About that 'Girls Gone Wild' rumor...

We're not the first to report about a Statehouse videotape in which former state Rep. Geoff Smith, a Republican from Upper Arlington, teases state Democratic Reps. Steve Driehaus of Price Hill and Todd Book of Portsmouth.

The Whistleblower newswire published an item on the alleged "Girls Gone Wild" episode in March here:

But to put persistent rumormongering to bed, readers can listen to Smith's rant in December 2006 here. Fair warning that his brief reference to a night out on the town with the "boys," in this case Driehaus and Book, is more than an hour into the Ohio House session, as Smith gives a farewell speech after his November defeat.

Driehaus explained Smith was asking women for kisses one night, while at a bar. According to Driehaus, Smith would tell female patrons that he and his legislative colleagues were "the advance team" for the "Girls Gone Wild" company that shoots video of vacationing college coeds.

During his House floor speech, Smith says who could forget "the little stint'' with Snoop Dogg and the "Girls Gone Wild" episode.

"Those pictures have been destroyed,'' Smith proclaims to howls in the House chamber.

New twists in Dann saga

UPDATED: The report is due out tomorrow, followed by a Marc Dann press conference. Here's the release:

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First Assistant Attorney General Thomas Winters and Executive Assistant Attorney General Ben Espy will hold a news conference on Friday May 2, 2008 at 9:30am to discuss the findings of an internal investigation into allegations of sexual harassment. The news conference will be held on the 17th floor of the Rhodes State Office Tower.


Attorney General Marc Dann will hold a separate news conference at 11:00am on the 17th floor of the Rhodes State Office Tower.

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Posted earlier:

The Plain Dealer reports today:

The State Highway Patrol was called in Wednesday to investigate the apparent ransacking of the desk of one of two women who filed sexual-harassment complaints against their boss in the attorney general's office.

Rex Elliott, the woman's lawyer, called it witness intimidation, a potential felony under Ohio law.

Meanwhile, it turns out that after Dann's wife scrapped plans to accompany Dann to a law-enforcement conference in Turkey in June, the attorney general picked his scheduler to make the trip.

Jessica Utovich, 28, who had no background in law enforcement, according to her resume, obtained an airplane ticket to accompany the 46-year-old Dann to the Second Istanbul Conference on Democracy and Global Security from June 12 to 16.

Read the full story here

Strickland ready to stump for Clinton in Indiana, Kentucky

Gov. Ted Strickland said he's ready to campaign for Sen. Hillary Clinton during the two weeks leading up to Indiana's May 6 presidential primary election as well as before the May 20 primary in Kentucky.

"I've been asked to go to Indiana,'' Strickland said today. "If she needs me, I'll try to help her."

Strickland stumped for the New York senator Sunday in Pennsylvania, where she beat Sen. Barack Obama by 10 percentage points Tuesday.

"I'm very excited about the win,'' Strickland said.

Freedom Center lobbying for capital money

UPDATE: Freedom Center spokesman Paul Bernish said Jason Gloyd's letter is off base.

Bernish says the center is not lobbying legislators for state capital support at tonight's reception.

"We weren’t even going to talk about the state capital bill," Bernish said.

Bernish said the Freedom Center engages in outreach events frequently to update people on

what’s going on there. The event at State Street consultants' Columbus offices is just one of them, he said.

The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center is co-hosting a Columbus reception for state legislators tonight at the offices of its State Street lobbyists Neil Clark, John Singleton and former Senate President Stanley J. Aronoff.

A copy of the invitation is here:

The event runs from 5:30 to 8 p.m. and coincides with the Freedom Center's efforts to secure nearly $3.8 million in state capital construction money this year.

The Cincinnati center received $2 million in the last capital budget in 2006.

State legislators have just begun reviewing requests. About $100 million in local requests will likely be approved this spring for parks, museums, stadiums and other community projects sponsored by individual legislators.

State Rep. Tom Brinkman, a Republican from Mount Lookout, who vigorously opposed the Freedom Center's last capital budget request, has written fellow legislators to encourage them to vote down this year's request.

Jason Gloyd, chairman of the Coalition Opposed to Additional Spending & Taxes (COAST), wrote state legislators here about tonight's reception featuring Freedom Center CEO Donald W. Murphy and board co-chairman John Pepper, who is former chairman of Procter & Gamble.

