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Campaign cash plays a significant role in Ohio elections. Money has a corrupting influence on politics because it allows the wealthiest among us to exert undue influence. Political reforms, including campaign finance reform, easier access to information, and improvements in governmental ethics laws, are essential. We deserve accountable government that is responsive to our needs.
The Ohio Citizen Action Education Fund, the research affiliate of Ohio Citizen has been producing money in politics studies since 1994. The Money in Politics Project researches contributions to Ohio statewide and legislative candidates. The Money in Politics Project is committed to “following the money” by exposing the source of candidates’ campaign funds.
Recent News
May 7: Bill forces candidates to reveal finances
Push by Democratic legislators aimed at GOP’s Kasich
COLUMBUS -- Gov. Ted Strickland is getting some backing from legislative friends in his push to get his Republican challenger to disclose more of his personal finances.... Catherine Turcer, director of Ohio Citizen Action's Money in Politics Project, said the bill is fine but doesn't get at the real problem.
'This is a good idea to get an understanding of the vested interest of candidates,' she said. 'However, if I look at what's really wrong with transparency and financial disclosure, it's about the fact that it's not available online,'" James Nash, The Columbus Dispatch.
Candidates for state office would have to reveal more financial information under proposed law
Joe Guillen, Cleveland Plain Dealer.
May 6: Fall political battles could fuel record fundraising
Open seats and competitive races are driving fervor in Ohio, experts say
COLUMBUS -- If money talks in politics, this year should be Ohio’s big scream. In the marquee general election races — governor and U.S. Senate — all major party candidates except Democrat Lee Fisher in the Senate race have small fortunes on hand to get them to November.
What’s different is that down-ticket candidates for statewide races are raking in money like they’re at the top of the list.
'The stars are aligning for 2010 to be the year to break all monetary boundaries,' said Catherine Turcer, director of the Money in Politics Project for Ohio Citizen Action, a government watchdog," William Hershey, Dayton Daily News.
May 5: Obama expands critique of ‘Citizens United’ ruling
 WASHINGTON DC -- President Barack Obama set his sights on the blockbuster Citizens United decision in his Saturday radio and Internet address.
The president decried it as a potent weapon for special interests, warned of 'a potential corporate takeover of our elections,' according to a New York Times article, and urged Congress to respond with bipartisan legislation.
The Supreme Court struck down prohibitions on corporate spending for elections and opened the door to unlimited election spending by special interests. The ruling deals 'a huge blow to our efforts to rein in this undue influence,' a Washington Post article quoted Obama," Peter Hardin, GavelGrab.
May 3: Ohio Supreme Court unanimously declines to stop Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner's probe into funding behind anti-slot machine campaign
COLUMBUS -- The Ohio Supreme Court won't stop Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner from trying to get to the bottom of who is bankrolling LetOhioVote, the anti-slots group whose sole funding source is a mysterious Virginia-based outfit called New Models.
LetOhioVote had asked the court to block Brunner from subpoenaing members of the group in her effort to force them to divulge who is funding their $1.5 million campaign.
But the court unanimously said LetOhioVote failed to prove Brunner, a Democrat, is acting outside of her authority and instead suggested the group take its complaint to a lower common pleas court," Reginald Fields, Cleveland Plain Dealer.
Brunner can investigate issue backers
James Nash, The Columbus Dispatch.
April 26: A cloud over the Capitol?
Ohio lawmakers agree that Congress deserves the scorn coming from voters
COLUMBUS -- But amid the clutter came some forthright acknowledgements. vIn an unusually candid admission, Voinovich confirmed that a pay-to-play atmosphere permeates Congress. Campaign donors get special access, he said. Many voters probably take that for granted, but it's rarely admitted by a sitting lawmaker.
'Truthfully, it has an impact on you,' said Voinovich as he leaned back on the Amish-made rocker in his office. 'Somebody who has a big fundraiser in Ohio and says they want to come in to see you (in Washington), and, you know, you see those individuals. There's no question that they've got an advantage as a result of doing it.'
Voinovich said an officeholder's character is tested when a benefactor seeks a favor," Joe Hallett & Darrel Rowland, The Columbus Dispatch.
April 26: Cordray gives campaign cash to Ohio Democrats
Attorney general leads rival in fundraising
AKRON -- Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray has raised so much money for his November campaign that he turned around and handed out hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions to fellow Democrats, campaign-finance records show.
Cordray gave gifts of $250,000 each to the Franklin and Summit county Democratic parties, according to campaign-finance reports released last week; the Summit contribution apparently was a record for the county association.
Cordray, a Democrat running for a full term as attorney general, also gave $220,000 to the Ohio Democratic Party and additional money to state candidate funds operated by the state and Franklin county Democratic parties," The Columbus Dispatch.
