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Columbus, OH — Today, Theodore Decker of the Columbus Dispatch reminded us all just how far Mike DeWine has fallen in the last year. Facing a messy primary challenge, with another reported challenger set to emerge, DeWine is putting politics over the health and safety of Ohioans, too weak to stand up to his own party and do what’s right for the Ohioans he is supposed to serve.

Decker outlines how DeWine has shifted from listening to health experts like Dr. Amy Acton and doing what’s best for his constituents amid the COVID-19 pandemic to backing down to extreme Republicans within his own party who are putting the health of Ohioans at risk.

“Facing muzzles like this and being up for reelection in 2022, DeWine must have seen the threats of schoolyard bullies scrawled on the wall. He began to back down. The same issues that once would have yielded his unflinching assessment now yield only generalities that foist responsibility onto his constituents,” writes Decker.

“Ohioans expect their Governor to lead in the face of adversity, DeWine has instead wilted away to save his own political hide. If DeWine is too weak to stand up to his own party amid a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic, how can he be expected to lead on any other issue that matters to Ohioans? If Mike DeWine doesn’t want to make the tough calls, he doesn’t deserve the job,” said Matt Keyes, spokesperson for the Ohio Democratic Party.

Read more from the Columbus Dispatch HERE and below:

• Facing muzzles like this and being up for reelection in 2022, DeWine must have seen the threats of schoolyard bullies scrawled on the wall.
• He began to back down. The same issues that once would have yielded his unflinching assessment now yield only generalities that foist responsibility onto his constituents.
• That’s what’s known as passing the buck.

• As COVID-19 infections among children soar and hospital systems have undertaken an advertising campaign that begs Ohioans to get vaccinated, we are left with tepid sentiments from the governor, like this one about the recent trend of taking a horse dewormer unapproved for treatment of COVID-19.
• You can almost see him eyeing the exits.

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Columbus, OH — Today, the Ohio Democratic Party blasted Republicans on the GOP-led Ohio Redistricting Commission who have yet to release proposed maps after they ignored the first constitutional deadline last week, in which the Commission was — by law –supposed to have produced maps and held public hearings. With less than one week until the final deadline, Republicans on the Commission still have not produced maps and are rushing the process through without giving Ohioans adequate time to weigh in on the proposed maps that will affect every issue important to voters — from healthcare to education to the economy.

“Ohioans twice voted overwhelmingly to reform redistricting to give voters a say in the process that has too often been politicized by the Ohio GOP. This Republican-led Commission has one week to adopt a fair map that reflects the preferences of the voters of Ohio. We expect this Commission to fulfill that core duty, even though they ignored other constitutional requirements at earlier stages in the process. Ohioans voted for transparency and accountability, not more one-sided political games that leave Ohioans in the dark,” said Matt Keyes, spokesperson for the Ohio Democratic Party.

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Columbus, OH — In case you missed it, the Columbus Dispatch today detailed newly-released documents tying yet another major corruption scandal directly to Ohio Republicans. Campaign finance records detailed in the report show that high-level officials connected to the Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow (ECOT) made donations to Republican officials who were in a position to help the charter school, which defrauded taxpayers by lying about enrollment numbers and has since failed to pay back the taxpayer money it owes the state.

Ohio Republicans, including Mike DeWine, Jon Husted, Frank LaRose, Dave Yost, Keith Faber and Josh Mandel, all took massive donations from ECOT founder Bill Lager.

“All of the contributions went to Republican party accounts and nearly all of the candidates backed by ECOT were Republicans. And roughly $1.4 million of the candidate contributions went to legislative candidates. Lager and his associates ramped up political giving over the years and strategically donated to politicos who were positioned to help or hurt the online school,” reports Laura Bischoff for the Columbus Dispatch.

The latest ECOT revelations come as we continue to find out more information about the GOP-led public corruption scandal, the largest in state history, in which high-level Republicans took multi-million dollar bribes to raise the cost of energy bills for hardworking Ohioans.

“Every day, we seem to get more and more information about another major ongoing scandal connected to Ohio Republicans. It’s clear these politicians are only looking out for themselves and can’t be trusted. After decades of Republican rule that has seen historic corruption and grift, Ohioans deserve leadership that’s looking out for working families, not special interest donors in Columbus,” said Matt Keyes, spokesperson for the Ohio Democratic Party.