The Freedom Center, which opened in August 2004, is dedicated to recognizing the fight to end slavery in the United States. The center offers interactive educational programs to promote an understanding of slavery and resistance movements.

The center's new request includes $1.5 million for exhibit renovations, $1.4 million to move its main entrance and $850,000 in state construction money promised in 1999.

In 2006, Pepper said the $2 million capital appropriation was a small part of the seven-year plan for building the Freedom Center, more than $60 million of which was funded privately.

The Freedom Center previously received more than $12 million from the state, of $15 million requested when it was built.

The plan all along was to have taxpayers finance 40 percent, or about $41 million of the center's $110 million construction.

Political parties squabble over who's dirtier

Today's visit by President Bush to the U.S. Air Force's National Museum at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base today triggered a flurry of accusations from state officials in both major political parties about who has accepted more tainted campaign contributions.

Bush was guest at a fund-raising lunch sponsored by the Ohio Republican Party -- after his Air Base speech -- at the Bellbrook home of Lisa and Marty Grunder.

Ohio GOP spokesman John McClelland said state Democratic Party Chairman Chris Redfern “is apparently all twisted up this week about a fundraiser we're hosting. . . Unfortunately, the Democrat Party boss would rather point fingers at everyone else than clean up his own house. The hypocrisy continues.”

Today’s fund-raising event was sponsored by the Ohio Republican Party. The Victory 2008 reception raised money for the state GOP's federal fund, which could help Arizona Sen. John McCain, the Republican Party’s likely presidential nominee.

The private GOP reception and photo opportunity with the president cost $10,000. A $1,000 campaign donation covered lunch only.

Redfern was critical that one of today’s fund-raising co-chairs was convicted of three misdemeanor money-laundering charges and fined $30,000 in 1993. Another owns a company that outsources jobs overseas.

“This speaks to the priorities of President Bush,” Redfern said in a statement. “George Bush comes to Ohio, not to address the faltering national economy or the foreclosure crisis, but to raise money from a job exporter and a money launderer on behalf of his protégé, John McCain.”

McClelland counterpunched by saying Redfern said nothing when Ohio Senate Democratic Leader Ray Miller of Columbus was fined for multiple campaign finance violations or it was revealed Gov. Ted Strickland received $10,000 in campaign cash from former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer. Strickland donated the money to charity after Republicans called on him to return it.

Read more about President Bush's visit here, and in Friday's Enquirer.

Courageous or 'reckless'?

Depending on your knowledge about, comfort level or point of view on touch-screen voting machines, Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner (not unlike her predecessor Ken Blackwell of Cincinnati) has become a magnet for praise -- as well as scorn -- as the state's top election officer.

The latest example is today's announcement that Brunner has been selected for the prestigious John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award in Boston on May 12.

The Ohio Republican Party quickly responded with its own take on Brunner's award. GOP spokesman John McClelland sent out a news statement titled: "Brunner's Special Brand of Courage: 'Fostering a culture of intimidation regardless of the consequences'" (See full text below.)

Brunner, a Democrat, will get the award along with California Secretary of State Debra Bowen for challenging the reliability of touch-screen voting systems. In December, Brunner recommended that 57 Ohio counties -- including Adams, Butler and Highland -- replace their touch-screen voting machines purchased after the 2004 presidential election with optical scan machines which use paper ballots. Brunner released a study that found touch-screen machines susceptible to hacking, memory card problems and other technical failures. Her critics object to the disruption and cost of replacement -- estimated as high as $64 million -- and questioned the necessity of Brunner’s proposals.

This year's award winners were announced earlier today by the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation. Brunner and Bowen will be presented the award for "political courage" by Caroline Kennedy and Sen. Edward M. Kennedy at a ceremony at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. (You may recall Robert F. Kennedy Jr. authored a 2006 article titled: "Was the 2004 Election Stolen?" for Rolling Stone magazine here.)

"As we prepare to cast our ballots for the next President of the United States, our confidence in the integrity and reliability of the voting process has never been more important," Caroline Kennedy, president of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation, said in a news statement. "Secretaries of State Debra Bowen and Jennifer Brunner have each demonstrated exceptional leadership in working to ensure that voting systems provide a full and accurate count of the vote. Our democracy depends on voter trust. Debra Bowen and Jennifer Brunner’s efforts to earn that trust have made them true profiles in courage."

