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Ohio gov.'s campaign regrets fundraiser e-mails

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The Associated Press Updated 5:16 PM Wednesday, November 11, 2009

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The re-election campaign for Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland said it regrets sending invitations to fundraisers that suggested guests would have special access to officials, according to The Columbus Dispatch.

An e-mail about a Sept. 4 event in Cincinnati promised a private lunch reception with Strickland and "special guests, county and state economic development officials," the newspaper reported Wednesday.

"I have not seen this and I think that it does not look good," Strickland, a Democrat, said when shown the invitation. "I will certainly see that it doesn't happen again."

This was not the only e-mail invitation to go out implying special access to officials. A second invitation, this one about an Oct. 19reception, said Strickland would appear with "special guest" Eric Fingerhut, Ohio's higher education chancellor.

State Republican Party director Jason Mauk accused the campaign of using so-called "pay-to-play" tactics that the governor campaigned against in 2006.

But Strickland campaign manager Aaron Pickrell attributed the snafu to overeager local sponsors who sent the messages without getting the campaign to review or correct them.

"They were draft invites that hadn't gone through all of the checks before being officially sent out," Pickrell said.

A sponsor of the September fundraiser said the invitation was sent by another sponsor without being reviewed by the campaign, and that a new one was issued without the error.

A homeowner who sponsored the October fundraiser in Yellow Springs said her draft also was corrected and re-sent by the campaign and that Fingerhut did not attend the fundraiser.

Still, the invites gave a "wink and a nudge" that buying tickets could lead to access with top officials, said Catherine Turcer, of the public watchdog Ohio Citizen Action.

"It makes me wonder about Strickland's re-election campaign," Turcer said. "They're not off to a good start. These are amateur mistakes."

A third invitation to an Ohio Democratic Party fundraiser asked supporters to "discuss Ohio's current issues" with Strickland and a party official at a Saturday brunch in Bexley, just outside Columbus.

Party Chairman Chris Redfern said the invitation was a mistake and that he did not give it final clearance

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Information from: The Columbus Dispatch, http://www.dispatch.com

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November 11, 2009 10:14 PM EST

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