1. webcache of One Oar in the Water:
...Trips that Husted has taken as speaker with his son, Alex, and high-powered lobbyists have brought controversy in recent years.
On Memorial Day Weekend in 2005, the pair jetted off on a fishing trip with a trio of lobbyists in tow as the state's $51.2 billion budget was being debated. An Ohio State bowl game trip that year on a plane owned by NCR, a Dayton-based Fortune 500 company, with his family and lobbyists along also netted headlines....
....While Husted clearly spends most of his time living in a $343,000 three-bedroom home in the Columbus suburb of Upper Arlington with his growing family, he is supposed to live in his legislative district.....
Husted has a house in Kettering.
2. Watch the video of Jon Husted's testimony in front of the Montgomery County Board of Elections and posted by ProgressOhio (Youtube):
It is nice to see Husted squirm. Clearly, he seems to have a problem telling the truth.
(I wonder what would happen if Jon Husted, as Secretary of State, questioned YOUR residency?)
In December 2009, Husted considered Brookside Country Club his home golf course? See LINK for details. (FYI: Brookside Country Club is not near Kettering.)
3. Ohio Citizens Action has been keeping a record of Husted's custom of using lobbyists for special trips: From 2005 Ohiocitizensaction:
Jun 29: Husted used NCR jet for football trip
COLUMBUS -- "When incoming House Speaker Jon Husted needed a way to get to San Antonio on Dec. 29 to represent Ohio at the Alamo Bowl, he asked Tim Day of Dayton-based NCR Corp., if he could help. Day, vice president for NCR government affairs, based in Washington, did. He arranged for Husted, R-Kettering, to travel on the company's Lear 55C, seven-seat corporate jet, to watch Ohio State play Oklahoma State, and to reimburse NCR...Catherine Turcer, legislative director for Ohio Citizen Action, a government watchdog group, said the arrangement should have raised this question for Husted: 'Would they be doing this for me if I were not speaker of the House?'...This is the second time in less than a week that Husted's relationship with lobbyists he also regards as friends has drawn attention," William Hershey, Dayton Daily News.
And......
Jun 25: Ohio House leader defends fishing trip with lobbyists
COLUMBUS -- "During a lull in debate over a $51.2 billion, two-year budget, Ohio House Speaker Jon Husted took a Florida fishing trip with three Columbus lobbyists with stakes in the budget outcome...Mr. Husted and his 9-year-old son shared a bedroom for two nights in the $427,940, 3,200-square-foot, three-bedroom home of Joseph Feidner, Mr. McCarthy's father-in-law...Catherine Turcer, of government watchdog Ohio Citizen Action, said a person cannot get a room at a Motel 6 for $50, let alone a room in a private home located along a canal with access to Mr. Feidner's private boat. 'This just shows what an enmeshed, dysfunctional family we have,' she said. 'That the speaker didn't consider this inadvisable or possibly inappropriate in the midst of an enormous budget battle is surprising to say the least,' " Jim Provance, Blade Columbus Bureau.
4. Jon Husted has received an obscene amount of campaign contributions from David Brennan, charter school mogul. OhioDems provides the ugly details:
...Husted Received Over $130,000 From Charter School Advocates. Since being elected to the Ohio General Assembly, Husted has received over $130,000 from charter school owners, employees and advocate groups. Donors included David Brennan, owner of the largest for-profit charter school operator in Ohio, and William Lager, Founder of Altair Learning Management and Electronic Classrooms of Tomorrow. [Ohio Secretary of State, Accessed 8/20/09; Columbus Dispatch, 10/23/05; Lager Biography, accessed 5/12/10]
Republican Campaigns To Return $29,000 In Improper Campaign Donations To Charter School Mogul. Four Republican campaigns were forced to return a total of $29,410 in contributions associated with charter school proponent David Brennan. The Brennans contributed the maximum amount in their own names to four GOP candidates’ campaigns in the 2006 and 2007 election cycles, but then appear to have used two political action committees, Main Street PAC and the Go-Go PAC, to give beyond the legal limit. The refund was due to an agreement between the parties at the Ohio Secretary of State's office. [Akron Beacon Journal, 7/2/08; Akron Beacon Journal, 4/11/08]
Husted Donor Fined $5.2 Million For Illegally Operating Charter School PAC In Ohio. All Children Matter, a political-action committee associated with David Brennan, was fined a record $5.2 million in April 2008 by the Ohio Elections Commission for exceeding campaign-contribution limits. The group illegally funneled $870,000 from its Virginia PAC to its PAC in Ohio in 2006. The state ruled that All Children Matter-VA PAC was not properly established under Ohio law, and the transfer of money to the Ohio PAC was not permitted because contributions exceed state limits. Brennan donated $200,000 to All Children Matter. [Columbus Dispatch, 4/11/08; Akron Beacon Journal, 8/24/07]....