The John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award is presented annually to public servants who have made courageous decisions of conscience without regard for the personal or professional consequences. The award is named for President Kennedy’s 1957 Pulitzer Prize-winning book, Profiles in Courage, which recounts the stories of eight U.S. senators who risked their careers, incurring the wrath of constituents or powerful interest groups, by taking principled stands for unpopular positions. The John F. Kennedy Library Foundation created the Profile in Courage Award™ in 1989.

For more information about the Profile in Courage Award and all the past recipients, visit http://www.jfklibrary.org/

John McClelland's Republican Party statement read: "Jennifer Brunner has indeed shown a willingness to act regardless of the consequences, recklessly promoting a radical agenda and consistently hewing to her own personal version of the truth. It takes courage to pursue a colossal waste of tax dollars for a new voting system based entirely on personal whims and hypothetical evidence. It takes courage to punish your critics and threaten dissenters while presenting yourself as nonpartisan. It takes courage to surround yourself with advisors from the tin foil hat wing of the Democrat Party, yet claim to approach election reform with an open mind."

Clinton talks to boisterous crowd

Surrounded by more than 500 supporters at the Columbus Athenaeum, Sen. Hillary Clinton, at 11:15 p.m. declared, "Thank you Ohio. You know what they say, as Ohio goes, so goes the nation."

"Well, this nation is coming back and so is this campaign."

A man interrupted the New York senator by shouting, "It's a Hillary state."

"Yes she will. Yes she will," the crowd shouted.

"Ohio has written a new chapter in the campaign,'' Clinton said, "and we are just getting started."

"Yes she will. Yes she will."

Clinton supporters are cheering, "Yes she will. Yes she will," as CNN's Wolf Blitzer announces Sen. Clinton closing is on Sen. Obama in Texas, at 50 percent to 48 percent, and leading in Ohio, 57 to 41 percent.

And the live blues band plays, "Hang on Sloopy, Sloopy hang on. O-H-I-O, O-H-I-O."

There are about 400 people jammed into the Columbus Athenaeum now, anticipating Hillary Clinton's arrival.

Lawsuit filed by Obama campaign

This just in from Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner:


Brunner received notification five minutes before the close of polls that the Obama campaign had filed an action in federal court in Cleveland to keep polling locations in Cuyahoga, Clermont and Franklin counties open until 9 p.m.

The campaign withdrew the Clermont County request.

A judge denied the Franklin County request.


The Cuyahoga County request was pared by the court down to 21 precincts in the City of Cleveland. The Secretary of State's office received Judge Tim Oliver's order at 9:05 p.m., after the time the Obama campaign asked for polls to remain open - 9:00 p.m.


Polls closed in Cuyahoga County at the scheduled time of 7:30 p.m. The board undertook the necessary efforts to reopen the 21 polls until 9 p.m.


Boards have also begun to submit results as they were directed with the closing of Sandusky County polls at 9 p.m.

Crowd is chanting Hillary, Hillary

As CNN announces Sen. Clinton is the projected winner in Rhode Island by a 60 to 38 percent margin.

The Dave Chisholm Blues Band is singing, "The polls have closed in Ohio. Let the good times roll. Let the good times roll.

Obama campaign has sued Cuyahoga County

This report from Statehouse intern Allison D'Aurora:

Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner just said that the Obama campaign has filed a lawsuit Cuyahoga County over voters being turned away there.

But Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Nance and Attorney General Marc Dann, who are monitoring the election from Cleveland, deny any voters have been disenfranchised there, according to Brunner.

Meanwhile, Brunner said Sandusky County election officials have been given permission to photocopy blank paper ballots to allow an estimated 300 to 400 Ohioans to cast their votes. Polls were kept open until 9 p.m. to allow them to vote, Brunner said.

Brunner said earlier problems of Clermont County voters being turned away have been rectified.

"This room is for Traveling Press"

Ohio may be vital to Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama tonight, but unless you are a reporter from out-of-state -- or overseas -- forget about filing stories from the roomier room with live television feeds.


"Are you with the traveling press?" an aide to Sen. Clinton said to one local reporter. "You're in the other room," which looks like a wood-paneled basement. "I think there are seats left."




