Relief Program in order to stabilize the automotive industry.
“It is critical to provide the industry with the funding it needs to bridge this liquidity gap and continue its restructuring efforts to develop strong, diversified, and competitive products for the global marketplace and stable, good-paying jobs for Ohioans.”
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TweetStrickland backs Obama on big bucks for infrastructure; Do you?
President-elect Barack Obama is singing from the same hymn book as Gov. Ted Strickland when it comes to spending huge amounts of money on roads,bridges, schools and other parts of the nation’s “infrastructure.”
Democrat Obama on Satuday, Dec. 6, used his weekly radio address to say he plans to launch the “single largest new investment in our infrastructure since the creation of the federal highway system in the 1950s.”
Strickland, Obama’s fellow Democrat who’s been calling for such a program, said it “will help renew our cities, create millions of jobs and provide desperately needed stimulus to our struggling economy.”
Backers of such a plan say it will give the floundering economy a needed shot in the arm and create lots of new jobs. Critics say it will divert money from other investments and might not help the economy much.
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TweetKilroy wins in 15th Congressional District
The last of Ohio’s disputed congressional races is now settled.
Democrat Mary Jo Kilroy, a Franklin County Commissioner, has defeated state Sen. Steve Stivers in the 15th District race to replace retiring U.S. Rep. Deborah Pryce, R-Upper Arlington. Stivers conceded late Sunday after the Franklin County Board of Election released unofficial results putting Kilroy over the top. Those results gave her a lead of 2,311 votes - enough of a lead to make an automatic recount unnecessary.
“While I am extremely proud of the race I ran, ultimately, it was not enough,” Stivers said in a statement I have called Commissioner Kilroy to congratulate her for her hard-fought victory, and I wish her well in Washington.”
Said Kilroy: “In Washington, I will work together with Democrats, Republicans, and President-Elect Obama to tackle the real problems that our community faces.”
Kilroy’s victory now means that Democrats dominate Ohio’s congressional delegation. Ten Ohio Democrats make up the state’s 18-member U.S. House delegation.
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TweetIt’s Mom to the Rescue as Hillary tries to erase $7.5 million debt
It’s Mom to the Rescue as Hillary Clinton tries to erase her $7.5 million presidential campaign debt to remove all that borrowing as a hurdle to becoming secretary of state.
Dorothy Rodham, Hillary’s mom, is asking donors to pay $50 or $250 for a copy of Hillary’s book, “Hillary Rodham Clinton: Dreams Taking Flight.” You can get the book for $11.55 on amazon.com.
However, for $50 you get the book with a special Hillary Clinton bookplate and for $250 Hillary will autograph the book for that special person in your life.
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TweetKen Blackwell is running to lead national Republican Party
On Friday, Dec. 5, former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell made it official that he’s running to lead the national Republican Party.
“After prayerful consideration, I have decided to become a candidate for Chairman of the Republican National Committee. I write today to ask for your vote and endorsement,” Blackwell said in a letter to supporters posted at Blackwell2009.com
The letter is the only item currently on the Web site other than a link to Blackwell’s facebook page where you can become, like Cal Thomas, one of Blackwell’s nearly 3,000 facebook friends.
In 2006, Blackwell lost his run for governor against Ted Strickland.
Here’s the letter Blackwell posted on Friday:
Letter from Ken Blackwell posted to Blackwell2009.com:
“After prayerful consideration, I have decided to become a candidate for Chairman of the Republican National Committee. I write today to ask for your vote and endorsement.
I will be attempting to reach you by telephone to personally ask for your support. Meanwhile, please allow me to introduce myself and present my qualifications and philosophy.
I reside in Cincinnati, Ohio, where I formerly served as a council member and mayor. Afterwards, I ran four times for statewide office in Ohio. I was elected as State Treasurer once and Secretary of State twice … and lost a race for Governor. Including primaries, I have run for public office 17 times, winning on 13 of those occasions.
