Buckeye State Blog - Statewide Ballot Issues

Issue 2 robocall

mvirenicus — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 14:32:58 -0700

I just received a joint robocall from George Voinovich and Sherrod Brown in support of state issue 2. Unfortunately, Voinovich's voice was the first to appear and I nearly hung up, but curiosity got the best of me and I held on to hear Brown and Voinovich make the case for 2. This was one robocall I didn't mind receiving..

Issue 5

Regular — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 12:48:06 -0700

Issue 5 is a referendum backed by the payday-lending industry. It seeks to
overturn the rate cap portion of House Bill 545, the payday lending reform
law signed by Governor Strickland in June. Among other reforms, House
Bill 545 reduces interest rates payday lenders can charge from 391 percent
annual interest to 28 percent.

A majority NO vote on Issue 5 would allow payday lenders to continue
charging a 391 percent annual interest rate. The fee for a $300, two-week
loan would be $45.

A majority YES vote on Issue 5 would reduce interest rate charges to 28
percent. The fee for a $300, two-week loan would be $18.

Consumer protection advocates say the high-interest and short repayment
business model traps borrowers in a debt cycle, requiring them to take out
new loans to pay off old ones. They support a YES vote on Issue 5.

‘NO’ VOTE: 391 percent annualized interest on payday loans

‘YES’ VOTE: 28 percent annualized interest on payday loans

VOTE YES ON ISSUE 5!

Jennifer Brunner on Rachel Maddow Show 9pm EST

Notrol — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 17:16:39 -0700

Get set for the lowdown on Ohio and the new call for a special prosecutor for RNC and Rove tactics!

Anti- Sick Days Lobbyists Whip Up Some Homemade Factoids

QuicheMe — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 14:59:39 -0700

"Study: Ohio sick-day mandate would cost 75,000 jobs
8/19/2008, 12:27 p.m. EDT The Associated Press
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A new study commissioned by a small business group says Ohio would lose 75,000 jobs in the next five years if voters approve a ballot issue that would give most full-time workers seven paid sick days a year.
The research conducted on behalf of the National Federation of Independent Business in Ohio says 20 percent of those job losses would occur in businesses that employ one to 20 employees, even though those businesses would not be required to offer the sick days under the ballot proposal.
Bruce Phillips, an expert hired to conduct the research, said Tuesday the sick day mandate would force larger businesses to cut jobs or production, and that would hurt small business suppliers."

So the anti-worker, anti-family lobbyists running the opposition to the Ohio Healthy Families Act have finally taken a (weak) shot at joining those of us who believe public policy should be based on facts, not myths.

While the Ohioans for Healthy Families Coalition has long cited several studies showing that the benefits of the Act will outweigh the costs, the opposition has - up until now - engaged in nothing but “jobs killer” bogeyman scare tactics, devoid of any citations of facts (or even “facts”) whatsoever.

So congratulations to them for recognizing that maybe it would behoove them to throw a “studies show” into their talking points once in a while.

But when the source is a study conducted entirely by the NFIB (National Federation of Independent Business), and the quoted “expert” is a senior fellow at NFIB… well, it’s kind of like when one of RJ Reynolds' “experts” does an in-house study concluding that smoking doesn’t cause cancer.

The NFIB is a lobbyist organization that opposes the Family Medical Leave Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, efforts to raise the minimum wage, and the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. Their website is peppered with language like “Big Labor” (yes, capitalized) and “The Radical Labor Agenda” (OK, I capitalized that one just for fun)

Quite unlike the non-partisan research institutions cited by the Ohioans for Healthy Families Coalition, the NFIB engages in unmistakably partisan political activities - like endorsing candidates for elected office.

Wouldn’t it be fascinating to see if that list of endorsed candidates includes House Speaker Jon Husted? He’s one of the politicians who, despite having paid sick days himself, has fought the measure every step of the way - from the time it came to the legislature as an initiated statute, up to and beyond Governor Strickland’s efforts to find a compromise.

But unfortunately for voters, NFIB displays a marked lack of transparency on this front. Only dues-paying members of NFIB have access to the part of their website that lists their political endorsements. I sure would love to see that list but I just can’t bring myself to buy access by giving $300+ to a group that wants to make sure that when I eat out I have to worry that a sick worker has sneezed into my food.

