ProgressOhio wants probe of CCV finances

A liberal activist group in Columbus has asked Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner to investigate the campaign contributions and expenditures reported by Citizens for Community Values. The Sharonville group supported the state ban on same-sex marriage in Ohio in 2004, also known as Issue 1.

ProgressOhio, in a complaint sent today to Brunner, questioned the group's filings with the IRS and $1.4 million it reported donating to the Ohio Campaign to Protect Marriage.

"Transparency in elections is a value that must be enforced," Brian Rothenberg, executive director of ProgressOhio, wrote, saying the group intentionally concealed campaign donors and expenses.

David Miller, a vice president with CCV, called the complaint "a rehash of something they filed before. . .The Secretary of State doesn't have jurisdiction over these issues."

Miller said all the figures they've disclosed on required reports to the state and IRS are accurate and that the group's 2006 filing isn't even due yet. "The guy doesn't even have his facts straight," he said.

The Ohio Elections Commission, in a 3-2 vote in February 2006, dismissed a similar complaint against CCV and its president, Phil Burress. That complaint alleged CCV failed to identify most of its campaign contributors when it spent more than $2 million on Issue 1 and an ordinance restricting gay rights in Cincinnati.

Jeff Ortega, a spokesman for Brunner, said, "We are in receipt of the complaint and are looking into it."

Ortega said he's unable to comment further.