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Ohio News |
Article published Saturday, May 31, 2003
Lawmakers disclose sources of
gifts
By JAMES DREW
BLADE COLUMBUS
BUREAU CHIEF
COLUMBUS - State Rep. Scott Oelslager, a Canton
Republican, received a Waterford crystal gavel from Ohio Supreme
Court Justice Andy Douglas.
State Rep. Ed Jerse (D., Euclid),
a collector of political buttons, was looking for a Harry Truman
button when he ran into a fellow collector with an extra - lobbyist
Paul Tipps, a former chairman of the Ohio Democratic
Party.
State Rep. Jeanine Perry, a Toledo Democrat, got only
a parking pass at the University of Toledo.
A review of
financial disclosure statements that legislators filed for 2002
shows a wide discrepancy in who gets what and how gifts are
reported.
"It’s interesting to see what groups and lobbyists
are reaching out to," said Catherine Turcer, legislative director
for Ohio Citizen Action. "Gifts can shed light on
that."
State law requires legislators to list the source of a
gift or gifts worth more than $75.
If the gift-giver is a
lobbyist, the legislator must disclose a gift over $25, or all gifts
that add up to more than $25. Employers of lobbyists are required to
inform legislators that they must disclose those gifts to the
Legislative Inspector General, said Jim Rogers, the agency’s
executive director.
Legislators are prohibited from receiving
a gift or gifts valued at more than $75 from a
lobbyist.
State Rep. Jim Trakas (R., Independence), the House
Majority Whip, questioned the purpose of the financial disclosure
statement, saying the public would get more value from analyses of
how legislators vote and how often they recuse themselves, citing a
potential or real conflict of interest.
"If you get a $74
gift instead of a $76 gift, how much less are you bought off?" asked
Mr. Trakas. "Ethics are extremely important in politics, but a lot
of the information in the disclosure form does not seem
relevant."
The financial disclosure form is more detailed
than the one used until 1994, when a scandal over some legislators’
acceptance of fees for events they didn’t attend rocked the
Statehouse and led to the downfall of House Speaker Vern
Riffe.
The previous disclosure form required legislators to
list only the sources of gifts over $500.
Of the 132
legislators in office now, 44 disclosed gifts on their financial
disclosure statements for 2002 - but how they filled out the form
varied widely.
In the box reserved for "source of gifts,"
several legislators wrote "OSU" or "Cleveland Browns."
State
Rep. Jim Hughes (R., Columbus) did not. As chairman of the
subcommittee that reviews the higher education budget, he included
letters from Ohio State University that indicate football and
basketball games for which he received tickets and how much they
were worth.
State Sen. Jim Carnes (R., St. Clairsville)
attached his invitation from The Success Group lobbying firm to the
Sept. 15, 2002, Cleveland Browns-Cincinnati Bengals game, which
included two wristbands to get into the pregame Buckeye Brunch
tailgate party in the Budweiser "Barking" lot.
Mr. Hughes was
among those disclosing items state law didn’t require, including a
$4.85 dinner in a Columbus suburb from the University of
Toledo.
State Rep. Lynn Olman (R., Maumee) received $32 worth
of tickets to a May 17, 2002, Toledo Mud Hens game and $20 in food
and beverages from ProMedica Health System.
He said he and
his wife sat in ProMedica’s box at the stadium with company
officials, including Charles Swisher, vice president for government
relations, who, he said, is a "good friend of mine."
"People
just want to get to know you. It is about developing relationships:
What kind of guy are you? Are you nice? Does he have a nice wife? A
nice family? Is he Catholic or Lutheran?" Mr. Olman said.
Mr.
Olman also listed gifts from Cleveland Orchestra and two tickets to
the Toledo Area Humane Society’s fund-raiser, an event called the
FurBall.
House Minority Leader Chris Redfern (D., Catawba
Island) said he attended a Bowling Green State University football
game last year or 2001 - but he didn’t have to disclose it because
the ticket was worth less than $75.
Cindy Rimmelin,
development director for the humane society, wrote to Mr. Olman that
the group appreciated his support for a law to toughen penalties for
cruelty against animals. Mr. Olman said he might have paid for the
tickets.
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