They provide boatloads of money for Husted's campaign, and Husted sponsors and passes legislation to protect the charter schools from regulations and oversight.
5. Here is how Democrat Mary Ellen O'Shaughnessey has responded to the mudslinging from Jon Husted:
"While Maryellen O'Shaughnessy has spent the past 18 years fighting for the working men and women of Ohio, Jon Husted has been busy working for corporations and his own special interests. "
FACT CHECK:
| Audio (Husted campaign) | Facts |
| There she goes again…professional politician Maryellen O’Shaughnessy, padding her pockets. | Professional Politician? Husted Has Been On The Ballot 6 Times, And Is Nearly 20 Years Younger. Jon Husted Is A Perpetual Candidate. Since 2000, when he entered politics, Jon Husted has been on the ballot 6 times for 3 different political offices. [Ohio Secretary of State website, accessed 8/16/10] Husted Known To Be A Potential Candidate For Governor. According to Thomas Suddes writing in the Columbus Dispatch, Husted is listed as a potential future candidate for Ohio Governor. [Columbus Dispatch, 5/9/10] |
| While Ohioans Struggle to Find work, O’Shaughnessy ran for five different offices, spent $30,000 of your money on new furniture. | O’Shaughnessy Expenditure Was For Office Furniture and Appliances For 240 Employees And 5 Office Locations. The Clerk of Courts in 2009 spent $33,664 on office furniture, for an office of more than 230 people, with 5 locations [Franklin County Auditor; Franklin County Clerk of Courts] Office Furniture Accounts For 0.25% Of Clerk Of Courts Budget. $33,664 accounts for one quarter of one percent of the $12.9 million Clerk of Courts Budget. [Franklin County Auditor] Husted Campaign Spent Over $17,000 On A Car. According to Husted’s campaign expenditure reports, his campaign committee paid $17,090.04 at Beau Townsend Ford on July 13, 2009 for "automobile." [Ohio Secretary of State Campaign Finance Expenditures Report, accessed 3/25/10] Husted Campaigns Spent Nearly $7,000 On Football Tickets. According to Husted’s campaign expenditures, Husted’s campaign committees have spent $6885.12 on football tickets. [Ohio Secretary of State Campaign Finance Expenditures Reports, accessed 3/25/10] Husted Campaign Spent Nearly $900 On A Sofa For His Campaign Office. In his first campaign, Husted spent $883.22 on a “Sofa-Office.” [Ohio Secretary of State, Campaign Finances, Accessed 3/25/10] O’Shaughnessy’s Office Is Currently Under Budget. |
| O’Shaughnessy even voted for her own personal stimulus package – a taxpayer funded pay raise…for herself. | O’Shaughnessy Was Prohibited From Voting For Pay Raises For Herself By Council Charter. O’Shaughnessy Was Ineligible For Raise When She Voted To Hike Pay. Columbus’ city charter stipulates that a council member cannot vote on a pay raise without first facing an election. O’Shaughnessy, who was elected to the council in 1997, was not eligible to receive a pay increase unless she won reelection in 2001. [Columbus Dispatch, 12/15/98] O’Shaughnessy’s 2002 Opponent Attacked Her Vote On Pay Raise. In a 2002 television ad, O’Shaughnessy’s opponent, Dewey Stokes, attacked O’Shaughnessy for voting to raise council pay: “Whoa, check out this slippery condition. Maryellen voted to raise her own pay.” In an ad watch, the Columbus Dispatch noted, “[s]he could not receive the pay increase until January, after she won election to a second term.” [Columbus Dispatch, 10/30/02] In 2008, O’Shaughnessy Made $37,409 On City Council; Husted Made Over Twice As Much. In 2008, Jon Husted made $84,114.50, whereas Maryellen made $37,409. [Buckeye Institute State Salary Data; Columbus Auditor’s Office, Gross Wage and Separation Information, Form 1093] Husted Said Lawmakers Would Not Refuse Automatic Pay Raise. According to the Dayton Daily News, on December 19, 2007, Jon Husted “answered ‘probably not’ when asked if legislators would do anything to stop raises they're also scheduled to get Jan. 1.” Governor Strickland had refused to accept his raise; Attorney General Mark Dann and Auditor Mary Taylor accepted their raise. [Dayton Daily News, 12/19/07] |
