Badin vs. Fredericktown
Miamisburg graduation 2012
Valley View vs. Greenville
Ellen Belcher is the Dayton Daily News opinion pages editor. She writes about state government, education, the environment, higher education and all things Dayton.
Martin Gottlieb is an editorial writer and columnist for the Dayton Daily News opinion pages. He focuses on the political process itself and does such national issues as war, the economy, taxes and Social Security, as well as a hodge-podge of local and state issues.Home > Blogs > A Matter of Opinion > Archives > 2010 > March > 19 > Entry
Martin Gottlieb: State auditor primary offers relief from aging D vs. R show
Here’s a refreshing change of pace: politicians in the same party saying nasty things about each other publicly.
Not only the same party, but the same wing of the party.
In service of all those who have grown tired of interparty sniping, some conservative Republicans have decided to go intra.
It’s not unheard of, of course, especially during primary election campaigns. But there haven’t been many juicy primaries lately. (Partly leaders discourage them.) And party unity has been such an obsession of the politicians lately that you had to start to wonder.
So here we have state Sen. Gary Cates, who represents most of Butler County, writing a letter to state Rep. Seth Morgan, of Huber Heights. Morgan is running for state auditor in the primary. He’s challenging Delaware County Prosecutor Dave Yost, the choice of state party headquarters . Says Cates (a Yost supporter) to Morgan, “After recently reading an error-filled smear you promulgated against a private citizen, I was ashamed of your tactics…. I would be hard-pressed to name another fellow GOP candidate who has run as poorly executed and questionable campaign as you.”
Cates was referring partly to Morgan’s complaint that a Yost aide “admitted to public corruption charges,” which, in fact, news outlets have reported. Yost responded that the case was ‘thrown out by a judge and even the record that it was filed was sealed.”
And Yost said the case in question was part of a politically motivated pursuit of former Republican state Treasurer Joe Deters, for whom the Yost aide then worked. In other words, shame on a Republican for bringing it up.
But the immediate prompt of the Cates letter was another squabble. It was over Morgan’s claim that he has the endorsement of Montgomery County Republican Chairman Greg Gantt.
After Morgan made that claim, Gantt asked him not to say it anymore. After that was revealed, Morgan put out a transcript of what Gantt said on the occasion of Morgan’s announcement of his candidacy:
“I certainly know you would make an excellent candidate and encourage you to pursue that option and go for it…. Myself and others are going to stand behind you and support you and encourage you to go for the auditor’s position…. I’m very excited, and very honored to be a part of this.”
Gantt also said he was happy to see Morgan “now moving up to the state level … I’m behind you 100 percent.”
Morgan responded with thanks to Gantt for “joining us…. Your support is important.”
Actually, Gantt’s statement sounds like an endorsement of Morgan’s decision to run, not an endorsement of him over Yost. Whether Morgan should run was the issue at the time: Given that the state party organization had already endorsed somebody else, should a young, first-term legislator challenge him?
Morgan still claims he had reason, based on public and private comments by Gantt, to claim the endorsement. And maybe he did. But it’s strange that the transcript he first put out doesn’t support the claim.
Eventually Gantt tried to diffuse the issue, which is the job of a party chairman. He said, “The last couple of days we’ve been twisted up in words, in silliness.”
This is what happens in certain kinds of races. With neither candidate having a record as state auditor, there isn’t much to fight about that’s relevant to the job. People look for every tiny angle, and it eventually becomes personal.
One of the funnier angles: Morgan is running as the only certified public accountant in the race. Yost is running as the only one who’s actually been an auditor, a job he held in Delaware County for a term.
Morgan took offense at Yost’s claim about being the only auditor, saying that a CPA does audits. So now Yost describes himself as the only “public auditor.”
What’s weird is that being a county auditor isn’t even about doing audits. A county auditor does a hodge-podge of other things. The state auditor actually audits.
At any rate, these guys will all make up and praise each other highly before November. For now, though, the race is a comforting reminder that our politicians haven’t become so obsessively partisan that their other combat abilities have atrophied.
Permalink | Comments (6) | Post your comment | Categories: Columns, Martin Gottlieb, Miami Valley Politics, Ohio politics
Comments
By bobby
March 19, 2010 1:43 PM | Link to this
A Montgomery County Auditor’s duties include allowing appraisals at the Austin Road and I-75 interchange for $3,700 per acre.
By emer
March 19, 2010 1:46 PM | Link to this
Seth Morgans legacy: http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/community/huber-heights/income-tax-slide-has-city-anxious—602976.html
By Thomas
March 19, 2010 2:51 PM | Link to this
A Montgomery County Auditor’s duties also include keeping that same $3,000 per acre parcel at the new interchange in the agriculture valuation program which essentially means it pays almost NO property taxes. Perhaps Montgomery County needs Yost as its auditor!!!
By Gregg
March 19, 2010 7:08 PM | Link to this
I have known Greg Gantt for a long time and know for a fact he likes to speak out of both sides of his mouth. Truth be known, he probably said the same thing to Yost that he said to Morgan when he talked to him on the phone
By tom
March 19, 2010 8:35 PM | Link to this
Mr Morgan appears to be a good man. He hasn’t been corrupted by the system yet. He isn’t bought and paid for by special interest. Many start out this way and loose their direction. Stay the course Seth. We need more like you in that regard.
By Impressed
March 20, 2010 6:50 AM | Link to this
Seth Morgan stands out because he is going where he feels called to serve, regardless of the political risk. Instead of worrying about “playing it safe” like most politicians, Seth Morgan has focused on what doing what’s right. Yost, on the other hand, has demonstrated that he has no principles by abandoning the fight to put a true conservative on the ballot for Attorney General. Instead, he merely proved he is interested in taking the path of least resistance. The contrast is stark. Yost represents politics as usual and Seth Morgan is a breath of fresh air. Good luck Seth!