Taft aids secret fund-raiser for anti-Resnick effort

Saturday, October 21, 2000

PLAIN DEALER BUREAU

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COLUMBUS - Gov. Bob Taft said he "absolutely" would never do it again.

But he did. And he plans to do it some more.

Earlier this year, amid criticism of his promises to give "access" to those who give at least $25,000 to a GOP fund whose donor list is secret, Taft said he’d made a mistake.

When a reporter asked if Taft would refuse to participate in fund-raising in which donors were not identified, the governor replied: "Absolutely. Not at the state level."

For the past several weeks, Taft has helped raise money for Citizens for a Strong Ohio, a pro-business group that is running TV commercials aimed at discrediting incumbent Supreme Court Justice Alice Robie Resnick and promoting her opponent, Cleveland Judge Terrence O’Donnell of the 8th District Court of Appeals.

Because the pro-business group doesn’t meet the state’s technical definition of a political action committee, it can collect unlimited money from corporations and doesn’t have to tell the public the donated amounts.

Taft spokeswoman Mary Anne Sharkey said the governor pledged that he would not raise secret money for the presidential race - not the court race or other contests - and said he plans to keep helping the anti-Resnick effort.

She estimated that he spends "a couple of hours every other week" making political calls - including fund-raising calls - at GOP headquarters.

©2000 THE PLAIN DEALER. Used with permission.