DeWine’s $2 million loan may be the biggest in state history, and after winning the election he began raising money to help retire the debt. Contributions made public this week show DeWine’s campaign last year paid him $1.47 million toward the debt, leaving $525,000 of the original loan outstanding.
The Ohio Republican Party shouldered much of the fundraising load, giving DeWine’s committee $778,817 last year. But hundreds of thousands of dollars also came from law firms and attorneys who do business with the attorney general’s office, according to a Dayton Daily News analysis of DeWine’s 2011 campaign finance reports and other state records.
Robert Stern, former director of the Center for Governmental Studies and author of some of California’s campaign finance laws, said the practice of candidates making big loans is “one of the worst abuses in campaign financing.” California now caps the loans at $100,000. “Only wealthy candidates can lend themselves the money,” Stern said, adding that there is no safeguard against a candidate raising funds to retire the debt from special interests who benefit from ties to an officeholder. “Money given after the election that goes into the candidate’s pocket provides the contributor with even more influence over the candidate since the candidate is benefiting personally from the contribution.”
DeWine, of Cedarville, told the Daily News on Wednesday: “We have followed all the laws that pertain to this. We have done this in the correct way. It was a loan made to the campaign. This is a payment back of the loan. It has been done by others in Ohio so it is not unprecedented.”
DeWine is right: Thousands of candidates have loaned money to their campaigns. But in the last 12 years, only eight candidates have made loans to their own campaigns of $100,000 or more, according to data kept by the secretary of state. The size of DeWine’s loan is also unusual and may be unprecedented. In 1986, Republican Jeff Jacobs lent himself $1.3 million in his unsuccessful race for state treasurer against Democrat Mary Ellen Withrow. Jacobs lost, then forgave the debt.
Democrat David Pepper loaned his campaign $350,000 in his unsuccessful bid for state auditor in 2010 against Republican Dave Yost. Pepper wrote off all but $50,000, and he said he plans to forgive the remainder.
Writing checks to the DeWine campaign last year were hundreds of lawyers from dozens of law firms, many of which hold special counsel contracts awarded by the attorney general’s office to represent public pensions, colleges, state agencies and more. Ten firms and their lawyers contributed a combined $194,830 to DeWine’s campaign fund last year. Those 10 firms have 225 assignments from the AG’s office that paid more than $9.6 million in legal fees last year. Locally, Flanagan, Hoffman, Lieberman & Swaim contributed $4,950 to the DeWine campaign, and two of the firm’s lawyers, Candi Rambo and Brent Rambo, chipped in an additional $1,750. The firm performs debt collection and other work for the attorney general’s office.
Many of the contracts were made by previous attorneys general, but DeWine has authority to alter many of the assignments. “Our goal ... is to match the best lawyers we can find for a reasonable price with the client,” DeWine said.
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