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Columbus, OH —  Today, three of the five members of the “Foul Five” will meet at the Ohio Press Network GOP Senate forum in Columbus. And just because Vance and Timken won’t be there does not mean the forum will be any less nasty. 

In fact, it could mean tonight’s forum is even nastier. When Vance was absent from GOP events in the past, Mandel put together a shoebox with Vance’s face on it that reads “Never Trumper J.D. Vance” in his place. Yikes. 

The GOP Senate candidates will meet following two pro-Mandel Super PACs launching a cumulative $1 million ad buy attacking J.D. Vance. The ads highlight Vance’s own words calling Trump an “idiot,” “reprehensible,” and “noxious.” The latest ad lambasts Vance for calling himself a “flip-flopping flipper” to describe how he changed his position on Trump. 

And we know that all these attacks come at the expense of the issues Ohioans care about, like meaningful investments in infrastructure, efforts most of these candidates have opposed at every turn. Ohioans are looking for candidates who are on their side, and this lot isn’t it. 

“While Democrats are keeping their promises by investing in infrastructure and creating good-paying jobs, Ohio Republicans have focused on petty feuds that do nothing to help working families get ahead. Every forum and debate continues to highlight the deeply personal divisions that make the messiest primary in the country even messier,” said Michael Beyer, a spokesperson for the Ohio Democratic Party. 

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Columbus, OH — Today, Ohio Democratic Party Veterans and Military Community Caucus Chair Connie Pillich released the following statement to mark Veterans Day:

“I saw a commercial on TV the other day. A national company was touting its many employees who had had military service. While I was pleased that so many of my fellow veterans got good jobs after their service, it reminded me how trendy it is to support veterans these days.

“Back in the day, it was not so trendy. In the Vietnam era, it was a very different picture. There were no ticker-tape parades, no veterans hiring preferences, and almost no educational and health care benefits. Shamefully, some returning vets were greeted with scorn and vulgar gestures, rather than appreciation.

“So, it is nice to see the change. 

“But what will happen next? Our longest war is over. But it will continue to impact America’s post-9/11 veterans for many years to come: serious injuries such as amputations, traumatic brain injury, and post-traumatic stress don’t just disappear because we have withdrawn from Afghanistan. 

“In spite of progress such as the Forever GI Bill, the VA’s recognition of additional Vietnam War-related illnesses, and Ohio’s GI Promise, all of our veterans must build their lives in communities that largely cannot relate to what they have done. These days, only about one-half of one percent of Americans served their country – compared with about 12% during WWII. 

“I hope we do not forget the commitment and sacrifice of today’s veterans. Let’s continue this trend of supporting our veterans for a long time to come. Better yet, let’s make it a way of life.”

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Columbus, OH — In case you missed it, the Toledo Blade Editorial Board yesterday touted the importance of President Biden’s infrastructure bill that includes major investments to improve Ohio’s infrastructure and create new jobs for Ohioans. 

“This bill is the largest single commitment to infrastructure by the federal government in more than a decade. Once President Joe Biden signs the bill and the funding is on the way, Ohio and America must get to work to rebuild the state’s roads, bridges, and rails,” writes the Blade Editorial Board. 

“Ohioans were promised meaningful investments in infrastructure, and Ohio Democrats are keeping that promise. This bill will not only repair our broken roads and bridges, but also expand broadband across Ohio and create new, good-paying jobs for Ohioans. Despite GOP obstruction and opposition, Ohio Dems are delivering for working families in Ohio,” said Matt Keyes, spokesperson for the Ohio Democratic Party.

Read more from the Blade HERE and below:

• Passage of the $1 trillion infrastructure bill by Congress last week brings a much needed infusion of cash for infrastructure needs in Ohio. Working to modernize and fix faltering roads and bridges and other hard infrastructure programs means jobs for Ohioans.

• No state alone can fund the vast infrastructure needs brought on by decades of neglect. That’s why funding from the federal government was required.

• The bill provides an estimated $10 billion in funding for Ohio highways and makes additional competitive grant funding available.

• Ohio has more than 100,000 miles of roadways and the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), scored Ohio’s roads at a “D” in their 2021 report card.
• The bill provides $60 billion for state and local governments to fund major improvement projects, including work on bridges.

• Lake Erie will benefit from $1 billion in new funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.
• Ohio will net $1.2 billion over five years to help maintain water systems and provide safe drinking water.

• This bill is the largest single commitment to infrastructure by the federal government in more than a decade. Once President Joe Biden signs the bill and the funding is on the way, Ohio and America must get to work to rebuild the state’s roads, bridges, and rails.

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Columbus, OH — In case you missed it, The Ohio Capital Journal released new text messages today showing the former top utility regulator (and Mike DeWine appointee) helped FirstEnergy line its own pockets at the expense of hard-working Ohioans. The new messages put Shady Sam back in hot water, showing he provided FirstEnergy a myriad of favors from inside the DeWine administration, including dropping a few key sentences into the 2019 state budget that saved FirstEnergy millions of dollars and prevented Ohioans from receiving refunds based on the major profits the company received. DeWine appointed Randazzo to lead PUCO despite warnings about his close ties to Big Energy — close ties that ended up costing Ohioans dearly.  

“PUCO’s stated mission is to ensure Ohioans can access utility services like electric distribution, in a monopolistic market, at fair prices. The texts, however, suggest that PUCO’s chairman worked behind the scenes so utilities could pocket hefty margins from captive customers instead of refunding them,” writes Jake Zuckerman with The Ohio Capital Journal. 