I am a fiscally and socially conservative author and activist, having served in the past as a fellow at The Heritage Foundation and currently for Family Research Council, and as Vice Chairman of the 2008 Republican National Convention Platform Committee. I am a member of the board of directors of the National Rifle Association, the National Taxpayers Union and the Club for Growth. I am a contributing editor for Townhall.com and former contributing editor for the New York Sun. My columns have frequently appeared in the Washington Times, the New York Post and National Review Online, among other publications. I have been a frequent guest on Fox News, CNN, MSNBC and network news programs. In 2000, I was honored to serve as the national General Chairman of Steve Forbes’ presidential campaign.
I offer an extensive background in fundraising, business and financial matters. During my 2006 gubernatorial campaign, I raised $12 million, much of it one call at a time. I was an investor/founding partner in a successful company that owned 20 radio stations. And I even own a small part of the Cincinnati Reds.
As you may be aware, I have taken some controversial stands in Ohio through the years. I vocally opposed tax increases offered by a Republican Governor and helped to successfully lead the fight to amend the Ohio Constitution to ban government recognition of same-sex marriages. The Marriage Amendment passed with 61% of the vote, despite opposition from many of Ohio’s leading Republicans. Along the way, I’ve made some Ohio Republicans angry, but I’ve always tried to take the side of less government and more freedom.
I’ve survived interviews with Keith Olbermann, testified before Congress, prevented voter fraud from overturning the results of a U.S. presidential election and fought the left in federal court more times than you can imagine. I have been tried and tested, though I’ll admit that I’ve never been called “mavericky” by Tina Fey.
My wife, Rosa, and I married in 1968 while I attended Xavier University on a football scholarship. I’m proud to report that 40 years later … she’s still my sweetheart. We have three adult children. Rosa has put up with politics and me for all of these years. And I’m proud to report that I’ve gotten clearance from Rosa for one more vital mission.
In the aftermath of the November 2008 elections, I began closely watching the election for RNC chairman and have given this race careful consideration.
So here I am, appealing to you for your vote, and I am ready to earn it.
I am a strong believer in formality, good manners … mutual respect. But for the next few weeks, I am going to be very direct and blunt. The RNC needs a more basic and more comprehensive change of course than my competitors have thus far presented or, frankly, envisioned.
It is time to completely remake the Republican Party by returning to our core philosophy (limited government, traditional values and a strong defense), reaching voters more effectively (by better utilization of technology, targeting and voter identification and turnout), and reorganizing the RNC itself (spending smarter, replacing staff and consultants and modernizing our fundraising infrastructure).
In short, the old promise that you’ve received from candidates for chairman every two years that you will have “more input” … just isn’t going to cut it anymore. You must demand specifics.
At a time when the Republican National Committee needs comprehensive reorganization and a completely new direction, all of the announced candidates for Chairman have basically proposed continuing the status quo with a few cosmetic changes.
In fact, the only serious and thoughtful effort to overhaul our broken system has come from a gentleman who is not even running for chairman, Virginia National Committeeman Morton Blackwell. Morton sent each candidate for chairman a survey asking 37 tough questions. I have included a link at the bottom of this letter for your viewing pleasure. (I should clarify that Morton and I are not related and that he has not endorsed any candidate for chairman.)
Each candidate for chairman has emphasized the importance of technology. And technology is important … but we need to use technology in the right ways. We need to use technology to identify voters, energize the base, and communicate with younger voters in the venues where they want to communicate.
We also need substantive changes in the way the RNC operates.
I will be proposing an “RNC Conservative Resurgence Plan” that will be a dramatic overhaul of the way the RNC does business. I have a general outline of what I believe this plan should entail, and I will be contacting members of the RNC in the next week to gather additional ideas for inclusion.
For far too long, the Republican National Committee has been run by consultants rather than by the members. I will be utilizing the experience of the folks who win elections in the states, rather than just the consultants in DC who get paid regardless of whether we win or lose.
