Container Top
Homes   Jobs   Cars   Shopping
Search

Events Calendar

EVENT SEARCH:

In This Section


Most Read Stories


Blogs:


Pets:
Cat-loving chihuahua suckles seven abandoned kittens

The Heldenfiles:
Friday Night Notebook

Patrick McManamon:
For your Saturday entertainment …

Akron Zips:
Hitchens leads Zips in second-half comeback

Tribe Matters:
Seven players added to Tribe’s 40-man roster

Cleveland Browns:
Holmgren expresses interest in Browns position

Kent State Sports:
Kent State blown out in second half, loses to Temple 47-13

Cleveland Cavaliers:
Gameblog: Cavs vs. Philadelphia 76ers

Buckeye Blogging:
OSU – Michigan college football rivals meet in Baghdad

Varsity Letters:
Four area football teams play tonight

All Da King's Men:
Headed For Disaster

Blog of Mass Destruction:
Will Health Care Reform Pass?

Akron Law Café:
Health Care Financing Reform: (68) Democrats Secure 60 Votes for Cloture

See Jane Style:
Vintage Chic

Car Chase:
TIME TO GET YOUR COLLECTOR CARS WINTERIZED

Let's Talk Real Estate:
Silverdome Potentially SOLD!

Ohio Travels with Betty:
George is looking for a Thanksgiving buffet in Akron.

Sound Check:
Steely Dan Plays "The Royal Scam" at E.J. Thomas Hall

HRLite House:
Colloquium at University of Akron

Akron Gamer:
Nintendo's Mario endures even as games come and go

Transparency matters

The Ohio Elections Commission appropriately lowers the boom

Published on Sunday, Apr 06, 2008

The Ohio Elections Commission presented a welcome surprise last week — in a unanimous, bipartisan package. The five-member body issued record fines of more than $5 million against two closely affiliated, pro-charter school political action committees. The committees, backed by Akron industrialist and charter-school operator David Brennan, were justifiably hammered for illegally funneling $870,000 to Ohio candidates in 2006.

Those representing the committees, All Children Matter Ohio and its Virginia affiliate, characterized the violations as technical, the fines of $2.6 million each out of proportion. They also attempted to argue that the commission was squelching free speech rights, as if Brennan will be hampered in widely expressing his views on education.

In truth, the often-toothless commission, acting on a complaint by Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, deserves credit for cracking down on what amounts to a money-laundering scheme. More, the laundering was done to keep Ohio voters in the dark about who was really supporting whom.

Brennan and his allies were well aware of similar shell games in political fund-raising, at both the national and state levels. They were warned by the elections commission about making large transfers from the Virginia-based political action committee (not registered in this state) to the Ohio organization, which in turn donated to individual candidates. They did so anyway. Why? Virginia, unlike Ohio, allows unlimited donations and corporate contributions.

The essential point the elections commission correctly underscored with its record fines is the need for transparency in the political system. In order to make an informed judgment at the polls, Ohio voters must have access to information about the source and amounts of campaign contributions.

All Children Matter left those principles behind when it arranged for a torrent of political cash to flow from Virginia to Ohio.

The Ohio Elections Commission presented a welcome surprise last week — in a unanimous, bipartisan package. The five-member body issued record fines of more than $5 million against two closely affiliated, pro-charter school political action committees. The committees, backed by Akron industrialist and charter-school operator David Brennan, were justifiably hammered for illegally funneling $870,000 to Ohio candidates in 2006.

Get the full article here.


Story tools

Email  Email   Print  Print   Save  Save   Reprint  Reprint   Popular  Most Popular   Reprint  Subscribe

Share this story

AddThis Social Bookmark Button















Most Commented Stories