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Columbus, OH – Today, the Ohio Democratic Party submitted a public records request to the DeWine Administration seeking to clarify reports that Justice Joe Deters made a political deal to run against a sitting Democrat in order to secure his appointment to the Ohio Supreme Court. 

Deters, who never served as a judge prior to his appointment to the Court, is a close political and personal ally of the DeWine family. The public records request seeks any and all records from the Governor’s office pertaining to Deters’ appointment. 

• Read the public records request HERE 

“Joe Deters’ appointment to the Ohio Supreme Court never passed the smell test, and these latest revelations reek of dirty politics. Ohioans deserve to know if Deters is only sitting on the Supreme Court because Republicans are playing political games with the state’s highest court,” said Matt Keyes, spokesperson for the Ohio Democratic Party. 

Since his appointment to the Court, Deters has ruled on a number of cases that would be helpful to DeWine. Earlier this year, Deters ruled that taxpayers don’t deserve to know how much taxpayer money DeWine spent on his trip to the Super Bowl in 2022. 

When Deters was first appointed to the Court, the Cleveland.com editorial board wrote that he was a ‘mistaken choice’ for the Ohio Supreme Court. The editorial board pointed out that Deters has ‘zero judicial experience,’ that Deters enjoys a close, personal relationship with the Republican who appointed him and that there are ‘many conflicts and questions about Deters’ qualifications and past service.’

Deters has also faced criticism for refusing to recuse himself from a case his office oversaw when he served as Hamilton County Prosecutor. Time and again, Deters has demonstrated to Ohioans that he’s putting his own political interests over theirs.

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Bernie Moreno: Bad News For Ohio

Columbus, OH – Welcome to Bad News Bernie: your brand-new, weekly one-stop-shop for the latest news (spoiler alert: it’s usually bad) about Bernie Moreno. From refusing to pay his employees the overtime they’d earned, to his support for a national abortion ban and his record exploiting his insider connections to enrich himself, one thing is clear: Moreno is out-for-himself and Bad News for Ohio. 

NEED-TO-KNOW THIS WEEK:

• A new website – BernieTheLemon.Com – exposes Moreno, in his own words, for his record putting himself before Ohioans. 

• New reporting from the New York Times highlights Moreno’s “remarkable wealth” and lucrative assets – including a $2.3 million Aston Martin Vulcan (“one of only 24 ever made”) and properties worth up to $24.7 million altogether. 

• Moreno enters the general bruised and with significant baggage with national Republicans noting that “Bernie’s not looking too hot.”

🍋 BERNIETHELEMON.COM: A new website – BernieTheLemon.Com – uses Bernie Moreno’s own words to show Ohioans his long record of putting himself first. Check out the highlights – err, lowlights – of what you can expect from this used car salesman trying to sell Ohioans a lemon: Moreno would vote for a national abortion ban without exceptions; Moreno refused to pay his workers the overtime they earned, then destroyed the evidence to get away with it; Moreno exploited his insider political connections to boost his businesses and enrich himself. Visit BernieTheLemon.Com for more, and see what they’re saying:

Associated Press:

💰 OUT FOR HIMSELF: New reporting from the New York Times highlights Moreno’s “remarkable wealth” and lucrative assets – including a $2.3 million Aston Martin Vulcan (“one of only 24 ever made”) and properties worth up to $24.7 million altogether. Reminder: multimillionaire Moreno has already dumped $4.5 million of his personal wealth into his campaign to try to buy this race.

😬 “BERNIE’S NOT LOOKING TOO HOT:” As Moreno enters the general with significant baggage, here’s a reminder that Moreno’s so-called “allies” were hand-wringing about Moreno’s  seemingly unlimited baggage and record of looking out for himself: “Bernie’s not looking too hot,” “he won’t do what’s best for Ohioans and Americans, he’ll do what’s best for Bernie Moreno,” “this is a guy [Moreno] that does what is in his own best interest, his self-serving interest, including not treating his employees fairly and evidently being willing to destroy evidence.” 