Micro-targeting is a great new technology that has been useful in our voter contact efforts across America. But I fear that Republicans have used micro-targeting for GOTV when we need to rely on old-fashioned voter identification, regardless of the cost. Consultants have encouraged us all to spend money on items that are commissionable while ignoring the ground game. But just as our country should not ignore the principles upon which our nation was founded, our party would be mistaken to ignore the words of Abraham Lincoln just before he helped form what we now call the Republican Party:
“Organize the whole state so that every Whig can be brought to the polls… Divide the county into small districts and appoint in each a sub-committee. Make a perfect list of all the voters and ascertain with certainty for which they will vote, keep a constant watch on the doubtful voters and…Have them talked to by those in whom they have the most confidence, and on Election Day see that every Whig is brought to the polls.” -Abraham Lincoln 1/21/1840
Voter registration must be a major emphasis for the Republican Party. Of course, we start at a competitive disadvantage with the Democrats and ACORN since we are strictly limited to registering people who actually exist … and we do not get the privilege of being funded by the government. But here is an outline of how we can catch up:
Hire a large team of coordinators to work with churches across the country to help them register the members of their congregations who are not registered to vote; Expend an unprecedented amount of RNC funding to build vibrant College Republican chapters on every major university campus in the nation and use those chapters as a base to register young people to join the Republican Party, and; Hire teams of workers to walk door-to-door in targeted neighborhoods to register voters. As we begin this effort to rebuild the Republican Party, we must not fall for artificial reform at the RNC. And we must not be discouraged.
There is an enormous task ahead and we have experienced some serious losses. But I remember another point in time when conservatives were facing insurmountable odds. I remember when Ronald Reagan was defeated at the 1976 Republican National Convention. Possibly, at no other time in history were conservatives so heartbroken.
But Ronald Reagan was a man of vision. Do you remember the speech he gave the day after his loss that kicked off the then-undeclared 1980 presidential campaign and gave us all hope for a comeback?
“Sure there’s a disappointment in what happened. But the cause goes on. Don’t get cynical because … look at yourselves and what you were willing to do and recognize that there are millions and millions of Americans out there that want what you want … that want it to be that way … that want it to be a shining city on a hill.”
We were greatly discouraged on that day. But during the next decade or so, Ronald Reagan served two successful terms as President, Republicans gained control of the US Senate, income taxes were slashed, the conservative movement grew and prospered like never before … and the Soviet Union collapsed and split apart.
We can have great success and take back Congress and the White House. But we must make real changes at the Republican National Committee in order to make it happen.
Please give me your vote and support in the election for Chairman of the Republican National Committee.
I am ready to make the tough decisions. I am ready to take the heat. I have spent my entire life preparing myself for a job such as this one. I have the passion and the record to match it.
Thank you for considering my candidacy. If I may answer any questions or receive any advice from you, please call me at (202) 787-3883.
God Bless You … and Merry Christmas!”
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TweetOhio ranks 1st in campaign events, 3rd in TV spending
It wasn’t even close.
The final results are in and Ohio clobbered Florida, 62-46. That’s in campaign events by major party presidential and vice presidential candidates between Sept. 5 and Nov. 4, Election Day. Ohio and Florida ranked 1-2 nationally, with Pennsylvania third with 40 events.
Florida did beat out Ohio in TV ad spending from Sept. 24-Nov. 4. Florida ranked first with about $29.2 million in ads, followed by Pennsylvania with $24.9 million with Ohio in third place with about $16.8 million.
The tallies were released on Thursday, Dec. 4, by FairVote. The data on campaign visits came from the Washington Post. Campaign spending tallies came from CNN. Read the full report here.
Here are Top 10 ratings for campaign events and spending:
Events
Ohio - 62
Florida- 46
Pennsylvania - 40
Virginia - 23
Missouri - 21
Colorado - 20
North Carolina - 15
Nevada - 12
New Hampshire - 12
Michigan - 10
TV Ads
Florida - $29.2 million
Pennsylvania - $24.9 million
Ohio - $16.8 million
Virginia - $16.6 million
North Carolina - $9.5 million
Indiana - $8.96 million
Wisconsin - $8.93 million
Missouri - $7.97 million
Colorado - $7.94 million
Nevada - $7.1 million
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TweetTickets not required, entire Mall opened for inauguration
According to the Associated Press, Barack Obama’s inaugural committee says the entire length of the National Mall will be open to the public during his inauguration.