To be fair, local press also got booted from the roomier tables Sunday at Obama's Westerville event -- again to make room for "traveling press."

The gang's all here. . .

(The downtown Columbus Athenaeum conference center before TV trucks arrived.)

Polls don't close for more than two-and-a-half hours, but television satellite trucks -- at least two dozen of them -- already circle Columbus' political ground zero for Election Night.

Huge TV trucks line East Broad Street just outside Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner's offices, as well as the Columbus Athenaeum, an old brick banquet hall where Sen. Hillary Clinton plans to camp tonight to view election returns.

Crabby reporters were stranded in a cold drizzle for about 45 minutes as Secret Service and police did their security sweep at the Athenaeum.

"I've never seen Columbus like this,'' said one passerby.

Iran Mobile plans stops in Cincinnati

Democrats drove this "Iran Mobile" outside Barack Obama's rally in Westerville on Sunday.

Monday, they plan to drive the replica of a missile carrying Republican Sen. John McCain past at least two events in Cincinnati as part of a statewide tour sponsored by ProgressOhio.org and NotAnotherWar.org. (That ugly yellow car pulling the "rocket" has green Vermont plates.)

Brian Rothenberg of ProgressOhio said the activist groups want to bring attention to McCain's hawkish misstatements including: "That old Beach Boys' song 'Bomb Iran. Bomb, bomb, bomb'. . .last April here:

Monday's stops include a noon "get-out-the-vote" rally at McMicken Hall, University of Cincinnati, and 4:45 p.m. "honk and wave" event near the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. (Time updated.)

Ohio is center of attention once again

With less than 48 hours to go until the primary, both Democratic candidates for president were in Westerville today, underscoring the importance of Ohio in Tuesday's election.

“The last days leading up to Tuesday are the ones we really need you. . . .This election is going to be one of the most consequential in our nation’s history,’’ Sen. Hillary Clinton said to about 3,000 supporters at Westerville North High School.

“This is a wartime election. We have two wars going on. We have to end the war in Iraq and win the war in Afghanistan,’’ Clinton said.

“Ohio is once again the center of attention for a reason,” she said.

Clinton also spoke at rallies today in Akron, Cleveland and Youngstown. She plans to be back in Ohio Monday at a rally in Toledo.

“Change is going to happen whether we do anything or not,'' Clinton said. "The question is, 'Are we going to make progress together?' "

Sen. Barack Obama spoke about four hours later, two miles away, at Westerville Central High School after a campaign stop in Athens County. (The crowd is warming up to chants of "We will, we will Barack you. We will, we will Barack you." There are about 2,500 supporters here now, although hundreds had to be turned away for lack of space.)

Obama was introduced by U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller, who said the senator from Illinois understands both foreign policy and military policy. “This country has been crying out for somebody who could bring us together,’’ the West Virginia Democrat said.

We’ve vastly neglected homeland security, Rockefeller said, “which he will not do. . . I want him to be our president. We need him to be our president.”

Shortly after Obama walked in to rousing cheers, someone shouted, "We love you."

"I love you, too," Obama said.

Frances Strickland Live

First Lady Frances Strickland introduced Sen. Hillary Clinton before today's speech at Westerville North High School.

Referring to the Democratic presidential candidate's late night television appearance, the governor's wife said, “I swear Hillary, I believe they watched Saturday Night Live last night. Who would have thought that Saturday Night Live would be the one to get it right?”

The show included a skit depicting MSNBC's Brian Williams and Tim Russert lobbing softball questions at Sen. Barack Obama, while grilling Clinton.

The SNL "debate" and Clinton's response, can be found here:

“You’ve been spending a lot of time with my husband,'' Mrs. Strickland joked. "Since you announced for the race, he has not even looked at anyone else.”

Clinton praised Gov. Ted Strickland for his political support and such policy decisions as ordering the freeze on state college tuition in Ohio.

Read more about the presidential candidates' Ohio visits in Monday's Enquirer.

Absentee voting could top prior high

Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner said she expects a record number of absentee ballots cast in Tuesday's primary election, while projecting statewide turnout will be about 52 percent of Ohio's 8 million registered voters.

"I think the interest is so great in this election,'' she said at a Columbus news conference.

That's about 19 percent lower than turnout for the 2004 general election, but nearly 20 percent higher than that year's presidential primary.

