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Home > Blogs > Ohio politics > Archives > 2010 > March > 12
Friday, March 12, 2010
Have a Coke and a candidate
Ohio Statehouse candidate Jeffrey Wellbaum today changed email providers to eliminate an advertising banner for Diet Coke from his campaign news releases.
“It’s the Yahoo email thing. I’m not sure how to get rid of it,” said Wellbaum, who is a Republican running for 39th House District against Ohio Rep. Clayton Luckie II, D-Dayton.
Wellbaum’s news releases have a Diet Coke banner across the top and a link to a Diet Coke website at the end.
Coke spokeswoman Rand Carpenter said the company has a program with Yahoo! that includes personalized Diet Coke stationary. “While the Coca-Cola Company is a nonpartisan organization and has not endorsed any candidates in the 39th district of the State House of Representatives, we always appreciate whenever people reach for a Diet Coke,” Carpenter said.
Ohio elections law doesn’t give much direction on a candidate’s use of free internet services such as email or Facebook, according to Jeff Ortega, spokesman for Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner. The law is clear on the use of corporate logos by candidates. But because the logo on Wellbaum’s yahoo account appears to be outside of his control it is likely not a violation of the law, Ortega said.
In any case, Wellbaum today, March 12, switched to a gmail account that includes no corporate logos.
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Uncontested races for third parties may cost up to $15,000 in additional printing
Voters in the May primary will have few extra choices when asked which ballot they want. Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner made it easier this year for minor party candidates to stand for election. For county boards of election that translates to higher costs because they have to print separate paper ballots for voters in each party, said Steve Harsman, director of the Montgomery County Board of Elections.
“Democracy is not cheap,” said Greg Gantt, board chairman. “Sometimes we have to spend the money to make sure that we’re being accessible to voters.”
Brunner made it easier for the smaller parties to get on the ballot in response to a court of appeals ruling on ballot access, Harsman said.
The county uses electronic voting machines, but also provides paper ballots at the polling places for people who must vote provisionally or don’t want to use the machines. Typically in the past voters had a choice between voting to nominate Democrats or Republicans for the November General Election, and the choice of voting only on issues such as school levies.
But this year voters can also pick ballots for the Constitution, Green, Socialist or Libertarian party. The additional ballots will cost Montgomery County $10,000 to $15,000 more for the primary, Harsman said. To save money his office will only print absentee ballots for minority parties as they are requested, rather than have a batch printed up in advance, Harsman said.
General Election ballots contain candidates from all parties, so the additional cost then will be if the additional candidates cause the ballot to stretch to a second page, Harsman said.
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Ohio joins national campaign to insure more kids
Gov. Ted Strickland said Ohio is becoming the first state to answer a challenge from U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to make sure more eligible children get health insurance coverage in the next five years.
“Ohio is very serious about cutting red tape for the 77,000 children who are eligible for SCHIP but are still not enrolled,” Strickland said in a press release on Thursday, March 11.
The children are eligible for Medicaid- the health insurance program for the poor - under SCHIP - the State Children’s Health Insurance Program. In Ohio, children in families with incomes of up to 200 percent of poverty - $44,100 for a family of four - qualify for SCHIP.
Sebelius, former Kansas governor and daughter of former Ohio Gov. John J. Gilligan, launched her campaign - “The Secretary’s Challenge: Connecting More Kids to Coverage” - on Feb. 4, the release said.
Ohio will try to identify children and families who already are receiving state services and meet the income requirements, but are not enrolled in SCHIP, the release said.
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Tea Party PAC endorses Morgan in GOP auditor’s race
The Ohio Tea Party PAC, newly-formed political action committee of the Ohio Liberty Council, has endorsed state Rep. Seth Morgan, R-Huber Heights, for the Republican nomination for state auditor, Morgan’s campaign announced on Friday, March 12.
The Ohio Liberty Council is made up of Ohio’s Tea Party groups, 912 groups and other grassroots organizations throughout the state, the campaign said.
Morgan running for the GOP nomination against Delaware County Prosecutor Dave Yost. The endorsement marks an escalation in the candidates’ battle for support, coming just two days after Ken Blackwell, the 2006 GOP candidate for governor, endorsed Yost. Yost is the state GOP-endorsed candidate.
A press release said that the endorsement required a 7/8ths majority vote.
“7/8ths of Tea Party and other like minded groups choosing to endorse a candidate is a strong statement. It means they have embraced someone as embodying their values. That does not come easily,” Chris Littleton, president of the Ohio Liberty Council and the Cincinnati Tea Party, said in a press release.
In a conference call on Friday afternoon, Littleton said the decision to endorse Morgan over Yost was a “character question.” Littleton said.
“I think you would have seen the exact same support for Dave Yost if he had stayed in the attorney general’s race,” Littleton said.
Many in the Tea Party movement favored Yost over former U.S. Sen. Mike DeWine of Cedarville for the GOP nomination for attorney general and were disappointed when Yost dropped his campaign for AG to run for auditor.
The release said that all statewide races were considered but that Morgan was the only candidate to be endorsed and also was the first Tea Party endorsed statewide candidate of 2010.
The release quoted state GOP Chairman Kevin DeWine of Fairborn, who backs Yost and is Mike DeWine’s second cousin, as to the importance of the Tea Party to Republicans.
“Ohio Republican Party Chairman Kevin DeWine said that the Republican Party needs to listen to the Tea Party movement,” Rob Scott, Morgan campaign spokesman said in the release. “Well, the movement has spoken and said they want Seth Morgan as auditor.” said Rob Scott, Friends of Seth Morgan Communications Director.
The release quoted DeWine as saying on Sunday, March 7:
“Every candidate and elected official should be wise to heed its warning … and the party that fails to listen will pay a heavy price.”
DeWine responded in an e-mail about a video he made:
“The point I made in my remarks, which they intentionally took out of context, is that political parties will pay a heavy price if they ignore the issues driving the tea party movement. I said nothing about endorsing candidates, and I’m pretty sure they know that.”
Here’s the video:
Brent Swander, Yost’s campaign spokesman, responded to the Tea Party endorsement:
“Seth Morgan doesn’t get it. The Tea Party movement isn’t about co-opting the brand name to support a political campaign. The Tea Party is about the spirit of fighting for smaller government and standing up for the average citizen that has gripped the electorate.
“No one better personifies the ability to stand up to the system than Dave Yost. He’s actually talked the talk and walked the walk. Dave prosecuted white collar criminals and tax cheats, put murderers behind bars, and pushed corrupt politicians out of office in his home county.
“That’s why well-recognized conservative leaders like Ken Blackwell are strongly supporting Dave Yost for auditor.”
Also, the Madison County Republican Party endorsed Morgan on Thursday, Morgan’s campaign announced.
