06/25/02

Columbus

- A business-led "issue advocacy" campaign that drew harsh criticism in 2000 from both sides of the political aisle will lift its veil of secrecy this year.

Under increasing pressure to reform negative campaigns, the Ohio Chamber of Commerce announced in a letter to business leaders yesterday that its nonprofit creation, Citizens for a Strong Ohio, will publicly disclose donors and amounts of contributions.

The campaign, directed at two seats on the Ohio Supreme Court, will be "positive and informative" but will avoid the "errors" of two years ago, the letter said.

Citizens for a Strong Ohio spent $4 million in an unsuccessful, widely criticized campaign to unseat Democratic Justice Alice Robie Resnick in 2000.

The ads attempted to link Resnick's vote with campaign contributions, but the effort backfired, and Resnick beat Republican challenger Terrence O'Donnell, 57 percent to 43 percent.

The negativity of the ads and the response to them overshadowed the message, said Chip McConville, the chamber's political director. "Obviously the last campaign was a lightning rod for a couple of reasons," McConville said. "One had to do with the disclosure issue."

Current law does not require issue campaign groups to disclose donors. Only commercials that expressly support the election or defeat of a candidate are required to report donations.

Business leaders believe four of the seven Supreme Court justices reflect an anti-business bias with decisions that open businesses to increased liabilities, McConville said.

"The court's continuing string of case [decisions] cause an uncertainty about the legal climate in Ohio," McConville said.

Frank Todaro, president of the Ohio Academy of Trial Lawyers, which co-sponsors with labor its own group, Citizens for an Independent Court, said contributions will be revealed through a political action committee.

"I'm delighted [the chamber] will play by the rules like the rest of us, even though it isn't illegal [not to]," Todaro said.

Gov. Bob Taft and Secretary of State Ken Blackwell last week unveiled a proposal to require issue advocacy groups to disclose their donors.

Although Taft raised money for the group's 2000 anti-Resnick campaign, he said he would not help it raise money this year, even though Republican Lt. Gov. Maureen O'Connor could benefit from the campaign. She is running for an open court seat against Democratic Hamilton County Municipal Judge Tim Black. Republican Justice Evelyn Lundberg Stratton faces a challenge from Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Janet Burnside, a Democrat.

Plain Dealer Columbus Bureau Chief Sandy Theis contributed to this story.

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tcbrown@plaind.com, 800-228-8272