April 9: Announcing Citizens' Campaign Finance Policy Tool
WASHINGTON DC -- After more than a year of development, The Campaign Finance
Institute (CFI), a non-partisan research institute
affiliated with The George Washington University, has
launched an exciting, fun-to-use tool. The tool allows
people to pick a state, see what kind of donors are giving
there now, and then make some choices about how to change
that state's system. The graphs on the page redraw
themselves as the user makes choices.
In state after state, the tool shows that with only a few
simple changes, the power of the small donor can transform
the system.... Two interesting lessons come from experimenting with this
new interactive tool. First, big shifts are possible through
a few changes in law, combined with increased small donor
participation. The changes are profound even without
squeezing out the donors who give $1,000 or more now.
Second, there is no one catch-all policy option. Instead,
many different policies can move toward the same goals," Brendan Glavin, The Campaign Finance
Institute.
Go to the Campaign Finance Institute's home page and click on "Be a Citizen Policy
Analyst" to try this tool.
Direct link to Ohio
April 8: Ohio Secretary of State Brunner creates easier-to-navigate campaign-finance Web site
COLUMBUS -- Accessing candidates' campaign finance forms on the Internet will be easier to find now, Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner announced Tuesday.
Her office unveiled what she called an improved campaign-finance Web site that she says will be easier for people to navigate and find data.... The Web site can be found at www.sos.state.oh.us," Pat Galbincea, Cleveland Plain Dealer.
April 5: Akron's legal struggle over campaign finance reform offers lessons for Cuyahoga County
Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Bill Mason |
CLEVELAND -- "The committee considering campaign finance rules for Cuyahoga County will research the legality of every proposal, said county Prosecutor Bill Mason. 'My reactions are that this is really a sticky wicket,' said Mason. 'Rulings are coming from a lot of different directions, and we have to be careful.' The committee chaired by Mason is separate from a Transition Advisory Group required by a county charter approved last fall by voters. But like the dozen advisory groups, the committee will make recommendations for a 11-member council that will take office next year.
Catherine Turcer, a committee member who heads the Money in Politics project for the Ohio Citizen Action watchdog group, has compiled Supreme Court decisions and other case law into a binder for members to consult.
Other members are researching regulations in Albuquerque, N.M., and Maine, among others.
'There are lots of common-sense approaches to campaign finance reform that are just unconstitutional,' Turcer said. 'But why waste your time on things that are unconstitutional? One of the things we don't want to be doing is spending Cuyahoga County's limited resources on a constitutional challenge,'" Laura Johnston, Cleveland Plain Dealer.
Mar 16: Husted wants corporate funds disclosed
COLUMBUS -- "If unions and corporations can spend unlimited amounts of money trying to influence elections in Ohio, state legislators say they at least should do it in the open.
Sen. Jon Husted, a Kettering Republican and candidate for secretary of state, yesterday proposed new disclosure requirements to deal with a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that allows corporations and unions to spend unlimited cash to help elect or defeat candidates. A week earlier, House Democrats introduced their own plan.
'While the Supreme Court ruled that corporations and unions have the right to free speech, we should take steps to ensure there is proper disclosure of these expenditures,' Husted said. The court 'did not rule that they had a right to anonymous free speech,'" Jim Siegel, The Columbus Dispatch.
Senator Husted's Letter to President Harris and Speaker Budish
Feb 17: Editorial: Ohio needs new disclosure law on election money
DAYTON -- "Corporations cannot spend money directly on state elections, under Ohio law. Nevertheless, a bill may soon be pending in the legislature that regulates how they do that. Moreover, the bill is a good idea.
Long story.
The U.S. Supreme Court has struck down the practice of not allowing direct corporate spending on elections. In future federal elections (that is, for Congress and the presidency), corporations — and unions — may spend as much as they want, so long as they don’t contribute directly to candidates.... Whatever one’s expectations, disclosure is desirable. It will cause executives to think harder before jumping into issues that might divide their stockholders or customers. And the public simply has a right to know — whether it has a taste to know or not — where political money is coming from," Dayton Daily News.
Feb 17: Editorials: after ‘Citizens United,’ new disclosure needed
WASHINGTON DC -- "The need for more sunlight on corporate political spending, following the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision, lies at the heart of editorials in two major newspapers about proposed congressional fixes.
Referring to upcoming legislation outlined by Sen. Charles Schumer and Rep. Chris Van Hollen, the Baltimore Sun editorialized that 'the approach appears to be right on track: Ban expenditures where possible, toughen reporting requirements, and disclose, disclose, disclose.' The editorial also asked why the proposal lacks provisions for public financing of congressional elections.
A Washington Post editorial labeled the Democrats’ framework an 'important proposal.' Letting corporations spend political money secretly–by channeling donations through trade associations or other groups that are not required to disclose donors–is 'the most dangerous aspect' of Citizens United, the editorial noted," Peter Hardin, Gavel Grab.
Feb 16: Former University Heights official must reimburse city for misused funds
COLUMBUS -- "Former University Heights Finance Director Arman Ochoa helped himself to $69,795 in payroll advances and $1,496 in vacation leave overpayments, according to a state audit of fiscal year 2008.