I think I can speak for my fellow Ohioans when I say we’re a “show me the numbers” bunch. The anti-family, anti-worker forces in our state took a baby step toward recognizing that facts (or at least the illusion of them) are important to Ohioans. For that effort maybe they deserve a cookie (or better yet, a noro virus -laced burrito).

But they’re going to have to do better than in-house studies by their own lobbyists, because the Ohio Healthy Families campaign has set the research bar pretty high. When Ohioans vote YES on Issue 4 this November, we’ll have plenty to back us up:

Policy Matters Ohio:
http://policymattersohio.org/AHealthyStandard2007_1002.htm
http://policymattersohio.org/OutbreakInOhio2008.htm
http://policymattersohio.org/PaidSickDays2008_0602.htm

Institute for Women’s Policy Research:
http://www.iwpr.org/pdf/B250.pdf
http://www.iwpr.org/pdf/B242.pdf

Ohioans for Healthy Families Coalition website:
http://www.sickdaysohio.org

SB 16 Petition Needs Signatures

King — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 10:58:38 -0700

King, Republican and BSB friend and sparring partner, claims that the referendum against SB 16 may come up short on the signature end. Currently the SoS is tabulating signatures. I haven't heard anything other than this post, and haven't spoken with any primary sources. However, King suggests the referendum may be in trouble... -Jerid

The petitions for the referendum to have SB 16 (Stripper Bill) put on the ballot does not have enough signatures.

Citizens for Community Standards, needing 241,366 signatures to force this law on the ballot, turned in over 350,000 signatures. I have been informed after being checked, they will be 25,000 signatures short. This means they need to collect approx. 75,000 - 100,000 signatures in ten days.

If you are a registered voter and want to sign or circulate an online petition CLICK HERE.

---------------------------------------------

Under the guise of Christianity & morality, the theocratic, fascist group responsible for pushing this anti-business & anti-stripper bill into law is Citizens for Community Values. The leader, Phil "Monkey Spank" Burress, is an admitted 25 year porn addict....

At 14, he said, he found a pornographic magazine on the roadside and became 0bsessed with seeing more. Every chance he got, he said, he drove into Cincinnati to buy, and sometimes steal, magazines or videos.

Over the next two decades, he had four daughters from two marriages. But he says his obsession with the raunchy fantasy world of pornography ruined both marriages and drove him away from religion.

"I was living a double life," he said.

Was addicted? Was leading a double life?

It sounds like Mr. "Bone Bopper" Burress still has his porn addiction, along with many moral and Christianity problems of his own.

Tired of having to "shave his palms" and knowing he may go "blind", instead of looking at porn himself, the pervert now gets off making his wife read porn and write about it for him......

Mrs. Burress says she understands pornography's destructive power...... she will watch the adult videos and read the adult magazines, then write summaries for her husband so he can speak to groups, lobby legislators or persuade prosecutors.
"I don't even look at it," Mr. Burress says. "We understand each other," she says. "We both have a passion for this."

Since Phil's urge to "pound away" overtakes him if he looks at anything remotely "sexually suggestive," does this mean mini skirts, shorts, and bikinis are next on his list? Will he push for burqua's next?

So now that we have established the hypocritical Holy Roller is a stumbling block and an enabler for his wife, we will move to his inability to be truthful. It seems Burress cannot be expected to be truthful about much of anything he says. jjj

Actually Burress has a penchant for creating his own version of the truth....

"It's a lie that condoms prevent all sexually transmitted diseases anyway. People should be educated about that and practice abstinence." But there is little impartial evidence of measurable benefits from abstinence-only policies, say scientists.
Burress pointed to a 2001 National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases report showing that condoms aren't effective in preventing the spread of the human papillomavirus (HPV). But, according to the NIAID report, condoms are considered effective against unwanted pregnancy (86 to 97 percent), HIV/AIDS (85 percent) and gonorrhea in men (49 to 74 percent).

Just like the above distortion of the truth, the campaign CCV has waged against CCS and the forcing of SB 16 down our spineless legislators throats has been built on lies. If allowed to go into effect, this law would be a devastating blow to an approximate $250 million dollar industry. This law would have a negative impact on much more than just strippers.

