Wednesday, April 19, 2000

By SANDY THEIS

PLAIN DEALER BUREAU CHIEF

COLUMBUS - Amid a torrent of criticism over his fund-raising practices, Gov. Bob Taft yesterday joined those who want to plug a loophole that allows political parties to raise unlimited money without disclosing donors' names.

Earlier in the day, State Sen. Eric Fingerhut, a Cleveland Democrat, said he planned to push for such a change. And Ohio Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell - like Taft, a Republican - angered the governor's office Monday by repeating his two-year-old pledge to try to close the same loophole.

"If there is a belief that what we have on the books is inadequate, let's fix it," said Taft spokesman Scott Milburn. "The governor wants to work with Secretary Blackwell to do this."

The governor's call for more disclosure follows reports that he participated in "Team Ohio" events, a state GOP-hatched plan to woo donors to the party's operating fund with promises of perks ranging from a reception at the Governor's Mansion to a day in the governor's box at an Ohio State University football game. Taft stopped short, however, of calling on his own party to disclose the money it has received in all its accounts.

Under an Ohio law in effect for decades, money paid into a political party’s operating accounts does not have to be disclosed and the party can accept unlimited donations. Both Taft and state GOP officials have declined to say who donated to Team Ohio-sponsored events.

Ohio Democrats made public a list of operating fund donors yesterday and lambasted the state GOP for failing to do the same.

Since January 1998, Democrats raised $19,781 for their operating account, which is used to pay things such as utility bills and salaries. The largest donation - $5,000 - came from the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. The smallest - $4.32 - came from the Franklin County Young Democrats.

"Who are the Republican donors?" asked Democratic Chairman David J. Leland. "Are they state contractors who are limited in their donations to the governor and would be embarrassed by the size of their contributions to the Ohio Republican Party? Are they state employees who cannot give directly to the governor?"

State GOP Chairman Robert T. Bennett won’t say.

"The main reason is these are people who have contributed the account over the years who don’t like their names disclosed every time they make a contribution," Bennett said. When the party collected the money, the donors were promised privacy, Bennett said, and he has no plans to break those promises.

"I see the handwriting on the wall, and I know disclosure is coming," he said. "When it comes, we’ll follow the law."

In addition to pushing for more disclosure, Fingerhut said he would press for a law to ban solicitations on public property.

He hopes to amend an existing reform bill, rather than offer separate legislation.

"We’re going to be looking to offer the kind of amendment to make it clear that fund-raising on public property is illegal and make it clear that disclosure of all contributions for all purposes in Ohio is the law," he said.

Despite Bennett’s prediction that a new reform law is inevitable, a key Republican lawmaker is reluctant to take up such a measure.

"Let me tell you, the problem with bringing a campaign finance bill to the floor is that all of a sudden we have all kinds of amendments to rewrite the whole campaign finance law," said Ohio Senate President Richard Finan, a suburban Cincinnati Republican. "Consequently, I have been loath to bring any campaign finance law to the floor."

In the past, the two parties have tangled over reform. Republicans traditionally try to curb giving by labor organizations that tend to support Democrats, while Democrats attempt to restrict money from businesses that tend to fund the GOP.

"I’m not real interested in getting into that again," Finan said.

E-mail: stheis@plaind.com

Phone: (216) 999-4213

©2000 THE PLAIN DEALER. Used with permission.