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Friday, July 31, 2009
Dann’s legal fees top $183,000
Former Ohio attorney general Marc Dann used his campaign account to pay legal bills totaling $183,665 in the first six months of 2009, according to a campaign finance report filed Friday July 31.
Dann, a Democrat, spent $192,585 out of the account and has $12,797 remaining.
Dann resigned under pressure in May 2008 after a series of management missteps and admitting he had an affair with a junior staffer.
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Gov. Strickland to bed down at state fair; he’ll feed horses, too
Gov. Ted Strickland next week will honor an Ohio governors’ tradition.
Strickland on Thursday, Aug. 6, will overnight at the Ohio State Fair at the Natural Resources Park, a press release said on Friday, July 31. Unlike some past governors who have slept in a barn, Strickland will spend the night in a tent, said Amanda Wurst, his spokeswoman.
Strickland, who grew up on a farm in southern Ohio, won’t make it a casual sleepover. He’s scheduled to rise early on Friday, Aug. 7, to feed the horses from 6 a.m. - 7:30 a.m., the release said.
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Supreme Court rejects challenge to casino petitions
In a unanimous decision, the Ohio Supreme Court on Friday, July 31, provided a victory for backers of the plan to put a proposal for four gambling casinos on the Nov. 3 ballot.
The court rejected a request that it order Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner and the Muskingum County Board of Elections to investigate possible violations of Ohio election law by circulators who gathered signatures to put the issue on the ballot.
The decision appears to clear the way for the proposal to appear on the ballot.
The request also had asked that Brunner be compelled to invalidate petitions with election law violations or that she order county boards of elections to throw out the petitions.
The request came from Scioto Downs, a Columbus-area racetrack. Bob Griffin, CEO of MTR Gaming Group, Inc., Scioto Downs’ owner said “we were disappointed” by the decision but would move on. His company “is definitely going to spend some money” to oppose the battle issue. Mountaineer owns a racetrack and casino in Chester, W. Va.
The court ruled that the casino backers submitted evidence rebutting much of Scioto Downs’ claims.
In addition, the court said that Brunner already has launched an investigation into possible election law violations and can then report any findings to county prosecutors or the attorney general for prosecution.
Brunner does not have the authority to use the results of this investigation to throw out petition signatures after her time to review the signatures has expired, the court said.
The court said that the time for Brunner to rule on the petitions has expired and that she and the boards have no more duty or authority to take the action requested.
Charlie Luken, chairman of the Ohio Jobs and Growth Committee, the group promoting the casinos, praised the decision in a prepared statement.
“The Supreme Court has made it clear that the Secretary of State and the Boards of Elections performed their duties, and that Ohio voters deserve the right to vote on what we are convinced is by far the best casino proposal ever put before them,” Luken said.
In a prepared statement Brunner said that she was pleased with the decision.
“The high court correctly concluded that the secretary of state and Ohio’s boards of elections met their constitutionally mandated duties in reviewing and certifying the sufficiency of these petitions,” Brunner said.
Brunner has ruled that the casino backers have gathered more than the required 402,275 signatures required to get the issue on the ballot.
The casinos are planned for Cleveland, Cincinnati, Columbus and Toledo.
