[UPDATED:] OH-05: Paul Gillmor buys a new house in Ohio . . . and STILL doesn't live in his district!!!
Submitted by modernesquire on Fri, 05/04/2007 - 9:21am.
After all the faux outrage about then-Congressman Ted Strickland listing his Lisbon apartment as his voting address while also owning a condo in Columbus, conservatives were utterly silent about criticizing one of their own, Congressman Paul Gillmor who's claim of residence in his district is a condo his neighbors say he seldom uses (you must be a resident of the State in which you run for Congress, but you are not required to live in the district in which you run.)
From yesterday's Toledo Blade, we learned the Gilmor's have bought a new home . . . near Columbus. . . hundreds of miles away from the district in a transaction involving lobbying company and campaign contributor.
But you wouldn't know Gilmor bought from the Union County Recorder's Office.
Mortgage and sales documents kept by the county recorder show the owner to be a subsidiary of a prominent law firm, lobbyist, and campaign contributor to Mr. Gillmor.
. . .
In 1996, the Gillmors bought a four-bedroom, 3,571 square-foot house in Dublin for $364,900, according to the Franklin County auditor.
They sold that house for $460,000 March 27 . . . Only four days earlier, Mr. Gillmor satisfied a $966,900 adjustable rate mortgage on a Dublin property in Union County titled to the Zenith Holding and Trading Corp. since 2004. Mr. Gillmor's name appears nowhere on the mortgage release.
Zenith Holding and Trading Corp. is a subsidiary of Vorys, Sater, Seymour, and Pease, a Columbus-based law firm with offices in Washington whose political action committee has contributed $6,500 to Mr. Gillmor's campaigns since 1997.
A letter the firm sent to The Blade yesterday states that Zenith has the property in a trust "at the request of, and for the benefit of" Mr. Gillmor, who paid the mortgage and taxes on the new property.
In the disclosure Mr. Gillmor filed last year, there is no mention of Zenith Holding or a house under construction at a golf course.
And what does Congressman Gillmor have to say about this entire transaction?
"There's nothing unethical or unusual," Mr. Gillmor said. "It's all pretty much above-board." (Emphasis added.)
That "pretty much" sums it up.
[UPDATE:] Today's Toledo Blade editorial calls Gillmor on his Freudian slip. In addition, it reports that Gillmor's latest defense of his real estate shell transaction was based on advice from the Capitol Police:
"Mr. Gillmor claims that he was advised by the Capitol Police to shield his new residence behind an elaborate legal veil for “security” reasons."
Yep, the Capitol Police told me to buy my house through a trust managed by a lobbyist and campaign contributor after I paid off their mortgage on the property. It's for security reasons. Why didn't Duke Cunningham think of the same defense?
Robin Weirauch
Submitted by Paul (not verified) on Fri, 05/04/2007 - 9:46am.
Robin has now made two attempts at this seat that you have to see to believe.
Looking at the numbers, the Dem share has gone from 27.55% in 2002 to 32.95% in 2004 and finally to 43.15% in 2006.
Looking at her website sometime after the 2006 campaign she posted this:
Keep in mind that neither success nor failure is ever final. ~ Roger W. Babson
I am very proud of our campaign and grateful for everyone’s hard work. The campaign was a true success, even though we did not win.
With the modest resources we had, we were able to force a nine-term incumbent to empty his war chest on negative attack ads that inflated his undistinguished record. I have always believed that this race was about your prosperity, your family’s security and brightening the future of America. For this reason, I have not closed the door on running again for this office.
The people of the Fifth District deserve better representation. Sometimes change comes a little slower than we’d like it to, but yesterday’s results prove that change is coming. I am proud to have led the people of this district closer to that change.
Thank you again and again for all of your votes, your work, your support, and your friendship. It’s been an honor to be your candidate for Ohio’s Fifth District.
Onward!
It certainly sounds like she's left the door open to another attempt.
Before anyone says it's time for someone new to have a shot...
Submitted by modernesquire on Fri, 05/04/2007 - 10:08am.
