CLEVELAND -- The Cleveland school board faces a Tuesday deadline to decide whether to extend Chief Executive Officer Eugene Sanders' contract beyond the coming school year -- and the board will use all the remaining time it has to make up its mind.... Regardless of whether Sanders gets an extension, the passive structure of the contract troubles Catherine Turcer of Ohio Citizen Action, a government-watchdog group. She said the school board's ability to let a deadline pass, thus making a decision by default, conceals who's responsible and denies people the right to comment.
'It makes a difference whether you have to do something affirmative or you can just take a nap,' she said," Thomas Ott, Cleveland Plain Dealer. May 28: House OKs redistricting plan with bipartisan support Hopes revive for reform amendment on November ballot
COLUMBUS -- In a rare display of bipartisanship, Ohio House Democrats and Republicans yesterday breathed life into a plan for changing the politically charged process for redrawing state legislative districts.
While hopes remain modest that a final version can be approved, the 69-28 vote yesterday in the House on Joint Resolution 15 was the first sign in many years that a constitutional reform might be possible. The Senate passed its own redistricting plan last year.
If a compromise version were to pass both chambers by Aug. 4, a proposed amendment to the Ohio Constitution would go on the November statewide ballot," Jim Siegel & Alan Johnson The Columbus Dispatch. May 27: Editorial: Friend of the court? Chief justice's Facebook page opens new territory in judicial conduct
COLUMBUS -- Social networking by judges is still largely uncharted territory. Is there a point at which it becomes unseemly for a judge to have so many contacts in a social network beyond close friends and family? Could there be unintended consequences of those associations?... Florida recently waded into this matter. In November, Florida's Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee ruled that it is inappropriate for judges to be friends on Facebook with lawyers who might appear before their courts... There are benefits to the transparency of such sites. Judges' campaign-finance reports can be compared with rulings to draw conclusions the effect on money on justice; comparisons of rulings with Facebook friends will follow," The Columbus Dispatch.
COLUMBUS -- They say there’s still hope for redistricting reform.
'They' are Ohio legislators in both parties who recognize the indefensible absurdity of letting one party draw all the legislative districts, the current system.
The reformers say change might still happen this year.
For those who’ve been following the issue for half a decade, it’s a little hard to believe. So far, the fact that the case for reform is overwhelmingly strong has not proved important," Martin Gottlieb, Dayton Daily News. May 27: Why am I being contacted by the Census Bureau – I returned my form!
COLUMBUS -- Some questions are coming in from folks who completed and mailed back their census forms, but are being visited by census workers in person, or receiving a phone call from the US Census Bureau. It might be a good time to go over the different reasons this might be happening. (All of the reasons are variants of attempts to make sure we’ve counted people once and only once and in the right place, their April 1, 2010, usual residence.) We use two ways of contacting people -- face to face visits and telephone calls.
Here are some reasons why you might get a knock on the door:
1. We received your mailed-in form too late to scratch your unit off the list of addresses to visit. (Since some forms get lost in transit, we train our enumerators to ask the census questions at every door they’re assigned; please be patient with this request).
2. There was missing or conflicting information on the form we received. (We want to make sure the information we collect from your household is complete and correct.)
3. We can’t match the address you provided on a 'Be Counted' form or over the phone to our master address list. (We send the enumerator to you to make sure all information in properly attached to the right housing unit).
If we are uncertain about any of the answers your household provided on the census, we may call to get a better understanding of the situation and ensure we get an accurate count,"Director's blog, 2010 Census. May 26: Redistricting plan gets House panel's OK
COLUMBUS -- A much-discussed proposal to allow public input into the politically charged redistricting process was approved by an Ohio House committee yesterday, this time with very little discussion.
House Joint Resolution 15, a plan to revamp how state legislative districts are drawn, was approved on a 7-6 party-line vote by the House Elections and Ethics Committee.... The resolution now faces an uncertain fate. Passing new rules for drawing legislative and congressional district boundaries would require merging the House measure with competing legislation sponsored by state Sen. Jon Husted, R-Kettering. Both chambers would have to pass a compromise version - all within a matter of days before the summer break," Alan Johnson, The Columbus Dispatch.
COLUMBUS -- Public officials may not continue to use a relative on a case-by-case basis for contract work even if that relative was doing the work prior to the public official taking office, according to David Freel, executive director of the Ohio Ethics Commission. 'They are not going to be able to continue doing the work as long as the public employee is involved,' said Freel, who spoke on Tuesday, May 25, after the commission approved a comprehensive opinion on the hiring of relatives by public employees, including elected officials.... Freel said Ohio’s ethics law against public employee nepotism applies to written contracts or purchase orders as well as oral agreements. A relative covered by the law can continue to be used by an elected official if that relative is finishing out the term of a written contract covering a certain period of time, Freel said," Lynn Hulsey, Dayton Daily News. May 26: Deal near on election bill, state legislators say
COLUMBUS -- Ohio House Democrats who have been working with Senate Republicans to come up with a compromise election-overhaul bill said last week that they are making progress and could have it ready before the legislature heads off on summer break.
"A tremendous amount of bipartisan progress has been made to improve Ohio's elections, and we must not lose this positive momentum," said Rep. Dan Stewart, D-Columbus. "Clearly, more time for implementation before the November election would be ideal. But if we can get a number of these changes in place this year, it's a win for election officials and for Ohio voters."
The House and Senate each passed its own election bill, and the two sides have held hours of closed-door hearings trying to work out the differences," Jim Siegel, The Columbus Dispatch. May 26: Lobbyist’s wife works in office that gave $1M state contract to client Deck headlines should summarize the story and use articles, conjunctions and punctuation.
COLUMBUS -- A bank lobbyist who has personal ties to Treasurer Kevin Boyce’s top aide also has another link inside the treasury: his wife.
On Dec. 30, Boyce’s office hired Walaa Waeda as a $37,500-a-year secretary to Boyce, Deputy Treasurer Amer Ahmad and other managers.
Waeda is married to Noure Alo, an immigration attorney hired by Boston-based State Street Bank to lobby Boyce’s office," Laura Bischoff, Dayton Daily News. May 26: Senate rejects public safety chief
COLUMBUS -- After a contentious floor debate, the Republican-dominated Ohio Senate voted 18-15 yesterday against confirming Cathy Collins-Taylor, the former Columbus Police Division veteran who was caught up in a controversy surrounding the decision to cancel a contraband sting at the Governor's Residence in January.... The vote came less than a week after the Senate Criminal Justice Committee listened to two long days of testimony and voted 5-4 against recommending her confirmation. Senate Democrats blasted the confirmation process as unfair and said the deck was stacked against her because some witnesses were not called to testify.... Some senators criticized the way some patrol officers were treated in the aftermath of the aborted drug sting. And some were disturbed by new information raised during the hearings that the department's chief legal counsel, Joshua Engel, allegedly tried to hatch a plan with a top state homeland-security official to 'set up' the inspector general by leaking a federally classified report to him," Jim Siegel, The Columbus Dispatch.
COLUMBUS -- Catherine Turcer, Director of the Money in Politics Project of Ohio Citizen Action will testify before the Ohio House Elections and Ethics Committee today, 'House Bill 504 could make a giant leap forward by requiring that [statewide and local] public officials’ and candidates’ financial disclosure statements be available on-line. Voters should be able to consider possible conflicts of interest from their own homes. Currently, voters have to travel to Columbus or request specific filings to be sent to their home via the mail.' Turcer also stated that 'Making the statewide candidate disclosure filing available on-line would be a fairly simple process.... [and] on-line filing of ethics statements would create a user-friendly, searchable way for voters to consider possible conflicts of interest or other ethical dilemmas. Access to information on-line doesn’t limit voters to requesting just a few filings; they would have access to peruse as many as they want.'" Leontien Kennedy, Ohio Citizen Action.
COLUMBUS -- Ohioans might yet get to vote in November on a less-political way to draw legislative and perhaps congressional district lines.
House Democratic leaders added their redistricting bill to today's Elections and Ethics Committee calendar with the hopes of achieving passage by the full House this week and an eventual compromise with the Senate.... In September, Senate Republicans passed a plan that focuses less on the criteria for drawing maps and more on creating a panel in which both Democrats and Republicans must agree before district lines are approved. That plan, sponsored by Sen. Jon Husted, R-Kettering, covers both congressional and legislative districts," Jim Siegel, The Columbus Dispatch.
COLUMBUS -- In researching whether there is a link between cancer cases and C8, an industrial chemical found in Washington County drinking water, Dr. Edward Emmett had no problem getting detailed information from the Ohio Department of Health.
“There is a process,” said Emmett, an environmental-health researcher at the University of Pennsylvania. 'It is a little bit slow, but we didn’t come across any particular barriers.'
Others have. About once or twice a year, state officials deny cancer-data requests from the public in the name of patient privacy," Spencer Hunt, The Columbus Dispatch.
COLUMBUS -- Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Eric Brown has a lot of friends.
In fact, he has nearly 3,900 "friends" on the social-networking website Facebook, including more than a few lawyers who may try cases in front of Brown's court.... The codes governing judges in Ohio forbid them from allowing 'family, social, political, or other relationships to influence the judge's judicial conduct or judgment,'" James Nash, The Columbus Dispatch. May 24: Study shows younger people, minorities more likely to vote in 2008
CLEVELAND -- Younger people were more likely to vote in 2008 than in 2004. The same for minorities.
A Census Bureau (pdf) study released May 12 provides a demographic breakdown of voters in the last presidential election.
While the participation rate of minorities and younger people increased, a smaller percentage of white people and older people took part in the election," Rich Exner, Cleveland Plain Dealer. May 24: Editorial: Put public in loop Proposal would shed light on congressional abuses via earmarks
COLUMBUS -- When a person donates money to a politician or signs a political petition, the fact is noted in a public record. The politician who spends donors' money to buy yard signs and TV time has to report it. Public disclosure of such transactions is essential to curb corruption in government.
Similar disclosure should occur when members of Congress use their power to spend billions in tax dollars for pet projects via earmarks. For the most part, though, earmarks have been slipped quietly into unrelated bills without public discussion. Most lawmakers value the opportunity to deliver pork to their home districts, so they scratch each other's backs by not questioning each other's earmarks. Last year, Congress spent nearly $16 billion on such projects, according to a study by Taxpayers for Common Sense.
A bipartisan group of senators and U.S. representatives has offered a welcome antidote: a bill that would require the House and Senate to set up public, searchable websites listing all earmark requests," The Columbus Dispatch. May 21: O’Connor on $9m Judicial Election: ‘You like that?’
CHICAGO -- Retired Justice Sandra Day O’Connor assailed big special-interest spending in judicial elections when she addressed a Chicago Bar Association audience.... 'Sounds a lot like the Caperton case, doesn’t it?' Justice O’Connor asked. A coal company executive spent $3 million in that case to elect a West Virginia Supreme Court justice. The U.S. Supreme Court later said it was a violation of due process rights for the justice to hear an appeal by the coal company. Justice O’Connor added:
'The single greatest threat [to the judiciary] is the flood of money coming into our courtrooms by way of increasingly expensive and volatile judicial campaigns.'
You can learn more about the problems posed by multimillion dollar, special-interest spending in judicial elections from Justice at Stake reports including 'The New Politics of Judicial Elections,' available from links at our Web site resources page. Click here for a JAS page discussing the pros and cons of elections versus judicial appointments, and here to learn more about appointive and retention election systems, often called 'merit selection.' You also can learn about the Caperton case from the JAS resource page about it," Peter Hardin, GavelGrab.
CLEVELAND -- Community leaders at a City Club of Cleveland on Wednesday generally applauded the transition to a new Cuyahoga County government, though some questioned the locations of public forums.... Voters in November overwhelmingly approved a county charter that swaps the three county commissioners with an elected county executive and 11-member council.
Since then, nearly 1,200 county residents have served on a dozen advisory workgroups and recommended procedures and rules for the new government. Groups have met 148 times, McShepard said. Another 70 or so meetings are scheduled," Laura Johnston, Cleveland Plain Dealer. May 20: IG should be able to recuse himself, legislator says
COLUMBUS -- The state inspector general should have a way of removing himself from investigations involving his former employer or a family member’s current employer, a state lawmaker says.
State Rep. Dennis Murray, D-Sandusky, is introducing legislation that would require that the IG name a deputy inspector general to oversee investigations where a potential conflict may exist, including probes of agencies that formerly employed the IG or currently employ immediate family members of the IG.... Inspector General Tom Charles is under fire for a recent report that criticizes state Department of Public Safety Director Cathy Collins-Taylor who oversees the Ohio Highway Patrol. Charles retired from the patrol and his son and wife both currently work there," Laura Bischoff , Dayton Daily News. May 20: Blog: Agency now asserts notes are public records
COLUMBUS -- The Ohio Department of Public Safety appears to have had a legal change of heart regarding whether investigators' notes are public records.
In a 'white paper' critique of an investigation by the office of Ohio Inspector General Thomas P. Charles, the agency complains that Charles' shop has failed to turn over public records.
'In particular, investigator notes and records obtained by subpoena were not made available despite the fact that they would appear to be public records,' public safety officials stated," Randy Ludlow, The Columbus Dispatch. May 19: Editorial: Golden opportunity Legislature should pass improvements for elections, redistricting
COLUMBUS -- The Senate and House each passed a version of election reform in late 2009, but a compromise hasn't been reached. The House bill, among other provisions, would allow voters to cast provisional ballots anywhere in their home county, increase from one to four the number of early-voting locations in each county; allow split shifts for poll workers; and would require that by August 2012, all eligible Ohio residents automatically be registered to vote when they graduate from high school or renew a driver's license or state ID card, unless they opt out.... As for redistricting reform, the legislature does have time to get a measure on the November ballot: The deadline for constitutional amendments is Aug. 4.
The apportionment board, which draws legislative districts, consists of the governor, auditor, secretary of state and one Democrat and one Republican from the legislature. Whichever party wins two of the three executive-branch jobs can gerrymander legislative districts to favor its candidates. Since no one knows which party will control the apportionment board after the November election, both parties have an incentive to reform the process now, before it's too late," The Columbus Dispatch. May 19: Best routes to Judicial diversity examined
* In states that require judges to have a minimum number of years of legal experience, minority judges sit at higher rates on courts of last resort and general-jurisdiction trial courts.
* For intermediate appellate courts, women are less likely to be seated through merit selection than elected.
* Fewer women held judgeships on high courts in states having a minimum-age qualification.
* Minority and female judges had better chances of selection for intermediate appellate courts under Democratic governors.
* In states with a predominantly Democratic electorate, minorities were more likely to hold judgeships on trial courts, while women were less likely to to serve in these states.
Peter Hardin, GavelGrab. May 19: Editorial: Election upgrade State lawmakers have spent much time crafting improvements in the way Ohioans vote. Now they must finally act
COLUMBUS -- As state lawmakers rush toward their summer break late this month or early next, making improvements to the way Ohio conducts elections isn't getting much traction. In a narrow way, that's understandable. Given the practical realities of getting 88 county boards of elections in synch, the time for making major changes for this fall passed in April.
That doesn't mean efforts at finding compromise should stop. Much work has been done since votes were tallied in 2008 to identify problems and find solutions. Talks continue behind the scenes at the Statehouse. The goal for the year should be to make fixes for future elections, with the broad objectives of easing voter participation and reducing the potential for bitter litigation uppermost in mind.
The task is to reconcile the elections bill passed by the Democratic-controlled House with the version advanced by the Republican-led Senate. Action came in late 2009. Both measures address significant problems. Both, for example, would end the five-day lag between the start of in-person absentee voting and the close of voter registration, a source of controversy because voters could register and cast ballots on the same day," Akron Beacon Journal. May 18: Kilroy's 'free' communications added up to $377,713 in '09
WASHINGTON DC -- Taxpayer-funded mailings have long been one of the most powerful weapons in the armory of an incumbent member of Congress - and freshman Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy is taking full advantage.
The Columbus Democrat deployed $377,713 worth of taxpayer-funded communications in 2009, which now include tele-town hall meetings and automated phone calls in addition to the traditional glossy mailers touting lawmakers' accomplishments and stands on issues.
Kilroy's spending on 'franking,' the historical term for the taxpayer-funded congressional mailings, was higher than that of any other Ohio member of the U.S. House last year. It was the seventh highest among all House members, according to a database of House records compiled by the Gannett Washington Bureau," Jonathan Riskind, The Columbus Dispatch.
WASHINGTON DC -- During his interview, Dann also provided new details of a plane trip he took shortly after taking office in 2007 that was bankrolled by Ben Barnes, a powerhouse Democratic lobbyist from Texas. Barnes had earlier represented a company that did business with the Ohio Lottery but, in 2007, he was a lobbyist for the Houston law firm of Bailey Perrin Bailey LLC.
Dann picked the law firm for a plum case that could have netted millions of dollars: a lawsuit against three major pharmaceutical companies.
One of the criminal charges against Dann accused the former attorney general of accepting a flight on a private plane to Scottsdale, Ariz., with his family and Gutierrez's children that was paid for by Barnes. Dann was accused of failing to report the freebie on his financial-disclosure forms," James Nash, The Columbus Dispatch. May 17: Ohio voting reform stalls It’s probably too late to make changes for this year’s election
COLUMBUS -- It's too late to make major changes to Ohio's election system that would take effect this fall, but elections officials say the legislature still should enact reform measures this year to improve future elections.
There is time, meanwhile, for the legislature to meet an Aug. 4 deadline to put a constitutional amendment on the fall ballot to change how the state redraws legislative districts.... Lawrence Norden, senior counsel at the Brennan Center for Justice who led the two Ohio election summits, said he thinks there's still time to make some changes for the fall election," Mark Niquette & Jim Siegel, The Columbus Dispatch.
WASHINGTON DC -- he feckless Federal Election Commission has done it again. It is supposed to enforce campaign finance laws and protect elections and voters from the worst money abuses. Instead, it has tailored another loophole in the ban on unlimited 'soft money' politicking — allowing Congressional candidates unrestricted war chests to try to influence the redrawing of electoral maps.
