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Union ad: Ohio budget cuts will put public at risk

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The Associated Press 11:56 AM Tuesday, October 13, 2009

LENGTH: 30 seconds.

AIRING: Across Ohio, starting Tuesday, for one week.

SCRIPT: "A crisis is brewing. Violent criminals, rapists, even sex predators released early, roaming the streets unsupervised. As inmate numbers skyrocket, state budget cuts could close correctional facilities, slashing the number of parole officers who keep an eye on criminals. If no one is watching the criminals, who are the criminals watching? Call Senator Harris. Tell him to support Gov. Strickland's tax freeze and stop the cuts. Paid for by SEIU District 1199."

KEY IMAGES: A crime scene. A man in handcuffs being escorted by law enforcement. Footage of a prison hallway with the number of prisoners imposed, ticking upward. Footage of a young girl playing outside, and a man taking pictures of her while leaning out the window of a vehicle.

ANALYSIS: State lawmakers are currently considering how to plug a roughly $850 million hole that opened up in the state budget after the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that a plan to put lottery slot machines at race tracks must be given the chance to go before voters. Strickland has proposed delaying the final year of planned income tax reductions, which would cover the budget hole. He has said that the education budget should be spared from cuts.

The Service Employees International Union, which represents about 35,000 Ohio workers in a number of fields, wants to protect its correctional and parole officers from job cuts. The ad is designed to show Ohioans what could happen if lawmakers decide to close the budget hole through cuts instead of Strickland's tax cut delay. There has been no specific proposal to target parole or corrections officers, but union officials said they believe that cuts could impact those workers.

The ad tells Ohioans to call state Senate President Bill Harris because it views the Republican-controlled Senate as the largest obstacle for the governor's plan. The Democratic-controlled House has not yet moved forward on the plan, however.

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Analysis by Associated Press Writer Stephen Majors.

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October 13, 2009 03:51 PM EDT

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