| A better choice, Jon Husted, an award winning taxpayer watchdog, | Jon Husted Voted For Two Largest Tax Increases in State History 2003: Husted Voted For Largest Tax Increase In State History. Rep. Husted voted in 2003 to approve the House version and the conference committee report for House Bill 95, the state’s two-year operating budget, which raised or added $3 billion in taxes and created tax cuts that reduced school funding by more than $327 million. The budget contained a $48.8 billion spending plan that would pay the state share of government programs, such as public schools, prisons and social services. The bill passed the House and conference committee 53-46. [House Journal, H.B. 95, 4/9/03; Newark Advocate, 7/30/03; Columbus Dispatch, 6/27/03; Columbus Dispatch, 11/17/03, Ohio Legislative Service Commission] While Speaker, Husted Co-Sponsored And Voted For 2nd Largest Tax Increase In State History. In 2005, Jon Husted co-sponsored and voted to pass Bob Taft’s House Bill 66, containing a sweeping tax increase that dished out $460 million to the top 1% when fully implemented, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. According to the Cincinnati Enquirer, "Taft's plan represents a $2 billion tax hike over two years - the second largest tax increase in state history." [House Journal, H.B. 66, 4/12/05, Page 672; Cincinnati Enquirer, 4/27/05] In 127th General Assembly, 49 People Won The Watchdog of The Treasury Award. According to Conservative Blogger Matt Naugle, 49 Republican Legislators Won The Watchdog Of the Treasury Award In The 127th General Assembly. In the 127th General Assembly, the following legislators won the Watchdog of the Treasury Award: “Armstutz, Austria, Buehrer, Cates, Faber, Goodman, Harris, Jacobson, Mumper, Niehaus, Padgett, Schaffer, Schuler, Seitz, Wagoner, Adams, Aslanides, Bacon, Batchelder, Brinkman, Bubp, Carmichael, Coley, Collier, Combs, Core, Daniels, Fessler, Flowers, Gibbs, Goodwin, J. Hagan, Hite, Hottinger, Huffman, Husted, Jones, Ross McGregor, Reinhard, Schlichter, Setzer, Uecker, Wachtmann, Wagner, Webster, White, Widener, Wolpert, and Zehringer.” [Right Ohio, accessed 9/23/10] Husted Supported Shipping Ohio Jobs Overseas, Closing Unemployment Centers. Husted Supported 1999 U.S.-China Bilateral Trade Agreement. On November 18, 1999, the Dayton Daily News reported that Husted supported the November 1999 bilateral trade agreement on China's WTO accession. When asked about China’s “inconvenient human-rights violations” and its affect on the passage of the deal, Husted said, “We haven't engaged in that discussion. We have tried to communicate why this trade agreement is good for business.” [Dayton Daily News, 11/18/99] Husted Pleased With Plan To Close Ohio’s Walk-In Unemployment Centers. On October 3, 2001, the Associated Press Reported that Husted supported a plan to close Ohio’s 56 walk-in unemployment centers, forcing unemployed to file claims by telephone or internet. According to the article, “Husted was pleased with the details about workforce impact and cost savings that the department provided.” At the time of the proposal, more than a fourth of the unemployed Ohioans used the walk-in centers. [Associated Press State & Local Wire, 10/3/01] |
| Husted will stop voter fraud and restore integrity to our elections. Jon Husted for Secretary of State. | Husted Has Skirted The Very Laws He Seeks To Enforce Montgomery County Board Of Elections Investigated Husted’s Residency. The Montgomery Board of Elections agreed to instruct their attorneys investigate the voter registration of Jon Husted at the request of both Democrats and Republicans. The Board of Elections ordered an investigation into the matter on October 21 2008, three days after a Dayton Daily News article revealed that Husted claimed residency in both Kettering and Upper Arlington. Board member Dennis Lieberman said the Board of Elections had an “obligation” to investigate the claims. Three of the four members of the bipartisan board voted to pursue the investigation. [Dayton Daily News, 10/22/08, 10/18/08, 11/3/08] Montgomery Board Of Elections Voted Along Party Lines In Husted Residency Case. On February 25, 2009 the Montgomery County Board of Elections voted 2-2 along party lines to send Jon Husted’s residency case to Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner for a ruling. During Husted’s hearing he admitted to living in Upper Arlington and refused to disclose how often he and his family are at their home in Kettering. Two Democratic members of the Board voted against Husted while the two Republican members voted in favor of his testimony. [Dayton Daily News, 2/26/09] Montgomery County Board Of Elections Voted A Second Time Along Party Lines In Husted Residency Case. The Montgomery County Board of Elections voted 2-2, again along party lines, in Jon Husted’s residency case.Two Democrats voted against Husted while two Republicans voted in support of the State Senator. Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner sent the case back to the Montgomery County Board of Elections on June 8, 2009. [Dayton Daily News, 6/30/09, 6/9/09] Husted Asked Ohio Supreme Court to Force Brunner to Issue Final Judgment on Residency Claim. On August 11, 2009, Ohio State Senator Jon Husted filed a writ of mandamus with the Ohio Supreme Court against Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner. The filing requested the Supreme Court to order Brunner to issue a final ruling on Husted’s residency challenge. Husted claims that he has a clear legal right to “immediate resolution to the purported challenge to his voter residency in Montgomery County,” and that the matter has been delayed “far beyond any allowable statuary limits or reasonable timeframe.” He also said the evidence supporting his legal right to vote in Montgomery County is “overwhelming and uncontroverted.” [Complaint in mandamus of Jon A. Husted, Case Number 2009-1455, Ohio Supreme Court, 8/11/09] Ohioans Should Not Trust Husted. Cleveland Plain Dealer Says Husted Owns "Poorly Calibrated Ethical Compass." Jon Husted asked an NCR Corporation official for help getting to the Alamo Bowl college football game in San Antonio on December 29, 2004. NCR obliged and flew Husted, along with his son, his friend’s son, and Husted’s fiancé, on its corporate jet to the game. Husted’s campaign committee reimbursed NCR $600 for the flight for him and his son and later reimbursed NCR another $600 out of his pocket to pay for his son’s friend and his fiancé. A jet charter company provided the Dayton Daily News with a quote of $22,255 to charter a small jet for an overnight flight to San Antonio. An NCR spokesman said the company’s cost was “less than half’ the $22,255, but he did not give any specific figures. Due to the incident, the Plain Dealer said Husted owned a “poorly calibrated ethical compass.” [Dayton Daily News, 7/1/05;Plain Dealer, 7/1/05] Toledo Blade On Husted Redistricting: “Ohioans Should Not Believe Him.” The Toledo Blade wrote in an April 2009 editorial that Husted “claims he is running for secretary of state in 2010 in order to abolish the office and replace the political machinery for drawing state legislative districts with something nonpartisan. For a number of reasons, Ohioans should not believe him.” Furthermore, “as speaker of the House when the GOP dominated the Statehouse, he could have engineered such a change but didn't.” [Toledo Blade, 4/8/09] Husted Is Unfit For The Office Of Secretary of State. Husted Accused Of Violating Ohio Law Regarding Secretary of State Directive. On August 25, 2008, Husted co-signed a letter with Senate President Bill Harris sent to every Ohio elections official in which he urged, “The Directive of Secretary of State Brunner . . . Ignores our intent and the clear language of HB 562. To reiterate, that was not our intent, and that is not what the statutory language demands.” At least one board of elections put on hold its plans to timely send notices required by law because of Husted’s letter. Secretary Brunner on August 28, 2008, warned Husted by letter that he was interfering with the conduct of an election and quoted for him the criminal statute that prohibits interfering with an election: R.C. 3599.24(A)(3) “No person . . . shall attempt to intimidate an election officer, or prevent an election official from performing the official’s duties.” [Letter from Bill Harris To Boards of Elections, 8/25/08; Letter from Jennifer Brunner to Jon Husted and Bill Harris, 8/28/08] Husted Campaign Ad Promised “A Conservative For Secretary Of State.” In a campaign ad run in April 2010, Jon Husted promised “a conservative for Secretary of State.” [Husted Campaign Ad, 4/12/10] Husted Planed To Advance A Conservative Agenda. At the March 27, 2010 Dayton Tea Party Forum, Husted said the election is “really the difference between whether or not we’re going to be focusing on the opportunity to advance a conservative agenda over the next year, ten years, or whether or not we’re going to be focused on trying to fight against a liberal agenda that will be coming our way over the next ten years.” [Dayton Tea Party and Ohio Liberty Fair Candidates Forum, 3/27/10] Husted Had Something Better To Do Then Find A Solution To A Possible Total Breakdown Of Ohio Election System.On January 18, 2008, the Akron Beacon Journal reported that Husted said he had a conflict and could not