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Home > Blogs > Ohio politics > Archives > 2009 > October > 15
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Brunner: “I’m in (Senate) race until the end”
Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner has shaken up her fund raising staff for the 2010 U.S. Senate race and her fund raising continues to lag.
Brunner said on Thursday, Oct. 15, however, that she’s committed to staying in the race against Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher for the Democratic nomination.
“I’m still in the race until the end,” she said.
“The Hill”, a Washington, D.C., newspaper reported that Brunner is replacing her finance director, deputy and assistant, which Brunner confirmed.
“We wanted to move in a different direction,” said Brunner. There will be more emphasis on grassroots efforts, she said.
Her campaign finance report, due on Thursday to the Federal Election Commission, will show she raised less money in the last quarter, which ended Sept. 30, than she did in the previous three months when she raised about $228,000, she said.
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Catholic Bishops say “no” to four-casino plan
The Catholic Bishops of Ohio oppose Issue 3 on the Nov. 3 ballot, the proposed constitutional amendment to permit casinos in Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and Toledo, the bishops announced on Thursday, Oct. 15.
Also, the bishops announced support for Issue 2, which would create a statewide livestock standards board.
The bishops are “not opposed” to Issue 1, which would provide bonuses to veterans of the wars in Afghanistan and Iran and the Persian Gulf War.
The bishops include six Roman Catholic bishops and three Eastern Order bishops.
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Poll: Casino ballot plan has slight lead
A poll released on Thursday, Oct. 15, by opponents of the four-casino plan on the Nov. 3 ballot showed that the likely voters are slightly n favor of the proposal.
The poll, paid for by TruthPac, the anti-Issue 3 group, found 48 percent of likely voters favored the plan, 44 percent were opposed and 8 percent were undecided.
David Betras, Mahoning County Democratic chairman, released the poll and was pleased with the results.
“The more people learn about this sweetheart deal the casinos have written for themselves, the less they like it,” Betras said in a press release.
Bob Tenenbaum, spokesman for the pro-casino Ohio Jobs and Growth Plan, said the numbers in the poll don’t reflect what his group’s polls show.
“We continue to lead. There are daily ups and downs on various issues but overall, based on our own polls, we remain very confident,” said Tenenbaum.
The casinos are planned for Columbus, Cincinnati, Toledo and Cleveland. Penn National Gaming and Dan Gilbert, majority owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers, are the backers of the plan.
The telephone poll was conducted Oct. 7 - Sunday, Oct. 11 with 800 likely voters and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percent.
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UPDATED: Portman has $5.14 m and Fisher has $1.6 m on hand for U.S. Senate race
Republican Rob Portman had $5.14 million in cash on hand for his 2010 U.S. Senate race as of Sept. 30, the end of the third quarter reporting period, Portman’s campaign said on Thursday, Oct. 15.
Meanwhile, Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher’s Senate campaign reported that Fisher, a Democrat, finished the quarter with $1.6 million on hand.
The campaign raised $1.3 million in the third quarter and doubled its number of individual donors to nearly 7,000, the campaign said. The campaign spent $525,000 during the third quarter, said Jessica Towhey, campaign spokeswoman.
Portman, a former U.S. House member who served as budget director and trade representative under President George W. Bush, has total receipts of $6.23 million for his campaign, including money transferred from other funds. The Senate campaign has raised $4.71 million through Sept. 30.
Fisher raised about $620,000 in the third quarter and ha raised more than$2.5 million since entering the race, his campaign said.
Portman is running for the GOP nomination against Tom Ganley, a Cleveland-area car dealer. Fisher is running against Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner for the Democratic nomination.
Jeff Longstreth, spokesman for Ganley, said Ganley’s report would be “small.” Ganley, a millionaire, knows that he personally is “going to be funding the vast majority of the campaign,” said Ganley.
Brunner said that she was putting the finishing touches on her report.
Thursday was the deadline for filing campaign finance reports with the Federal Election Commission.
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Watchdog growls at lawmakers: few laws, lots of fundraisers
A government watchdog on Thursday, Oct. 15, released a study that showed Ohio legislators and Gov. Ted Strickland this year have been busy with fundraisers, but not so busy when it comes to enacting laws.
The study from Ohio Citizen Action’s Money in Politics project found that since January the House and Senate have canceled 40 of 92 sessions but have held 243 fundraisers, while canceling just three fundraisers.
Also, since January just nine bills have been signed into law, the lowest total in the past four legislatures.
“We really have come to almost a standstill,” said Catherine Turcer, director of the Money in Politics project.
The price tag to taxpayers for paying lawmakers and legislative support agencies is more than $55 million a year, said Turcrer.
The responsibility to get things moving is shared by House Speaker Armond Budish, D-Beachwood, Senate President Bill Harris, R-Ashland and Gov. Ted Strickland, a Democrat, said Turcer.
Keary McCarthy, spokesman for Budish, said comparing “numbers to numbers” doesn’t reflect what’s been going on in the legislature.
The $50.5 billion state budget, House Bill 1, not only appropriated money but enacted significant policy changes, including an overhaul of K-12 education, McCarthy said.
It also included economic development provisions such as several tax credits aimed at spurring investment, McCarthy added.
Aides to Strickland and Harris had no immediate reaction.
Lawmakers are focused on next year’s elections, not this year’s problems, Turcer said. said.
“When push comes to shove, it’s all about election 2010,” said Turcer.
