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Questions on branding deal draw criticism
Business leaders slam newspaper about coverage of Turner Effect contract.
Saturday, February 16, 2008
DAYTON — Leaders of local business groups have slammed the Dayton Daily News for its coverage of a no-bid contract of more than $300,000 to a company owned by U.S. Rep. Mike Turner's wife, and asked the chairmen of the Montgomery County political parties not to "politicize" the issue.
But county Democratic Chairman Mark Owens said that won't stop his party from questioning the Turners' actions related to Dayton Development Coalition's choice of Lori Turner's marketing firm as lead contractor for a $1.5 million regional branding campaign that resulted in the slogan, "Get Midwest."
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"If the other side is doing something we feel to be unethical, we're going to ask questions about it," Owens said. Turner is up for re-election this fall.
In a letter to the chairmen dated Thursday, Feb. 14, officials of the public-private coalition and the Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce lauded the coalition's process of setting regional economic development priorities and lobbying the local congressional delegation — including Turner — for federal funds to pursue them.
"We were doing the best we could to add clarity to both these party leaders and stop this thing from getting nasty and ugly," said chamber President Phillip Parker, one of the signers of the letter. Asked about the letter's accusation that the newspaper published "false information," Parker said only that he thought the articles gave the misleading impression the coalition was attempting to "curry favor" with Rep. Turner by hiring his wife.
Owens, who is the Dayton Municipal Court clerk, said he supports the planning process. "However, the issue of Mike Turner and his wife's acceptance of the no-bid contract is a whole separate issue," he said. "Certainly there are questions that have been raised that should have been answered by the
congressman."
Owens said coalition officials "would have been better off if they had gone out for bids" to "take away the question of impropriety."
County Republican Chairman Gregory Gantt said he is reviewing the letter and supports the work of the coalition.
The letter quotes a statement from Dayton Daily News Publisher Doug Franklin and former Berry Co. Chief Executive Pete Luongo, coalition trustees who co-chaired the branding campaign. They said there was no conflict of interest in the Turner contract, in part because the coalition lobbies for federal funds for the community, not its own operation.
But in articles published Sunday, Feb. 10, two congressional watchdog groups were quoted as saying the contract with Lori Turner's Turner Effect at best gives the appearance that the coalition is trying to buy political favors from Mike Turner, R- Centerville, or give the Turner household a cash infusion during an election year.
"I don't feel they have a clue about what happens in Dayton, Ohio," Parker said of the watchdog groups. Most of the coalition's trustees have contributed to Turner's political campaigns and trustee Clayton Mathile, whose foundation provided half of the branding campaign's $1.5 million budget, is a major Turner contributor.
Coalition President and Chief Executive J.P. Nauseef has said the Turner Effect has earned more than $300,000 so far, and will be paid more during the second half of the campaign.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2264
or tbeyerlein@
DaytonDailyNews.com.
