COLUMBUS: The television ad war being waged statewide over State Issue 2 appears to be lopsided in favor of the union-backed group seeking to defeat the collective bargaining reforms targeted at more than 350,000 public workers.
We Are Ohio, the anti-Senate Bill 5 group, appears to be outspending Building a Better Ohio, a business and Republican-backed group, by a 5-2 ratio, according to files kept by 17 television stations across the state.
Through Oct. 13, We Are Ohio has plunked down more than $1.92 million for television ads in Dayton, Columbus, Cincinnati, Cleveland and Youngstown while Building a Better Ohio, the group supporting Senate Bill 5, has spent more than $741,000 for TV ad time.
Make Ohio Great, which is funded by the Republican Governors Association, bought $441,000 in those same media markets to run ads featuring Gov. John Kasich advocating for ‘reasonable reforms’ without specifically campaigning for Issue 2.
The numbers were compiled by a consortium of Ohio newspapers. They do not include the Akron and Toledo markets and give only a partial read on the Columbus and Cleveland markets.
We Are Ohio said its tracking of TV ad buys in all Ohio’s media markets shows a total of $9.4 million spent so far: $5.4 million by We Are Ohio, $2.8 million by Building a Better Ohio, and $1.2 million by Make Ohio Great.
“We are spending a significant amount of money on the airwaves,” said We Are Ohio spokeswoman Melissa Fazekas. “But we do think we’ll be outspent at the end of the day.”
Jason Mauk, spokesman for Building a Better Ohio, said, “It is a policy that we do not discuss our ad strategy so I really can’t comment on the extent of our statewide buy.” He also said he expects his side will be outspent.
A referendum on Senate Bill 5 will appear on the statewide ballot as Issue 2. A ‘‘no’’ vote is to reject the collective bargaining reforms; a ‘‘yes’’ vote is to keep the changes.
Senate Bill 5 would outlaw strikes by public employees, institute a merit pay system, allow management to impose its last offer on a three-year contract if the two sides reach an impasse, require workers to pay at least 15 percent of their health care premiums and 10 percent of their wages toward their pensions, mandate that seniority no longer be the sole factor in determining who gets laid off and prohibit bargaining on issues such as grievances, promotions, and minimum staffing rules.
Television stations are required to publicly disclose advertising buys for candidate campaigns but not for issue campaigns. As a result, four stations opted not to reveal the buys while 17 stations voluntarily disclosed data to reporters.
Although We Are Ohio has spent more so far, Ohio Democratic Party Chairman Chris Redfern said he expects a great deal of corporate money will flow in to pay for a last-ditch push by Building a Better Ohio in this campaign.
Alliance for America’s Future, a GOP-linked group based in Virginia, is funding a pro-Issue 2 mailing campaign to Ohio voters, according to news reports. Alliance for America’s Future is run by Barry Bennett, a former top aide to U.S. Rep. Jean Schmidt, R-Loveland. Disclosure of its spending on Issue 2 is not required, Redfern said.
Campaign finance reports are due Oct. 27. Building a Better Ohio was not required to file a campaign finance report earlier this year, but We Are Ohio’s report in July showed the group raised $6.94 million, largely from unions.
Labor unions ‘‘are willing to spend whatever it takes to protect their grip on our tax dollars,’’ said Mauk. He added that Building a Better Ohio has no plans to disclose its funding before Oct. 27 report deadline.
Columbus Dispatch reporter Alex Stuckey, Dayton Daily News reporter Joanne Huist Smith, Youngstown Vindicator politics writer David Skolnick, Plain Dealer reporter Henry Gomez and Cincinnati Enquirer reporters Howard Wilkinson, John Kiesewetter, and Amanda Seitz contributed.