I would point out that Ted Strickland ran for Congress unsuccessful multiple times before winning in 1992. We all know what happened since then.
Agreed
Submitted by Paul (not verified) on Fri, 05/04/2007 - 10:22am.
Robin obviously starts with a lot of name recognition which is critical in any race but especially in a race with such a large geographic area.
Looking at the maps, the only two Democratic office holders at the state house/state senate level are:
Jay Goyal who just won his first race in the 73rd district; and
Matthew Barrett who just won his first race in the 58th district and may or may not live in the 5th congressional.
re:organize and weirauch
Submitted by bryan on Fri, 05/04/2007 - 10:57am.
re:organize managed robin's 06 campaign -- from senior consultant work developing the paid media, direct mail, and paid field campaigns to managing day-to-day campaign work.
robin is, without a doubt, the most amazing candidate i've ever had the pleasure of working for. her passion for the district is absolutely infectious. i can't say enough good things about robin.
here's the reality of her 06 campaign. folks complain about wulsin not getting support. robin didn't get jackshit from anyone!
she was ignored by the press (the blade didn't assign a reporter to the race until 3 weeks from the election). she had cable-only ads.
from a traditional d-trip campaign model, she didn't do anything "right." yet, with no monetary help from the dccc, odp, or any other democratic organization -- and being outspent 10 to 1 -- robin added over 10 points in 06. (hell, she outperformed shamansky, who had over a million bucks and a high-profile race.)
to me, this is proof of what an innovative campaign with a real democrat can accomplish. and just imagine what robin could have done if any democratic group had invested a little in her campaign. 50K was chump change for our statewides -- it was 1/2 of robin's 06 budget.
So ...
Submitted by Paul (not verified) on Fri, 05/04/2007 - 11:06am.
That raises the inevitable question about her plans in 2008?
(I figured you'd be in on this thread soon!)
I see that Napoleon isn't in the 2nd State Senate district (rats)
It's tough...
Submitted by modernesquire on Fri, 05/04/2007 - 11:20am.
It's still a double-digit loss, so this is going to be on the second-tier of Congressional races in Ohio. Ohio had four nationally targeted races (Pryce, Ney, Chabot, Schmidt) in 2006, which is a big number for the size of Ohio. Gillmore is on that same tier that the open OH-06 (Wilson) seat was in. If Ralph Regula retires, Driehaus raises sufficient money (Chabot), Pryce and Schmidt still looks vunerable (all of which are distinct possibilities), I wouldn't count on lots of DCCC love for the OH-05 race, unless Gillmore is under criminal investigation or something.
agreed, me
Submitted by bryan on Fri, 05/04/2007 - 11:30am.
i don't think the d-trip will target this race -- no matter what. they will have to play defense for space. pryce will certainly be a target. chabot is a tough call, though cranley's campaign was a bit lackluster.
if bocceri runs and regula retires, that race makes sense as a target.
personally, i don't think the 2nd should be a targeted race in 08 -- the dynamics are just so different in a pres year.
to be honest, i would prefer a two-pronged approach to targeted races. pick the top two targets in ohio as the traditional targets. then create a pool for non-incumbents in ohio, doling out the money based on average performance over the last two cycles. this would give candidates the money they need for the basic infrastructure of a campaign. might not mean a win, but will boost the pres candidate statewide -- and set us up for future wins.
The cops made me do it...
Submitted by modernesquire on Fri, 05/04/2007 - 1:39pm.
Frankly, I was ready to say that this story looks bad but doesn't have any legs into Gilmor decided to say the Capitol Police made him do it. It makes no sense. First of all, the Capitol Police aren't responsible for the safety of Members of Congress outside of D.C., that's handled by Federal Protective Services.
Second, what once appeared to be a simple, legal tax-planning scheme now looks questionable given this dubious claim.
Third, why would Gilmor's safety be at risk at his house outside the district. Wouldn't any terrorist presume that the Congressperson lived at the condo he lists as his voting residence within the district. I mean, has there been any effort to hide the true ownership of his district condo?!?
Houses in trust