“While Sam Randazzo was helping FirstEnergy keep money out of the pockets of hard-working Ohioans, Mike DeWine was praising Randazzo for the ‘good work’ he was doing. Ohioans deserve a government that is looking out for them, not big, special interests. It’s time for a new direction for Ohio,” said Matt Keyes, spokesperson for the Ohio Democratic Party. 

You can read more from Ohio Capital Journal here and below: 

• Ohio’s top utility regulator quietly lobbied lawmakers to include a provision in the state budget that saved tens of millions for FirstEnergy Corp., text messages from company executives show.

• Court records indicate prosecutors have mostly focused on two outputs from Randazzo to benefit FirstEnergy: his backstage role shaping HB 6, and his steering of PUCO decisions. 
• The obtained text messages, however, suggest Randazzo also helped convince lawmakers to slip into the 2019 budget a short few sentences worth millions to FirstEnergy.

• “Senate kept SEET in — thanks to ty and Sam Randazzo,” FirstEnergy Senior Vice President of External Affairs Michael Dowling texted to the company’s CEO Charles Jones on June 19, 2019, according to messages provided to The Ohio Capital Journal.
• The texts don’t identify “ty.” However, lobbying records show FirstEnergy’s director of state affairs, Ty Pine, registered to lobby on the budget.

• PUCO’s stated mission is to ensure Ohioans can access utility services like electric distribution, in a monopolistic market, at fair prices. The texts, however, suggest that PUCO’s chairman worked behind the scenes so utilities could pocket hefty margins from captive customers instead of refunding them.
• The change allowed FirstEnergy, technically the parent company of three Ohio utilities, to group its three subsidiaries together in determining whether their profits were “significantly excessive.” 
• This allowed FirstEnergy’s Ohio Edison utility, which serves more than 1 million residents, to run up what its critics call a significantly excessive profit margin, so long as lower returns from the other two brought down the aggregate rate.
• “FirstEnergy has used the SEET law change to avoid customer refunds and also to obfuscate what Ohio Edison’s earnings are, so that interested parties, regulators, and policymakers cannot determine how much excessive profit they are keeping,” wrote two consultants in a 2020 memo for the Ohio Manufacturers Association, which represents large-scale electricity customers.
• The obtained text messages add new detail alongside other previously known Randazzo interventions in PUCO cases and lobbying lawmakers to FirstEnergy’s benefit.

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Columbus, OH —  GOP U.S. Senate Candidate J.D. Vance “blew past the October 29 deadline to file federally mandated financial-disclosure forms,” according to a new report from Business Insider. A personal financial disclosure allows voters to see how candidates make their money and any potential conflicts of interest that may exist that voters should know about before they head to the polls. 

“Ohioans have to pay their bills on time but for a Silicon Valley millionaire like Vance, deadlines are merely suggestions. Now voters are being forced to wait to learn the extent of Vance’s Big Tech ties – but just like how he tried to cover up his anti-Trump past, Vance will fail to hide the truth from Ohioans,” said Michael Beyer, a spokesperson for the Ohio Democratic Party. 

Business Insider: Republican Senate candidate J.D. Vance of Ohio missed a major financial-disclosure deadline — and still hasn’t shared details of his wealth. Here’s why that matters.

Meghan Morris, Kimberly Leonard, and Adam Wren 

November 8, 2021 

• The “Hillbilly Elegy” author turned US Senate hopeful J.D. Vance blew past the October 29 deadline to file federally mandated financial-disclosure forms.
• Vance’s disclosure could detail the money he made from five years of tech investing and “Hillbilly Elegy” sales, as well as his subsequent Netflix adaptation deal. It could also provide information about business ties Vance has to the billionaire Republican megadonor Peter Thiel, who is financially backing Vance’s Senate bid.
• Such financial disclosures also detail candidates’ investments in public and private companies, real estate, brokerage accounts, pensions, and other holdings. They also show any debt that candidates have.
• Under federal law, Vance had 30 days to disclose his financial records after he filed his campaign paperwork with the Federal Election Commission. His first deadline was July 31, but he filed for and was granted an extension, which made October 29 the new deadline.
• Federal officials generally waive a $200 late-filing fee as long as a candidate files no more than 30 days late. But Vance is still in violation of the law for failing to disclose the financial documents on time.
• “Financial-disclosure laws have strict deadlines because voters have a right to know the candidate’s potential conflicts of interests well before they cast their ballots,” Kedric Payne, the senior director of ethics at the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center, told Insider. “When candidates fail to comply with the deadlines, voters should question whether they will comply with ethics laws once elected.”
• The Ohio Democratic Party highlighted Vance’s blown deadline in a Monday email blast. “For a millionaire like Vance, a deadline is just a suggestion,” the email said.
• In 2016, Vance joined the Thiel-backed venture-capital firm Mithril Capital, then hopped to Steve Case’s venture-capital firm, Revolution, the following year.
• In 2019, he left to found his own venture-capital firm in Ohio, Narya Capital. Vance’s investors in his debut $100 million fund include Thiel, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, and the legendary venture capitalist Marc Andreessen.
• This summer, Vance took a leave of absence from Narya, handing the firm reins to cofounder Colin Greenspon.
• His campaign has repeatedly declined to answer questions from Insider about how Vance would separate his conflicts of interest between his investments — which include companies in agriculture and defense — and his seat in the Senate.
• Experts on venture capital expressed concern about Vance’s potential conflicts in an August investigation by Insider into his mixed record as a tech investor and nonprofit founder. 
• “There are a thousand red flags,” said Jeff Sohl, the director of the University of New Hampshire’s Center for Venture Research. “You’re either going to be a really great VC and a bad senator, or a bad VC and a great senator. Or what will likely happen is you’re worse at both because you can’t do both jobs.”

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