Redistricting litigation battles should be seen as having no bearing 'in connection with' the elections that follow, the commission ludicrously maintained, using language from the McCain-Feingold soft money ban to undermine it. The F.E.C. would have us believe giving a ballplayer the power to shape the playing field has absolutely no effect on the outcome of the game.
Redistricting battles are tooth-and-claw fights for survival for incumbents. Mapmaking is waged town by town and street by street as statehouse political machines reshape districts to protect powerful colleagues in Congress. Paul Ryan of the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center correctly warns that fresh pots of easy money will only enhance the cynical maxim of redistricting that 'members of Congress choose their voters,' not the other way around," The New York Times.
WASHINGTON DC -- After hours of discussion and a weeklong delay, the Federal Election Commission on Friday voted to allow Members of Congress to raise soft money for some redistricting activities.
In March, the National Democratic Redistricting Trust requested an advisory opinion about whether Members are allowed to raise money for the trust, which is handling the legal aspect of the Democrats’ post-2010 redistricting effort.
Last week, the FEC released two opposing draft advisory opinions, one that would allow and one that would forbid the trust from using federal lawmakers and candidates to raise unlimited funds for the organization. After hours of discussion, the commission deadlocked and pushed off making a decision for a week," Nathan L. Gonzales, The Rothenberg Political Report
COLUMBUS -- Regardless of their views on candidates or issues, a large percentage of Ohioans were in concert on one thing in the May 4 primary election: They like mailing it in.
Since state law was changed in 2005 to allow Ohioans to cast absentee ballots without providing a reason, such as a planned trip out of town, the numbers of voters taking advantage have grown, particularly when county boards of election mail absentee-ballot applications to all registered voters, as many did this year. In this year's primary, more than 60 percent of Cuyahoga County's votes were by absentee ballot, as were about 45 percent of Franklin County's. That compares with a bit more than 15 percent for Franklin County in the November election, when county commissioners declined to pay for a universal mailing of absentee-ballot applications.
That suggests the future of absentee balloting in Ohio lies in the hands of county commissioners: If they send the applications, the ballots will come," The Columbus Dispatch. May 12: Ohio Citizen Action's Catherine Turcer's Testimony on Senate Bill 240
COLUMBUS -- In response to a United States Supreme Court decision Citizens United v FEC that struck down a decades-old federal law banning independent expenditures by corporations and unions on political campaigns, State Senator Jon Husted (R-Kettering) introduced Senate Bill 240 . If passed, this bill will change Ohio law to comply with the Supreme Court ruling and the sponsor hopes to advance transparency of corporate contributions to political advertisements.
Catherine Turcer, Director of the Money in Politics Project of Ohio Citizen Action testified before the Ohio Senate State and Local Government and Veteran Affairs Committee yesterday, 'Voters have the right to know who is funding political advertisements.... This basic information will help voters consider the source of election information.' Turcer recommended that S.B. 240 be expanded to require listing the top donors to an organization that purchases campaign-related TV advertising on the screen at the end of the message or political ad.' At the federal level, the Disclose Act H.R. 5175 , had its first hearing on May 7. " Leontien Kennedy, Ohio Citizen Action.
COLUMBUS --
Ohio elections officials have turned aside a professor's proposal that a sample of last week's primary results be reviewed to make sure everything went properly.
Cleveland State University election law professor Candice Hoke said an audit is needed because Ohio voting machines are unreliable. She also said it would address any questions of whether Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner abused her power as the state's elections chief while running as a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate.
Hoke and three others raised $30,000 they said would cover the cost of an audit. But their offer was rejected by Brunner's office in an April 29 letter that said the proposal was too fuzzy and too late, without enough time to install equipment for the post-vote audit," Associated Press.
WASHINGTON DC -- Nearly 3 million overseas and military voters from at least
33 states will be permitted to cast ballots over the Internet in November using e-mail or fax, in part because of new regulations proposed last month by the federal agency that oversees voting.
The move comes as state and federal elections officials are trying to find faster ways to handle these voters’ ballots, which often go uncounted because of distance and unreliable mail service," The New York Times. 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.
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 7: Dann set to admit guilt on 2 counts Ex-official reaches plea deal resulting from 2008 scandal
COLUMBUS -- Former Attorney General Marc Dann is expected to plead guilty this morning to two misdemeanor counts of illegally padding the income of two aides and failing to report some of his own income on financial-disclosure forms.... Sources said there will be two misdemeanor counts: one alleging that Dann used campaign funds to supplement the incomes of two aides with whom he lived near Dublin, and another that Dann himself didn't divulge to the public information about income from his campaign and transition to office.... He reached a deal with the Ohio Elections Commission and Inspector General Thomas P. Charles last year in which he agreed to pay fines for misuse of campaign and transition funds. Dann paid $3,000 for dipping into campaign funds to pay for family travel, personal cell phones and a security upgrade to his suburban Youngstown home," James Nash, The Columbus Dispatch. 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 6: Many primary voters turned to absentee option
COLUMBUS -- Fewer than a quarter of Ohio's registered voters cast ballots in Tuesday's primary election, and many of them did so early.... Statewide totals aren't yet available, and some absentee ballots are still being counted. They include ballots that were postmarked on time but received after the election, and ballots from voters who need to correct mistakes such as failing to turn in a challenge form if they switched major parties.
An increasing number of people have been voting absentee since the legislature ended the need to provide a reason in 2005. That has changed campaigns in Ohio, including by forcing them to start earlier because absentee voting begins 35 days before an election," Mark Niquette, The Columbus Dispatch. 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 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. May 4: The majority might already have spoken Number of early voters could exceed those going to polls today
COLUMBUS -- Ohio voters head to the polls today for the 2010 primary election, but it's possible that a majority of voters in some counties have already cast their ballots.
Depending on total voter turnout, the number of voters who cast early absentee ballots could approach or even exceed the number of people who vote in person today.... The number voting by absentee ballot has been increasing steadily since 2005, when the legislature changed the law to allow anyone to cast one..," Mark Niquette, The Columbus Dispatch. Low-key primary set for today Joan Mazzolini, Cleveland Plain Dealer.
COLUMBUS -- The General Assembly will let stand a federal judge's ruling that overturned the state's revolving-door law, which prohibited public officials from lobbying for at least one year after they left office.
The Joint Legislative Ethics Committee will pay $134,418 in attorney fees and costs for former Rep. Tom Brinkman Jr., a Cincinnati Republican who brought the lawsuit. Brinkman said he was denied the chance to lobby on a volunteer basis.
Had the state challenged the ruling, 'all that would have happened is we would have thrown out more lawyer fees and we'd lose at the end of the day,' said Tony Bledsoe, legislative inspector general," Jim Siegel, The Columbus Dispatch.
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.
COLUMBUS --
The Columbus Division of Police has tightened to an unacceptable degree its policy on releasing investigatory files to the public.
The police used to release records to the public and media after a person's guilty plea or a conviction or, depending on the type of case, sometimes after the first round of appeals was unsuccessful.
But now, under the advice of the Columbus city attorney's office, the division won't release records in a serious crime as long as the prison inmate still has any possibility, however remote, of an appeal," The Columbus Dispatch. April 30: County has poor showing in census Mail response rate lags 2000, is one of worst in Ohio
COLUMBUS -- Only 70 percent of addresses in Franklin County returned a completed census form, compared with 74 percent a decade ago.
That 4 percentage-point drop-off tied nine other Ohio counties for the third-worst fall in the state. Franklin County's 70 percent response rate also tied for the fourth worst in the state, 6 percentage points below the state average and 2 percentage points below the national average.
Ohio came in at 76 percent, 1 percentage point below 2000, while the national response rate stayed the same at 72 percent, Census Bureau Director Robert Groves announced yesterday," Bill Bush, The Columbus Dispatch.
WASHINGTON DC -- If corporate and union officials wanted to pour money into election campaigns, they would have to disclose who they are - and perhaps appear in an ad - under a legislative proposal introduced yesterday.
The bill is a response to the Supreme Court ruling that allows unlimited corporate and interest-group spending on advertising and other efforts to influence elections.
It would impose extensive disclosure requirements in an effort to shine a light on any role that corporations, trade unions or special-interest associations play in elections.
The legislation follows the high court's ruling in Citizens United vs. the Federal Election Commission this year. That ruling struck down most federal limits on corporate spending in elections as a violation of freedom of speech," Kim Geiger & Clement Tan, McClathcy Newspapers.
COLUMBUS -- Members of the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus might have legitimate reasons for creating a foundation and suggesting that people who want to lobby the caucus should join it -- that is to say, donate to it. If so, they should explain those reasons, because the setup looks questionable.
The Ohio Legislative Black Caucus Foundation is the only known creature of its type in the state: a nonprofit organization made up entirely of lawmakers. Thanks to its foundation status, it can collect unlimited donations from lobbyists and corporations without the pesky disclosure requirements that attend regular political contributions.... As executive director of ProgressOhio, a statewide liberal advocacy group, Brian Rothenberg often has political common cause with the Legislative Black Caucus. So his discomfort with the foundation's setup speaks volumes. He said it 'has the potential to influence a legislator and has the potential to avoid transparency. I think that is very troubling,'" The columbus Dispatch. April 30: Report: Ohio official lied under oath about scrubbed patrol sting
COLUMBUS -- One of Gov. Ted Strickland's top cabinet officials lied under oath about a decision to scrub a criminal investigation at the governor's mansion to save Strickland from political embarrassment, according to a state report released Thursday. Just as damning for the Democratic governor, an honors work program for inmates that Strickland used at his home "veered off-course," with prisoners smuggling tobacco and small weapons like razor blades and utility knives from the governor's mansion into prison, according to the report from the Ohio Inspector General's office.
Inspector General Tom Charles launched his probe in January after State Highway Patrol officials complained that Department of Public Safety Director Cathy Collins-Taylor had unnecessarily canceled a police sting at the governor's residence. The sting was planned after a prison official intercepted a letter from an inmate to his wife, asking her to drop off a 'six pack' behind the mansion," Reginald Fields, Cleveland Plain Dealer. April 29: Paying to talk? That's the rub Man seeking audience says lawmakers’ group sought $2,500 donation
COLUMBUS -- Keith Corbett has worked for 10 years with lawmakers in 30 states on predatory-lending issues, but he said he never had heard a response like the one he got in March from a leader of the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus.
'He said the only way you can talk to our black caucus is to pay $2,500,' Corbett said. 'I was quite surprised.'... Although it is illegal for a lawmaker to demand a campaign contribution before agreeing to meet, this was not campaign money. It would have been a donation to the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus Foundation, a unique nonprofit organization consisting entirely of legislators that operates outside the defined political arena, where disclosure requirements and contribution limits are clear," Jim Siegel, The columbus Dispatch. April 29: Lawyer Joseph O'Malley pleads guilty as part of county corruption probe
CLEVELAND -- Lawyer Joseph P. O'Malley pleaded guilty Tuesday to charges of lying to the FBI about fixing court cases and failing to report a bribery conspiracy involving Cuyahoga County Auditor Frank Russo.
O'Malley's willingness to cooperate in the ongoing county corruption probe means he may only have to spend a short time behind bars, if at all.... O'Malley, 43, of Westlake, admitted in his plea agreement that during questioning by the FBI in 2008 he denied asking Russo to intervene in court cases. O'Malley made the statement despite having asked Russo to tell a Cuyahoga County Common Pleas judge to deny motions in cases involving two O'Malley clients, according to his plea agreement," Peter Krouse, Cleveland Plain Dealer. April 28: Cuyahoga County executive candidate's ideas on campaign reform likely would not hold up in court, official says
INDEPENDENCE -- At a public forum Tuesday to gather voters' ideas for campaign finance reform in Cuyahoga County, county executive candidate Ken Lanci put forth his own plan. Lanci, a businessman and political independent, suggested a list of rules, including setting spending caps, allowing challengers to raise 25 percent more money than incumbents and limiting fundraising seasons to one year.
'The problem is all of them are going to butt their heads up against the First Amendment, the freedom of speech,' said Catherine Turcer, a committee member who heads the Money in Politics projectfor the Ohio Citizen Action watchdog group. 'Unfortunately, they're unconstitutional,'" Laura Johnston, Cleveland Plain Dealer. April 28: FEC leaves redistricting question open
WASHINGTON DC -- The Federal Election Commission is keeping its options open as it heads into a Thursday meeting when it is slated to decide whether members of Congress can raise soft money for a partisan redistricting committee.
On Monday, the FEC released two opposing draft advisory opinions - one that would allow and one that would forbid - the National Democratic Redistricting Trust from using federal lawmakers and candidates to raise unlimited funds for the organization.
The decision could have broad implications for both parties as they use the funds to redraw districts following the census to help elect candidates from their parties," Alex Knott, CQ Politics. April 28: Capitol Square board to make rules in private
COLUMBUS -- The state board overseeing the Statehouse and grounds is taking its rule-making behind closed doors.
Gongwer News Service reported that the Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board voted last week to switch to the Chapter 111 section of state law that allows it to secretly make rules and send them directly to the Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review. That body reviews but very rarely rejects rules submitted by agencies.
The board, which operates in large part on tax dollars, has been working under the Chapter 119 section of law that requires public hearings on proposed rule changes," Alan Johnson, The Columbus Dispatch. April 28: High Court to hear ‘blockbuster’ speech case
WASHINGTON DC -- It hasn’t gotten anywhere near the attention of Citizens United, but another free-speech case with significant ramifications–this time involving privacy for signers of a ballot petition–will be heard by the Supreme Court on Wednesday.
Doe v. Reed is a blockbuster case, according to a National Law Journal article, dealing with 'a First Amendment speech and privacy challenge to the release of names on petitions for a Washington state referendum on repealing a gay rights law.'
The court will be asked to decide whether names of 138,000 people who signed the petitions should be released, a McClatchy Newspapers report stated. Traditional marriage supporters want to keep the names secret, saying disclosure would probably subject the signers to threats and harassment," Alex Knott, CQ Politics. April 27: Financial records show 2010 could be one of the most expensive campaign years ever in Ohio The candidates for statewide office are well on their way to making 2010 one of the richest campaign years in Ohio history. Statehouse correspondent Karen Kasler reports.
"The candidates for Governor are very well funded. This is not going to be the kind of race where one of the candidates just crushes the other with a pile of money", said Catherine Turcer, with the watchdog group Ohio Citizen Action. "So many of these races are hot because we are in a transsition period. We can't figure out which direction to go, we can't figure out how to solve the economic crisis that we face, we are really in for an arm wrestle for election 2010" Turcer said. April 27: Cuyahoga County Treasurer Jim Rokakis says federal probe is 'paralyzing' county, calls for resignations of Dimora and Russo
CUYAHOGA COUNTY -- "Cuyahoga County Treasurer Jim Rokakis diverged from the topic at hand -- the county land bank -- to make a public plea for the resignations of two of his county colleagues.
"I've said this before, not that they're going to listen, but I want to say it again and I'll say it publicly both to the commissioner, Jimmy Dimora, and to the county auditor, Frank Russo. And that is that they really need to step down," Rokakis said today during a forum at the City Club of Cleveland.
His comments came a day after federal authorities charged a local contractor with bribing Dimora and Russo in a number of ways, including hiring a prostitute who visited Dimora during a trip to Las Vegas. The charges do not identify the two county officials by name, but the description matches Dimora and Russo. They have not been charged with a crime and have repeatedly denied wrongdoing," Michael K. McIntyre, Cleveland Plain Dealer.
WASHINGTON DC -- On a related front, Democrats are expected to introduce legislation in Congress next week responding to Citizens United. The bill would mandate increased disclosure of expenditures by corporations, unions and non-profit groups for political advertising, the Washington Post reported. It also would require such trade groups as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to name companies that contribute for its political spending.
An outline of the bill was criticized by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce as 'nothing more than a thinly-veiled attempt to hijack the political playing field to his advantage on the eve of mid-term elections,' according to The Blog of Legal Times.
The landmark Citizens United ruling permits corporations to spend unlimited sums on advertising to support or oppose political candidates. It relied on a seminal 1976 decision by the Supreme Court, Buckley v. Valeo. Election law expert Richard Hasen of Loyola Law School Los Angeles takes a look at the future of campaign finance jurisprudence in an analysis entitled 'The Nine Lives of Buckley v. Valeo;' there’s an abstract and link in his Election Law blog," Peter Hardin, GavelGrab.
To learn more about Blankenship in the news after the mine disaster, click here for Gavel Grab posts; for more about Caperton, click here for other Gavel Grab articles.
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 26: Calls grow for Blankenship resignation
WASHINGTON DC -- A group of large pension funds has joined critics calling on Don Blankenship, chairman and CEO of Massey Energy, to resign following a disaster at a mine operated by the company.
They include the California Public Employees’ Retirement System and the California State Teachers’ Retirement System, according to a Wall Street Journal article.... Blankenship is known to Gavel Grab readers for spending $3 million in 2004 to help elect a state Supreme Court justice. His coal company went on to benefit from two critical votes by the justice to overturn a massive jury award against it. The U.S. Supreme Court later ruled in Caperton v. Massey that large campaign expenditures could create an unacceptable potential for bias," Peter Hardin, GavelGrab.
To learn more about Blankenship in the news after the mine disaster, click here for Gavel Grab posts; for more about Caperton, click here for other Gavel Grab articles.
COLUMBUS -- But required campaign-finance reports filed yesterday in advance of the May 4 primary election revealed winners and losers in the important race for campaign cash, which buys the TV ads, bumper stickers, yard signs and grass-roots support that campaigns need to win.
On that score, Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland and his GOP opponent, former U.S. Rep. John Kasich, remained in a pitched battle, although for the second reporting period in a row Kasich raised more money than the incumbent. The GOP challenger collected $2 million from late January through Wednesday, while Strickland took in about $1.6 million in the same period.
