Staff -- Money in Politics

Catherine Turcer
Legislative Director

Catherine Turcer is the director of Ohio Citizen Action’s Money in Politics Project. In 1999, Turcer became the campaign finance director for Ohio Citizen Action and in 2001 she became Citizen Action’s legislative director. Turcer is the co-author of a number of campaign finance studies including The Run for the Money: An Analysis of Campaign Contribution Patterns in Ohio 1999-2000 (March 2002); The Enron Hot Potato (February 2002), $2.9 Million from Polluters to ‘Call the Shots’ at Ohio EPA (April 2003), 2004 Contributions to Candidates for Justice and Chief Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court (Updated Throughout Election 2004) and Following the Money: Contributions to Ohio Gubernatorial Candidates 2005-2006 (Updated Throughout Election 2006). Turcer also provides regular commentary to Ohio newspapers including the Akron Beacon Journal, Cincinnati Enquirer, Cleveland Plain Dealer, Columbus Dispatch and The Toledo Blade. She is a frequent guest on WOSU-TV’s Columbus on the Record.

In June 2006, Ohio Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell gave Turcer The Spirit of Democracy Award stating this civic honor was “in recognition of her dedicated service as legislative director for Ohio Citizen Action, where her efforts to persuade the legislative passage of full disclosure in the political arena were instrumental in creating more robust campaign finance laws.” Turcer was the chief lobbyist for the Voter’s Right-to-Know Act of 1999. The Voter’s Right-to-Know Act put campaign contributor information on the Internet so that voters can look at this information before elections. The Ohio General Assembly strengthened disclosure requirements in December 2004. Turcer actively lobbied for and testified in favor of strengthening Ohio’s pay-to-play law. In December 2006, the Ohio General Assembly passed strong pay-to-play restrictions.

In 2003, Turcer was appointed by the Ohio Secretary of State to Ohio’s Help America Vote State Planning Commission. This commission advised the Ohio Secretary of State as the state selected and purchased new voting apparatus. Turcer was instrumental in the passage of a voter verified paper audit trail for computerized voting. In May 2004, Ohio became one of the first states to require a voter verified paper audit trail.

In March 2003, Chief Justice Thomas J. Moyer appointed Turcer to two study committees Campaign Finance Disclosure and Public Financing and Voter Guides. Turcer advocated for ending judicial appointments based on political party recommendations. In January 2007, Governor Ted Strickland established the Ohio Judicial Appointments Recommendation Panel to address mid-cycle replacements.

In her spare time, Turcer enjoys volunteering at the Columbus Museum of Art. Turcer earned her Bachelor of Arts in Clinical Psychology and Gerontology from Alfred University in Alfred, New York and completed graduate work in social group and research at the University of Connecticut (West Hartford, Connecticut).

Jason Danklefson Jason Danklefsen
Database Manager

Jason Danklefsen has been Ohio Citizen Action’s Research Database Manager since 2005. He began working for Ohio Citizen Action in 2002 as a canvasser, subsequently becoming a Field Manager, and then Senior Field Manager.

Danklefsen worked on campaigns involving FirstEnergy’s Davis-Besse nuclear plant in Port Clinton; Sunoco’s Toledo Refinery in Oregon, Ohio; DuPont Chemical in Washington, West Virginia; Columbus Steel Drum in Gahanna; Shelly Asphalt in Westerville; and Eramet Manganese in Marietta. He also campaigned for the Rape Assistance and Awareness Program in Denver, Colorado; for more stringent energy efficiency standards in Tampa, Florida; and for a sustainable energy policy in Indianapolis, Indiana.

As Research Database Manager, Danklefsen has analyzed the organization’s campaign finance databases for studies including Contributions to Ohio Supreme Court Justices, September 10, 2007; Contributions to Statewide Officeholders (July 9, 2007); Contributions to Ohio Ballot Issue Committees January 1-October 18, 2006 (November 28, 2006); Contributions to Candidates for Governor, Attorney General and Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court (October 18, 2006); and Following the Money: Contributions to Ohio Gubernatorial Candidates 2005-2006 (Updated Throughout Election 2006).