Brunner said as many as one-fifth of the roughly 4 million voters expected to cast votes in Tuesday's primary will do so by absentee ballot, or at least 800,000 voters. The previous record for absentee ballots cast was 707,856 in the 2006 general election.

Brunner also promised tighter security protocols, and better media access to polling places and county Boards of Elections than in past elections. She was joined by Attorney General Marc Dann who said anyone attacking the integrity of the election through fraud or tampering will be prosecuted. "We will make sure they go to jail," Dann said.

"To tamper with a voting machine is a felony,'' Brunner added.


Brunner said all 88 counties are prepared to provide paper ballots to any voter who does not want to use an electronic touch-screen machine, if machines fail or the wait becomes excessive.

In state legislative races. . .

The latest campaign finance reports, filed in advance of Tuesday's primary election, show state Rep. Bob Mecklenborg spent the most money among local candidates during the latest reporting period.

Mecklenborg, a Green Township Republican appointed to a vacant House seat in October, spent $117,299. Finance reports show Mecklenborg raised at least $3,960 last year in contributions from himself and other family members.

Dick Hammersmith, Mecklenborg's primary opponent in House District 30, spent $21,060, and reported a healthy campaign balance of $110,261. Mecklenborg's campaign balance was $22,632, according to the latest report filed with the Secretary of State's office.

In the Republican primary for state Rep. Michelle Schneider's District 35 House seat, John Rabenold spent $59,080, according to the latest report. His campaign balance was $151,726.

Rabenold's opponents, Ron Maag and Grace Kendrick spent $7,680 and $6,711, respectively. Maag's campaign balance was $2,572, according to the latest report, while Kendrick's was $1,146. (Schneider's tenure ends Dec. 31 because of term limits. She is a Republican from Madeira.)

In the Republican primary for state Rep. Tom Brinkman's District 34 House seat, Greg Delev led the pack in spending at $57,753. His campaign reported a balance of $11,565.

Delev's opponents, Peter Stautberg and Russ Jackson spent $6,415 and $657, respectively. Stautberg reported the largest unspent campaign balance at $27,950, while Jackson reported a campaign balance of $1,894. (Brinkman, a Republican from Mount Lookout, is running for Congress.)

Additional campaign finance details can be found at the Secretary of State's web site, here:

Ohio Chamber endorses local pair

Two Cincinnati-area candidates are among nine endorsed statewide by the Ohio Chamber of Commerce for legislative seats in the March 4 primary election.

The Ohio Chamber's political action committee, representing the state's largest business advocacy group, announced its endorsements Friday.

In House District 30, state Rep. Bob Mecklenborg, R- Green Township, was endorsed. He faces Dick Hammersmith in the March 4 primary runoff.

"Mecklenborg has the best mix of qualities that make for an outstanding legislator,'' the Chamber said in a statement. "The broad support he is receiving from local employers underscores his commitment to the issues important to Ohio employers, and the Chamber believes he will make these issues his chief concern as a legislator."

In House District 35, John Rabenold, a Republican from Indian Hill, was endorsed for the seat held by state Rep. Michelle Schneider. The Madeira Republican's term ends this year because of term limits. Rabenold faces Grace Kendrick and Ron Maag in the March 4 primary.

The Chamber wrote that Rabenold "is the only candidate in the race for whom business issues appear to be the top priority and he enjoys strong support from the statewide and local business communities. In addition, he possesses valuable legislative experience as an aide to a former president of the Ohio Senate."

According to Keith A. Lake, director of political and candidate education for the Ohio Chamber, all endorsed candidates share a strong understanding of the competitive forces, regulatory demands and economic challenges faced by Ohio employers and would be responsive to the concerns of the business community. Ohio Chamber staff and members met with dozens of candidates and evaluated them on their voting records if currently a legislator, candidate questionnaires, local business community support and political viability.

Blackwell letter to Congress

Former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell released this letter to Congress today, shortly after the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties postponed its oversight hearing on voter suppression.

House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers Jr. and Subcommittee Chairman Jerrold Nadler had asked Blackwell to testify.

In the letter sent Tuesday, Blackwell suggests the subcommittee seek input from two officials in the Ohio Secretary of State's office who also had worked for the Cincinnati Republican.