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Home > Blogs > Ohio politics > Archives > 2009 > October > 01
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Ohio Chamber of Commerce backs Strickland tax plan
The Ohio Chamber of Commerce, the state’s largest business advocacy group, on Thursday, Oct. 1, reluctantly endorsed, Gov. Ted Strickland’s plan to plug a $851 million state budget hole by postponing the last year of state personal income tax rate cuts.
While Strickland’s proposal was “disappointing, we believe this may be the least onerous option available at this point in time,” a press release said.
In the release, chamber President Andrew E. Doehrel urged Strickland and legislative leaders to adopt a mechanism that automatically restores the tax cut when specific criteria are met.”
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Dayton candidates taking part in election forum tonight
Candidates for Dayton mayor and city commission seats are taking part in a meet the candidates night today, Oct. 1, sponsored by Updayton and the League of Women Voters.
Dayton Mayor Rhine McLin and challenger Gary Leitzell as well as commission candidates Joey Williams, Nan Whaley and David Esrati are scheduled to be at tonight’s event at c}space, 20 N. Jefferson St. The forum begins at 6 p.m.
There are several other candidate nights planned and Dayton school board candidates may take part in some of these events
Here’s a list of some of the upcoming events. Email me at ashoemaker@daytondailynews.com if you know of any other election events.
Dayton candidate nights
Oct. 5: Ruskin School, 407 Ambrose Court, 6:30 p.m.
Oct. 12: Mary Queen of Peace Activity Center, 200 Homewood Ave., 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 22: St. Anthony Elementary School, 825 Creighton Ave., 7 p.m.
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ProgressOhio.org weighs in on Husted lawsuit
A court ruling throwing out the Ohio Secretary of State’s residency ruling against State Sen. Jon Husted, R-Kettering, would render state residency laws “toothless as applied to public officials,” according to ProgressOhio.org, a liberal advocacy group that filed a brief of amicus today, Oct. 1, in the Ohio Supreme Court.
In October 2008 ProgressOhio.org was the first to request a Montgomery County Board of Elections investigation of Husted’s residency for voting purposes. Today’s filing was in Husted’s Ohio Supreme Court case filed against Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner and the local elections board. In his Sept. 22 lawsuit Husted asked the court to dismiss Brunner’s Sept. 21 ruling that he does not live in Montgomery County and therefore the board should cancel his voter registration.
ProgressOhio.org argues that Brunner did not abuse her discretion and that her decision gives needed guidance to elections boards on residency matters involving elected officials. The filing asks that the court deny Husted’s request for a ruling against Husted.
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Husted: Bill would help get federal bucks for schools
Sen. Jon Husted, R-Kettering, on Thursday, Oct. 1, introduced legislation that he said would help Ohio better compete for $4.35 billion from the federal Race to the Top program.
U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan has made it clear that only states creating conditions for innovation and reform would compete for grant money, Husted said in a press release.
Senate Bill 180 would allow operators of high-performing brick and mortar charter schools to open new schools and would remove a moratorium on new start-up Internet and computer-based charter schools, said Husted.
It also would make participants in the Teach for America program eligible for an Ohio teaching license, Husted said.
“During these tough and uncertain financial times, I believe it is imperative that Ohio be in a strong position to take advantage of the Race to the Top dollars,” Husted said.
Amanda Wurst, Gov. Ted Strickland’s press secretary, said in an e-mail that the governor hasn’t reviewed Husted’s proposal.
“The most important step in ensuring Ohio is competitive for Race to the Top dollars is to address the $851 million hole in the education budget as quickly as possible,” Wurst said.
Strickland has proposed closing the hole by postponing the last year of personal income tax rate cuts.
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UPDATED with FOP response - Anti-gambling Methodist leader: Pro-casino group “bought” FOP support
The leader of the United Methodist Church’s Ohio anti-gambling task force on Thursday, Oct. 1, said backers of the four-casino plan on the Nov. 3 ballot “bought” the support of the Ohio Fraternal Order of Police.
“It’s legal. It’s not a bribe,” the Rev. John Edgar emphasized at a Statehouse news conference called to outline church opposition to the casinos.
The FOP support came because some of the taxes the casinos pay would be used for law enforcement training and some would go to local governments which could use the money to pay for law enforcement, Edgar said.
