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Home > Blogs > Ohio politics > Archives > 2010 > June > 16
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
GOP Chairman DeWine files complaint against Chief Justice Brown
Ohio Republican Chairman Kevin DeWine has filed a complaint against Democratic Chief Justice Eric Brown of the Ohio Supreme Court, alleging that Brown violated two sections of the Code of Judicial Conduct regarding fund-raising.
The complaint was filed in a letter to the high court’s Disciplinary Counsel and relates to phone calls Brown made for a fundraiser at a Columbus nightclub last month..
DeWine, in the June 4 letter, said Brown violated a rule that says “a judicial candidate shall not personally solicit or receive campaign contributions” and a second that says a judicial candidate may not participate in a fundraiser that categorizes or identifies participants by the amounts they give.
Don Spicer, Browns’ campaign consultant, said such complaints are confidential until probable cause is found and declined comment.
However, in a previous Dayton Daily News story on the issue, Spicer told reporter Laura A. Bischoff that Brown did not violate judicial ethics because he was only encouraging attendance, not directly asking for contributions.
“There were people at the event who did not, in fact, contribute one penny. We were trying to build a crowd obviously. He was inviting people to the event, but not soliciting contributions,” Spicer said in the story. “I will say that apparently some people are misunderstanding that. We won’t be doing that in the future.”
In his complaint letter, DeWine said that Brown didn’t have to name a contribution amount because he was following up on an invitation that put the amount at $1,000.
“Any reasonable person who got such an invitation and then received a call as a ‘follow up’ would perceive this as a solicitation. And (the rule) says that it is unethical and a violation for a judicial candidate to make such a solicitation,” DeWine said in his complaint.
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President Obama to speak at road project groundbreaking
President Barack Obama will use his visit to Columbus on Friday, June 18, to meet with workers and speak at the groundbreaking of a road project paid for with federal stimulus money, the White House announced on Wednesday, June 16.
It will be Obama’s eighth visit to Ohio since taking office as president and will come the same day as Ohio’s unemployment rate for May is released.
Obama’s fellow Democrats welcomed the president’s visit while Republicans scoffed.
“We are always happy to have President Obama in Ohio,” Ohio Democratic Chairman Chris Redfern said in an e-mail.
“He has fought side-by-side with our Democratic leaders to lay the path for Ohio’s recovery. Our Democratic leaders look forward to continuing to work with him to build an economy that works for all Ohio families.”
Jason Mauk, Ohio Republican Party executive director, in an e-mail had a different reaction:
“…. it’s great that we have all these new roads.
“Unfortunately, more than 650,000 Ohioans can’t use them to go to work because they don’t have jobs. Ohioans see these road projects every day, and they’ve become symbolic of the massive debt and failed economic policies of this administration.”
