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Home > Blogs > Ohio politics > Archives > 2009 > November > 16
Monday, November 16, 2009
Yost, DeWine call for AG Cordray to withdraw his representation in “Joe the Plumber” case
The two Republican candidates for attorney general in 2010 on Monday, Nov. 16, called on Attorney General Richard Cordray to withdraw the attorney general’s office’s representation of three former state employees being sued by Samuel Joseph “Joe the Plumber” Wurzelbacher.
“To take this case, the attorney general has to be able to say that what these three did was part of their jobs - and that’s not an argument you can make with a straight face,” David Yost, the Delaware County prosecutor, said in a press release.
Former U.S. Sen. Mike DeWine of Cedarville said Cordray “should stop doing it.”
Cordray’s office had no reaction beyond comments the attorney general made last week.
Wurzelbacher sued the three former employees - Helen Jones Kelley, Douglas Thompson and Fred Williams - in U.S. District Court, charging that they violated his rights by accessing confidential information through state databases when they were working for the state.
Cordray, a Democrat, said last week that by providing representation he was following state law that “says in effect if you’re a state employee and you’re sued for work done in the course… of your employment, you’re entitled to a defense by the state attorney general’s office.”
He acknowledged that there are exceptions to this requirement but said that his decision would “minimize taxpayer exposure.” That’s because if representation is denied, the employee later can try to recover expenses after a lawsuit is settled, he said.
The exceptions are: if the employee “was acting manifestly outside the scope of his official employment or official responsibilities, with malicious purpose, in bad faith or in a wanton or reckless manner.”
Jones-Kelley formerly was director of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. Williams was assistant director and Thompson was deputy director of child support.
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Senate to consider pay cuts, budget fix separately
Breaking ranks with the Democratic-controlled House, the Republican-controlled Senate now plans to consider a bill cutting legislators’ pay by 5 percent separately from a measure to fill a $851 million budget hole, Senate Finance Committee John Carey, R-Wellston, said on Monday, Nov. 16.
It’s still not clear how the Senate will propose closing the budget hole, he said. The House-passed version of House Bill 318, which included the legislative pay cuts, calls for postponing for two years the fifth year of state income tax cuts to fill the budget hole.
“The debate still rages,” said Carey. Some senators want to count on future revenue from video lottery terminals at Ohio racetracks, although Carey said he doesn’t support this.
“I don’t personally think it’s a good idea,” he said. The slots-at-the-tracks plan first would have to face a vote of the people if a petition drive to get the issue on the next May’s ballot comes up with enough signatures.
The Senate version of the pay cuts, Senate Bill 209, also calls for 5 percent cuts for the governor, lieutenant governor and department heads. There also has been discussion of more budget cuts and using some of the $200 million in casino licensing fees, among other things.
The legislative pay cuts would trim the salaries of rank-and-file members, who earn $60,584 annually, by $3,092. The cuts would be bigger for legislative leaders who earn more.
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182,700 H1N1 doses on order
The Ohio Department of Health ordered another 182,700 doses of H1N1 flu vaccine from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The doses will be delivered directly to 467 local health departments and doctors for high-risk people such as pregnant women, health care workers, people 6 months to 24 years of age, and people 25 to 64 years of age with chronic medical conditions.
The latest order brings Ohio’s total to 1.6 million doses so far.
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Vonage customers to get refunds, AG says
Vonage, an Internet-based phone service, will give refunds to eligible consumers who filed complaints about Vonage between Jan. 2004 and March 16, 2010, according to a multi-state settlement reached Monday, Nov. 16.
Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray signed the settlement.
“Through this settlement, Vonage is held accountable for customer service and advertising practices that led Ohioans to be confused and dissatisfied,” said Cordray.
Consumers had complained that it was nearly impossible to cancel their Vonage service. It turns out Vonage paid its customer service representatives incentives for keeping patrons from canceling. The settlement puts strict limitations on this practice and requires recording and verification of these phone calls, according to Cordray’s office.
Also, Vonage will be revising its disclosures regarding offers of “free” services, money back guarantees and trial periods.
Ohioans may file complaints about Vonage through www.SpeakOutOhio.gov or by calling (800) 282-0515.
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Former U.S. Supreme Court Justice O’Connor to miss judicial reform forum
Former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, who was to be the headliner, has bowed out of a Columbus forum scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 19-Friday, Nov. 20 on judicial selection.
O’Connor’s husband, John J. O’Connor III, died on Nov. 11 after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease and O’Connor told Ohio Supreme Court Justice Thomas Moyer in a phone call that she would not be able to attend the forum as planned, according to the Web site of “A Forum on Judicial Selection - A Time for Action.”
The forum will be held at the Ohio Judicial Center and the Center of Science and Industry (COSI) in downtown Columbus.
Discussions will focus on finding alternatives to Ohio’s system partisan elections of Supreme Court justices. It is one of just eight states in which Supreme Court justices are chosen in partisan elections.
Moyer, an advocate for changing the system, has said he wants to develop a system that removes the perception that money - campaign contributions - determines the outcomes of cases.
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Sarah Palin’s book tour coming to Ohio
Sarah Palin, the 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate, is planning two Ohio stops on her book tour to tout “Going Rogue: An American Life.”
Both Ohio stops are scheduled for Friday, Nov. 20:
Cincinnati
Joseph-Beth Booksellers
2692 Madison Road
noon - 3 p.m.
Columbus
Borders Books and Music
6670 Sawmill Road
6 p.m. - 9 p.m.
Palin,the former governor of Alaska, already is being mentioned as a possible 2012 GOP presidential candidate.
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Poll: AARP Ohio members back key elements of health care overhaul
Ohio AARP members strongly supported key elements of the health care overhaul plan recently passed by the U.S. House, according to a poll released on Monday, Nov. 16, by AARP Ohio.
Here are key poll results:
*77 percent backed a ban on denying coverage based on pre-existing conditions.
*73 percent backed stopping insurance companies from charging much higher premiums based on age.
*68 percent supported closing the Medicare “doughnut hole.”
*81 percent supported requiring insurance companies to cover routine checkups and preventive care - like screenings for diabetes, prostrate cancer and osteoporosis - at no extra charge.
“Despite divisive rhetoric, our members - across party and ideological lines-= support health care reform that allows all Americans to get quality, affordable coverage and protects Medicare for today’s seniors and future generations,” Jane Taylor, state president for Ohio AARP, said in a press release.
The Senate now is considering the health care overhaul plan.
AARP Ohio surveyed 421 members from Oct. 30 to Nov. 8. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.8 percent, the press release said.
