The Ohio Democratic Party is committed to restoring accountability, honesty and openness at all levels of government.  The Party is countering the Republicans’ “business as usual” approach by making certain our country’s leaders serve the people’s interests, not special interests. 

Republican corruption scandals in Ohio garnered national attention and left citizens disillusioned by their government.  Bob Taft became the first Ohio governor convicted of a crime.  Bob Ney accepted expensive gifts from infamous lobbyist Jack Abramoff in exchange for legislative favors.  Tom Noe was convicted of stealing millions from the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation.

Since taking office in January 2007, Democrats have ended pay-to-play politics and are holding themselves and their staffs to the highest ethics requirements.  

GOP RECORD

Governor Convicted of Ethics Violations

• Taft Became First Ohio Governor Convicted of Crime.  In 2005, Governor Bob Taft was convicted on four misdemeanor counts for failing to report 52 golf outings, dinners, and other entertainment gifts.  Taft, Ohio’s first governor convicted of a crime, was fined the maximum penalty of $4,000. Two of the unreported golf outings were from Tom Noe, a prominent Republican fundraiser, who was convicted of theft, corruption, and money laundering. Members of Taft’s staff also admitted to accepting gifts and borrowing money from Noe. [Washington Post, 8/19/05; Cleveland Plain Dealer, 8/19/05]

Republican Fundraiser Swindles State Out of Millions

• Noe Convicted of Stealing Millions from Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation.  In 2006, Tom Noe, a longtime Republican fundraiser, was found guilty on 29 of 40 counts, including theft, corruption, and forgery.  Noe was responsible for overseeing the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation’s $50 million rare coin investment.  Instead of investing the money he spent it on three luxury homes and a boat and paid off hundreds of thousands of dollars in personal debt.  Several months prior to this conviction Noe pleaded guilty to illegally funneling $45,000 to President Bush's 2004 re-election campaign. [Toledo Blade, 11/13/06; Washington Post, 11/14/06]

Congressman Guilty of Accepting Abramoff Gifts

• Ney Pled Guilty in Abramoff Corruption Scandal.  In 2006, Congressman Bob Ney pled guilty to corruption charges stemming from the federal investigation of lobbyist Jack Abramoff.  Ney admitted performing official acts for Abramoff and other lobbyists in exchange for campaign contributions, expensive meals, luxury travel and skybox sports tickets.  Ney also admitted taking thousands of dollars in gambling chips from an international businessman who sought help with the State Department.  Ney was the first member of Congress to plead guilty in the investigation. [Washington Post, 10/14/06]

Attorney General Awarded Contracts Based on Campaign Contributions

• FBI Investigated Petro’s Pay-to-Play Politics.  Attorney General Jim Petro stripped $2 million in annual legal work from several Akron-area law firms because of their ties to the county’s Republican chairman and Petro political rival, Alex Arshinkoff.  Lawyers said that they lost state contracts because they had supported Arshinkoff and his preferred candidate for attorney general, Joseph Deters, who considered running against Petro in the 2002 primary.  Most of the legal work was transferred to Roetzel & Andress whose contributions totaled more than $51,000 to Petro’s gubernatorial campaign, the most of any law firm.  Petro’s actions warranted inquiries from the FBI. [Columbus Dispatch, 2/15/06]

• Petro Gave $15 Million in State Contracts to Campaign Contributors.  In 2005, four of every five dollars requested by Attorney General Jim Petro for special counsel contracts for the fiscal year were awarded to law firms that had given money to his political campaigns.  41 of the 57 law firms that received contracts had give Petro more than $800,000 since 1998.  Contracts totaled more than $15 million. [Cleveland Plain Dealer, 8/30/05]

SECRETARY OF STATE JENNIFER BRUNNER

Restoring Trust to Ohio’s Voters

• Restoring Integrity to Elections Process, Secretary of State’s Office.  After the 2004 election debacle, Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner is working to restore trust in the elections process.  She created the Voting Rights Institute designed to promote civic participation and to ensure every Ohioan’s right to vote in an election system that is fair, open, and honest.  She cleaned up the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections, is making voter registration more accessible, and is evaluating the integrity of Ohio’s voting systems. 

Accounting for Public Funding

• Recovering Improperly Used Funds.  The Brunner Administration discovered an improper use of public funding when more than $80,000 in bonus payments were awarded to 19 outgoing staff members.  Secretary Brunner felt this was not good stewardship of the public’s money and asked for an opinion from Attorney General Marc Dann, who concurred.  Secretary Brunner and her office are in the process of recovering these public funds  

TREASURER RICHARD CORDRAY

Increased Security Protocols and Ethics Requirements.

• Increased Office Security and Ethics Policies.  Treasurer Cordray instituted comprehensive background checks for all new employees and all existing unclassified employees.  Under his directive, a cash handling policy was created and all Treasury employees are required to complete an ethics training.