Strickland, however, maintained nearly a $2 million lead in cash on hand, with $7.1 million. His total was helped by $35,000 from the Summit County Democratic Party and more than $117,000 from the Ohio Democratic Party," Joe Hallett & Mark Niquette, The Columbus Dispatch.
CLAREMONT CA -- [On Thursday] the Rose Institute released 'Redistricting in America: A State-by-State Analysis.' 'Redistricting in America' provides a comprehensive and up-to-date survey of legislative and congressional redistricting systems in each of the 50 states. 'Redistricting in America' offers a behind-the-scenes look at the complex and ever-changing world of redistricting....
The report, which for the first time identifies the country's regional trends in redistricting reform, is available as both a written report and as interactive online map," Douglas Johnson, Rose Institute of State and Local Government.
April 23: 2010 Census: mapping tool and census taking media
At this time, residents who have not yet returned their form will be visited by an enumerator.
Most Census Help Centers have been closed and residents will need to be counted at their home, in person, from May until July. Any resident who would like to submit their 2010 Census information, even though they will also receive a visit, can use the Telephone Questionnaire Assistance center. If residents use the phone number and still receive a visit, they will need to tell the census taker their information again. The census taker will not know that they already filled it out and residents are asked to be patient and resubmit their 2010 Census answers.
NORTH ROYALTON -- Local attorney Joseph P. O'Malley plans to plead guilty to federal charges for lying to investigators to cover up a scheme to fix court cases and for failing to report a bribery conspiracy that involved rigging an election and misleading The Plain Dealer.
The charges are part of the sprawling, two-year-old probe of corruption in Cuyahoga County government. The case, which has caused upheaval in local governance, became public in July of 2008 when the homes and office of Commissioner Jimmy Dimora and Auditor Frank Russo were raided.
More than two dozen people, including several Cleveland building inspectors, have been charged with corruption-related crimes since the probe began. Nearly all have pleaded guilty," Peter Krouse, Cleveland Plain Dealer.
WASHINGTON DC -- Jennifer Brunner, the U.S. Senate candidate whose day job is to make sure that Ohio elections run smoothly and lawfully, is not following a requirement of federal election law in her own campaign -- or so it appears based on a review of her campaign finance reports as well as Federal Election Commission guidelines.... Instead, she files quarterly FEC campaign finance reports that itemize every stipend to each of her interns. She then lumps the salaries of her top staffers into a payment she makes regularly to a paycheck-processing company, PayChex. During the first three months of this year, the Jennifer Brunner Committee paid $37,081.61 to PayChex, according to an itemization from Brunner's latest FEC report.... The FEC says that is precisely the kind of information it wants the disclosure reports to include. The purpose of disclosure is to show the public, including donors, how the campaign spends its money and to assure regulators that campaign finance laws are being obeyed," Stephen Koff, Cleveland Plain Dealer. April 21: The hot seat Can a heated race for Senate stay civil till Election Day?
COLUMBUS -- The 'Courage Express' is actually just a 19-year-old retired bus from the Licking County School District. With its worn-out odometer and fresh coat of silvery paint, it's now a road-weary campaigning machine that supporters of Jennifer Brunner bought online for $2,000. In some ways, the Express mirrors Brunner's run for U.S. Senate: It's a low-budget, bumpy ride that just might be on its last legs. But it's still rolling.... Catherine Turcer, director of Money in Politics, a Columbus-based nonprofit that studies how dollars affect campaigns and policy, says tactics to shut down opponents' funding happen more often than not — especially when one candidate goes against the party grain. In Brunner's case, some of the party maneuvering could be interpreted as sexism against a stubborn, powerful female, says Turcer.
'She's a woman, and she hasn't been a good little soldier,'" Damian Guevara, Cleveland Scene. April 21: Mother Jones magazine report cites JAS
WASHINGTON DC -- The national muckraking magazine Mother Jones has turned a spotlight on a trend toward 'astonishingly expensive' judicial elections that get little voter attention, and the magazine cites the Justice at Stake Campaign. The article discusses the potential impact of the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision that removed restrictions on corporations and labor unions spending for advertising in political elections.
Bert Brandenburg, JAS executive director, told the magazine that given the lower profile status of judicial election contests, it may not take a lot to tilt the outcome. 'A judicial election is a better investment for anyone spending money,' Brandenburg said, than a congressional campaign, for example," Peter Hardin, GavelGrab. April 21: Editorial: The Court, money and politics
WASHINGTON DC -- Advocates for unlimited campaign contributions — especially corporate contributions — are hoping the Supreme Court will blow another huge hole in the campaign finance law. Earlier this year, the court struck down a longstanding ban on direct corporate spending on elections. The Republican Party and other groups now want it to take another case, Republican National Committee v. Federal Election Commission, and use it to strike down the ban on soft-money donations to national political parties. Direct contributions to candidates and parties from individuals have been limited by law since the 1970s. But there was a giant loophole: contributors could give unlimited amounts of money to a political party, ostensibly for field operations and issue advertising. A flood of special-interest money swamped the system and, since one dollar is not distinguishable from another, it went right into specific elections," The New York Times. April 20: Census misses seniors ready to be counted
COLUMBUS -- It has almost 260 apartments, additional assisted-living units, a health center, two dining halls, conference rooms, a wood shop, a fitness center and an Olympic-size pool.
But somehow, the U.S. Census Bureau overlooked Friendship Village of Dublin, a retirement complex where no residents received census forms.... Nationally, census officials have given a variety of reasons for forms that haven't arrived, including unusual circumstances such as small towns that don't receive regular mail service and new subdivisions that aren't on the mailing list," Bill Bush, The Columbus Dispatch. April 20: Editorial: It's to the public's advantage to keep some med mart aspects secret during bidding
CLEVELAND -- Transparency is a necessity in public projects but has been missing almost from the start of discussions about building a medical innovations marketplace and convention complex in downtown Cleveland. All their time behind closed doors has built a hurdle for the Cuyahoga County commissioners and MMPI Properties Inc., their private-sector partner, to overcome.
But now it's taxpayers who must set aside the barbs. Sometimes confidentiality in complex public deals is good -- and that includes efforts to protect the public's interest by shielding information that bidders shouldn't know.
Critics of medical mart deal-making need to look at all of the facts surrounding how bids will be taken. The idea is not to bilk county taxpayers, but to save them money. If bidders know where the cost ceiling is, bids will be adjusted accordingly -- to the ceiling," Cleveland Plain Dealer. April 19: Editorial: Too many chiefs
AKRON -- Ted Strickland made a fair point in noting that Republicans, too, have filled a vacancy on the Ohio Supreme Court with a candidate running for the position. The governor already had declared that Judge Eric Brown of the Franklin County Probate Court is the best man or woman for the job.
Why not, then, appoint the Democratic Party candidate for chief justice to the opening created by the sudden death of Thomas Moyer?
Still, the appointment doesn't sit well. After all, this is the position of chief justice — with an election looming in November, Brown running against Justice Maureen O'Connor. Better to have let the vacancy remain, the court avoiding the bumpiness of Moyer, then Brown and possibly O'Connor as the chief justice in a short span. Justice Paul Pfeifer easily could serve as the acting chief, with appeals court judges temporarily stepping up as they often do," Akron Beacon Journal.
COLUMBUS -- But Strickland seems to know what he's doing. He's just picked Franklin County Probate Judge Eric Brown (once a Greater Clevelander) to be Supreme Court chief justice, succeeding the late Thomas J. Moyer, a Republican who was retiring from the court.
Brown was already the Democrats' candidate for chief justice; the Republicans' candidate is Associate Justice Maureen O'Connor. Gripes about Strickland's 'political' appointment of Brown would be stronger if Ohio didn't elect all judges (and nominate most in party primaries). Ohio judges are politicians -- and, politically, Eric Brown's last name is a lucky charm.
Ohioans like the name Brown, regardless of party. And judicial candidates' party affiliations don't appear on Ohio's general election ballot," Thomas Suddes, Cleveland Plain Dealer. April 19: Editorial: When Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Bill Mason leverages politics to suit his needs, the voters lose
CUYAHOGA COUNTY -- Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Bill Mason did the right thing -- two weeks ago. That's when he had the county commissioners cancel a controversial no-bid contract with a former employee.
Unfortunately, as befits a power broker, Mason then re-leveraged the politics to suit his needs, pulling a classic bait-and-switch on Wednesday to put Pete Szigeti back on the county payroll as chief information officer.
The blatantly political maneuver just perpetuates taxpayer distrust and feeds the sense that -- even as the largest public corruption investigation in local history grinds on -- nothing really changes," Cleveland Plain Dealer. April 16: Many locals are census slowpokes, officials say
COLUMBUS -- Central Ohio officials pleaded for residents to take the census seriously, and the results are largely in: Franklin County had the worst response rate of Ohio's eight largest counties as of yesterday.
Among all 88 counties, the 65 percent mail-in rate was sixth worst in the state.... Even if you make that deadline, you might still be visited by census workers, who will begin going door-to-door May 1 to collect responses from any household that didn't mail in the form. If you're not home, they will keep calling through mid-July," Bill Bush, The Columbus Dispatch. April 15: 10 percent of Cuyahoga County's voting machines fail pre-election tests
CUYAHOGA COUNTY -- About 10 percent of Cuyahoga County's voting machines checked so far have failed a pre-election test, once again challenging public confidence in the election system.... The problem showed up about 10 days ago when the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections began a series of routine tests on the voting machines. The machines froze during a specific test done to ensure the optical scanners were reading paper ballots correctly. At different points in that test, the machines simply started powering down, then freezing.... 'A 10 percent failure rates is high,' said board member Inajo Davis Chappell. 'We've never had this rate of failure. We don't want the public to have a lack of confidence,'" Joan Mazzolini, Cleveland Plain Dealer. April 15: Few blacks on urban county election boards in Ohio
CINCINNATI -- All but one of the urban counties in Ohio with large black populations have all-white boards overseeing elections in a state where lawsuits have alleged disenfranchisement of blacks.
Of the eight counties with the highest percentages of blacks, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates, Cuyahoga is the only one that currently has a black board member, an Associated Press survey shows. Lucas and Allen counties each had a black member until recently when their terms ended. Franklin County had an Hispanic member until February. Election boards determine poll and precinct locations and oversee voting procedures, registration and ballot counts — areas that have generated controversy in Ohio, a crucial swing state in presidential elections. The state narrowly delivered re-election for President George W. Bush in 2004, and no Republican in modern times has been elected president without Ohio," Lisa Cornwell, Associated Press. April 15: Democrats have most to lose in redrawing of House districts by governors
WASHINGTON DC -- It’s a process that in the past decade made Ohio and Pennsylvania two of the most closely watched states because of their large number of swing seats, while states such as California drew little interest.
Why is that? Some governors and state lawmakers opt to play it safe, drawing districts packed with partisan voters that keep the competition at bay. In California, for instance, the Democratic-controlled Legislature oversaw the process in 2001, and nearly every member of the Democratic congressional delegation paid $20,000 each to a consultant to help state lawmakers design the districts.
Conversely, Republican-controlled legislatures in the Buckeye and Keystone states aggressively drew new House districts, creating marginal GOP seats that could maximize the party’s opportunities. The plan worked in the short term but backfired when urban voters moved to the suburbs and Democrats began winning the seats.
This year, Ohio and Pennsylvania are back in the spotlight, as the outcome of their gubernatorial races could influence state legislative contests and set the stage for the partisan redistricting battles that will commence in 2011," Jeanne Cummings, Politico. Apr 13: Columbus on the Record
Friday, April 9th, 2010
Panelists: Bill Cohen, Ohio Public Radio; William Hershey, Dayton Daily News; Bob Clegg, Republican Strategist; Catherine Turcer, Ohio Citizen Action.
Topics: Thomas Moyer; Campaign 2010 news - Kasich’s tax Return, Absentee Ballot requests - GOP sees gains among switching voters; Third Frontier; Arts Funding in Central Ohio.
April 13: GOP leaders counter calls not to fill out census Undercount could affect legislative, U.S. House seats
WASHINGTON DC -- Former White House adviser Karl Rove recently made a public-service announcement urging participation in the count that is under way. Last week, Rep. Patrick McHenry, the ranking Republican on the House committee that oversees the census, issued a statement rejecting critics' contention that the current census is unconstitutional.... McHenry's comment highlights the political stakes at play. The census count determines each state's representation in Congress and the Electoral College, and the drafting of state legislative districts.
It's also the basis for distribution of billions of dollars of federal funding," Kathleen Hennessey, Chicago Tribune. April 13: Bad economy and angry voters to drive Ohio congressional election battles
WASHINGTON DC -- A swing electorate and a harsh economy will make Ohio a key battleground again this year in the tug-of-war for control of Congress.
In their quest to regain control of the House of Representatives, Republicans itch to recover three Ohio seats they lost in 2008 and make further gains in the state by painting an ugly picture of health care reform bills and job creation efforts adopted by Democrats.... The anti-incumbent sentiment fueled an avalanche of candidates seeking congressional office this year.
Many incumbent Ohio congressmen who don't usually have primary opposition are facing challenges from within their own party, though none are expected to succeed," Sabrina Eaton, Cleveland Plain Dealer. April 12: Census participation patterns vary among large cities
COLUMBUS -- A new analysis of 2010 Census participation rates so far has found wide variation from one city to the next in the degree to which race and ethnic characteristics predict response rates.
Nationally, the analysis by the Center for Urban Research at the City University of New York Graduate Center found a consistent association between an area’s race and Hispanic makeup and its response rate so far. But in looking closely at the nation’s 67 largest cities, the analysis found many local exceptions to nationwide patterns.
For example, neighborhoods where a high share of the population is black tend to have below-average shares of households that have mailed back their census forms. That is even more likely in St. Louis and Boston, the analysis found, but the association is relatively weak in Houston and Atlanta, among others. Neighborhoods that are heavily white have above-average participation rates nationally, but in Honolulu, white neighborhoods have lower participation rates," D'Vera Cohn, Pew Research Center.
COLUMBUS-- Update: Electric companies aren't the only utilities with a swarm of Columbus lobbyists, a reader noted. AT&T has 23, including former state Budget Director R. Gregory Browning; 20 more represent the Ohio Telecom Association, which includes CenturyLink (formerly CenturyTel or Embarq), Cincinnati Bell, Verizon's wire lines (being sold to Frontier) and Windstream. Grand total: 43.
Four gas companies field 37 Ohio lobbyists. Dominion, which used to be East Ohio Gas, has three; Duke, which sells both gas and electricity in Cincinnati, has 14; Vectren, a Dayton-area gas company, has eight; and Columbia Gas (NiSource) has 12, including former Democratic State Chairman David J. Leland.
Roughly a dozen Ohio lobbyists look out for cable TV - to many Ohioans, a must-have. Among lobbyists registered for the Ohio Cable Telecommunications Association (members include Time Warner, Cox Communications and Comcast) are Democrat Leland and GOP mega-lobbyist Neil S. Clark. Leland and Clark are also separately registered for Time Warner.
Another Time Warner lobbyist in Columbus: Kimberly I. Redfern, wife of Democratic State Chairman Chris Redfern. Small world," Thomas Suddes, The Columbus Dispatch. April 12: Brunner calls for open primary system All-in-one ballot may appease crossover voters
COLUMBUS -- Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner and others say it's time for Ohio to consider changing how it conducts primary elections in light of voters' expectations and the controversy in recent primaries over voters who switch parties.
That could mean adopting a primary system such as the one used in Washington state, where all voters receive the same ballot and the top two vote-getters move on to the fall election, regardless of party.
Ohio has a closed system, in which voters must request a particular party's ballot. That determines their party affiliation, or they can remain independent by asking for a ballot with issues only," Mark Niquette, The Columbus Dispatch. April 9: Cuyahoga County will bar public review of proposals for medical mart builder CUYAHOGA COUNTY-- Catherine Turcer, of the watchdog group Ohio Citizen Action, said the county officials need to find a middle ground that allows for public review of the plans as well as for the protection of proprietary information.
'We don't need their trade secrets,' she said. 'We just need to better understand their decision making process.'... Turcer, head of the Money in Politics project for Ohio Citizen Action, said county officials need to rethink their latest attempt at secrecy.
'This is public money,' she said. 'Voters are tired of being shafted. It's very clear that corruption has been running Cuyahoga County for a long time, and they deserve something different,'" Laura Johnston, Cleveland Plain Dealer. April 9: Mine blast puts Blankenship back in news
WASHINGTON DC -- The explosion at Massey Energy’s Upper Big Branch coal mine in West Virginia has thrust company CEO Don Blankenship back into the news.
'In 2004, Massey CEO Don Blankenship essentially bought a state supreme court seat,' a National Public Radio blog reported. A civil case related to Blankenship’s spending went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, where the Caperton v. Massey decision 'drew a line on how far money can go in judicial elections. It made Blankenship a poster child for advocates of tighter restrictions,' the blog explained. Blankenship spent $3 million in 2004 to help elect a state Supreme Court justice, and his coal company went on to benefit from two critical votes by the justice to overturn a massive jury award against it. The U.S. Supreme Court required the justice to disqualify himself and pointed out the “serious, objective risk of actual bias” arising from such a large campaign expenditure," Peter Hardin, GavelGrab.
For more information on Caperton v. Massey, click here and look at the right column April 9: It's not too late to mail back your
2010 Census form Need help? Census Bureau offers assistance by phone,
internet and at 30,000 local sites
COLUMBUS -- It's not too late to mail back your 2010 Census form, and if confusion over
how to answer the questions is what is stopping you from filling it out and
mailing it back, or if you haven't received a form, the U.S. Census Bureau can
help.... One of the main avenues for assistance and information about the form is the 2010 Census Web site. It contains a plethora of information about the 10-question census, including the uses
and history of the questions. It also includes form-filling instructions in 59 languages other than English, as
well as in-language instructional videos and updates on the latest census news.... A new page on the 2010 Census Web site can answer many of the questions people have about how and
where people should be counted," Census Bureau. April 9: Editorial: Election danger Case shows need to change deadlines for candidate petitions
COLUMBUS -- The Ohio Supreme Court's ruling that Robert M. Owens must be placed on the Constitution Party ballot for the May 5 primary, even after those ballots already had been printed and programmed, creates the possibility of chaos in future elections in which ballot decisions are challenged.