 🗞️ WHAT OHIOANS ARE READING / WATCHING:

• New York Times: “In Ohio, Mr. Moreno’s Republican opponents…repeatedly went after him for a lawsuit filed by an employee of one of his car dealerships, who sued him in 2017 for failure to pay overtime. The judge in the case determined that Mr. Moreno “either did not retain or shredded” monthly reports on overtime hours…Mr. Moreno did lose the suit and was ordered to pay $416,160 to his employees.”

• NBC: “…characterizing Moreno as an unprincipled businessman who mistreats employees, citing past lawsuits over workplace discrimination and overtime pay against his companies.”

• Gary Peters, Morning Joe: “…​​Moreno, who refused to pay overtime to his employees, they had to sue him, and then he destroyed evidence to try to get out of it. He is all about himself…”

• NPR: “​​The Ohio Democratic Party has been pushing a narrative that whoever emerged from this brutal campaign would do so with a lot of baggage. They’ve attempted to draw attention to Moreno’s positions on immigration and on abortion.”

• AP: The Ohio Democratic Party wasted no time after Tuesday’s vote launching an anti-Moreno website that included some of Republicans’ own intraparty attacks against the nominee, including LaRose’s.”

• David Niven, CBS News Hour: “Bernie Moreno, whose career was as a car dealer and who has some, you know, legal entanglements with underpaying his staff”

• Business Insider: “The former car dealership owner has also faced several lawsuits stemming from his time in the industry, including being sanctioned by a Massachusetts judge for shredding documents that may have been relevant to a wage theft lawsuit he was facing.”

• Columbus Dispatch: “He was also dogged by legal trouble from his car dealership days, including over a dozen lawsuits in Massachusetts that accused him of not properly paying overtime to his employees.”

• Cincinnati Enquirer: “Moreno’s campaign was sidetracked down the stretch when reports surfaced that he had settled a series of wage theft lawsuits and was once caught shredding documents.”

• NBC: “Dolan and Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, the other GOP candidate in the race, emphasized Moreno’s reversals on several policy positions and rehashed the stories about the lawsuits he had faced and describing him as untrustworthy.”

🐤 TWEET OF THE WEEK: 

🎶 CODA: “As Ohioans begin kicking the tires on Senate candidate Bernie Moreno, it won’t be long before they find out he’s a lemon” – check out BernieTheLemon.Com for more. 🍋 

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Columbus, OH – REMINDER: Bernie Moreno has repeatedly called for a government shutdown despite the devastating consequences it would have on Ohioans. With a government funding deadline today, Ohioans should know that Moreno is only fighting for himself – not Ohioans. 

• Bernie Moreno: “[A government shutdown] would not be something you’d take off the table…”

• Cleveland.com: Moreno is “clearly in favor of using the threat of shutting down the government…”

• The Columbus Dispatch: Moreno “went a step further and said [he’d] threaten a government shutdown if necessary.”

A government shutdown would be devastating for Ohioans:

• Ohio small businesses would lose an estimated $4,627,400 in financing per business day. 

• A shutdown would negatively impact the economy, Ohio workers, and Ohio families – an estimated 6,800 active duty troops in Ohio would not receive pay and tens of thousands of civilian employees would either be furloughed or forced to work without pay.

• Many Ohio families, including more than 93,000 Ohio children, would also lose their access to healthy food.

• Ohioans receiving Social Security could be at risk for disruptions.

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Columbus, OH – Following this week’s primary elections, Justice Michael Donnelly, Justice Melody Stewart and Judge Lisa Forbes are all setting their sights on the general election and rising above party labels to restore fairness, justice and equality to the Ohio Supreme Court. For too long, Ohioans have had to endure a Supreme Court that put politics over people, and the Democrats running for Supreme Court are working to flip the court, honor the rule of law and protect our fundamental freedoms – including abortion rights, voter rights and worker rights. 