So please do not be intimidated by this hypocritical Holy Roller and his attack on our First Amendment Right to Free Speech. Because YOU may very well be his next target!

Now how about signing that petition?

Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner/ to Much Power

raz — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 09:10:39 -0700

Are we sure that we want to give so much election ballot trust to our Secretary of State. I think that each board of elections should be held responsible for the count. Remembering how Blackwell was near destroying the ballots until ordered to stop by the court. It kind of makes you think. Other then showing history that GW Bush didn't win Ohio we have nothing to gain.

Radio Free Ohio

raz — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 10:45:27 -0700

What the hell happened to our only radio source in Ohio. I just received an E Mail from them saying that March 30 is their last day with talk radio.

WTRF 1350 Akron did a wonderful job helping to get our message out in Ohio and I hate to see them leave.

I listen on line most of the time but during the summer I like to sit under my shade tree sipping a beer and yell back at the radio.

I wrote to the station thanking them for the job they did and asked for an explanation . I won't hold my breath so if anyone has an answer please fill me in.

Education Amendment Officially DOA

Staff Jr. — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 12:08:53 -0700

The pullout of urban mayors was the first strike against Get It Right!, the proposed education amendment to the Ohio Constitution. It’s hard to overestimate how important this is.

The second was Governor Strickland’s first lukewarm, then downright frigid reaction. He’s now firmly in the opposed camp.

The final blow, though, comes now. Get It Right! is attempting to use an all-volunteer army to qualify the ballot. For those keeping score at home, that’s approximately 403,000 valid signatures, or 670,000 total signatures.

As Pho’s Akron Page correctly notes, the 2006 Raise the Wage campaign had a literal army of volunteers, backed up by another army of paid petitioners. They barely made the ballot, paying one less-than-reputable company almost $300,000 to help at the last minute.

There is no way Get It Right! will make the ballot if they’re relying on the volunteers that education unions can provide. Add in the opposition of mayors and the governor and, unless they change course pretty soon, it’s dead on arrival.

Montgomery Cty Machines Blank Out Issue 2 Text

davemb77 — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 08:21:39 -0700

I went to vote this morning and there was an irate man next to me who was viewing his ballot using Full-Text and the ballot wouldn't display the text for Issue 2.

The poll worker who was supposed to help him, had him reject his ballot too many times and accidentally cast his ballot for him.

��They gave him another card and he tried the same thing from another machine and still couldn't read the text of the Issue! (I think he got to cast two votes too!)

��Montgomery County uses the fun touch screen machines that don't have any instructions as to how to change your vote after you accidentally push the wrong name.

OLE will meet the signature requirement

Todd Hoffman — Tue, 29 Aug 2006 10:33:14 -0700

Cross posted at the Ohio Learn and Earn Blog

Ohio Learn & Earn will meet the signature requirement by a comfortable margin. In fact, our television campaign will launch next week, on Tuesday.

A letter of insufficiency from Secretary of State is due to arrive at the campaign office today. The campaign will then have 10 days to submit additional signatures to qualify for the November ballot.

The requirement is 322,899 signatures. The estimate is that OLE is 8,500 short. However the campaign will likely exceed the minimum valid signatures in 63 counties, when only 44 are required.

When the Secretary of State��s office notified OLE two weeks ago that some 13,000 signatures were unaccounted for and thousands of others had been sent to the wrong county boards of elections, Ohio Learn and Earn immediately began collecting additional signatures on Aug. 19.

OLE has 10 days from the delivery of the letter, but the campaign has already secured the needed valid signatures and pre-validated them in the process. Ohio Learn & Earn is conducting a 100% validation of each and every signature.

We will continue to collect tens of thousands of additional signatures and put them through the same process to ensure that people have the right to vote to create an affordable college opportunity for Ohio's kids.

Ohioans have made it clear they want the right to vote on this issue in November. More than 314,000 signatures had been certified as of last week. Ohioans want to see this issue debated and want it on the November ballot.

