Governor Taft, ethics, and accountability in Ohio
On Tuesday, the Ohio Supreme Court's Board of Commissioners on Greivances and Discipline agreed with the recommendation from a three member panel that Governor Taft should be publicly reprimanded for his conviction on misdemeanor ethics charges.
This relates to the governor's admission in August of 2005 that over 7 years he failed to report 45 golf outings provided to him as required by state ethics laws. This sorry saga which saw the governor fined $4000 as the first sitting governor convicted of a crime is indicative of the inherent problems with one party rule in which there are no checks and balances.
These revelations, involving a lifelong public servant who most certainly knew better, appear to be part of a broad pattern of what we have seen statewide with irregularities seen in the Bureau of Workers Compensation and also locally with illegal funneling of cash to President Bush's campaign in the 2004 election by several veteran political figures with the assistance of Tom Noe.
The silence has been deafening from members of the majority party in Ohio, as they have focused their efforts on keeping their stranglehold on the power they now possess, rather than working to clean up the corruption in our state.
We need leaders who will be accountable to the people of Ohio and not special interests and the politically connected. One way of achieving this is to work toward a plan for campaign finance reform, to take away the apparent influence peddling and purchasing that routinely occurs. One of my goals, if elected, is to pursue real campaign finance reform that will serve to return the government to the people and reduce the powerful influence of special interests.
Thank you and have a good evening,
Mark
posted by Mark @ 8:53 PM
3 comments
3 Comments:
Although Ken Blackwell has tried to distance himself from Bob Taft, I heard that Taft will host a fundraiser for Blackwell next week. Blackwell is from the same group that has given this state dismal leadership over the past 16 years.
Has your opponent been a Taft backer during his 2 years in the General Assembly?
Taft and all of his Republican buddies are only concerned about keeping their power so they can hand out the spoils of victory to their contributors (ie The Tom Noe's of the world). Even when they are caught red handed, the politicos only get a slap on the wrist (ie Donna Owesn, Betty Shultz and Maggie (do Nothing)Thurber. Disgusting!
We need to clean up the mess in Columbus.
To concerned citizen: I believe my opponent has been a supporter of Governor Taft during his tenure in the Ohio house. I can only tell you that I didn't vote for Taft either chance I had, although since he had such a large amount of special interest money, he sailed to victory. I can also tell you that I support Ted Strickland for governor in 2006 and pledge to work with him for a new beginning in Ohio!
To disgusted taxpayer: I agree with you that the Republicans are mainly interested in maintaining their hold on power in Ohio. That is why there has been no outcry from the Republican majority. Their silence has been deafening. You're correct about the slaps on the wrist. Unless there is punishment for these unethical deeds, there will likely be others who are tempted to break the law.
We'll keep fighting for the ordinary, hard-working, tax-paying citizens of District 46.
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