If the FOP support could be gained that easily, “what do you think is going to happen in the halls of this building….?” Edgar asked.
Mark Drum, Ohio FOP treasurer and legislative chairman, lashed back.
“I think all 26,000 law enforcement officers in Ohio are offended by his comments,” said Drum. The endorsement was made by the FOP membership, not just the leadership, he said.
The proposal would guarantee needed money for law enforcement training through a state program, he said.
Also, it would help struggling local governments that have been forced to cut back on police and fire protection during the tough economic times, Drum said.
“We (the FOP) do not get a single penny of any of these proceeds,” said Drum.
Bob Tenenbaum, spokesman for the pro-casino Ohio Jobs and Growth Plan, called the charge an “outrageous accusation.”
Tenenbaum said the casino proposal would provide about $13 million a year for law enforcement training.
The proposal would benefit the people of Ohio who are served by the police, not the FOP, said Tenenbaum.
At the press conference, Bishop Bruce R. Ough, leader of the West Ohio Conference of the United Methodist Church, which includes the Dayton area, said efforts are underway to mobilize opposition to Issue 3 at nearly 2,000 Methodist churches in Ohio. The churches have about half a million members he said.
The plan calls for putting 10,000 yard signs in churches and other places of worship, said Ough. Also, starting this Sunday, Oct. 3, information opposing Issue 3 will be placed in church bulletins.
He denounced pro-casino claims that the issue is about economic development.
The proposal calls for casinos in Cleveland, Cincinnati, Toledo and Columbus.
“In reality, they are motivated by greed, not good will,” said Ough.
Tenenbaum said casino backers had expected opposition from religious groups.
“We disagree with their views. We respect them,” said Tenenbaum.
Representatives of the Ohio Council of Churches, which represents 6,000 congregations with about 3 million members, also attended the press conference.
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Brown drops out of Secretary of State race
Franklin County Commissioner Marilyn Brown, a Democrat, announced Thursday, Oct. 1, that she is dropping out of the race for secretary of state and seeking re-election at the county level.
That leaves state Rep. Jennifer Garrison, D-Marietta, as the likely Democratic party nominee in the 2010 race.
On the Republican side, state Sen. Jon Husted, R-Kettering, faces a primary challenge from former Ashtabula County auditor Sandra O’Brien. O’Brien knocked out incumbent state treasurer Jennette Bradley in a GOP primary in 2006 but lost in the general election.
Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, also a Democrat, is running for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Republican George Voinovich. Brunner faces a primary challenge from Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher.
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Supreme Court upholds $250,000 damage cap for cities
The Ohio Supreme Court on Thursday, Oct. 1, ruled that a state law placing a $250,000 cap on the amount of non-economic damages an injured party may recover from a city or other political subdivision is constitutional.
The court’s 5-2 decision stemmed from a June 11, 2002, incident during a Cleveland Indians’ game at what was then Jacobs Field. The decision reversed an appeals court ruling.
The opinion upheld part of Ohio’s “sovereign immunity” law adopted as part of tort reform legislation. The provision says that except in wrongful death cases, the injured party can’t recover more than $250,000 in non-economic damages from a city even if a jury awards damages greater than that.
“A limit on the damages for which a political subdivision may be liable is rationally related to the purpose of preserving the financial integrity of political subdivisions,” Chief Justice Thomas J. Moyer wrote in the majority opinion.
Justice Paul E. Pfeifer’s dissenting opinion said that “Instead of jealously safeguarding the right to trial by jury, the majority in this case eviscerates it….”
In the case, Donald Krieger and Clifton Oliver of Cleveland were part of a group of people at an Indians’ game when an explosive device was dropped from the upper deck and was detonated at ground level, injuring four people.
Krieger and Oliver were arrested and held in jail for four days but charges of aggravated arson and felonious assault were dismissed.
They sued the city for malicious prosecution and related charges and a jury awarded each of them $400,000 in compensatory damages and $600,000 in punitive damages.
The trial court vacated the punitive damages and overruled the city’s motion to reduce compensatory damages to $250,000.
The city appealed but the 8th District Court of Appeals upheld the $400,000 awards to each man.
The Supreme Court decision reversed the appeals court ruling.
