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GOP chairman says legislator told him it was due to new job
By Stephanie Warsmith
and Dennis Willard
Beacon Journal staff writers
Published on Friday, May 30, 2008
Former state Rep. John Widowfield, who resigned from the Ohio House of Representatives on Wednesday, plans to withdraw from running for Summit County Council this fall.
Summit County Republican Party Chairman Alex Arshinkoff said Widowfield told him a few weeks ago that he planned to drop out because of his new private-sector job.
''I don't know if this is going to hurry it up or not,'' Arshinkoff said, referring to Widowfield's resignation and allegations that he profited from the sale of Ohio State State University football tickets purchased with campaign funds. ''These are all decisions Mr. Widowfield has to make. He will let us know.''
If Widowfield withdraws from the county council race, the county party will have until Aug. 20 to appoint a new candidate to run in the Nov. 4 election for county council's District 3 seat.
Widowfield chose not to run for re-election for his House seat — though he was eligible to serve two more years before being term-limited. Instead, he successfully challenged Louise Heydorn, the only Republican on county council, in the March primary.
Widowfield abruptly resigned Wednesday afternoon, handing in a two-paragraph letter to House leaders that gave little explanation. He hasn't returned phone messages from the Beacon Journal left over the past three days.
Sources told the Beacon Journal that
Widowfield sold the football tickets on the Internet for more than their face value and pocketed the profits.
A lawmaker who uses campaign funds to purchase and sell items for a profit could face investigations from the Legislative Inspector General, the Ohio Elections Commission and the Internal Revenue Service. Ohio law requires state lawmakers to report all sources of income.
Tony Bledsoe, the legislative inspector general, wouldn't confirm or deny if he was investigating Widowfield. When a lawmaker resigns, Bledsoe loses the ability to censure — but not to investigate — the legislator's conduct. The inspector general can finish an investigation and forward the findings to law enforcement officials.
Campaign finance
Another state agency is now involved, the Beacon Journal has learned.
Jeff Ortega, a spokesman for Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner's Office, initially denied that the office was looking into Widowfield's campaign finances.
After being told the Beacon Journal knew Brunner's office had received copies of Widowfield's campaign finance reports Thursday from the Summit County elections board, Ortega said newspaper stories ''piqued'' the interest of his office's campaign finance section.
Widowfield filed campaign reports with Brunner's office through the 2006 election cycle. In 2007, Widowfield began filing reports in Summit County because he was running for Cuyahoga Falls Municipal Court clerk.
Candidates for the 132 Ohio General Assembly seats and statewide office are required to periodically file campaign reports with the secretary of state.
Ortega said the secretary of state's office wanted to fill in the gaps between reports filed with the state and local agencies.
He said although local candidates file reports with county boards, Brunner has jurisdiction over all candidates and campaign committees.
Ortega said it is a first-degree misdemeanor for a candidate to convert an asset of the campaign, in this case the football tickets, for personal use.
''The use of campaign funds to purchase football tickets is legal, but they cannot be used for the exclusive personal use of the candidate,'' Ortega said.
For example, an officeholder cannot buy the tickets with campaign funds and take his or her family to a game. Football tickets must be used to help the candidate get elected, in the duties of the office or for charitable purposes, Ortega said.
The reports Brunner's office requested show that Widowfield purchased OSU football tickets last year from the campaign fund for his failed bid for Falls clerk. He spent $1,695 for the tickets on March 28.
Widowfield did not file any documentation with the elections board showing he made a profit from the sale of the tickets, his campaign reports show. This would have been filed under ''other income'' and listed as ''SA,'' which stands for the sale of a committee asset, said Rose DeBord, a campaign finance employee for the elections board.
Widowfield also spent a total of about $4,700 from his legislative campaign committee on OSU season football tickets in 2004, 2005 and 2006. His state campaign finance reports for these years list only his legislative salary and interest on checking and annuity accounts as sources of income.
Widowfield allegedly used a staffer to deliver the tickets, but it is not known whether the aide worked for the state or his campaign.
Karen Stivers, a spokeswoman for the Ohio House Republicans, said her members do not know if a legislative aide or intern was an intermediary for Widowfield.
She said the House Republican caucus will review applications for the Widowfield vacancy and make an appointment in the coming weeks.
Considering applicants
She said Richard Nero is the leading candidate because he won the Republican primary in March and will be on the ballot in the fall, but other applicants will be considered.
Nero said in an e-mail to the Beacon Journal that, if asked, he would ''proudly serve.'' If not, he said he will continue to focus on his campaign.
''I appreciate Mr. Widowfield's willingness to step aside and allow the state's important work to continue without distractions,'' wrote Nero, of Hudson, a consultant for Oracle, a California software and technology company.
Mike Moran, Nero's Democratic opponent and president of Hudson council, called on Republican House leaders to appoint a ''nonpolitical person'' to fill the post until the election.
It is unclear what Widowfield's new job is. Cuyahoga Falls Mayor Don Robart dispelled rumors that he planned to hire Widowfield. He said he understands Widowfield's position is with a financial institution. Widowfield has a master's degree in finance.
Robart, a friend of Widowfield's who also is the treasurer for his county council campaign, said he had talked to Widowfield once since news of his resignation — and the allegations against him — unfolded.
''He's just swirling,'' Robart said. ''It saddens me deeply to see something like this happen. I know what he and his family are going through. My heart goes out to him. It's tragic.''
Stephanie Warsmith can be reached at 330-996-3705 or swarsmith@thebeaconjournal.com. Dennis Willard can be reached at 614-224-1613 or dwillard@thebeaconjournal.com.
Former state Rep. John Widowfield, who resigned from the Ohio House of Representatives on Wednesday, plans to withdraw from running for Summit County Council this fall.
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