This possibility makes a strong argument in favor of two changes to Ohio law: Deadlines for candidates' ballot petitions to be filed with boards of elections should be earlier, and a date should be set after which no ballot changes can be made.... The current deadline for candidates to file ballot petitions is 75 days before the election. Absentee voting begins 35 days before the election. Given the explosion in absentee voting, disputes must be ironed out before ballots are mailed. Elections officials have urged lawmakers to give them more time by moving the filing deadline earlier - some advocate 90 days before the election - but the legislature so far hasn't done so," 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.
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 8: Bill makes military voting easier
COLUMBUS -- State Rep. Ray Pryor and the Ohio House of Representatives recently approved a bill that's purpose is to protect the votes of military personnel serving overseas.
This bill will put in place the Veterans' Bonus Program, which was approved by voters last November, said Pryor, who represents the 85th District. The district includes Fayette County.
The House approved Senate changes to House Bill 48 and sent the bill to Gov. Ted Strickland to be signed into law," Ryan Carter, Record Herald.com. April 7: Editorial: Thomas J. Moyer Ohio's chief justice set a high standard as a person and as a judge
COLUMBUS -- In a time when partisanship runs white-hot and politics seems increasing bare-knuckled, Ohio Chief Justice Thomas J. Moyer stood out as soft-spoken, conciliatory, humble, decent and gentlemanly.
And so, his sudden passing on Friday after a brief hospitalization is a loss not to only to family, friends and colleagues, but also removes from Ohio's public life an exemplar of civility, thoughtfulness and respect for others at a time when those qualities are needed more than ever.
In fact, his nearly 24 years on the high court began and ended with efforts to protect the institution's public image. At the beginning, he took over a court riven and diminished by personal conflicts between justices. At the end, he was defending the court's reputation from the corrosive effects of increasingly expensive and bitter election battles for seats on the bench, campaigns that were accompanied by unfounded charges of monied influence on the court," The Columbus Dispatch.
CUYAHOGA COUNTY-- When you reach the judicial elections on the ballot, do you just skip them? Do you try to guess who to vote for, based on which names are familiar?
With 59 county judgeships and 28 municipal judgeships in Cuyahoga County, it’s no wonder that voters don’t know how to pick the best candidates when they vote.
Judge4Yourself.com is the answer to the judicial guessing game. Here you’ll find easy to understand ratings for all the candidates running in contested races in every judicial election in Cuyahoga County, plus short biographies of each candidate and a description of the work of the courts where they want to serve," Judge4yourself.com.
COLUMBUS -- So what should you do if you haven't received a form? Nothing just yet.
Wait until Monday before taking action, Hunter said. That's because a second round of census forms were mailed last week to areas that had low response rates during the 2000 census, and those not receiving a form the first time might get one of those.
If not, you can pick up one at many churches, libraries and community centers. You can find the nearest location by punching in your ZIP code at http://tinyurl.com/yckp3bv. Or you can call 1-866-872-6868 and request that a form be mailed," Bill Bush & Tracy Turner, The Columbus Dispatch. April 6: Big money flows to state races Both parties seek to gain the upper hand before Congressional Districts are redrawn
WASHINGTON DC -- Labor unions, corporations and wealthy individuals are preparing to break spending records to influence the November elections. But more than in recent years, they will be focusing on races for governor and state legislatures.
Their goal is to win control of state governments ahead of the state-by-state process for redrawing congressional districts after the 2010 census.
Each party says that winning key statehouse campaigns would give it the power to draw district lines that could cause 20 to 25 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives to change hands. There are 253 Democrats and 177 Republicans in the House now," Brody Mullins, The Wall Street Journal. 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. April 6: Making voting systems open source could forever change election technology
WASHINGTON DC -- Concerns about accuracy and trustworthiness have dogged electronic voting systems since their inception. Local governments throughout the United States began adopting direct recording electronic (DRE) voting machines in the early 2000s, and controversy soon followed.
The devices typically let users register their votes by pressing a button or touching a screen, eliminating paper ballots. But the lack of a paper trail and the potential for tampering with ballot results made many government officials and industry experts nervous," Hilton Collins, E-Government/Serving the Citizen. April 5: Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Moyer dies at 70
COLUMBUS -- Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Thomas Moyer, who was the longest-serving sitting state Supreme Court chief justice in the United States, died Friday at age 70.... Catherine Turcer, campaign finance director for Ohio Citizen Action, a grass-roots consumer advocacy group, called Moyer a good advocate for changing the system.
'I really admired that because that's not easy to do,' she said. 'Here he is, he's the chief justice and he's saying, 'Hey, there's something really wrong here. We need to stop combining money and judges,'" Joanne Viviano, San Francisco Chronicle. April 5: Legislators' pay-cut bill sits in Senate
Ohio Statehouse
COLUMBUS -- Although the Senate met in voting session only 36 times in 2009, and the House met 32 times, senators are able to take a per diem deduction for 361 days in 2009, while House members can take credit for 230 days.
Federal law allows lawmakers to take the deduction for both official session days and 'deemed days,' periods of up to four consecutive days when the legislature is not in session.
When there are more than four days between full sessions, the House and Senate often will hold two-minute 'skeleton sessions,' in which two lawmakers conduct procedural business.
For tax purposes, they count as session days even though the bulk of the legislature is nowhere around," Jim Siegel, The Columbus Dispatch. 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.
April 1: Don't be a fool! Stand up for Ohio
COLUMBUS -- Today is April Fools' Day. Have some fun! Pull some pranks, but don't forget to mail in your Census questionnaire because today is also Census Day. The Census determines federal funding of important programs and determines the number of seats that Ohio has in Congress. Don't be a fool! Stand up for your community and get the form in, Catherine Turcer, Ohio Citizen Action.
CLEVELAND -- "An assistant Cuyahoga County prosecutor who also serves on Solon's City Council voted last year to appoint his supervisor's boss to the council in a closed-door meeting that one expert called illegal.
Susan Drucker's election as mayor in November created a vacancy on the Solon City Council. Several residents, including Assistant Prosecutors Rick Bell and Dale Pelsozy, sought the seat.
The vacancy was filled by a vote of the remaining six members of the council, including Ed Kraus, who, like Bell and Pelsozy, worked as an assistant prosecutor... Kraus should have abstained from voting, said political watchdog Catherine Turcer, who runs the Columbus-based [Money in Politics project of] Ohio Citizen Action.
'Anytime you find a way to support your boss' boss, that's a conflict,' Turcer said. 'It's common sense,'" Mark Puente, Cleveland Plain Dealer.
COLUMBUS -- "At least two Ohio Supreme Court justices will sit out a decision as to whether former Toledo-area coin dealer and influential Republican fund-raiser Tom Noe can appeal his theft convictions.
Neither side in the case - Noe nor the Lucas County Prosecutor's Office - has asked Republican justices whose campaigns were once supported by Noe to step aside to avoid potential conflicts of interest. But Justices Maureen O'Connor and Judith Lanzinger, both on this year's ballot, have recused themselves. They offered no reasoning, but both were financially supported by Noe or his then-wife, Bernadette, in prior elections," Jim Provance, Toledo Blade.
Prosecutor Bill Mason has built a powerful political base in Cuyahoga County. So how does he plan to use it? That's a question on the minds of a lot of people. (John Kuntz/The Plain Dealer)
CLEVELAND -- "No politician in Cuyahoga County appears to have the strength that Mason does, which leads to a question with no clear answer: What does Mason plan to do with all that power? ...Political watchdog Catherine Turcer, who runs the Columbus-based [Money in Politics project of] Ohio Citizen Action, said people shouldn't be discouraged from involvement in their communities. But political machines have the potential to harm government if serving the party takes precedence over serving the public, she said.
'Everything is about power and supporting your family and friends to make sure the party keeps running, not the government,' Turcer said after reviewing The Plain Dealer's findings. 'This should give voters some pause,'" Mark Puente, Cleveland Plain Dealer.
NEW YORK, NY -- "The Freedom of Information Act has done a lot to make government more transparent. But in Washington — where need-to-know is the favorite status symbol — most agencies still ignore the legal deadlines and take months, even years, to respond to requests.
Senators Patrick Leahy, a Democrat of Vermont, and John Cornyn, a Texas Republican, have introduced a bill that would push the bureaucracy to release information more quickly. It is an important and needed fix," editorial, New York Times.
WASHINGTON, DC -- "In the first major court ruling to apply the Supreme Court’s ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, the en banc D.C. Circuit Court on Friday unanimously struck down a ceiling on contributions to independent political groups that want to spend money directly to support or oppose candidates for the presidency and Congress. The ruling came in SpeechNow.org, et al., v. Federal Election Commission (Circuit docket 08-5223). The ruling came two months after the Supreme Court, in the Citizens United decision on Jan. 21, gave sweeping new constitutional protection for spending on federal campaigns by corporations and labor unions," Lyle Denniston, Supreme Court of the United States blog.
COLUMBUS -- "For the second time this month, the Ohio Supreme Court has halted attempts by Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner to conduct depositions in a dispute over whose money is behind a proposed gambling referendum for the fall ballot. Brunner had sought to secure documents and testimony yesterday from officers of LetOhioVote.org, which seeks the referendum on a plan to add electronic slot machines at Ohio horse tracks, and New Models, a Virginia nonprofit group that funded LetOhioVote.org.But the two groups asked the court for a protective order to stop the depositions, and the court granted the requests late yesterday afternoon in 6-1 votes, with Justice Paul E. Pfeifer dissenting. New Models also asked the court to sanction Brunner and Attorney General Richard Cordray's office, representing Brunner, but the justices said they would consider that request later," Mark Niquette, Columbus Dispatch.
CLEVELAND -- "If the 2010 Census questionnaire isn’t in your mailbox, it soon will be. As advertised, the nationwide count, taken every 10 years, is under way. Many Stark County residents received the mailing last week.
For Ohio, it marks 200 years since the 1810 Census — the first such count taken after this part of the Northwest Territory achieved statehood. Back then, Ohio was a 7-year-old youngster in the Union. Over the decades, trends in its people, wealth and influence have shifted.
In an effort to promote the census, Community Research Partners — a not-for-profit research partnership of the City of Columbus, United Way of Central Ohio, Ohio State University and Franklin County — has been digging through two centuries of data and asking the question: How has the census and our state changed during that time?," Shane Hoover, Canton Repository.
COLUMBUS -- "Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner isn't giving up on her efforts to gather information from two entities involved with a proposed ballot referendum, and they're not giving up fighting it -- with one group even asking the Ohio Supreme Court to sanction Brunner as a result. Brunner has issued notices to New Models and LetOhioVote.org (here and here) to appear at the Ohio attorney general's office today for depositions as part of discovery for a lawsuit related to her investigation of LetOhioVote.org. She wants to collect testimony from employees or officers about the contributions from New Models to LetOhioVote.org and any agreement between the groups, as well as documents including correspondence regarding the donations and New Models' filings, according to her notices," The Daily Briefing blog, Columbus Dispatch .
CLEVELAND -- "Millions of people have looked into the future for the Census Bureau. Their prediction? They'll be alive April 1.
Questionnaires that arrived in mailboxes last week asked for a household headcount as of April 1 -- labeled National Census Day -- on the 2010 calendar. Thirteen percent of respondents across America filled out the census form and returned it as of Tuesday to become part of the once-a-decade population tabulation. The early birds obviously don't expect a change in the status quo before the month ends. Officially, they'll be right," John Horton, Cleveland Plain Dealer.
WASHINGTON, DC -- "Hoping to counter a series of Republican efforts aimed at winning governorships and state legislatures in advance of the decennial congressional redistricting process, the Democratic Governors Association is launching its own venture, led by veteran party strategist Harold Ickes.
Ickes, who served as one of the top operatives in Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential campaign, characterized his role as fundraiser in chief ('I don't do strategy,' he says wryly) for the effort, which is being called Project SuRGe (Stop Republican Gerrymandering)," Chris Cillizza, Washington Post.
AKRON -- "President Barack Obama, during the delivery of his first State of the Union address, decided to criticize a recent decision by the U.S. Supreme Court as the justices sat adorned in their robes just a short stone's throw from his rostrum.
'With all due deference to the separation of powers, the Supreme Court reversed a century of law to open the floodgates for special interests, including foreign corporations, to spend without limit in our elections,' Obama said.
The president was referring to the court's narrow 5-4 ruling in the case of Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. It found the same First Amendment freedom of speech rights that apply to individuals also extend to corporations and labor unions... Catherine Turcer of Ohio Citizen Action is troubled by the decision for other reasons.
She believes the narrow majority on the high court extended First Amendment rights that should be preserved for individuals to artificial entities.
'If you can't vote, you shouldn't be given free rein to raise money and run commercials,' Turcer said. 'It's not that big a leap from undue access to undue influence,'" editorial, Akron Beacon Journal.
Cuyahoga County prosecutor Bill Mason , right, and Ashley Gowens, political consultant, left, read election results for county reform in this file photo from November.
CLEVELAND --"The committee chaired by Mason is separate from an official Transition Advisory Group required by a county charter approved last fall by voters. But like the dozen advisory workgroups, the committee will make recommendations for a new 11-member council that will take office next year. Members hope their ideas find relevance before then. 'We can encourage more openness in campaign 2010,' said Catherine Turcer, a committee member who leads the Money in Politics project for the Ohio Citizen Action watchdog group. Turcer and the other seven volunteer committee members were appointed by Mason and other leaders of the government reform effort. But the members now want to include others -- especially minorities -- in their deliberations. 'We're awfully white,' Turcer said of the all-white committee. 'If the right people aren't at the table, I don't think it will be taken seriously.'
The group plans to recruit two or three new members by the next meeting April 1. The committee also plans to hold a public forum next month to hear feedback on proposals under discussion," Laura Johnston, Cleveland Plain Dealer.
Mar 18: Happy Sunshine Week from Ohio Citizen Action!
COLUMBUS -- Sunshine Week is a national initiative to open a dialogue about the importance of open government and freedom of information. It is your right to know about the inner workings of government. It's not enough to just vote or watch from the sidelines. The Money in Politics Project challenges all Ohioans to become more active in the next 30 days. We need more eyes on government. There are many different ways to participate. There are hearings scheduled next week at the Statehouse and in the Ohio Senate Building. City Council meetings and school board meetings are also open to the public. Public officials keep records of meetings and their decision-making process and it is your right to examine those records. The Toledo Blade editorialized yesterday, "During Sunshine Week — and every other week — public officials need to be reminded that they cannot conceal public information or meet in secret merely because they think doing their business openly would be inconvenient, expensive, or embarrassing. If their constituents don’t remind them, who will?", Catherine Turcer, Ohio Citizen Action.
Panelists: Darrel Rowland, The Columbus Dispatch; Julie Carr Smyth, The Associated Press; Catherine Turcer, Ohio Citizen Action; Mark Weaver, Republican Strategist.
Likely Topics: Employee Background Checks; Campaign News; Ohio and Climate Change Legislation; Bowling Alleys want slot machines
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.
COLUMBUS -- "Your census form is now in the mail, and filling it out could mean a bigger check in the mail to local governments and programs, a group of local officials said yesterday.... The Census Bureau estimates that more than $400 billion per year is doled out based on per-capita formulas influenced by the census, said Ohio Treasurer Kevin L. Boyce, chairman of Ohio's Complete Count Campaign. That's about $1,300 for each person in the nation.
Also, the census is used to determine how many seats each state gets in the U.S. House of Representatives for the next decade, Boyce said," Bill Bush, 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.
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. Mar 15: Documents shed light on Cole hiring
COLUMBUS -- "At least 641,000 Ohioans can't find work, according to the latest unemployment figures.
But one Ohioan, Cincinnati Councilwoman Laketa Cole, had little problem this week landing a $78,354-a-year job - just a week after pulling her name out of a potentially divisive Statehouse primary that Democrats wanted to avoid.
'What's really awful is I'm not surprised,' said Catherine Turcer, legislative director with Ohio Citizen Action, a non-profit watchdog group. 'That doesn't mean it's right,'" Jon Craig, Cincinnati Enquirer. Mar 15: What is Sunshine week?
COLUMBUS -- "Sunshine Week is a national initiative to open a dialogue about the importance of open government and freedom of information. Participants include print, broadcast and online news media, civic groups, libraries, nonprofits, schools and others interested in the public's right to know....
Though spearheaded by journalists, Sunshine Week is about the public's right to know what its government is doing, and why. Sunshine Week seeks to enlighten and empower people to play an active role in their government at all levels, and to give them access to information that makes their lives better and their communities stronger.
Sunshine Week is a nonpartisan initiative whose supporters are conservative, liberal and everything in between," Sunshineweek.org.
COLUMBUS -- "For the second time in less than a year, the voting systems used in more than half of Ohio's counties are expected to be sold to a different company.
The U.S. Justice Department, citing a need to restore competition in the voting-equipment market, announced this week it is requiring Election Systems & Software to sell the former Diebold election assets that ES&S acquired last fall.
Critics said Nebraska-based ES&S had too much control over the market - including over systems used in all but two Ohio counties after the purchase - and the Justice Department filed an antitrust lawsuit against ES&S," Mark Niquette, The Columbus Dispatch. Mar 12: Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Bill Mason assembles campaign finance reform committee
CLEVELAND -- "A much-anticipated effort to reform campaign finance under Cuyahoga County's new charter government will begin next week with a panel considering sweeping changes.