Todd Hoffman
Ohio Learn and Earn

Filing Day at OL&E

Todd Hoffman — Thu, 03 Aug 2006 14:33:42 -0700

Cross posted at the Ohio Learn and Earn Blog

After months of enduring sweltering summer days petitioning throughout Ohio and late nights counting numerous signatures, the Ohio Learn and Earn petition drive came to a successful end on Tuesday, August 2.

All of the hard work and dedication paid off as the OL&E field crew filed into the Secretary of State��s office with 624,625 signatures in hand, nearly double the number needed to be placed on the ballot.

It was quite a day. Although the quality control crew had been at it for months, the whole Fieldworks staff had worked well into the twilight hours the night before, meticulously double-checking each petition, counting, validating, organizing, and making sure everything was set for the big day.

The crew rolled back in mid-morning, visibly bushed from lack of sleep, but excited to see their efforts bear fruit. A quick trip to Cup O�� Joe��s and they were ready to go.

With the heat index over 100 degrees, no elevator, and an office air conditioner that barely works on a good day, we carried 187 boxes out to a rental truck that we had decorated with an Ohio Learn and Earn banner.

Somehow, yours truly got nominated to drive the truck. I have a little experience driving these large moving trucks in my days caravanning to college and back, but not much. Unlike Will Ferrell��s ��Ricky Bobby��, I am a thinker, NOT a driver. Some say I am not much of either. But nonetheless, I accepted the challenge.

Andy and I successfully navigated the streets of downtown Columbus and parked the truck affront of the Borden building, which hosts the office of the Ohio Secretary of State. We were welcomed by a plethora of Ohio Learn and Earn T-shirt clad workers, eager to file the 187 boxes, one by one, into the building.

Visibly shocked by the number of petitions being submitted, the media watched as the never-ending line of boxes marched in procession. Charles Ruma, chairman of the Ohio Learn and Earn Committee, addressed the media. "We think Ohioans are looking for change," said Ruma. The college tuition rates are skyrocketing, he explained, strapping Ohio students, parents and young adults with burgeoning student loan debts. He explained that the economic development funds would help boost job creation in Ohio. "People are fed up with nothing happening," Ruma said. "We've seen 16 years of stagnant growth in Ohio."

As the media finished their questions, the OL&E staff, sweaty and tired, carried the last of the boxes onto the building��s dock, up the elevator and into the J. Kenneth Blackwell��s office. The SOS staff started processing the petitions right away, preparing them to be sent to the local boards of elections where each signature will be checked and validated.

With the day��s task completed, the crew headed off for some much needed nourishment and rest. As I drove away in the truck, I reflected. One mission accomplished, but the battle for Ohio��s students�� future is just beginning.

Leslie Ghiz Sues OLE

Muffet — Tue, 11 Jul 2006 09:19:22 -0700

Because every fire begins with a small spark.

Leslie Ghiz Tries to Take Down Earn & BurnWhether it's a personal vendetta or a fight to insure a clean Democratic process in Ohio, Leslie Ghiz is saving the day by filing suit against the dirtiest campaign in the business, Ohio Learn and Earn.

She must be reading the blogs on her Blackberry while in council meetings, because she's definitely heard everything that we've been saying about the underhanded attempt to put gambling on the ballot.

Aside from being a campaign of lies, she's also found a few potential technicalities that have been violated:

The lawsuit also says that FieldWorks, a company hired to manage the signature collections, failed to register with the secretary of state as a company doing business in Ohio. It also says that the petitions incorrectly say FieldWorks is paying for the ballot drive, rather than Ohio Learn and Earn.

This is by far the best thing Leslie Ghiz has done since taking office (perhaps of anyone on council this term) and she is actually doing it as a civilian.

I'm not sure what the results of the lawsuit will be. One thing I do know though: A lot of good will come of this.

Posted by Andrew Warner on Tuesday, July 11, 2006 at 10:26 AM | Permalink

This is from Andrew Warner's website here in Cincinnati.�� Ghiz is not my favorite council member, but this is interesting.

Gee Ghiz

Todd Hoffman — Mon, 10 Jul 2006 12:03:15 -0700

Today, Leslie Ghiz, the Cincinnati Councilwoman who championed slot machine parlors for the Queen City, has flipped her position and filed a lawsuit against Ohio Learn and Earn. Ghiz��s sudden flip comes after her group, Queen City Gaming, was plagued with petitioning irregularities forcing them to withdraw their quest to get on the ballot.

