ProgressOhio

If you pass a law, and you immediately find a loophole, does ethics reform really mean anything in Ohio politics?

Well, it seems like Ohio's top watchdog forgot about a bill that she supported just weeks before while serving in the Ohio House of Representatives. That's cool, she's also the first to find the perfect loophole in having "hubby, hubby" Taylor stand in her place.

Passed in response to a string of scandals that left Ohio Auditor Mary Taylor among the few Republicans left standing on Election Day, House Bill 694 prohibits Taylor and other statewide elected officials from soliciting campaign contributions from any entity with a contract for goods or services worth more than $500 with the elected official's office.

True, the new law doesn't officially take effect until March 7, and the fundraiser was scheduled for Feb. 1. But it was also frantically passed by her former majority suitemates in the Ohio House as proof of their post-Noe metamorphosis.

But alas, this elixir appears to be a line of snake oil seeping out of Broad and High. Consider the fact that:

• The fund-raising invitation (pdf 70K) came from Auditor Mary Taylor and her husband, Don. The fundraiser was to take place in the Summit County home of Auditor Mary Taylor and her husband, Don.


• But after discussing the matter "with our legal counsel,'' Don sent a letter to potential donors (pdf 63K) announcing that only he would be hosting the event. "Mary will not be acting as a host for the event or as a sponsor,'' says the Jan. 30 missive. "I apologize if this letter has caused you any confusion.''

Because the Ohio auditor doles out millions in accounting contracts, and one of the other co-hosts works for an accounting firm, the Taylor's sought to avoid any "ambiguity'' by deciding that only Don would co-host the event.

No word yet, if the Akron-based accountant has state business, but never-the-less it does not look and feel so good in the post-Noe world.

Sponsors of the $250-per-person cocktail reception hope to help Dick Norton, the Republican Party's candidate for Mayor of Green.

But the crux of the problem is still ethics.

• If the fundraiser is still being held at Mary Taylor's home, hosted by her husband why did the law need to be changed - a law Mary Taylor voted for


• Does it matter that the law is not in effect for another month if Mary Taylor thought it important enough to vote for this ethics provision in December. Do you need a law to enforce ethics - or a bit of consistent ethical character?


• Does it matter that Mary Taylor pulled her name off the host list if the event is still going on at her home and hosted by her husband. Does anyone really believe that the intent of the ethics law Mary Taylor voted for is being followed by using her husband as a stand-in 'shill.' If she believed it was ethically wrong to do this, why keep it at her house and with her husband as host.

It may be a small trite matter involving a suburban local Mayor's race, but when will Ohio officeholders learn that laws don't govern ethics - backbone governs ethics.

And I dare say Mary Taylor's ethics barometer has leaked its mercury on this one.

Bottom line - if you pass an ethics provision, do it for the ethics, not the headlines.

LESSONS FROM PROGRESSOHIO MEMBERS ON IRAQ AGREEING ON THE WAR IS THE EASY PART

The Essays written by almost 200 ProgressOhio members (pdf 1.25mb) on their views of Iraq have been delivered on the Hill in Washington D.C.

Congress is buzzing with ideas, proposals, and foreign policy expertise and competing political plans on what to do about Iraq. This came as no surprise after reading the ProgressOhio essays.

One thing we can conclude from the ProgressOhio Essays and public polling, Americans are pining for a resolution of the war in Iraq. But what the ProgressOhio essays show are that Americans have very different reasons for arriving at that very same conclusion and very different comfort levels with how to achieve an end in Iraq.

If the Essays tell us anything, it is that opposing escalation and agreeing on the need to expedite withdrawal can coalesce a majority of our nation- but agreeing on the steps to get there and the comfort level of governance in Iraq differ markedly.

Many thanks to those ProgressOhio members that took the time to make such thoughtful points and be rest-assured there are many on the Hill in Washington D.C. who are reading your thoughts. We look forward to your input on similar projects in the future.