Eight good-government advocates will start by looking at caps on campaign spending, restrictions on contributions from county employees and contractors and public financing of races, county Prosecutor Bill Mason said Thursday.... Panel member Catherine Turcer, who heads the Money in Politics project for the Ohio Citizen Action watchdog group, stressed the need to restrict contributions from public employees, file campaign reports online and register lobbyists.
'We want government, when it makes mistakes, to clean up their act,' she said. 'This process is all about righting the ship and getting things organized. I'm really hopeful,'" Laura Johnston, Cleveland Plain Dealer. Mar 12: Editorial: Arrogance in Cole Deal
COLUMBUS -- "Those who believe politicians to be a clueless and callous lot were handed a juicy Exhibit A on Thursday when the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) announced it was hiring Cincinnati City Councilwoman Laketa Cole as its head of "reliability and service analysis," effective June 7.... According to Democratic officials, the only hang-up to the deal, which came to light recently, was the salary attached to Cole's new job. Evidently, Cole got the figure she wanted - $78,354, slightly more than Reece made as assistant director of travel and tourism before being appointed to the 33rd District House seat last week. So there.... This may be penny ante stuff compared to places like Cuyahoga County, where a full-blown culture of patronage has been exposed recently - politicians giving public jobs and raises to each other's friends and relatives as payoffs in what Catherine Turcer of watchdog group Ohio Citizen Action called a 'round robin of gifts and perks and all at the expense of taxpayers,'" Cincinnati Enquirer. Mar 12: Citizens United ruling should also concern conservatives
WASHINGTON DC -- "That's why both parties should join to pass a bill that Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., and Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., hope to introduce this week placing some rules around the new electoral casino that the Roberts court has opened. The proposal is expected to win Republican co-sponsorship. And it should.
The measure does not try to overturn the court's ruling. Instead, it puts boundaries around this precedent-shattering decision and might make executives think twice before unleashing their companies' treasuries. It would also limit the capacity of politicians to work out cozy deals with business, and thereby help prevent extortion and other forms of corruption.
Its provisions would require full and timely disclosure of corporate political expenditures, and make it as difficult as possible for companies to hide efforts to influence elections by funneling their money through front groups. Corporations would have to disclose political expenditures to their shareholders and make them public, through links on their Web sites and in their annual reports," E.J. Dionne, The Morning Journal.
COLUMBUS -- "Ohio's college students now have a one-stop internet site for answers to questions on how, where and when to vote.
Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner unveiled the College Vote Ohio website that includes information on registering to vote, absentee ballots to download and mail in, and directions to polling locations anywhere in the state.
The information is geared for both for Ohio residents going to school in or out of state, as well as out-of-state students enrolled in Ohio colleges and universities," Joan Mazzolini, Cleveland Plain Dealer. Mar 12: Ohio House Democrats propose ban on business donations to campaigns
COLUMBUS -- "In the wake of a U.S. Supreme Court decision that opened up corporate involvement in political campaigns, Ohio House Democrats want to close the door for companies that do significant business with the state.
The goal of the proposal is to avoid having companies take the money they collect from major state contracts and turn around and give that money to the state officeholders who influence the contracting process. The ban would kick in if more than 10percent of a company's revenue comes from state contracts.... The proposal also would require the governing boards of corporations and unions to specifically authorize campaign spending, and require disclosure of any paid political advertising," Jim Siegel, The Columbus Dispatch.
CONCORD, N.H. -- "Doris 'Granny D' Haddock, a New Hampshire woman who walked across the country at age 89 to promote campaign finance reform and later waged a quixotic campaign for U.S. Senate, has died. She was 100.... In 2000, Haddock walked 3,200 miles to draw attention to campaign finance reform. In 2004, at age 94, she ran for U.S. Senate against Republican Judd Gregg. The subtitle of her autobiography, written with Dennis Burke, was 'You're Never Too Old to Raise a Little Hell.'... 'It comes down to this — if you want something done right today, you have to run for Congress yourself — or at least send your grandmother,'" Holly Ramer, Associated Press. Mar 11: Ohio lawmaker questions productivity of little-known agency rocked by firings
COLUMBUS -- "A controversy over the firing of three employees at a little-known legislative advisory agency has prompted a prominent state lawmaker to question whether the agency does enough work to justify its $650,000 annual budget. Rep. Dan Dodd, who chairs the House Insurance Committee, said he's concerned that the staff of the Workers' Compensation Council, which is supposed to review legislation, only completed one legislative analysis during the five months the council was fully staffed.... The council was created by lawmakers in 2007 following a scandal stemming from the bureau's investments in rare coins, Beanie Babies and other collectibles by former Republican fundraiser Tom Noe, who ended up behind bars for theft and corruption charges. The council's duties include reviewing the soundness of the bureau and legislation affecting it," Aaron Marshall, Cleveland Plain Dealer. Mar 10: Justice Dept.: Census confidentiality laws trump the Patriot Act
WASHINGTON DC -- "Provisions of the Patriot Act pertaining to information-gathering and -sharing do not override federal confidentiality laws when it comes to the U.S. Census, the Justice Department said this week.
The clarification by government lawyers came at the request of minority lawmakers, who were seeking to allay the fears of constituents about the first national headcount since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.... Civil rights leaders said the clarification will help them convince minorities that it is safe to participate in the Census," Ed O'Keefe, Washington Post. Mar 10: Sen. Brown encourages Ohioans to be counted at Cleveland Rally on 2010 Census Brown releases analysis showing how much federal funding Ohio could lose under different Census count scenarios
CLEVELAND -- "U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) participated in the 'Non-Profits Count!' rally in Cleveland on Monday. Sponsored by the Cleveland Foodbank, Greater Cleveland United Way, and Neighborhood Connections, the rally sought to raise awareness about the importance of all Ohioans being counted in the 2010 decennial census.... The 'Non-Profits Count!' rally was organized by the You Can Count on Me Ohio Campaign, a cooperative effort launched by the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio (COHHIO), Ohio Citizen Action Education Fund, and the Nonprofit Voter Engagement Network. The consortium emphas a complete census count, specifically in areas with the highest-concentration of "hard-to-count" census tracts: Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati. Hard-to-count census tracts share some demographic indicators such as poverty, unemployment, complex household arrangements, and high mobility. These Ohioans depend and benefit most from the kind of resources and services whose funding is apportioned by the census, like public transportation, mental health services and community development grants," Big News Biz. Mar 10: 2 dispute ballot disqualification
COLUMBUS -- "Kenton lawyer Steve Christopher, a conservative Republican who had sought Ohio's top legal job, was one of five candidates Brunner scrubbed from the ballot Friday for failing to turn in 1,000 valid signatures of registered Ohio voters.
While three have accepted Brunner's judgment, Christopher and a U.S. Senate hopeful are accusing the state's chief elections official of bungling the signature-verification process. The would-be Senate candidate, Traci 'TJ' Johnson, had hoped to run in the Democratic primary in which Brunner is a candidate.... But Brunner spokesman Jeff Ortega noted that the petition forms Johnson submitted were reviewed not by Brunner but by bipartisan county elections boards, which found that she was 166 signatures short," James Nash, The Columbus Dispatch. Mar 9: High court puts Brunner's subpoenas on hold
COLUMBUS -- "The Ohio Supreme Court issued an order yesterday putting on hold, pending a final determination, the last of the remaining subpoenas from Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner in a dispute about the funding behind a proposed referendum.... LetOhioVote.org, Crawford and Cummings also argue that the Ohio Elections Commission - not Brunner - has the authority to investigate. LetOhioVote.org reported that New Models contributed $1.55 million last year, but New Models doesn't file campaign reports listing its donors.
The court told both sides to file arguments and responses in the next several days to decide whether Brunner has the legal authority to investigate the matter and issue the subpoenas. She thinks she does, a spokesman said," Mark Niquette, The Columbus Dispatch. Mar 8: Foreclosures an added challenge for census
CINCINNATI -- "The 2010 Census presents an unprecedented challenge for census takers: Counting people where they live even as the economy is uprooting them from their homes in record numbers.
The U.S. Census Bureau acknowledges that foreclosures are a people-counting problem, but says there's little they can do other than encourage people to fill out the form completely and follow up with those who don't. The once-a-decade census requires heads of households to report everyone living there as of April 1 - regardless of how they got there or how temporary the situation.... In addition to the census form - which will go out to most households next week - the Census Bureau will send out an advance letter beginning today and a follow-up postcard two weeks later. In census tracts where the response rate is less than 60 percent, a second questionnaire will go out," Gregory Korte, Cincinnati Enquirer. Mar 8: Mike DeWine foe baffled by ballot ruling
COLUMBUS -- "The battle for the GOP nomination for attorney general might not be over after all.
The campaign of Hardin County attorney Steve Christopher is trying to figure out how the final tally released on Friday, March 5, by Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner showed that Christopher turned in just 638 valid signatures to get on the May primary ballot for the Republican attorney general nomination, said Mark Lucas, a campaign spokesman.
It takes 1,000 signatures to qualify and Brunner ruled that only former U.S. Sen. Mike DeWine of Cedarville turned in enough signatures to get on the ballot for the GOP attorney general nomination. Brunner made the determination on which candidates qualified based on information provided to her by county boards of elections," William Hershey, Dayton Daily News. Mar 5: Dix & Eaton bills Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority nearly $50,000 for crisis counseling
CLEVELAND -- "The Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority agreed to pay a public relations firm nearly $50,000 in tax dollars last fall to deal with fallout from a secretly negotiated buyout of the agency's chief executive.... 'I don't think a public agency should be hiring a private company to manipulate public opinion,' said Henry Eckhart of Common Cause Ohio. 'They should have just laid their cards on the table. The public is entitled to know what is going on there. It doesn't have to be filtered through some high-priced agency.'
Catherine Turcer of Ohio Citizen Action agreed with Eckhart. She said the high cost might be justified for a private corporation dealing with a crisis such as what Toyota is going through. But not in the case of a taxpayer-subsidized public agency. 'You want them to make the appropriate changes and to communicate how they changed,' Turcer said. 'Instead, what you had here was no explanation of what went wrong or how it happened. This doesn't smell very good,'" James F. McCarty, Cleveland Plain Dealer. Mar 5: Dann, wife may be next up in probe Workers already visiting those without mail delivery
COLUMBUS -- "Shortly after pleading guilty to two ethics violations arising from his work for former Attorney General Marc Dann, Leo Jennings III sat down with investigators for about two hours yesterday to discuss information that could help build a criminal case against Dann.... Jennings and Edgar C. Simpson, Dann's former chief of staff, both pleaded guilty yesterday to ethics violations in Franklin County Municipal Court. Like Jennings, Simpson agreed to cooperate with the ongoing investigation that reportedly centers on Dann and the former attorney general's wife, Alyssa Lenhoff.... Dann and Lenhoff are the final two targets in a long-running investigation into possible corruption during Dann's 17 months as Ohio's top lawman. Prosecutors have until May 14 - the two-year anniversary of Dann's resignation - to bring misdemeanor charges against him. Felonies have a six-year statute of limitations," James Nash, The Columbus Dispatch.
COLUMBUS-- "The state can't punish employees for speaking out about wrongdoing, even if the punishment is only a reprimand, says one state worker who is doggedly fighting the discipline.
Joseph C. Sommer, a lawyer for the Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation, says he was unfairly punished for alerting the state inspector general to possible improprieties in the selection of a member of the Ohio Industrial Commission.
Sommer received a written reprimand for using his state e-mail account to write the letter. He says that represents punishment of a whistleblower, which is illegal. Sommer is appealing the discipline to the State Personnel Board of Review," James Nash, The Columbus Dispatch. Mar 4: '10-minute' census forms start to show up at homes Workers already visiting those without mail delivery
COLUMBUS -- "Most Ohioans can expect the 2010 census questionnaire to land in their mailboxes beginning March 15.
The federal government uses census data to divvy up seats in Congress and distribute about $400 billion annually. It's also used in federal tuition grant and loan programs, so an accurate count of students could mean more money for higher education in the state.... The 2010 census includes 10 questions, and officials say it should take about 10 minutes to complete. Households will be asked to provide key demographic information, including whether a housing unit is rented or owned, the address of the residence and the names, genders, ages and races of others living there. The Census Bureau guarantees that all information is confidential and says it cannot share responses with anyone, including other federal agencies and law enforcement," Dana Wilson, The Columbus Dispatch. Mar 3: Posters, toolkits, fliers, and more
The Census Bureau has developed a wide array of materials to download and print
either in black and white or color. To help choose what to print for a particular
program activity, there are specifications and a brief description of each item. In
many cases, you also have the option of printing materials in different languages
and formats.
COLUMBUS -- "Entering the homestretch of his 24-year run as Ohio's top jurist, retiring Chief Justice Thomas J. Moyer wants to crown his legacy by changing the way justices get their jobs on the Ohio Supreme Court.... At a conference in November, Moyer and leaders of groups such as the Ohio State Bar Association and the League of Women Voters of Ohio supported a plan to ask voters to amend the constitution, possibly in 2011, to supplant direct election of justices with an appointive process.
Under the system, the governor would fill vacancies on the court by choosing among three candidates who are recommended by a bipartisan panel of lawyers and laypeople. A justice would serve two years and then stand in a retention election with no opponent. Retention elections would be held at regular intervals after that," Joe Hallett and James Nash, The Columbus Dispatch. Mar 3: Ohio Supreme Court slows investigation of conservative group seeking to block slot machines
COLUMBUS-- "The Ohio Supreme Court has given a small victory to a conservative group seeking to stop an investigation into its funding source by the secretary of state.
Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner last month launched an investigation and issued subpoenas to members of LetOhioVote, the group formed to block slot machines from being installed at Ohio's horse racing tracks.
LetOhioVote members Thomas Brinkman, Carlo LoParo and Gene Pierce on Monday sued Brunner to stop her probe. And the court on Tuesday temporarily halted Brunner's probe and ordered both sides to submit information backing up their positions," Reginald Fields, Cleveland Plain Dealer.
COLUMBUS– “The sponsors of competing plans to change how Ohio draws state legislative districts expressed guarded optimism on Monday, March 1, that the House and Senate can agree on a compromise proposal for the November ballot…. Letson and Husted said action is needed within the next two months to 10 weeks. After that, they said, either the Democrats or Republicans will have a better idea of which party is likely to control redistricting under the current system and one or the other one would be unlikely to go along with an overhaul…. Both spoke at a Redistricting Forum Monday in Columbus, sponsored by the Midwest Democracy Network,the League of Women Voters of Ohio Education Fund and the Money in Politics project of Ohio Citizen Action,” William Hershey, Dayton Daily News.
WASHINGTON DC -- "While the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision upheld requirements for disclosure of corporate political spending, it also left corporations a significant loophole for escaping disclosure.
That analysis is presented in a New York Times article headlined, 'Decision Could Allow Anonymous Political Contributions by Businesses.' By giving money to trade associations and nonprofit civil leagues, corporations can make anonymous gifts, and the groups then can use the money for political advertising, according to the Times. Nonprofit groups can withhold the identity of donors.
'Clearly, that’s where the action’s going to be,' Kenneth A. Gross, a Washington lawyer and former associate general counsel for the Federal Election Commission, told the newspaper," Peter Hardin, GavelGrab. Mar 1: Strickland, Kasich travel to other states for additional campaign cash
COLUMBUS-- "But the staggering amount of money it takes to run requires that candidates spend significant time away from official duties or campaigns to raise funds, said Catherine Turcer, director of Ohio Citizen Action's Money in Politics Project.
And voters may be concerned that when candidates go out of state to raise money, they're meeting with wealthy donors who may be interested in a contract, regulatory change or some other action from the candidate.
'It's not about the fact the money is from another state; it's about why are these people from out of state giving this money,' Turcer said. 'They're not interested in the day-to-day lives of people in Ohio,'" Mark Niquette, The Columbus Dispatch. Mar 1: Lawmaker reviewing Workers' Comp probe of Noe
COLUMBUS-- "A House committee chairman is seeking records and details from an investigation into past investment scandals at the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation, including interviewing convicted coin dealer Thomas W. Noe in prison last week.
State Rep. Dan Dodd, a Hebron Democrat and chairman of the House Insurance Committee, said he doesn't want to repeat the investigation into Noe's case and other bureau scandals but wants to ensure that all wrongdoing was exposed.
'I think that there are people out there who have not been held accountable for what has happened,' Dodd said. 'I don't know that for a fact because I haven't seen enough of the information. That's why we're trying to gather it,'" Mark Niquette, The Columbus Dispatch. Feb 28: Tom Noe: Contrite, to a point
COLUMBUS-- "Noe is contrite about his federal conviction, saying he selfishly betrayed friends such as former Toledo Mayor Donna Owens and former Lucas County Commissioner Maggie Thurber by giving them the money to illegally donate to Bush in his name. Owens, Thurber and others were convicted of misdemeanor ethics violations.
He knew that was wrong, Noe said, but wanted to help friends and family who could not afford to attend the fundraiser still get the chance to meet the president.
'My God, it was terrible,' he said. 'I mean, the last thing in the world I wanted to do was hurt anybody else. It's bad enough I did it to myself, I certainly didn't want to do it to somebody else,'" Mark Niquette and Joe Hallett, The Columbus Dispatch. Feb 26: Brunner offers donation rules Official moves to reshape Ohio’s limits
COLUMBUS-- "Responding to the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision allowing corporate expenditures for political campaigns, Ohio's chief elections officer wants new requirements in state law governing such spending.
Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner is asking the legislature to add an amendment to a pending elections bill that would require corporations to disclose all independent political expenditures.
"Obviously, we can't change the Supreme Court's decision, but we can make sure that we provide for transparency and accountability," Brunner said at a news conference yesterday to announce her proposal," Mark Niquette, The Columbus Dispatch. Feb 24: The implications of Citizens United
SAN FRANCISCO -- "Finally, Citizens United should put to rest the constant conservative attack on judicial activism. By any measure, Citizens United was stunning in its judicial activism. the deference to the democratic process so often preached by conservatives in attacking liberal rulinghs protecting rights was nowhere in evidence as the conservative majority struck down restrictions on corporate spending that have existed for decades.
