CQ Politics has it right when it notes that things are heating up between Gov. Ted Strickland, Democrat, and John Kasich, Republican and former investment banker with the now bankrupt Lehman Brothers.
The more I read about how Republican candidate for governor, John Kasich, was involved in "introducing" the Ohio pension board members to his colleagues at Lehman Brothers, the more I realize that he played the part of an "accessory" to their losses. He may not have done the orginal investments, but he made the introductions and used his familiarity with the pension boards to help grease the path for Lehman to take their money.
In the process, Kasich, laid the groundwork for huge losses for the pension funds. He got his humongous bonus of $400,000 while Ohio's public employee retirement funds started to lose money.
How many other times did Kasich intervene to assure the pension fund managers that everything was okay? Did he speak to anyone to try to calm their fears about losing the money? Was Kasich responsible for other contacts with the pension fund board members (dinners, golf, meetings, etc.)? Are there public records or other notes that would show that he personally spoke with these board members other than his initial meetings? I'm positive that those employees who lost millions of dollars in their pension funds that were invested in Lehman are waiting for answers.
Kasich may say that Strickland is going negative, but in reality Strickland is looking for the truth. We are not getting answers from Kasich about the pension funds, the state income tax cuts he wants, his preference for charter schools over public, the services and state holdings he'll sell off, and the programs he'll cut. He avoids it all while he talks in generalities to tiny groups of people in small, well-known Republican strongholds. Kasich continues to play it safe.
I know I wouldn't buy a used car from Kasich. His lack of candor bothers me and I remember his brutal budget proposals from his time in Congress. Thank goodness they were not all enacted!!! I'm just wondering if other Ohioans distrust Kasich as much as I do?