The announcement came Thursday from the committee, which has pledged to make Obama’s inauguration “the most open and accessible in history.”
People who can’t get the 240,000 tickets to the swearing in on the Capitol grounds can fill the mall. In the past, parts of the mall have been closed off as a parade staging area.
The Park Service says it’s expecting at least 1 million people for the inaugural, and the city has put the number as high as 5 million.
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TweetBrown still backs auto aid
From Cox D.C. reporter Chris Megerian:
U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown emphasized his support for the auto industry
during a Thursday conference call, praising car companies for making
concessions in order to receive federal dollars.
The Democrat also predicted the loans would be paid back within a few
years.
“If we do nothing, there will be a cascading of bankruptcies,” he said.
Brown, D-Ohio, a member of the Senate Banking Committee, which held hearings with executives from the Big Three Thursday, Dec. 4, said he was particularly impressed by the level of oversight automakers have agreed to.
“Frankly, the auto companies are proposing what the financial
companies should be abiding by,” he said.
In addition, Brown complained that politicians and the media have been
too tough on auto workers - people who “shower in the locker room” -
and not tough enough on Wall Street executives - people with “showers
in their offices.”
“It’s that kind of upper class bias that I think has infected this
coverage,” he said.
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TweetDayton commissioner heading to China for exchange program
According to a release from the City of Dayton, City Commissioner Matt Joseph (right) has been selected by The American Council of Young Political Leaders as a delegate to China for a two week political exchange program beginning on Dec. 6.
Joseph will join seven other young political and policy leaders from across the United States to study China’s political system.
The trip is paid by The American Council of Young Political Leaders; no City of Dayton funds are being used.
Commissioner Joseph will join other delegates, each between the age of 25 and 40, in Washington, D.C. for briefings by the U.S. Department of State and other China experts before flying to Beijing. The program will provide the delegates opportunities to travel within the country, and to interact with key national and local leaders, business representatives, and civic and community groups.
“This will be an excellent opportunity for me to learn about the current political and social dynamics there and help the Chinese people better understand the United States,” Joseph said. “I’m looking forward to talking about how citizens in Dayton play an important role in government through our Priority Board network and in other ways.”
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TweetOhio House, Senate resolutions urge federal help for auto industry
A bipartisan group of state Senators today, Dec. 3, unveiled a resolution urging Congress to “provide immediate assistance to the domestic auto industry to enable it to weather the current financial crisis.”
The resolution, to be formally introduced this afternoon, also said such aid should be “conditioned on documented commitment by the industry to use the assistance to restructure, improve operating efficiency and accelerate the production of fuel-efficient vehicles, thereby ensuring its long-term survival.”
Also, in the Ohio House, Rep. Pete Ujvagi, D-Toledo, introduced a similar resolution, urging support for a $25 billion bridge loan to help U.S. automakers.
Introduction of the resolutions, comes as leaders of General Motors, Chrysler and Ford prepare for Congressional hearings in Washington, D.C. on Thursday, Dec. 4, and Friday, Dec. 5 on bailout pleas.
Sen. Dale Miller, D-Cleveland, sponsor of the Senate resolution, said the nation and Ohio can’t afford to lose the auto industry and the jobs it supports.
“Losing our automobile industry would take us a long step toward becoming a second-class nation, primarily servicing what other countries make and is far less secure,” Miller said at a press conference attended by representatives from organized labor and Ford.
Republican Sen. Mark Wagoner of Toledo said the industry supports the American middle class and the proposed bailout plan represents “shared sacrifice.”
Senate President Bill Harris, R-Ashland, a retired auto dealer, said he supports the resolution “in concept.” Before committing to vote for it, Harris said he wanted to make sure his business dealings didn’t present a conflict of interest.
Miller said in Ohio about 100,000 workers are directly employed in the auto industry and the number grows to about 200,000 if related industries are included.
