Buckeye State Blog - Treasurer Race

Controversial record dogs GOP treasurer hopeful

Bettyjane — Mon, 26 Jun 2006 13:31:41 -0700

"Controversial record dogs GOP treasurer hopeful" was the headline of a front page article on GOP Treasurer candidate, Sandra O'Brien. Written by Aaron Marshall, a Plain Dealer Reporter, the article includes:

1) A letter to O'Brien from bipartisan Ashtabula County Office holders addressing: "The problem was that O'Brien's office underreported to PERS in 2004 the amount that officeholders made, according to Ashtabula County Sheriff William Johnson, who has met with PERS officials on the matter. That is important because a person's highest three years of salary are used to determined the pension.

2) "The most serious questions about O'Brien's record arise from state audit findings spread over several years, including a 2003 finding that a lack of safeguards in O'Brien's office led to the embezzlement of $40,000. Couple those findings with a series of costly court disputes with local officials, and a picture emerges of an auditor with a penchant for controversy a picture at odds with her pleasant demeanor...

3)��"The strongest evidence of O'Brien's troubles in office come from findings detailed in state audits by Republican state Auditor Betty Montgomery. A 2003 year-end audit said that a lack of internal controls allowed an O'Brien employee to embezzle $40,000 over two years. "If policies and procedures had been developed and followed . . . this theft might have been prevented or discovered in a timelier manner," the audit said. Springing to her defense, O'Brien said that the money was fully recovered and that the theft was discovered because of a special audit she performed. "I was the one who caught it and got the confession and took it to the prosecutor." However, a September 2003 Ashtabula County Sheriff's Department report shows that two employees brought the theft to O'Brien's attention, sparking the internal audit. O'Brien said her internal audit "was sort of concurrent." Asked if policies were changed, O'Brien said, "We just tightened up what we were already doing.""

5) "Other findings from recent state audits include the improper purchase of a Ford Explorer in 2003 for her office and the 2004 overpayment by $1,500 of O'Brien's own salary. O'Brien's record also reflects a series of run-ins with county officials-primarily Democrats - over local projects. One flash point: A 160,000-square-foot lodge and conference center opposed by O'Brien but approved by the Democratic county commissioners. When the lodge project went forward in late 2003 and early 2004, O'Brien took months to pay bills, earning a rebuke from Montgomery's office that noted she was "without the discretion" to refuse "merely because she doesn't like a particular project."

6) "Other legal flaps include a dispute over a job-training program, suing for outside counsel instead of using the county prosecutor to represent her, refusing to pay a $5,000 appraisal bill as well as refusing to do an appraisal on a campground. The lawsuits, almost all of which O'Brien lost, have cost more than $100,000, by the count of County Commissioner Bob Boggs, a Democrat and political enemy of O'Brien's....said Boggs. "She doesn't know her job, and she doesn't follow Ohio law.""

Richard Cordray for Treasurer Endorsements

td2115 — Fri, 23 Jun 2006 12:49:33 -0700

Following is a current list of organizations that are endorsing Richard Cordray for Ohio State Treasurer.

AFL-CIO
AFSCME
Carpenters Political Action Committee
Cleveland Building and Construction Trades Council
Columbus/Central Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council
Columbus Education Association
IBEW Local 8 - Columbus, OH
IBEW Local 212 - Cincinnati, OH
IBEW Local 540 - Massillon, OH
IBEW Local 648 - Hamilton, OH
Ironworkers Local 172
Laborers Local 310
National Association of Social Workers
OAPSE
OCSEA
Ohio Education Association
Ohio Association of Professional Fire Fighters
Ohio State Building and Construction Trades Council
Ohio Conference of Teamsters
Ohio Federation of Teachers
Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 18
Plumbers and Steamfitters Local 50
Pipefitters Local 120
Sheet Metal Workers Local 24
SEIU Ohio
Tri-County Building and Construction Trades Council
United Steel Workers District 1
Upper Ohio Valley Building and Construction Trades Council
Western Reserve Building and Construction Trades Council
Americans for Democratic Action of Northeast Ohio
Stonewall Democrats of Central Ohio
Cleveland Stonewall Democrats
Ohio Legislative Black Caucus
Ohio Democratic Party
21st Century Democrats (Washington D.C.)

LET'S FIND OUT WHAT IS SANDRA O'BRIEN UP TO?

Bettyjane — Wed, 21 Jun 2006 09:18:55 -0700

It seems Sandra O'Brien, the GOP candidate for Ohio Treasurer has fallen off the radar of late. But, that is most likely her plan. As she is a political hack without any real qualifications for the position of Ohio Treasurer - all she can really run is another of her under-the-radar smear & fear campaigns. In fact, here is what the conservative Lake County News Herald wrote about her last year:

OBSTINATE AUDITOR BECOMING TIRESOME "The stubbornness of Ashtabula County Auditor Sandra O��Brien in dealing with county issues has become a matter of routine. She wages constant legal battles with county commissioners. O��Brien��s intractability prevents her from having a strong working relationship with other county leaders and doing business the way many county residents expect. In addition, she is virtually unapproachable to reporters asking her questions. Make no mistake. O��Brien is a seasoned politician who has won more than one county-wide race for office. The ultimate issue is about politics and who runs Ashtabula County government. Democrats or Republicans. O��Brien is a Republican while two of three county commissioners are Democrats. O��Brien, however, must change course because her persistent public pattern of obstinance raises questions about her fitness for office. The current crisis over the county budget illustrates the case. Commissioners unloaded an austere 2005 budget on every county department - $19.1 million, about $5 million less than the 2004 budget. Although a referendum to raise the county sales tax to 1.5 cents from 1 cent is on the No. 8 ballot - a measure that would generate about $4 million and solve many of the county��s financial woes - passage is far from certain and cannot be counted on as a source of revenue, officials have said. When commissioners in any county cut a budget, it is normal business for department leaders to adjust staff to the money they have to spend. While many have done this, O��Brien has not. She is on fast track to be out of money by the end of the summer. This forced commissioners to meet this week with department heads, but O��Brien refused to attend. Some officials fear the county will be thrown into chaos if O��Brien��s office closes because it is broke. This would mean county paychecks could not be issued and bills could not be paid. Commissioners insist the emergency will not materialize - although they are not talking publicly now about how they plan to avoid it. Commissioner Robert Boggs said attorneys for commissioners and O��Brien are talking, and he hopes they will find a compromise that will allow the auditor��s office to remain open through the end of 2005. Attorneys are involved in a matter that should be so simple - O��Brien doing her part to help the county through a financial crisis. This is not happening and that is what is so troubling. The stakes in this war are too high - ongoing county budget problems. Is that what O��Brien wants? This is not how a public official behaves and if she can��t change her ways she should quit." ~ Lake County News Herald Editorial,Friday, June 10, 2005

As an Ashtabula County resident, I am aware of how much O'Brien's politics have cost our county in lost dollars and lost opportunities. So, I'd like to enlist any and all of you to report on any Sandra O'Brien sightings, or activities, mailings, and especially when she appears with Blackwell & O'Donnell's Evangelical/social conservative, Parsley & Johnson crowd.