Conservatives have lambasted prior decisions protecting rights not stated in the Constitution or intended by its Framers. But there is no evidence that the First Amendment's drafters contemplated spending money in election campaigns as a form of protected speech. Nor did they intend the First Amendment, or any of the Bill of Rights to protect corporations. It was not until 1978, in First National Bank of Boston v. Bellotti, 435 U.S. 765 (1978), that the Court first found any First Amendment protection for speech by corporations.
Ultimately, the Court's decision in Citizens United must be understood as a desire by the five most conservative justices to advance the conservative agenda of giving more power and influence to corporations. It should leave little doubt as to who are the activists on the current Court," Erwin Chemerinsky, San Francisco Daily Journal.
COLUMBUS -- "Ohio lawmakers can step down from office today and start lobbying their colleagues before the weekend begins under a federal court ruling yesterday that tossed out Ohio's "revolving door" law.
For years, Ohio has required former lawmakers and legislative staff members to wait 12 months before being allowed to lobby their former colleagues. The goal, particularly in this age of eight-year term limits, was to limit opportunities for quid pro quos, undue influence or other general corruption.
But the U.S. District Court for southern Ohio tossed out the law, ruling in favor of former state Rep. Tom Brinkman Jr., a Cincinnati Republican who left the legislature because of term limits at the end of 2008 but said he wanted to lobby right away on behalf of the Coalition Opposed to Additional Spending and Taxes (COAST)," Jim Siegel, The Columbus Dispatch. Feb 23: States, Congress wrestle with judicial bias rules
FORT LAUDERDALE, FL -- "Along with lifetime tenure and broad legal authority, federal judges decide for themselves whether they should step down from a case because of biases that might influence the outcome. Some in the legal community and lawmakers on Capitol Hill are now examining whether to take that power away.... A leading proposal in Congress would require that recusal motions be heard before a second judge, which is similar to what has been adopted by at least 21 states. Another idea, now used in at least 19 states, would give each side a 'strike' mandating a judge step aside when there are questions about impartiality.
At the state level, a key concern is the influence of campaign cash received by elected judges. This was the core issue in last year's landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling that state judges could be forced to step aside if one of their contributors has a stake in a case before them. California, Florida and Washington are among those making or contemplating new recusal rules involving campaign donations," Curt Anderson, The Washington Post. Feb 23: State Sen. Capri Cafaro's dad admits making illegal contribution to her unsuccessful bid for Congress
CLEVELAND -- "State Sen. Capri Cafaro's father admitted Monday that he skirted federal campaign finance law by hiding an illegal contribution to his daughter's unsuccessful 2004 bid for Congress.
Federal prosecutors accused former Youngstown mall developer John Cafaro of concealing a $10,000 loan to the campaign. They charged him Monday with making a false statement in connection with the loan, an offense that carries a penalty of up to five years in prison.
Cafaro's attorney Ralph Cascarilla said his client takes responsibility for his actions and plans to plead guilty," Peter Krouse, Cleveland Plain Dealer.
COLUMBUS -- "If you want Ohio politicians to give you the time of day, the annual fee -- as totaled by one of the wisest of Capitol Square's magi -- is now more than $130,000.... What the fundraising frenzy means is that the hidden surcharge for Ohio politics (passed on to Ohio taxpayers as anti-consumer laws, bulging utility bills and sweetheart public contracts) is going through the roof.
The fund-tracker, who prefers not to be named, is a Statehouse lawyer-lobbyist of long standing, a gentleman of the old school -- i.e., a member of an endangered species. He saves every single fundraising invitation he gets. He also keeps track of the price of the cheapest single ticket to each of those events. Then he runs a total," Thomas Suddes, Cleveland Plain Dealer. Feb 22: Brunner probing anti-slots group Subpoenas seek to identify backers of referendum
COLUMBUS -- "Questions have been swirling for months now about who is funding a group seeking a referendum on whether electronic slot machines should be added at Ohio horse-racing tracks.
Yesterday, Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner said she has launched an investigation to find ou t.
Brunner said she has issued subpoenas seeking records and depositions from individuals connected with LetOhioVote.org, the group that wants to put a referendum on the slots plan on the Nov. 2 ballot," Mark Niquette, The Columbus Dispatch.
WASHINTON DC -- "As the federal government gears up for its decennial count of the country’s population, most Americans think the census is very important and say they will definitely participate. But acceptance of and enthusiasm for the census are not universal. Certain segments of the population such as younger people, Hispanics and the less well educated are not as familiar with the census and are less inclined to participate. In addition, there are partisan differences in opinions about the value of the census, and in personal willingness to participate.
The national survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press was conducted Jan. 6-10 among 1,504 adults reached on cell phones and landlines. This is the first in a series of studies about the public’s knowledge of and attitudes toward the 2010 U.S. Census," The Pew Research Center for the People & the Press. 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 17: Ballot board acts on state Issues 1, 2
COLUMBUS -- "The Ohio Ballot Board voted yesterday to approve official arguments for and against two statewide issues on the May 4 ballot and also gave the green light for a petition drive to begin for a proposed issue in the fall election.
Issue 1 on the May ballot would renew Ohio's Third Frontier program, while Issue 2 would change the location of a proposed Columbus casino from the Arena District to the West Side site of the former Delphi Corp. auto-parts plant.
The Ohio legislature had voted to put both issues on the ballot and submitted arguments for each issue that the board approved without discussion. They will be published statewide and included in the Ohio Issues Report distributed to libraries, county elections boards and other agencies," Mark Niquette, The Columbus Dispatch. 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 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.
COLUMBUS -- "State Auditor Mary Taylor is the first statewide executive officeholder in memory to work most of the week from an office outside the state capital.... 'It could raise some eyebrows,' said Catherine Turcer of Ohio Citizen Action, a public watchdog group. 'I think voters have an expectation that our public servants work hard and put in long hours, but I also hope that voters allow for some flexibility.'
Turcer noted that women in particular often are juggling work and children.
'Look at how few women are in the legislature. If you want half the population in elected office, you need to help women become part of the political process,'" Catherine Candisky, The Columbus Dispatch. Posted Feb 14. Feb 15: Ohio House holds redistricting reform hearing on Wednesday
Key Points on House Joint Resolution 15, introduced by Representative Letson (D-Warren) as introduced in 2010:
The proposed amendment would create a public competition to draw state legislative district lines
according to a predetermined formula, emphasizing statewide partisan balance, with a lesser role for
competition, and a lesser role still for preservation of municipal boundaries and a particular measure of
compactness. Though Ohio’s present redistricting commission would still exist, it would essentially
become an administrative body, with no discretion to depart from the competition formula. Justin Levitt, Brennan Center for Justice. Click for more info
Key points on Senate Joing Resolution 5, introduced by Senator Husted (R-Kettering) as passed by the Ohio Senate in 2009:
The proposed amendment would expand Ohio’s present redistricting commission by two incumbents, and
place congressional districts as well as state legislative districts under the commission’s authority. The
commission would emphasize preservation of whole political units and, to a lesser extent, competition
between the major parties. Justin Levitt, Brennan Center for Justice. Click for more info
CUYAHOGA COUNTY -- "Nearly eight years after Cuyahoga County systems analyst Frank Fragomeni took a buyout, the county is still paying -- through no-bid contracts with his new employer -- for him to work on the county payroll.... Catherine Turcer, legislative director of the watchdog group Ohio Citizen Action, questioned why the county allowed the contracts to continue for eight years.
'It seems so illogical that it seems hard to imagine why they thought it made sense in the first place,' Turcer said. 'There had to be a better way to handle this,'" Laura Johnston, Cleveland Plain Dealer. Feb 11:Gov. Strickland, in picking Lesser, fills powerful PUCO seat with safe, insider candidate
Steven Lesser
COLUMBUS -- "Ohio Governor Ted Strickland, on Monday, appointed Steven Lesser as a commissioner of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio for a five-year term beginning April 11, 2010 and expiring April 10, 2015, according to a media release.
Lesser, a resident of the small but affluent city of Bexley near Downtown Columbus, is currently the chief of staff at the PUCO... Ohio Citizen Action spokeswoman Catherine Turcer called on Strickland to seize the opportunity and reshape it: 'Why not rethink the whole process? Why not open the process to public comment? This is the right time... What you want to have at the PUCO is accountability to consumers,'" Cleveland Examiner. Feb 10:Redistricting reform is under way in Ohio
'Our current system of drawing the lines is, to put it plainly, a bald-faced partisan process," says Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner. (Chuck Crown/Plain Dealer)
COLUMBUS -- "To overhaul the system, the Democrat-controlled House and Republican-dominated Senate must agree on a plan to put before voters on the Nov. 2 ballot as a constitutional amendment.
House Democrats unveiled their reform plan last week, more than four months after the Senate passed its own resolution to establish new rules for drawing boundaries. Supporters of each plan say their goal is to create more competitive districts and to remove blatant partisanship from the process... Catherine Turcer, of the government watchdog group Ohio Citizen Action, agreed that both plans have merits.
'We have identified a problem. We know the current status quo -- voters are being manipulated,' Turcer said. 'Neither plan is perfect. What we need is a good mix of both and maybe something else thrown in,'" Joe Guillen, Cleveland Plain Dealer.
WASHINGTON DC -- "As the Supreme Court nears the midpoint of its annual term and prepares to hear several momentous cases, one question looms: Will the justices' split decision reversing past rulings and allowing new corporate spending in political races set the tone for the term, or will Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission be an exception?
'Is this a turning point?' asks Pamela Harris, director of Georgetown Law's Supreme Court Institute. Harris notes that Chief Justice John Roberts' concurring opinion in the campaign-finance case defended reversing past rulings that have been, as Roberts wrote, 'so hotly contested that (they) cannot reliably function as a basis for decision in future cases.'
'That is an incredibly muscular vision of when you would overrule precedent,' which usually guides justices in new cases, Harris says. 'That makes it look like this is a court that's ready to go,'" Joan Biskupic, USA Today.
COLUMBUS -- "A group hoping to put a referendum on the fall ballot regarding a proposal to add electronic slot machines will need more additional signatures than previously thought.
That's because three county boards of elections reported late last week that they disqualified an additional 937 signatures because petition circulators are felons, Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner's office said," Mark Niquette, The Columbus Dispatch. Feb 8: Editorial: Keep the momentum Legislative cooperation could move two more important state measures
COLUMBUS -- "For redistricting, House Democrats and Senate Republicans have separate bills with somewhat different approaches to taking the politics out of the task, but they could be reconciled by keeping the best features of each.
The Senate plan, passed in September, would create a bipartisan board to approve maps for both congressional and state legislative districts. It would require at least two votes of minority-party members to approve a plan. That makes it an improvement over the current system, in which the three-member Apportionment Board, controlled by whichever party holds at least two of three designated statewide offices, can dictate state legislative district that favors the dominant party. A state legislative majority can similarly slant the drawing of congressional districts.
The House plan introduces another valuable element: allowing the public to submit proposed maps for districts, which would be graded on four criteria aimed at producing competitive districts and fair representation of the parties and avoiding splitting municipalities between districts. A similar demonstration project sponsored by the Ohio League of Women Voters recently produced impressive results," The Columbus Dispatch. Feb 8: Checks of voter records coming Brunner wants notices sent if registration info conflicts with file data
COLUMBUS -- "Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner is completing a plan to address a lingering controversy from the 2008 general election in Ohio that generated national attention, lawsuits and even death threats.
Brunner expects to issue a directive soon detailing what county boards of elections must do when the name or other personal information provided by a voter doesn't match state or federal records after an automatic computer check.
Preliminary guidelines call for counties to mail a notice to voters whose information doesn't match so the voters can update their records. That raises concerns among some county officials about the cost and possible voter confusion," Mark Niquette, The Columbus Dispatch. 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 8: Editorial: The more disclosure, the better
COLUMBUS -- "Whether you think the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling giving corporations, unions and nonprofits virtually unfettered campaign spending rights is the end of democracy as we know it or a sterling example of upholding the First Amendment, everyone should be able to agree on one path forward.
Disclosure. Require the companies, labor unions or whoever else starts lobbing so-called independent expenditures for and against candidates in the form of TV ads, mailings or whatever to reveal where the money comes from, put it all on the Web and do it fast.
If the pharmaceutical industry lavishes $5 million worth of TV ads on behalf of Congressman X, everyone should know about it immediately and have at their fingertips the information about precisely which companies are spending that money. Ditto if the AFL-CIO spends millions to help Senator Y," Jonathan Riskind, The Columbus Dispatch. Posted Feb 7.
COLUMBUS -- "...A way has been found to take the power out of the politicians’ hands, to simply eliminate political motivation in map-drawing.
Last year, Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner sponsored a test contest promoted by a coalition of activists, including the League of Women Voters and Ohio Citizen Action.
Entrants were asked to draw congressional districts for the last decade, under certain rules, using population stats from the 2000 Census. The results were remarkable," Martin Gottlieb, Dayton Daily News. Feb 5: Citizens United impact on courts is feared
NEW YORK CITY -- "The potential impact of Citizens United on fair and impartial courts is getting greater attention in states where judges are elected, and new voices are sounding alarms.
In Ohio, the Akron Beacon Journal declared in an editorial that the U.S. Supreme Court ruling 'adds to the urgency of placing a constitutional amendment on the November ballot, otherwise Ohio risks becoming, once again, a poster child for the influence of big money in state Supreme Court campaigns,'" Peter Hardin, GavelGrab. Feb 5: Ohioan takes on corporate politicking Brown's bill calls for rules guiding campaign ads
WASHINTON DC -- "Sen. Sherrod Brown says corporate campaign spending allowed under an 'absolutely awful' Supreme Court decision last month should be subject to new requirements ensuring more transparency and accountability.
The Ohio Democrat unveiled a bill yesterday that would require corporations producing political ads or engaging in other independent campaign activities to get shareholders' approval for political spending.
Brown's bill, which he calls the Citizens Right to Know Act, also would require corporate CEOs to make personal disclaimers revealing the company's sponsorship of an ad, much as political candidates now appear briefly on camera or are heard on a radio ad taking responsibility for a spot," Jonathan Riskind, The Columbus Dispatch. Feb 4: “Doing nothing not an option"
Congress must act quickly in aftermath of Citizens United decision
WASHINGTON DC -- "The League of Women Voters [yesterday] testified before the Committee on House Administration in a hearing entitled Defining the Future of Campaign Finance in an Age of Supreme Court Activism. At the U.S. congressional hearing, Mary G. Wilson, the national League president, told committee members that they must pass legislation governing corporate and union spending quickly, in order for it to take effect for the 2010 elections.
'The Court’s majority decision in Citizens United v. FEC was fundamentally wrong and a tragic mistake. But this is the decision of the Court,' said Wilson. 'Congress needs to respond now, recognizing its own authority and responsibility to uphold the Constitution. Fair and clean elections, determined by the votes of American citizens, should be at the center of our democracy.'
'The Court’s decision in Citizens United upends basic campaign finance law that has been in place for a century. It changes the foundation on which decades of congressional enactments on money in elections are built. Such a fundamental change requires a strong response from Congress and the Executive,'" Kelly Ceballos, League of Women Voters. Feb 4:
Letson proposes public contest to redraw districts Another legislator also is proposing a revamped redistricting plan
COLUMBUS -- "Democrats in the Ohio House are backing a new plan for redrawing the state’s legislative districts that they say will remove partisanship from the process.
The resolution, offered by Rep. Tom Letson of Warren, D-64th, calls for a public competition to draw state legislative district lines and a nonpartisan arbiter to confirm the results.
'The House reapportionment reform plan takes the politics out of reapportionment by providing specific criteria as to how district lines are to be drawn,' Letson said during a Monday press conference at the Statehouse. 'This, in turn, makes each district more competitive,'" Mark Kovac, Youngstown Vindicator. Feb 4: Cuyahoga County Commissioner Tim Hagan defends hiring of mapping system manager
CUYAHOGA COUNTY -- "Cuyahoga County Commissioner Tim Hagan has leaped to the defense of John Kable, the new, but very much in limbo, manager of the county's geographic mapping system.
Kable has been the subject of much debate since being chosen last month to replace J. Kevin Kelley, who last year pleaded guilty to corruption-related charges. Some county officials are concerned with the appearance of hiring Kable since he was previously employed by Michael Baker Jr. Inc.
Michael Baker Jr. worked with Kelley on the mapping system, and federal prosecutors have referred to the company in their widespread investigation of county government. Kable has not been identified by name or description in any documents related to the probe and the company is cooperating with investigators," Henry J. Gomez, Cleveland Plain Dealer. Feb 3:
Parties fight over district redrawing
COLUMBUS -- "'You remember 8th grade social studies? Remember gerrymandering? That's the best way to describe it to citizens,' said Catherine Turcer with Ohio Citizen Action.
Turcer wants to see Ohio eliminate gerrymandering once and for all. She supports a new bill that would create a fair way to draw legislative lines.
'The problem is you can't ever really take the politics out of things,' Turcer said. 'You might as well just own it and be practical and say, 'okay, what we want to do is create criteria that is sensible,'"Jim Heath, ONNtv.com. Feb 3:
The impeachment drum starts to beat again
WASHINGTON DC -- "It’s not a drumbeat yet. But calls for impeachment of one or more Supreme Court justices are bubbling up in response to the Citizens United decision. Not so long ago, similar calls came from the right; but no matter the source, when such calls are made in political fury, they fly against the intent of our nation’s Founders. In American Chronicle, writer Gary Ater singles out Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. and Justice Samuel Alito, (in photo above) contending they testified under oath about the limited role of the Supreme Court, then stepped to vastly overreach that role in Citizens United. 'At least these two justices have broken the law by not fulfilling their own commitments that were made while being under oath,' Ater writes, urging a group of elected officials to 'pursue these justices,'" Peter Hardin, GavelGrab. Feb 2:
Ohio House Democrats have plan to redistrict Idea would let public have a say in layout of legislative maps
COLUMBUS -- "Supporters of finding new, less political ways of drawing legislative and congressional districts say it's time for Democrats and Republicans to marry their ideas.