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Tweet“Joe the Plumber” legislation introduced
Two state lawmakers today, Dec. 2, introduced legislation that’s supposed to prevent the kind of government snooping that dogged “Joe the Plumber” - Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher - during the presidential campaign
The legislation, introduced by Rep. Shannon Jones, R-Springboro, and Sen. Mark Wagoner, R-Toledo, would direct state agencies to:
*Fire any unclassified employee who violates privacy rules by improperly accessing confidential personal information.
*Set criteria for determining which employees may access or authorize access to confidential, personal information.
*Allow any citizen to make a written request to an agency or identify all personal, confidential information on that person maintained by the agency.
“The systematic misuse of government databases and the governor’s woeful under reaction to state government workers engaging in this outrageous behavior makes this bill necessary,” Jones said in a press release.
Strickland suspended director Helen Jones-Kelley of the Ohio Job and Family Services Department for a month without pay for her role in the “Joe the Plumber” case. Four other employees also were disciplined.
Ohio Inspector Tom Charles concluded that Jones-Kelley improperly authorized the searches of databases with personal information on Wurzelbacher of suburban Toledo. He became a key figure in the Ohio presidential campaign after questioning Democrat Barack Obama’s tax plans.
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TweetClinton as Secretary of State: What do you think?
President-elect Barack Obama named his national security team this morning, a group that included Defense Secretary Robert Gates, attorney general nominee Eric Holder and Secretary of State nominee Hillary Clinton.
Former First Lady Clinton, Obama’s primary election opponent and the woman who won Ohio’s Democratic presidential primary, will be the nation’s top diplomat, if she is confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
What do you think of the selection?
How do you think she’ll do?
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TweetAuto Industry bailout: What do you think?
With Sen. George Voinovich urging House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to push legislation on the U.S. auto industry bailout and Sen. Sherrod Brown set to attend a Senate Banking Committee hearing later this week on the subject, we’d like to ask you what you think of the idea of such federal assistance.
Would you like Congress to help out the U.S. auto industry?
Should they do it this year?
What do you think?
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TweetVoino to Reid, Pelosi: Please do something for auto industry
U.S. Sen. George V. Voinovich Monday, Dec. 1, sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi urging them to do something within the next month for the U.S. auto industry.
An initial plan to take up legislation to help the struggling industry faltered last month.
Voinovich is the co-chair of the Senate Auto Caucus.
The letter is after the jump.
I write to express strong support for congressional action before the end of the 110th Congress to provide financial assistance to the U.S. automotive industry in these very difficult economic times. Assistance from the U.S. Government is critical to protecting the hundreds of thousands of jobs supported by the U.S. automotive industry, as well as the U.S. economy, which is suffering from a widespread liquidity crisis that extends well beyond the vital automotive sector.
The time for Congress to act is now. Although I was disappointed that the Senate failed to take up legislation before the Thanksgiving recess, based on your letter to the leaders of the domestic auto industry, which indicated that your are committed to working to ensure its viability, I am hopeful that we still have time to complete legislation to provide such assistance.
I believe we must work swiftly to allow the domestic automotive industry to gain access to emergency assistance. The risk in doing nothing is too great. The Center for Automotive Research has estimated that if even one of the domestic automakers were to fail roughly 2.5 million U.S. jobs could be lost as a result of the cascading impact that such a failure would have on auto parts suppliers and related industries such as dealers. Moreover, such a significant loss of jobs would have a devastating impact on many of the local communities and states in which these companies operate.
I have already heard from a number of smaller Ohio companies that rely on sales to the automotive industry about this crisis. These companies are already feeling the squeeze resulting from the automotive industry’s challenges. Banks are further tightening already tight credit standards for these companies because they interpreted Congress’ failure to act before the Thanksgiving recess as a signal that Congress lacks the political will to provide solutions to such a significant problem. This is just the sort of cascading effect that worries me and so many others who understand that it is not just the future of the U.S. automakers at stake, but also the thousands of companies and workers who support the U.S. automakers.
The domestic automotive industry represents almost four percent of U.S. gross domestic product and represents ten percent of U.S. industrial production by value. One out of every 10 U.S. jobs is impacted by the U.S. automotive industry and GM, Ford and Chrysler account for roughly 70 percent of U.S. auto production and these companies support roughly five million jobs across all 50 states. The consequence to communities across this country would be devastating.