Ghiz claims that she is upset that Ohio Learn and Earn is being dishonest in its petition drive. However, less than a month ago she was supporting a casino amendment that was illegally gathering signatures by paying per signature and failing to register the appropriate paperwork for all petitioners with the Secretary of State.

The fact is that the Ohio Attorney General has certified that the language of Ohio Learn and Earn's amendment summary finding it ��fair and accurate��. Petitioners are instructed to answer all questions regarding the funding sources, locations of slot machines, and percentages of gaming taxes allocated to scholarships and economic development.

Ghiz��s flip-flop is really about sour grapes. She was the loudest voice in Cincinnati FOR an amendment to legalize restricted gaming. When Cincinnati stalled too long to join the deal, she changed her tune. She has stated that she would "actively and publicly" work against any casino ballot referendum that does not include Cincinnati as a location.

So it��s really not about being opposed to Learn and Earn, it��s about not having a casino parlor in Cincinnati.

In fact, Ghiz pledged to boycott OLE for not including Cincinnati. Since Ghiz��s boycott, OLE has received 75,000 signatures from the citizens of Hamilton County.

Voters deserve better than Leslie Ghiz��s political grandstanding. The lawsuit has no merit and should be dismissed as frivolous.

Todd Hoffman

Ohio Learn and Earn

SB 7 on hold for now

Muffet — Fri, 30 Jun 2006 07:08:41 -0700

SB 7, a bill rammed thru the legislature to take benefits away from injured workers in Ohio, a bill rammed thru the legislature even tho the scandals at the BWC have barely been prosecuted, is on hold.�� A group of tenacious trial lawyers along with the UAW has been working to collect signatures to put it on the ballot this fall.�� It looks like we have enough.�� It was to take effect today.

my understanding from UAW conversation I had this afternoon is that they
filed well over 200,000, but less than 300,000 signatures (> 194,000
needed), including > 3% of gubenatorial in 47 of 88 (> 44 needed) and SB 7's
negative impacts are on hold until ruling on whether enough valid. Also,
have been told that if any deficiencies, referendum proponents will have 10
days to correct from when informed.

Gaming money lures Honda plant to Indiana

Todd Hoffman — Thu, 29 Jun 2006 11:23:48 -0700

From the forums, I think this is worthy of discussion - staff

While the Honda Corporation cited several reasons for choosing to locate their new plant in Indiana rather than Ohio, many people might be surprised that economic development funds derived from the Riverboat casinos were one of those factors.

Lawrenceburg, Indiana, which is the location of the Argosy Casino, is donating $10 million to Greensburg for the infrastructure improvements that Honda required for its new plant. Financing this donation are taxes from the Argosy Casino, which were earmarked for economic development in the state.

From the Indy Star

Lawrenceburg began by spreading the riverboat tax revenues to nearby communities, then extended it to outside counties in an effort to keep the Indiana General Assembly from getting its hands on the money, said Lawrenceburg Mayor Bill Cunningham.
Cunningham said Gov. Mitch Daniels told him Greensburg was struggling to pay for infrastructure that Honda wanted.

Construction of the plant will be a $550 million project, starting this fall. The plant will open in 2008, and will employee 2,000 workers. In addition, ��economists figure for every Honda job at $24 an hour, six jobs will surface at auto parts suppliers, restaurants, dry cleaners, stores and offices,�� reported Ted Evanoff of the Indy Star.

"This was a great use of riverboat money," Mayor Cunnigham said. "This shows riverboat money works."

Indiana casinos gave approximately $114 million towards economic development funds in 2005. Ohio could soon have a similar source of income for economic development projects. Under the Ohio Learn and Earn initiative, over $200 million per year will go towards local governments to attract jobs and business investment.

That��s $200 million in new money without tax increases, supplementing not supplanting existing state appropriations. Every county will benefit from Learn and Earn, not just those where gaming facilities are located. And the Ohio General Assembly will be unable to raid these funds for other purposes.

Todd Hoffman

Ohio Learn and Earn