House Democrats introduced a plan yesterday that would allow the public to submit legislative maps, which then would be graded based on four criteria, including whether districts could produce a fair number of representatives from each party, whether districts are competitive, and the number of times municipalities are divided.
Senate Republicans passed a plan in September that would create a bipartisan board that would need a supermajority vote to approve maps for both legislative and congressional districts," Jim Siegel, The Columbus Dispatch. 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.
COLUMBUS -- "Ohio gubernatorial candidates Ted Strickland and John Kasich jumped into the 2010 election year with millions in their campaign pockets and on pace to make their race one of the most expensive in state history. Strickland, the Democratic governor and former congressman who raised a record $16.8 million for his 2006 gubernatorial bid, raised $6.4 million in 2009. (His 2006 GOP opponent, Ken Blackwell, raised $12 million.)
Thanks to strong fund-raising in 2008 and early 2009, Strickland has $6.4 million on hand, more than any incumbent Ohio governor 10 months before an election in state history, his campaign says," Mark Naymik, Cleveland Plain Dealer.
Kasich, Strickland tally up donations Campaign reports show governor's challenger narrowing money gap Joe Hallett and Mark Niquette, The Columbus Dispatch.
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. Feb 1: Ohio House leaders plan to delete all Tweeting
COLUMBUS -- "House Speaker Armond Budish said he would move to strengthen rules preventing members from communicating with lobbyists or sending "Tweets" electronically while on the House floor.
Responding to a Dispatch story yesterday about how some members posted commentary on their Twitter pages during Tuesday's State of the State speech by Gov. Ted Strickland, Budish said he would put a stop to such activity, although he didn't go into detail on how.... 'The reason we don't allow communications from the floor already is because we don't want lobbyists communicating with legislators while discussion of various bills is going forward,' Budish said. 'We will make sure in the House that that does not occur,'" Jim Siegel, The Columbus Dispatch. Feb 1: Public employees' immunity limited
COLUMBUS -- "Public employees who act recklessly are not protected by their employers' cloak of immunity and can be sued personally for damages, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled yesterday.
A lawyer who regularly defends local governments said he fears that the ruling will prompt a flurry of lawsuits against public employees.
The ruling ended appeals in a wrongful-death lawsuit in which the estate of a woman killed in a 2003 crash with a drunken driver sued two Circleville police officers and a dispatcher, accusing them of reckless conduct,'" Randy Ludlow, The Columbus Dispatch. Feb 1: Blog: Gone but not forgotten
LOS ANGELES -- "Media coverage and commentary have vastly overstated the likely impact on federal election campaigns of the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision, which ruled that corporations have the same right to free speech as individuals. It has also obscured the extent to which members of Congress from both parties had previously opened the door for corporate and union financing in federal campaigns.
As associate director for policy of the Campaign Finance Institute from 2002-09, I wrote a number of studies showing the rise of corporate and union spending, via tax-exempt organizations, in federal elections. My research found that this spending supported media ads and grass-roots mail, phone and other communications that tore down or boosted candidates without using explicit phrases such as 'vote for' or 'vote against,'" Stephen R. Weissman, Los Angeles Times.
CLEVELAND -- "Last week's Supreme Court decision granting corporations the right to spend unrestricted amounts of money supporting or opposing candidates in federal elections is so strained in its reasoning and so removed from the realities of American life that it would be grotesquely comedic, were its implications not so dire.
We're all familiar, of course, with the disenfranchisement of corporate America. It's common knowledge that the interests of big business are routinely ignored at every level of society, and that the deprivation of rights suffered by those unfortunates who populate its executive suites is a continuing affront to the national conscience. That, at least, was the suggestion of the strident tone taken by Justice Anthony M. Kennedy. 'If the First Amendment has any force,' he wrote, 'it prohibits Congress from fining or jailing citizens or associations of citizens for simply engaging in political speech.'
You would think that the federal prisons were overflowing with corporate martyrs to freedom of expression. This is reasoning ludicrous on its face and radical in its dismissal of judicial decisions stretching back to Theodore Roosevelt's presidency. The notion that corporate rights and individual rights -- particularly those recognized by the First Amendment -- are congruent is absurd. Do corporations have a right to freedom of religion, or just to those liberties that advance commercial interests,?" Plain Dealer guest columnist Tim Rutten, Cleveland Plain Dealer.
CLEVELAND -- "Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Bill Mason has known Christopher McCauley for two decades: Mason was in McCauley's law school class in the 1980s, rented office space from him in the 1990s, represented him in a 1997 foreclosure, paid him for campaign work in 2002 and 2003 and employed him in the prosecutor's office in 2004 and 2005.
What he has not done is prosecute him, even though the Ohio Supreme Court's disciplinary arm ruled that McCauley misappropriated more than $300,000 from his clients and kept it for his own use -- partly while in Mason's employment," Mark Puente, Cleveland Plain Dealer. Jan 27: The more things change... Campaign finance reform still not on agenda of Issue 6 supporters
CUYAHOGA COUNTY-- "Local activist Greg Coleridge plans to push for campaign-finance reform in Cuyahoga County, but he wonders if local officials are as committed to the idea as he is.... Big money is here to stay in national and state politics, judging from last week's controversial Supreme Court ruling in the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. But there are viable options to local campaign-finance reform, and if it is indeed going to happen on the local level, now is the time to ride the momentum, says Catherine Turcer of Columbus-based Ohio Citizen Action. That's Callahan's point: After elected offices are filled in November, inertia will likely take hold and incumbents will naturally favor whatever system favors them.
'You use the momentum to keep moving the process,' says Turcer. 'You need to make sure you have good [campaign- finance] rules in place beside the change in government. If you don't take care of it right away, you fall back into the same habits — it's hard work to raise money from alternative sources and not from your employees,'" Damian Guevara, Cleveland Scene. Jan 27: Redistricting plan is stalled
COLUMBUS -- "The state legislature can move quickly and act decisively — when it wants.... A plan to end gerrymandering in our time — a problem that has been on the legislature's radar for decades — appears to be stalled, however.
Odds are that voters in this state will be stuck for an additional decade with a system of drawing legislative districts that undermines the one-man, one-vote ideals of our democracy," Dennis J. Willard, Akron Beacon Journal. Jan 27: Husted seeks disclosure of corporate donors
COLUMBUS -- "Responding to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling last week allowing corporate spending for political campaigns, state Sen. Jon Husted is calling for expanded disclosure requirements in Ohio.
Husted, a Kettering Republican and a former House speaker who is running for secretary of state, sent a letter Monday to Democratic House Speaker Armond Budish and Republican Senate President Bill M. Harris calling for new legislation to prevent 'the influence of unlimited, undisclosed contributions from dominating the 2010 elections.'
Experts have said the Supreme Court ruling could make Ohio's ban on corporate spending for political advertising for or against candidates unenforceable," Mark Niquette, The Columbus Dispatch. Jan 26: Husted urges campaign finance “transparency” in wake of U.S. Supreme Court ruling
DAYTON -- "In the wake of last week’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling prohibiting a ban on spending by corporations and unions in candidate elections, state Sen. Jon Husted, R-Kettering, has proposed safeguards to “ensure transparency in campaign finance and advertising.”
Husted, who is running for secretary of state, outlined the proposal on Monday, Jan. 25, in a letter to Senate President Bill Harris, R-Ashland, and House Speaker Armond Budish, D-Beachwood. Copies were sent to Gov. Ted Strickland and Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner," William Hershey, Dayton Daily News.
COLUMBUS -- "A quarter-century from now, when we celebrate the bicentennial of de Tocqueville’s Democracy in America, what will we think of Citizens United? The majority opinion was written to be revered, in the way that New York Times v. Sullivan or The Pentagon Papers Case has been. But perhaps, instead, it may be seen as a stain on the fabric of democracy, one sending the country into another era of sullied politics like the one before the Progressive Era took hold. The 90-page dissent is certainly written with this sort of prognosis in mind.... If a quarter-century from now, Congress remains dysfunctional, Citizens United will hardly have been the only cause. People will point to the filibuster, gerrymandering, and other factors that preceded Citizens United. And the bicentennial of de Toqueville’s book will not be a happy occasion. Let us hope that that is not the situation in which we find ourselves.
Let us hope, instead, that we look back upon Citizens United as a spur which helped motivated Congress to engage in institutional self-improvement, which started a process that reduced the nation’s democracy deficit," Edward B. Foley, Election Law @ Moritz.
DAYTON -- "From Catherine Turcer, of Ohio Citizen Action, a consumer advocacy group, on the case for changing a system that creates too many legislative districts that are hopelessly lopsided in favor of one political party:
'Competitive districts tend to create more centrists. And wouldn’t that be nice to have in government, because there’s something to be said for consensus-building?'
Here, in other words, is a chance to actually do something about partisanship," Martin Gottlieb, Dayton Daily News. 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.
WASHINGTON DC -- "Ohio has 18 members of the U.S. House of Representatives. Yet even in what is expected to be a volatile political year, more than a dozen shouldn't have a care in the world about the November elections.
As most Ohio congressional incumbents cruise to re-election this year, they can thank the relatively safe congressional districts drawn up in 2002 by the Republicans when they controlled the governor's office, the Ohio Senate and the Ohio House.
And Ohioans are on the verge of seeing the same much-criticized process locked in again for the next 10 years," Jack Torry, The Columbus Dispatch. 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.
CUYAHOGA COUNTY-- "Corruption in Cuyahoga County government will likely cost taxpayers $250,000 in additional accounting work.
And because that work has taken so long to finish, millions more dollars could be spent for higher interest payments on money borrowed to build a medical mart and convention center.
The added costs and delays in releasing the county's 2007 and 2008 state audit findings fueled debate Thursday as commissioners broke their own rules for an employee buyout program. The commissioners voted to rehire two accountants who retired a week earlier," Henry J. Gomez & Laura Johnston, Cleveland Plain Dealer. 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.
CUYAHOGA COUNTY-- "Cuyahoga County commissioners will break their own rules Thursday by rehiring two accountants one week after the workers took taxpayer-financed buyouts.... Catherine Turcer, of the watchdog group Ohio Citizen Action, was flummoxed by the rationale.
'This kind of revolving door of employment is unfair,' Turcer said. 'It also highlights the need to better prepare all employees for transitions. At any point, one of us may win the lottery or get hit by a bus. It's sad to think that the county is so badly prepared,'" Laura Johnston, Cleveland Plain Dealer. Jan 20: Editorial: Waiting for Democrats The state could use an improved way for drawing legislative districts. Will the Ohio House deliver on the necessary constitutional amendment?
AKRON -- "Voters often complain about unresponsive government. Then why not give them the opportunity to elect representatives more likely to cross party lines to reach sensible compromises? That's the essential goal of a proposed constitutional amendment that would improve the way legislative and congressional districts are redrawn in Ohio.
The trouble is, just two weeks remain before a Feb. 3 deadline to place an amendment on the May 4 ballot. At this point, the promising plan passed in September by the Republican-controlled Senate remains stalled in the Ohio House," The Columbus Dispatch. Jan 19: Editorial: Democrats must act now on redistricting
COLUMBUS -- "The November ballot will include races for governor, secretary of state and auditor. Whichever party wins two of those races would control map-drawing completely under current rules. So, whichever party is looking strongest by summer or fall is unlikely to support reform. And without support from both parties, reform has been rejected by voters in the past.
And after November, the actual redistricting process will be imminent. It starts after the 2010 federal Census is done.... Citizens and organizations that are against a system that gives one party the spoils in each decade — and results in, for example, districts that make a near circle around unwanted voters — need to be contacting legislators of both parties," Dayton Daily News.
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 19: Voting machine maker in antitrust suit
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.
Every ten years, the United States conducts a count of the population known as the Census. The census determines the amount of federal funding states receive for services such as Head Start, Women, Infants and Children program, emergency food and shelter grants, programs for the elderly, and hundreds of other programs we all depend on.
For every person not counted, Ohio could lose $12,000 over the 10-year census cycle. With the economic challenges facing Ohio, we need to work toward a full and accurate count.
Census numbers are also used by government and businesses in determining where to build schools, plan for public transit, and develop retail outlets.
Finally, census data determine the number of members each state has in the U.S. House of Representatives. Ohio is in danger of losing up to two Congressional seats, reducing our representation from 18 to 16.
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. Jan 15: Legislators shouldn't let chance slip away Ohio has opportunity to create fairer districts
COLUMBUS -- "In the face of a once-in-a-decade chance to improve the political landscape in Ohio, Democrats and Republicans instead are gripped with gambler's fever.
The correct step at this time in state history would be to ask voters to amend the Ohio Constitution to remove the overtly partisan manner in which legislative districts are redrawn after each decennial census.
For 40 years, Ohio has constructed and run a disgraceful gerrymandering process that is a throwback to politics of an unenlightened era," Dennis Willard, Akron Beacon Journal.
KANSAS CITY-- "...So officials urge people who have been forced to live with friends or relatives temporarily because of hardship to include themselves in that household's census count.
"People need to be counted where they're living," Groves said, "even if they don't, in their own mind, think that they'll live with their brother-in-law the rest of their life."
A publicity campaign will begin this month for the count, which determines how many seats each state gets in the House of Representatives," Matt Campbell, The Columbus Dispatch. Jan 13: Debate over redistricting: Hearing today on plan to change how Ohio draws new boundaries
CUYAHOGA COUNTY-- "A proposal to change the way Ohio draws legislative districts every 10 years is set for a hearing in the House of Representatives today after already passing in the Senate.
The move comes just as many were saying a legislative mapping change was not likely to occur for another 10 years, thanks to a gridlock in state politics.... In 2009, the League of Women Voters, Ohio Citizen Action, Brunner's office and other groups and individuals sponsored a competition to come up with a better way to draw legislative districts. In her column, Brunner said the state should use the competition's criteria - emphasizing compact but competitive districts - to determine the best way to redraw the lines," Justin McIntosh, Marietta Times. Jan 13: Giving corporations an outsized voice in elections Voters stand to lose out if the Supreme Court treats political spending by businesses and other big-money players as protected speech.
LOS ANGELES -- "Corporations are pitching a bizarre product -- a radical vision of the 1st Amendment. It would give corporations rather than voters a central role in our electoral process by treating corporate political spending as protected speech. If this vision becomes reality, businesses and other big-money players will spend billions either hyping their preferred candidates or running attack ads against elected officials who don't support their preferred agenda. Voters will be forced into a couch-potato role, mere viewers of the electoral spectacle bought and paid for by wealthy companies.
The Supreme Court's decision in the hotly anticipated campaign finance reform case Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission -- which may be announced as early as Tuesday -- will show whether a majority of the Roberts court is buying their argument," Monica Youn, Los Angeles Times Jan 13: Capitalists' tool or good-government visionary? Either way, Marty Zanotti may be the most powerful unelected politician in Cuyahoga County
CUYAHOGA COUNTY-- "[Marty Zanotti, former mayor of Parma Heights] vows that campaign finance will be addressed in the county's [Cuyahoga] new government, but skeptics continue to harp about the issue and say it will be much harder for the county to make changes once politicians are entrenched in office. Catherine Turcer, of the good-government group Ohio Citizens Action, says this is the perfect opportunity for Cuyahoga County to reform campaign finance and create 'real transparency.'
While it's not illegal on the county level to take employee contributions, Turcer says, 'Employees can feel extorted and the public officials can feel like they owe the employees something — they may feel like they owe their friends or family jobs. It's kind of a cornerstone of nepotism and setting up an old boys' and old girls' club. It's really time to stop, not just in Cuyahoga County, but all over the state,'" Damian Guevara, Cleveland Scene. Jan 12: After legal objection, campaign finance reports for Bill Mason and Gerald McFaul removed from public database
CUYAHOGA COUNTY -- "Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Bill Mason and former Sheriff Gerald McFaul, both criticized for accepting campaign cash from their employees, have avoided closer scrutiny amid an effort to make politics more transparent. Last month, the Board of Elections removed finance reports submitted by Mason and McFaul from a public database launched days earlier on the board's Web site. Jane Platten, the board's director, said she quickly took down the reports after an assistant county prosecutor raised the possibility of a lawsuit. At issue is whether the home addresses of the deputies, prosecutors and other law enforcement officers who gave money to their bosses can be released with public records under Ohio law," Henry J. Gomez & Laura Johnston, Cleveland Plain Dealer. Jan 12: Third Frontier, a casino location and redistricting may be heading to ballot The Legislature’s deadline for May election is Feb. 3.
COLUMBUS -- "When it comes to getting things done, 2009 was not a very good year for the Ohio Legislature and Gov. Ted Strickland.
Strickland signed 16 bills into law, the fewest for the first year of a legislative session dating back to 2003.
That record of gridlock makes the task before lawmakers this month seem even more daunting, although they won’t need Strickland’s help for the three proposed constitutional amendments backers want to put on the May 4 ballot," William Hershey, Dayton Daily News Posted Jan 10. Jan 12: Editorial: To be effective, Cuyahoga County's government reform task forces require broad community participation
CUYAHOGA COUNTY -- "It speaks to the political challenge of becoming Cuyahoga County's first elected chief executive that two candidates -- both Democrats who opposed Issue 6 -- have already announced for a primary that won't be held until September. An independent who wouldn't be on the ballot until November is expected to launch his campaign this week. All three know they have a lot of work to do.... Remember: Passing Issue 6 was just the first step to reshaping Cuyahoga County. Participation from every segment of this diverse community is the best way to ensure lasting political reform. Sign up or learn how to help online at: charter.cuyahogacounty.us,"Cleveland Plain Dealer. Jan 11: Lobbyists' spending easily tracked with new system
COLUMBUS -- "As Ohio legislators agonized over how to put together a state budget last year, Statehouse lobbyists were shelling out nearly a half-million dollars to influence legislators' decisions on that two-year, $50 billion spending document and other measures.