The report from State Auditor Mary Taylor detailed the misuse of funds going back to 2005.
The city has recovered $37,841 and Ochoa is expected to repay the remaining $33,451, officials said. Ochoa was finance director from 2000 until 2009," Tonya Sams, Cleveland Plain Dealer.
Feb 8: Exclusive: How corporations secretly move millions to fund political ads
WASHINGTON DC -- "Exclusive: How corporations secretly move millions to fund political adsThe Supreme Court’s seismic January ruling that corporations are free to spend unlimited amounts of their profits to advertise for or against candidates may have been the latest shakeup of campaign finance – but gaping holes already allow corporations to spend enormous sums without leaving a paper trail, a Raw Story investigation has found.
Campaign finance experts confirmed that though disclosure rules remained intact in the new Supreme Court decision, there are effective methods to circumvent them. Ciara Torres-Spelliscy, an attorney and campaign finance expert at New York University's Brennan Center for Justice, said corporations already effectively end-run campaign finance law by shuffling money through trade associations," Brad Jacobson, The Raw Story. Posted Feb 4.
Feb 2:
Who is New Models?
COLUMBUS -- "Anyone wishing to find out who bankrolled a campaign to halt Gov. Ted Strickland's plan for slot machines at racetracks was supposed to be able to find out [Friday, January 29].
That was the deadline for LetOhioVote.org to report its funding sources to Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner. The group, headed by three conservatives, has refused to provide information about who is paying its considerable bills. (Those bills add up to more than $1.5 million, mostly to mount a petition drive to place Strickland's slots-at-racetracks plan on the November ballot.)
But [Friday, January 29] only deepened the mystery," Jim Siegel, The Columbus Dispatch.
Who funded slots foes?
Jon Craig, Cincinnati Enquirer.
Feb 1:
Battle for House gears up
Parties raise record campaign gifts in '09; GOP needs 4 more seats to regain control
COLUMBUS -- "Signaling just how fierce the two parties will battle for control of the Ohio House, Democrats and Republicans each posted a record fundraising total for 2009.
Republicans need a net pickup of four seats in November to regain control of the chamber.
The House Democratic Caucus, which uses its money to help House Democratic candidates in key districts across the state, raised a record $4.5 million since the start of 2009 and ended the year with a bit more than $4 million on hand. Leading the caucus is Speaker Armond Budish, whose fundraising efforts have been well-known since he first ran for office in 2006," Jim Siegel, The Columbus Dispatch.
Jan 25: Editorial: Corporations didn’t need more rights
WASHINGTON DC -- "The court has ruled that corporations may use unlimited amounts of their own money on federal elections. That overturns a 63-year-old law federal. Ohio has a similar law.
And the corporations (and presumably unions) are no longer banned from funding 'issue-oriented' ads out of their general fund in the two months before an election, as they were under McCain-Feingold.
However, the corporations may still not give money directly to candidates. (The court was silent on that.) And the part of McCain-Feingold that banned unlimited contributions to national parties remains in force," Dayton Dayly News.
Stunning show of judicial activism
Erwin Chemerinsky, Akron Beacon Journal.
McCain says campaign finance reform is dead
Associated Press.
Jan 22: Expect an 'onslaught' of Ohio political ads this fall, thanks to Supreme Court on corporations and free speech
WASHINGTON DC -- "That's Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner's advice for Americans this fall, when they could get caught in an onslaught of TV, radio and Internet political commercials, the velocity and volume of which we've never seen. The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday opened the gates for a new level of discourse, ruling 5-4 that corporations have a constitutional right to political communication. That means they can use shareholder money, and labor unions can use membership money, to run ads, show critical movies, mock or praise politicians, and urge voters to support or oppose candidates for election.
They'll be able to spend as much as they wish," Sabrina Eaton and Reginald Fields, Cleveland Plain Dealer.
Ruling could render Ohio's campaign-spending law toothless
Mark Niquette, The Columbus Dispatch.
Jan 21: High Court rolls back campaign spending limits
WASHINGTON DC -- "The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday struck down key provisions of some of the central laws governing how the nation's political campaigns are financed just ahead of the pivotal 2010 midterm congressional primaries and election season.
By a 5-4 vote, the court ruled that corporations may spend freely to support or oppose candidates for president and Congress, overturning a 20-year-old ruling.
It could take weeks to sort through the full ramifications of the landmark ruling, but its ripple effects could endanger federal limits on corporate and union contributions to candidates, as well as other measures that restrict how political ads are regulated. The ruling could unleash a flow of new corporate cash into the political realm," Deborah Tedford, Liz Halloran, National Public Radio.
Timeline: America's campaign finance rules
Supreme Court ends campaign-spending limits for corporations, unions
Ruling might have major effect on this fall's elections
Mark Sherman, Associated Press.
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