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Ohio’s open records law often fails to provide the public the prompt access to public records that the legislature originally intended. Open records allow citizens to understand the inner workings of government and participate fully. Public meetings of policy makers and access to records are essential to rooting out corruption. The Money in Politics Project tracks access to information and advocates for improvements in open government.
Recent News
May 7: Cuyahoga County Democrats to vote on replacement for chairman Jimmy Dimora
CUYAHOGA COUNTY -- The Cuyahoga County Democratic Party is set to replace chairman Jimmy Dimora, who has led the party to success at the polls but brought it unwanted notoriety as a central figure in a massive federal public corruption probe.
The county party will hold an election June 5 to pick his successor, though details and a list of potential candidates are in flux.... Dimora has refused to give up his title before his term ends but has said he will not seek another term. He temporarily stepped back from party's day-to-day duties last July to devote more time to his job as county commissioner and to defend himself in the corruption probe. Dimora, who has not been named or charged in the probe and denies wrongdoing, turned over the party's reins to vice chairwoman, Cleveland Clerk of Council Patricia Britt," Mark Naymik, Cleveland Plain Dealer.
May 5: Editorial: The wrong direction
Step by step, the public's right to know is being curtailed
COLUMBUS -- If neither courts nor the keepers of public records will stand up for the public's right to see those records, then lawmakers must step in.
When the Ohio Education Association, the state's largest teachers union, sued to block an attempt by the Ohio Republican Party to get a list of teachers' names, addresses and other contact information from the State Board of Education, the state initially fought the lawsuit, arguing correctly that nothing in state law shields this information from public view.
Now that Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Daniel T. Hogan has ruled in favor of the teachers union, granting an injunction forbidding the education department from releasing the records, the department has decided to let the ruling stand unchallenged," The Columbus Dispatch.
April 6: Blog: Petition signatures should be out in the open, Cordray says
COLUMBUS -- Your vote may be anonymous, but your signature on a petition shouldn't be, Attorney General Richard Cordray says.
Cordray's office said Ohio has joined 22 other states in asking the U.S. Supreme Court to find that signatures on petitions are public records.... Cordray's office is supporting that position, saying disclosure of the signatures is important to the causes of preventing election fraud, preserving the integrity of elections and promoting open government," James Nash, The Columbus Dispatch.
Mar 16: Challenger in state treasurer's race questions whether delay in awarding state contracts will boost incumbent's fund-raising efforts
CLEVELAND -- "State Rep. Josh Mandel is questioning whether Treasurer Kevin Boyce is waiting to sign a group of state banking contracts as a way to raise more money to win election in November.
The State Board of Deposit, which Boyce chairs, recently postponed a decision to choose banks the state will do business with because it needs more time to review the contract proposals, a spokeswoman for Boyce said.
But Mandel, a Lyndhurst Republican running to unseat Boyce, a Democrat, said the new April 29 deadline seems suspicious because it is one week after candidates must file campaign finance reports," Joe Guillen, Cleveland Plain Dealer.
Vice President Joe Biden visits Cleveland to raise money for Gov. Ted Strickland
Pat Galbincea, Cleveland Plain Dealer.
Mar 16: AG candidate fighting his disqualification
COLUMBUS -- "Would-be Ohio attorney general candidate Steve Christopher says Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner failed to process petition forms that could have put him on the May 4 primary ballot, and he’s turned to the Ohio Supreme Court to try to prove it.
Christopher, who is seeking to run in the Republican primary for attorney general with former U.S. Sen. Mike DeWine, filed a lawsuit today asking for a court order to require that Brunner send 140 petition forms with 1,548 signatures to county boards of elections to validate.
Brunner’s office is opposing the lawsuit, saying all of the petition forms that Christopher turned in were sent to the counties, and that Christopher failed to submit enough signatures to qualify for the ballot," Mark Niquette, The Columbus Dispatch.
Feb 15: Ohio Constitution too easy to alter, some lawmakers say
COLUMBUS -- "Recent changes to the state constitution -- and the threat of further alterations this year -- have some state lawmakers worried that it's too easy to mold Ohio's most important legal document around special interests.... But Catherine Turcer, of the government watchdog group Ohio Citizen Action, said the process of amending the constitution is not as easy as some lawmakers portray it.
She opposes the idea of requiring a supermajority because it would hinder one of the last remaining forms of direct democracy -- citizens' ability to gather signatures and put a constitutional amendment on the ballot.
'It's like the last tool of ordinary people,' she said," Joe Guillen, Cleveland Plain Dealer. Posted Feb 14.
Overview of Ohio Constitutional amendments, statutes and referenda proposed by petition since 1950
Jan 19: Editorial: Mason should know better than most how disgusted the electorate is with politics as usual
CUYAHOGA COUNTY -- "As one of the leaders of the campaign for Issue 6, which voters passed overwhelmingly in hopes of ending county government as they know it, Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Bill Mason ought to understand better than most how sick the electorate is of cronyism, patronage and pay-to-play politics.
He has to know that his decision to award a no-bid contract to a former employee is exactly the kind of suspicious deal that drove the Issue 6 reform.
Is it possible that he doesn't know how empty his protests that he sees no conflict of interest sound,?" Cleveland Plain dealer.
Jan 18: Editorial: Effort to make lobbyists toe the line on disclosure serves the public interest
COLUMBUS -- "In early 2007, Legislative Inspector General Tony Bledsoe, charged with policing the horde of lobbyists who seek to influence Ohio lawmakers, was looking at 660 cases of agents or their employers who had failed to file forms disclosing how they spent their lobbying money.
Bledsoe beefed up enforcement of the laws and now offers training sessions, sends postcard reminders of filing deadlines and has created an electronic filing system to make the job easier.
The results are clear: In early 2008, only 48 lobbyists or their employers were delinquent on required forms. In all of 2009, only 25 missed deadlines," The Columbus Dispatch.
Office of the Legislative Inspector General Joint Legislative Ethics Committee
Jan 18: Whistle-blower fights reprimand
COLUMBUS -- "A lawyer for the state who was reprimanded last month for alleging wrongdoing in state government says the punishment sends a chilling message to other potential whistle-blowers.
Joseph C. Sommer, a veteran attorney for the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation, is contesting the reprimand he received Dec. 17 for asking the state watchdog to investigate alleged problems with the process of nominating a candidate to a state board.
In May, Sommer used his state e-mail account to request an investigation of the process that led Gov. Ted Strickland to name a new member of the Industrial Commission. The three-member commission hears appeals of bureau decisions," James Nash, The Columbus Dispatch.
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