As you know, I, along with Senators Bond and Specter, worked with Senators Levin, Stabenow, and Brown to craft bipartisan compromise legislation that would permit the U.S. automotive industry access to funds previously appropriated for carrying out section 136 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (P.L. 110-140). This bipartisan group of Senators took ideas from many different points of view, including from Chairman Frank‚Äôs Auto Bridge Loan legislation. It remains the only bipartisan proposal to help the auto industry. Needless to say, I was disappointed that Congress did not remain in Washington longer to consider this compromise legislation. Many Ohio families must have been wondering over Thanksgiving dinner whether, by the time Congress takes up legislation in December, they will still have jobs and still be able to pay their mortgages. The price of delay could be catastrophic for millions of workers, their families, Ohio’s economy, and the U.S. manufacturing sector. It is my sincerest hope that these families who are teetering on the brink will feel more secure on Christmas than they do on Thanksgiving.
I do welcome your decision to engage on this issue and I agree with your belief that the affected companies first must prove that taxpayer money will enable them to achieve financial viability before the U.S. Government agrees to release any funds. That is why the bipartisan legislation we crafted requires a prospective borrower to submit a financial viability plan to the Commerce Secretary, and further requires the Commerce Secretary to make an independent judgment that implementation of the plan, combined with a federal loan, would create a reasonable prospect that the applicant would be able to repay the loan and would create a commercial entity with positive value over the long run. While I applaud your insistence that the potential borrowers prove their case, however, I am concerned about the method you have constructed for doing so. Specifically, I question your decision that congressional leadership and committees of jurisdiction are best positioned to make determinations about a multinational corporation’s future financial prospects. I would appreciate you informing the companies, the public, and me who exactly will be making these decisions. Do you intend to rely on the expertise of executive branch officials or outside experts, or do you feel that Congress is qualified to draw such conclusions?
I also am concerned about how Congress will handle financial information that cannot be disclosed under federal law. Any financial viability plan necessarily must include information that cannot be disclosed to the public due to the fiduciary obligations that management has to shareholders. Will you impose adequate safeguards to ensure that such information is not inappropriately distributed and that it does not fall into the hands of those who might use it for their own profit? We must work together to ensure that whatever legislation we consider includes adequate protections so that no one can inappropriately profit off the misfortunes of others.
While many hours went into crafting our bipartisan legislation, all of the senators involved are open to ideas that would strengthen the principles contained in the legislation. In fact, I believe many of the principles discussed in your letter to the leaders of GM, Ford and Chrysler are included in our bipartisan legislation. In particular, our legislation contains strong taxpayer protections including: (1) the submission of a detailed strategic business plan that would be independently reviewed and analyzed by the Secretary of Commerce; (2) a mechanism to replenish the dollars back into the Department of Energy section 136 program so the companies can begin the important task of retooling to meet new fuel-efficiency standards; (3) prohibitions on the payment of dividends; (4) the provision of warrants; (5) limits on executive compensation; (6) a prohibition on golden parachute payments; and (7) and the creation of an oversight board. I believe our bipartisan legislation represents an excellent template for crafting a package that can pass both Houses of Congress and be signed into law by President Bush.
As you no doubt appreciate, the U.S. automotive industry and its labor partners are transforming this industry to produce the vehicles of the future in a competitive manner. In the midst of this restructuring, the industry, along with the rest of our nation’s businesses, has been hit with a credit crisis. The combination of rapid technological advancement, the overall state of the economy, and the ongoing credit crunch has put the U.S. automotive industry in an untenable position. As a result, the industry needs access to the funds that have already been approved so that it can survive and deliver products that the American driving public demand, such as more fuel-efficient cars and trucks. I look forward to working with you in the coming weeks to protect the livelihood of millions of Americans and their families.
Sincerely,
George V. Voinovich
United States Senator
Co-Chair Senate Auto Caucus
cc: Senator Chris Dodd Rep. Barney Frank
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