See more of what Ohioans are reading today about Ohio’s Supreme Court Race: 

AP: Democrats hope to flip Ohio’s supreme court this fall. Tuesday’s primary settled the contests
Christene Fernando 

“But Democrats see an opening after 57% of Ohio voters backed a reproductive rights measure last fall. They plan to draw attention to the court’s influence over the amendment’s future and see the races as a possible way to chip away at the Republican Party’s longstanding control of all three branches of government in Ohio.”

Ohio Capital Journal: Ohio Supreme Court Democratic candidates look to rise above party labels in general election
Susan Tebben
March 21, 2024

“As they plan to meet with voters and garner support for their campaigns, the judicial candidates said their strategy is educating Ohioans on their credentials and their record. ‘When people are given the full complement of information … about who we are, what we stand for and the importance of this race, then they vote their self-interest,’ Forbes said. ‘And the self-interest of Ohioans is to protect their rights under the constitution.’”

WTVG-TV Toledo: Democratic Ohio Supreme Court candidates turn focus to general election
March 20, 2024

“‘Our judges are going to be on the bench to remove politics and support the will of the voters,’ said Ohio Democratic Chairwoman Liz Walters…Democrats expect to campaign for their candidates on the issues of abortion rights and preserving Democracy.”

Toledo Blade: Forbes wins Democratic nod for Ohio Supreme Court
Jim Provance
March 19, 2024

“The high court is getting additional attention this year because it will preside as the effects are felt from last year’s Issue 1 that enshrined a right to abortion access in the Ohio Constitution.It could also judge the constitutionality of congressional and state legislative district maps that could be redrawn as early as next year if a proposed constitutional amendment taking the process out of politicians’ hands makes it to the general election ballot and passes.”

Dayton Daily News: Forbes wins Ohio Supreme Court race; Hanseman wins appeals court spot
Eric Schwartzberg
March 19, 2024

“The backdrop on all of these statewide races is a tussle between Republicans and Democrats for majority control over the state’s top court, which could prove critical in high-profile issues such as deciding the parameters of abortion rights in Ohio following November’s passage of Issue 1.”

Columbus Dispatch: Lisa Forbes defeats Terri Jamison for Democratic nomination for Ohio Supreme Court: AP
Laura Bischoff
March 19, 2024

“Supreme Court decisions impact how much Ohioans pay in taxes, whether utility companies can add fees to ratepayers’ bills, how insurance and business laws are interpreted, what government records will be available to the public and more. With the passage of Issue 1 in November, the Ohio Supreme Court next year is expected to rule on lawsuits that challenge existing laws that restrict abortion.”

WCMH-TV Columbus: Lisa Forbes wins Democratic primary for Ohio Supreme Court
Sarah Szilagy
March 19, 2024

“In fact, in Forbes’ eyes, the greatest obstacle to achieving justice is the lack of trust and confidence in the judiciary. The system cannot work if the people do not trust it, she said. Increasing transparency is vital, Forbes said. As an appellate judge, she said she aims to thoroughly explain her decisions to the parties, not just to their attorneys.”

Cleveland.com Capitol Letter: 

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Columbus, OH – Today, the Ohio Democratic Party released the following statement after anti-abortion lobbyist Kevin Coughlin emerged from the GOP primary in OH-13. 

“Lobbyist Kevin Coughlin has spent his career looking out for himself and his own political interests at the expense of Northeast Ohioans. From working to ban abortion, repeal the Affordable Care Act, attack worker rights and gut Social security and Medicare, it’s clear that Coughlin is on the wrong side of the issues that matter most to Ohio families. As much as Coughlin will try to hide from his record, we plan to remind voters in the 13th District at every turn just how out-of-touch Coughlin really is,” said Matt Keyes, spokesperson for the Ohio Democratic Party. 

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