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Home > Blogs > Ohio politics > Archives > 2009 > April > 02
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Secretary of State race could have Cleveland flavor
The November 2010 election is 19 months away but the race for secretary of state already is getting crowded.
Sen. Jon Husted, R-Kettering, announced his candidacy on Thursday, April 2, and Franklin County Commissioner Marilyn Brown, a Democrat, announced her candidacy earlier.
Now it appears likely the campaign could have a Cleveland flavor, too.
“I’m giving serious consideration about this opportunity of running for secretary of state,” Bill Mason, Cuyahoga County prosecutor, said through a spokesman on Thursday.
The race could be the crucial one for control of the five-member Apportionment Board that will draw new legislative districts after the 2010 election. The auditor, governor and secretary of state sit on the board along with a legislator from each party.
If Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland and Republican Auditor Mary Taylor seek re-election, each would be favored.
Democratic Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, however, is running for the U.S. Senate, making the race for secretary of state wide open.
Husted has proposed a ballot issue to replace the Apportionment Board with a new system but faces an uphill battle to get it on the Nov. 3 ballot this year.
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GOP leader Batchelder proposes independent budget office
House Minority Leader William Batchelder, R-Medina, has been griping a lot about Pari Sabety, director of the office of Budget and Management. Batchelder even called for Sabety’s resignation. Sabety works for Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland.
Now Batchelder has a new idea that’s actually an old idea for helping the legislature get its own budget information.
Batchelder on Thursday, April 2, introduced legislation to keep create an independent Legislative Budget Office. Such an office existed until it was abolished in 2000 when Republicans ran both the House and Senate.
“The Legislative Budget Office would ensure transparency and public accountability of the state’s finances,” Batchelder said in a press release. “This office for many years under Democrat and Republican leadership, safeguarded state income and expenditures and provided oversight to the executive branch.”
Batchelder sounded a little kinder about Sabety and her OBM colleagues.
“Those under the Office of Budget and Management are wonderful at what they do,” he said. “But OBM is and will always will be a tool of the governor’s office…..we must level the playing field and provide the legislature with the independent, non-partisan information it needs.”
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State treasurer offers a way to boost interest on savings
State Treasurer Kevin Boyce unveiled a program Thursday, April 2, that will allow Ohioans to receive an additional 3.75 percent on their savings accounts if they take financial literacy classes online or through the mail.
Ohio is one of the first states in the nation to offer this type of savings program, Boyce said.
Savings accounts are now paying on average 0.15 percent annual interest rates.
Boyce said the program is designed to help Ohioans become more financially savvy and to save money. If participants take a course over a year and open an account with one of four participating banks, the treasury will add 3.75 percent annual interest on top of what the bank pays. The deal applies to accounts with $5,000 or less.
Potentially, participants could earn $195 in interest on $5,000 at 3.9 percent compared with $7.50 in interest at 0.15 percent.
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Husted announces for secretary of state
With his wife Tina and their young daughter Katie, 2, at his side, state Sen. Jon Husted, R-Kettering, officially announced his candidacy for secretary of state in 2010.
“Ohio can and must do better,” Husted, a former Ohio House Speaker, said at the news conference at Ohio Republican Party headquarters in Columbus, today, April 2.
He outlined his candidacy earlier in a story in the Dayton Daily News.
Although Husted never has run for statewide office, he released a list of endorsements that showed he already has statewide support. Included were U.S. Sen. George Voinovich and seven of the eight Ohio Republican U.S. House members. Reps. Mike Turner, R-Centerville, and Steve Austria, R-Beavercreek, were on the list.
The only member who was not was U.S. House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-West Chester, and that endorsement is expected later.
Rep. Boehner is fully behind Husted and a formal endorsement will come later, said Jessica Towhey, Boehner’s spokeswoman.
For a list of endorsements, see www.hustedforohio.com.
Ohio Democratic Party Chairman Chris Redfern chided Husted for voting against the state’s $9.2 billion transportation budget on Wednesday, April 1 and also said the controversy over Husted’s residency will be an issue in the campaign.
“I think that’s going to haunt him,” said Redfern.
The Montgomery County Board of Elections deadlocked along party lines 2-2 on the residency issue on Feb. 25 and sent the case to Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner. At issue is whether Husted is a legal resident where he votes in Kettering. In a sworn statement, Husted said he lives in Kettering, is at his house weekly, but also spends time in Columbus at his wife’s house in Upper Arlington.
“I will win this argument,” he said.
Redfern also chided Husted for jumping into the race just three months after being sworn in to the Ohio Senate.
“Just weeks after he took the oath of office, Jon’s already grown tired of that job and he’s looking for another,” said Redfern.
Democratic Franklin County Commissioner Marilyn Brown already is running for secretary of state and Redfern said Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Bill Mason is expected to get in.
Husted should have another supporter soon in his family. He said his wife is expecting another baby.
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Strickland signs $9.2 billion transportation budget
Gov. Ted Strickland signed the $9.2 billion state transportation budget at 11:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 1, his office announced.
“A 21st Century, sustainable transportation system will help to save and create Ohio jobs,” Strickland said in a press release. “This comprehensive bill is the product of thoughtful bipartisan compromise. Ohioans are best served when we seek common ground, and Speaker Armond Budish and Senate President Bill Harris deserve great credit for achieving a bipartisan agreement.”
The House and Senate passed House Bill 2, the two-year spending plan, earlier Wednesday. See earlier story for details. The budget provides $935.7 billion in federal stimulus money for transportation projects, supports the restoration of passenger rail service and increases the speed limit for trucks on interstates from 55 mph to 65 mph.
Strickland also issued 13 line-item vetoes, including one that would have required state and local governments to reimburse utilities for relocating facilities as the result of construction paid for with federal stimulus money.
“This veto continues current Ohio law and ensures that funding received through (the federal stimulus program) is used to its fullest potential in constructing infrastructure and creating jobs,” Strickland said in his veto message.