Which legislator got the most? What bill attracted the most attention from lobbyists? How were their outlays for gifts, travel and meals divvied up?... "It just makes it so much easier to have a sense of the flow of the money and to better understand who is influencing the process," said Catherine Turcer, director of Ohio Citizen Action's Money in Politics Project," Jim Siegel, The Columbus Dispatch. Jan 11: Letter to the Editor: How state draws its lines needs to change Redistricting: Map competition would make districts better reflect communities
COLUMBUS -- "If our state legislature can come to an agreement to place the issue before the voters in May, Ohioans have a historic opportunity to change their government.... We have seen with our state's election system that how we structure our government process has much to do with fairness, participation and citizen trust. Changing the way we draw the boundaries of our state legislative districts will go a long way toward creating a governmental system that fosters this. There is a way to draw legislative districts that protects rather than splits the common interests of communities and balances those interests within them," Jennifer Brunner, The Columbus Dispatch.
COLUMBUS -- "The deadline for putting proposed constitutional amendments on the May 4 ballot is Feb. 3, just 23 days after legislators get back to work on Tuesday, Jan. 12.... Redistricting reform, [however], remains a work in progress. The Republican-controlled-Senate has approved a plan, but the Democratic-controlled House hasn’t acted.
Will it? 'We have a lot of work to do between now and then (Feb. 3),' said Keary McCarthy, spokesman for Speaker Armond Budish, D-Beachwood," William Hershey, Dayton Daily News Posted Jan 10. Jan 8: All Sides with Ann Fisher: Census 2010
COLUMBUS -- "The U.S. Constitution requires there be a count of every resident in the United States every ten years. About preparations for the 2010 Census including community partnerships to count hard-to-reach groups, and issues raised by the population count, with Detroit Assistant Regional Census Manager Mario Matthews,The Latino Action Circle Community Development Specialist/Community Organizer Ruben Castilla Herrera, and You Can Count On Me Ohio co-chair Catherine Turcer," Recorded January 7.
COLUMBUS -- "Statewide office-seekers won't be able to collect and spend certain campaign contributions as freely after earning election, nor use expensive ballot issue campaigns to further their own aims, under a bill being considered by the state legislature.
The Ohio Senate passed legislation Dec. 16 limiting how candidates use so-called transition accounts, but not before senators added language to stop statewide candidates from using ballot issue campaigns to further their own candidacies.
Substitute House Bill 5, sponsored by Rep. Mark Okey (D-Carrollton) passed by a final vote of 31-2 and heads back to the Ohio House for concurrence," Marc Kovac, Stowsentry.com. Posted Dec 27. Jan 7: Strickland lists top legislative priorities for start of 2010
COLUMBUS -- "Gov. Ted Strickland says his top three legislative priorities at the start of the new year are getting an issue on the statewide ballot in May to renew the Third Frontier program, making changes in how elections are run and redistricting reform.... Strickland noted that with a Feb. 3 deadline for the legislature to place an issue on the May ballot, the Thurd Frontier renewal is of immediate importance, as is making election changes and considering a redistricting plan. The House and Senate have passed separate election bills but haven't taken further action.... Strickland also said he's open to discussing proposals for redistricting, saying he thinks it is an important step toward reducing polarization in legislative bodies in Ohio, other states and Washington D.C.," Joe Hallett, The Columbus Dispatch. Jan 7: Big-time lobbyists' feuding lingers
COLUMBUS -- "A bitter feud between two former influential lobbying partners has moved from a Columbus trial court to a Florida bankruptcy court.
Republican Neil S. Clark and Democrat Paul Tipps, a lobbying duo who had an outsized influence on public policy at the Statehouse for nearly two decades, have dropped lawsuits against each other in Franklin County Common Pleas Court while Clark is seeking bankruptcy protection.... Clark and Tipps formed State Street Consultants in 1986 and it was arguably the most powerful lobbying firm on Capitol Square until it was dissolved in 2005, when Tipps retired. In December 2008, Tipps sued Clark, claiming that his "erratic behavior" and big-spending habits had jeopardized the operation of the firm," Joe Hallett, The Columbus Dispatch. Jan 6: Blog: Web site launched to provide Ohioans with census information
COLUMBUS -- "The state has launched a new Web site, www.census.ohio.gov, to provide Ohioans with easy-to-get information on the upcoming 2010 census.... The homepage features links to a site with information on temporary census jobs and to a site with lesson plans, maps and other material to help teachers and students learn about the census, the release said.
In addition to the Web site, there will be a '2010 Census Rally' from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 11, at the Statehouse in Columbus with speakers and displays," William Hershey, Dayton Daily News. Jan 6: Lobbyists, bosses fined for not filing
COLUMBUS -- "For the first time, the legislative inspector general has turned two lobbyists and 13 lobbyist employers over to the attorney general's collections-enforcement section for failure to pay fines associated with late filings.
Ohio lobbyists and the companies and organizations that employ them are required to file expenditure reports three times a year outlining their efforts to influence policy and how much they spent in doing so.
Through the first eight months of 2009, Ohio's lobbying community spent more than $450,000 on state lawmakers," Jim Siegel, The Columbus Dispatch.
COLUMBUS -- "Candidates from as many as six political parties could be on the ballot for governor or other offices in Ohio this year.
Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner issued a directive last week continuing ballot access for the Libertarian, Green, Socialist and Constitution parties in addition to the Democratic and Republican parties.... Although supporters of broader ballot access say it gives voters more options and encourages greater voter participation, critics say candidates who have little chance to win can help decide who does, in some cases," Mark Niquette, The Columbus Dispatch. Jan 5: Jon Husted: Ohio’s hyper-partisan redistricting rules can be changed
COLUMBUS -- "In the four decades this system has been in place, it has not served Ohio well. It has largely led to one-party control of state government for decades at a time and immunized many legislators from competitive elections.
Further, this system has contributed to the hyper-partisan atmosphere in state government (and in Congress) because the political leaders who run it can serve their partisan interests and arguably have more power in elections than the voters. It doesn’t have to be this way. We can reform the system. The time to act is now.
The Census, followed by the 2010 elections, will once again commence the redrawing of both legislative and congressional districts. Several constitutional amendments to reform the present system have been proposed," Jon Husted, Dayton Daily News. Jan 5: Our New Year's resolution: Blogging along as Cuyahoga County transitions to a new charter government
CUYAHOGA -- "Cuyahoga County government will provide no shortage of intrigue in 2010.
Voters last fall overwhelmingly chose to overhaul a system that dates back 200 years. The transition from three elected county commissioners to a sole county executive and 11-member county council has stoked the ambitions of many local politicians.... County leaders and reform cheerleaders already have flipped the switch on what they hope will be a grass-roots effort. Volunteers are being encouraged to sign up online to serve on one of several committees being convened to oversee the transition. As of this afternoon, more than 300 had registered via the web site to participate," Henry J. Gomez, Cleveland Plain Dealer. Jan 5: News from the bench
COLUMBUS-- "Keeping tabs on the Ohio Supreme Court just got a lot easier.
Following the FBI, U.S. Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies, the court has launched a free news service which allows users to receive updates through e-mail or text message.... While other government entities at both the federal and state levels have been utilizing such systems, the Ohio Supreme Court is believed to be the first court in the United States to launch the service," Catherine Candisky, The Columbus Dispatch.
COLUMBUS -- "State lawmakers will flock back to Columbus this month from winter break after wrapping up a 2009 marked by an extended budget brouhaha and legislative gridlock between warring chambers.
With Democrats and Republicans splitting power in the Ohio legislature for the first time in 14 years, Ohio lawmakers passed fewer bills in 2009 -- a mere 16 -- than during any legislative year in recent memory. That's less than half as many bills as were passed in the first year of the last three General Assemblies -- in 2003, 2005 and 2007.... Catherine Turcer, who heads the Money in Politics project for Ohio Citizen Action, a government watchdog group, said lawmakers were 'stuck in first gear' throughout the year.
'It was business as usual when it came to the fund-raisers, but what they weren't doing was coming to consensus very well,' Turcer said. 'You expect some bumps with divided government for the first time in 14 years, but it really took them a long time to get together and come up with some workable solutions,'" Aaron Marshall, Cleveland Plain Dealer. Posted on Jan 3. Jan 4: Editorial: Deadline approaching The Ohio Senate has acted. Now the House must act quickly to improve the drawing of congressional and legislative district lines
COLUMBUS -- "Partisan gridlock at the Statehouse almost prevented action to repair an $851 million budget deficit by the end of the year. At least part of the blame for the difficulty in coming to grips with such a serious fiscal problem must rest ultimately with the way legislative districts are drawn. The process invites polarization by producing lawmakers who represent the extreme wings of their parties. Finding the middle ground, never easy, can prove all but impossible. The same criticism applies to the state's congressional districts.... The timing is right. If Democrats maintain control of the Ohio House, the governor's office and secretary of state's office next November, they will have the upper hand. If the past is a guide, they will craft districts to maximize their power while packing Republicans into as few districts as possible. Yet Republicans could just as easily seize control after November. So each side, not to mention Ohio voters, stands to gain from fairer and more competitive districts," Akron Beacon Journal. Jan 4: Noe's '06 conviction upheld
COLUMBUS -- "Tom Noe's 2006 conviction for stealing millions from Ohio's injured workers' trust fund was upheld by the 6th District Court of Appeals yesterday, with the court ruling that Noe received a fair trial in Toledo.... Noe was convicted in November, 2006, on several counts of theft and corruption stemming from charges that he stole millions of dollars from a rare-coin fund he managed for the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation.
A jury found him guilty of 29 charges of corruption, theft, money laundering, and tampering with records. He was found not guilty on 11 other charges, and several others were dismissed or consolidated," Erica Blake, Toledo Blade. Posted on Jan 1.
Catherine Turcer, Director of the Money in Politics Project of Ohio Citizen Action testified before the Ohio Senate State and Local Government and Veteran Affairs Committee yesterday, 'Voters have the right to know who is funding political advertisements.... This basic information will help voters consider the source of election information.' Turcer recommended that S.B. 240 be expanded to require listing the top donors to an organization that purchases campaign-related TV advertising on the screen at the end of the message or political ad.' At the federal level, the Disclose Act 
COLUMBUS -- Today is April Fools' Day. Have some fun! Pull some pranks, but don't forget to mail in your Census questionnaire because today is also Census Day. The Census determines federal funding of important programs and determines the number of seats that Ohio has in Congress. Don't be a fool! Stand up for your community and get the form in, Catherine Turcer, Ohio Citizen Action. 
NEW YORK, NY -- "The Freedom of Information Act has done a lot to make government more transparent. But in Washington — where need-to-know is the favorite status symbol — most agencies still ignore the legal deadlines and take months, even years, to respond to requests.
Senators Patrick Leahy, a Democrat of Vermont, and John Cornyn, a Texas Republican, have introduced a bill that would push the bureaucracy to release information more quickly. It is an important and needed fix," editorial, New York Times. 
CLEVELAND -- "Last week's Supreme Court decision granting corporations the right to spend unrestricted amounts of money supporting or opposing candidates in federal elections is so strained in its reasoning and so removed from the realities of American life that it would be grotesquely comedic, were its implications not so dire.
We're all familiar, of course, with the disenfranchisement of corporate America. It's common knowledge that the interests of big business are routinely ignored at every level of society, and that the deprivation of rights suffered by those unfortunates who populate its executive suites is a continuing affront to the national conscience. That, at least, was the suggestion of the strident tone taken by Justice Anthony M. Kennedy. 'If the First Amendment has any force,' he wrote, 'it prohibits Congress from fining or jailing citizens or associations of citizens for simply engaging in political speech.'
You would think that the federal prisons were overflowing with corporate martyrs to freedom of expression. This is reasoning ludicrous on its face and radical in its dismissal of judicial decisions stretching back to Theodore Roosevelt's presidency. The notion that corporate rights and individual rights -- particularly those recognized by the First Amendment -- are congruent is absurd. Do corporations have a right to freedom of religion, or just to those liberties that advance commercial interests,?" Plain Dealer guest columnist Tim Rutten, Cleveland Plain Dealer. 
COLUMBUS -- "A quarter-century from now, when we celebrate the bicentennial of de Tocqueville’s Democracy in America, what will we think of Citizens United? The majority opinion was written to be revered, in the way that New York Times v. Sullivan or The Pentagon Papers Case has been. But perhaps, instead, it may be seen as a stain on the fabric of democracy, one sending the country into another era of sullied politics like the one before the Progressive Era took hold. The 90-page dissent is certainly written with this sort of prognosis in mind.... If a quarter-century from now, Congress remains dysfunctional, Citizens United will hardly have been the only cause. People will point to the filibuster, gerrymandering, and other factors that preceded Citizens United. And the bicentennial of de Toqueville’s book will not be a happy occasion. Let us hope that that is not the situation in which we find ourselves.
Let us hope, instead, that we look back upon Citizens United as a spur which helped motivated Congress to engage in institutional self-improvement, which started a process that reduced the nation’s democracy deficit," Edward B. Foley, Election Law @ Moritz. 
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. 
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, 
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. 
COLUMBUS -- "
COLUMBUS -- "The November ballot will include races for governor, secretary of state and auditor. Whichever party wins two of those races would control map-drawing completely under current rules. So, whichever party is looking strongest by summer or fall is unlikely to support reform. And without support from both parties, reform has been rejected by voters in the past.
And after November, the actual redistricting process will be imminent. It starts after the 2010 federal Census is done.... Citizens and organizations that are against a system that gives one party the spoils in each decade — and results in, for example, districts that make a near circle around unwanted voters — need to be contacting legislators of both parties," Dayton Daily News. 
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. 
CUYAHOGA COUNTY-- "A proposal to change the way Ohio draws legislative districts every 10 years is set for a hearing in the House of Representatives today after already passing in the Senate.
The move comes just as many were saying a legislative mapping change was not likely to occur for another 10 years, thanks to a gridlock in state politics.... In 2009, the League of Women Voters, Ohio Citizen Action, Brunner's office and other groups and individuals sponsored a competition to come up with a better way to draw legislative districts. In her column, Brunner said the state should use the competition's criteria - emphasizing compact but competitive districts - to determine the best way to redraw the lines," Justin McIntosh, Marietta Times. 
LOS ANGELES -- "Corporations are pitching a bizarre product -- a radical vision of the 1st Amendment. It would give corporations rather than voters a central role in our electoral process by treating corporate political spending as protected speech. If this vision becomes reality, businesses and other big-money players will spend billions either hyping their preferred candidates or running attack ads against elected officials who don't support their preferred agenda. Voters will be forced into a couch-potato role, mere viewers of the electoral spectacle bought and paid for by wealthy companies.
The Supreme Court's decision in the hotly anticipated campaign finance reform case Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission -- which may be announced as early as Tuesday -- will show whether a majority of the Roberts court is buying their argument," Monica Youn, Los Angeles Times 
CUYAHOGA COUNTY -- "Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Bill Mason and former Sheriff Gerald McFaul, both criticized for accepting campaign cash from their employees, have avoided closer scrutiny amid an effort to make politics more transparent. Last month, the Board of Elections removed finance reports submitted by Mason and McFaul from a public database 
COLUMBUS -- "The U.S. Constitution requires there be a count of every resident in the United States every ten years. About preparations for the 2010 Census including community partnerships to count hard-to-reach groups, and issues raised by the population count, with Detroit Assistant Regional Census Manager Mario Matthews,The Latino Action Circle Community Development Specialist/Community Organizer Ruben Castilla Herrera, and You Can Count On Me Ohio co-chair Catherine Turcer," Recorded January 7.
COLUMBUS -- "The state has launched a new Web site, 
COLUMBUS -- "For the first time, the legislative inspector general has turned two lobbyists and 13 lobbyist employers over to the attorney general's collections-enforcement section for failure to pay fines associated with late filings.
Ohio lobbyists and the companies and organizations that employ them are required to file expenditure reports three times a year outlining their efforts to influence policy and how much they spent in doing so.
Through the first eight months of 2009, Ohio's lobbying community spent more than $450,000 on state lawmakers," Jim Siegel, The Columbus Dispatch. 
COLUMBUS -- "In the four decades this system has been in place, it has not served Ohio well. It has largely led to one-party control of state government for decades at a time and immunized many legislators from competitive elections.
Further, this system has contributed to the hyper-partisan atmosphere in state government (and in Congress) because the political leaders who run it can serve their partisan interests and arguably have more power in elections than the voters. It doesn’t have to be this way. We can reform the system. The time to act is now.
The Census, followed by the 2010 elections, will once again commence the redrawing of both legislative and congressional districts. Several constitutional amendments to reform the present system have been proposed," Jon Husted, Dayton Daily News. 
COLUMBUS -- "State lawmakers will flock back to Columbus this month from winter break after wrapping up a 2009 marked by an extended budget brouhaha and legislative gridlock between warring chambers.
With Democrats and Republicans splitting power in the Ohio legislature for the first time in 14 years, Ohio lawmakers passed fewer bills in 2009 -- a mere 16 -- than during any legislative year in recent memory. That's less than half as many bills as were passed in the first year of the last three General Assemblies -- in 2003, 2005 and 2007.... Catherine Turcer, who heads the Money in Politics project for Ohio Citizen Action, a government watchdog group, said lawmakers were 'stuck in first gear' throughout the year.
'It was business as usual when it came to the fund-raisers, but what they weren't doing was coming to consensus very well,' Turcer said. 'You expect some bumps with divided government for the first time in 14 years, but it really took them a long time to get together and come up with some workable solutions,'" Aaron Marshall, Cleveland Plain Dealer. Posted on Jan 3.