Read more from the Columbus Dispatch HERE and below:

• There were days when Bill Lager wrote check after check to political parties and candidate campaigns, sending tens of thousands of dollars out as he built the Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow into the Ohio’s largest online charter school.
• Campaign finance records turned over in response to a federal grand jury subpoena issued in February 2019 show that Lager and his associates contributed $1.66 million to candidate committees and another $300,000 to political parties from 2000 to 2019.
• Lager and his associates ramped up political giving over the years and strategically donated to politicos who were positioned to help or hurt the online school. Recipients included legislative leaders and committee chairs, candidates for governor and state auditor, supreme court justices and state school board candidates.
• The donations hit a crescendo in June 2017 when Lager and ECOT Director of Operations Melissa Vasil each contributed $12,000 to Republican Larry Householder’s campaign committee and each contributed $38,000 to the Ohio Republican Party – $100,000 donated in the span of four days.

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Columbus, OH — In an interview with the Logan Daily News, millionaire J.D. Vance had trouble naming what Our Ohio Renewal, his non-profit organization meant to address the opioid epidemic, has done to help Ohioans struggling with addiction. Vance even seemed to acknowledge the non-profit’s limited impact, citing only “small grants and funds…here and there,” and said that he was “doing less and less with the non-profit” as the Senate campaign ramped up and was instead “focusing more” on his own political career.

These comments follow a Business Insider investigation that found Vance’s non-profit was a “charade” and “superficial,” bolstering himself and his personal ambitions. Business Insider found that in its first year, the group spent more money paying for “management services” provided by Vance’s top political advisor than on programs to fight opioid abuse. Vance’s campaign hasn’t included his experience at Our Ohio Renewal on his campaign website and refused to respond to Business Insider’s questions.

“Silicon Valley millionaire J.D. Vance is struggling to explain what his sham non-profit has actually done to help Ohioans struggling with addiction and he’s already planning to do ‘less and less’ so he can focus on running for office instead. Whatever pathetic excuse he comes up with next, one thing is clear: Vance will do or say anything to further his own self-serving ambition,” said Michael Beyer, a spokesperson for the Ohio Democratic Party.

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Columbus, OH — Today, the Sojourner’s Truth published an article featuring Toledo leaders condemning Republican Senate candidates for their opposition to the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. In the article, State Rep. Paula Hicks-Hudson, CWA Local 4319 President Erika White, and UAW Local 14 President Tony Totty slammed Republican Senate candidates for putting politics ahead of good-paying jobs and investments in Ohio’s infrastructure. The article also mentions that GOP Senate candidates are opposed to the bill to curry favor with Donald Trump even though Sen. Portman – who they are all trying to replace – backs the bill.   

Read more at The Sojourner’s Truth.  

The Sojourner’s Truth: Toledo Leaders Slam Republican Senate Candidates for Attacking Infrastructure Bill

On Thursday, August 26, several Toledo leaders held a press conference to condemn Republican Senate candidates’ opposition to the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act

“Democrats are delivering for working families by creating good-paying jobs and investing in roads, bridges, water pipes, and high-speed internet. But instead of standing up for our state and supporting this commonsense plan Ohio Republicans running for Senate are too busy jockeying for Trump’s endorsement,” said State Rep. Paula Hicks-Hudson during the event.

The bill will bring a one-time supplemental appropriation of $548 billion to fund everything from major highway projects, to mass transit, to Great Lakes restoration and bringing broadband internet access to areas that don’t have it.

Ironically, the bill is the culmination of a bipartisan effort led, in great part, by Republican Ohio Senator Rob Portman who is retiring. The Republicans vying to replace him – Josh Mandel, former Ohio treasurer; Jane Timken, former chair of the Ohio Republican Party; J.D. Vance, author and venture capitalist; Mike Gibbons, Cleveland businessman; Bernie Moreno, Cleveland car dealer – have all issued statements opposing the Portman crafted legislation in order to curry favor from Donald Trump who has stated his own opposition.

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CWA Local 4319 President Erika White: “Clearly, the Ohio Republican Senate candidates who are opposed to this funding don’t care about helping working families or growing jobs in Ohio – or else they would support the bipartisan infrastructure bill. Instead, they only care about looking out for themselves and their political ambitions. Ohioans deserve leaders focused on Ohio. It’s time for the House to pass this vital bill so we can make meaningful investments in our infrastructure and build our economy.”

Mandel, the polling leader in the race, has made it clear that his primary concern is more about the fact that the Republicans in the Senate who have supported the bill – 19 of 50 senators – should not have embraced the spirit of bipartisanship. […]

UAW Local 14 President Tony Totty would disagree with such sentiments: “It’s past time for us to make upgrades to our roads, bridges, public transit, and water pipes. It’s shameful leading Ohio GOP Senate candidates have decided they would block progress for all of our families to put their corporate special interest donors first.”

Parts of the infrastructure bill will be paid for by redirecting money from previously awarded coronavirus relief funds and enhanced unemployment funds that states rejected. The Congressional Budget Office has said the bill will add $256 billion to the federal deficit over 10 years.

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