attend a meeting with the Gov. Ted Strickland, Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, Senate President Bill Harris, Senate Minority Leader Ray Miller and House Minority Leader Joyce Beatty. The meeting was scheduled to discuss how to guarantee all votes would be properly counted in the 2008 presidential election. “But when he showed up at 9 a.m., for his regular weekly session with the governor and was told the elections meeting was still going on, he chose to stay outside the gathering for nearly a half hour. ‘I just didn't think it was polite, for a meeting that I couldn't attend, to walk in at the last minute and that's really all it was,’ Husted said. ‘I figured it would be over at any minute. I didn't think it would run long.’ Husted also did not send anyone to the meeting to represent Ohio House Republicans and likewise had no explanation. ‘I don't know why no one went,’ Husted said. ‘I guess I didn't realize the meeting had all that much stature to it because I've been staying in regular contact with the secretary of state.’” The meeting was to discuss a $1.9 million report on that “recommended replacing electronic touch-screen voting machines in 57 counties with optical-scan ballots” because “the report found that someone armed with a magnet or a PDA (personal digital assistant) could tamper with vote results.” [Akron Beacon Journal, 1/18/08] Husted Co-Sponsored Legislation That Would Throw Out More Ballots. In 2009, Husted co-sponsored Am. Sub. S.B. 8, which would require election officials to invalidate ballots that were determined by automatically tabulating machines to have been overvotes – without human analysis. The legislation reads “that, if automatic tabulating equipment detects that more marks were made on an optical scan ballot for a particular office, question, or issue than the number of selections that the voter is permitted to make for that office, question, or issue, the election officials must not attempt to determine the voter's intent with regard to that office, question, or issue, and the voter's ballot must be invalidated for that office, question, or issue.” [S.B. 8, 2/10/09] Husted Voted To Make Voting Harder By Prohibiting Same-Day Voter Registration/Voting In 2008: In 2008, Husted Voted in favor of SB 380. The bill would generally prohibit same day voter registration and application for absent voter's ballots, require absent voter's ballot identification envelope statements to be completed for absent voter's ballots to be counted, permit partisan observers at early voting polls, revise the time period in which voters may cast absent voter's ballots in person, and require the Secretary of State to provide county boards of elections names of voters whose registration information did not match motor vehicle records. The bill passed the House 55-43, but was vetoed by the Governor because, "the bill addresses issues that are too complex and controversial to properly address in a lame-duck session." [S.B. 380, 12/16/08; Columbus Dispatch, 1/7/09]
Husted Voted For Bill That Election Law Experts Said Would Make It Harder For Ohioans To Vote. In 2005, Jon Husted voted in favor of House Bill 3, a bill that would enact stricter voter identification rules. Election law experts and a number of organizations, including Ohio chapters of the NAACP and the League of Women Voters, said the bill could cause longer lines at the polls and will discourage the poor, elderly and disabled from voting. Peg Rosenfield, an elections specialist for the League of Women Voters of Ohio, said HB 3 would make it more difficult to vote, register voters, count ballots and get initiatives on the ballot. “We want to reform the system. They want to complain about it,” House Speaker Jon Husted said of Democrats. “We want to stop the cheating. They want to keep loopholes alive.” [HB 3, 5/17/05; Columbus Dispatch, 2/1/06] Voter Fraud Exceedingly Rare, And Not Facilitated By Registration Reform. According to Demos, a non-partisan public policy research and advocacy organization, “notable election reforms of the past 10 to 15 years—such as the NVRA, more permissive absentee balloting rules, all mail-in voting in Oregon, and the enactment of Election Day Registration in several more states—have not facilitated voter fraud.” [Demos, An Analysis of Voter Fraud in the United States, 11/17/2007, Accessed 5/15/10] Husted Co-Sponsored Legislation That Would Reduce The Number Of Judges For Polling Locations. In 2009, Husted co-sponsored Am. Sub. S.B. 8, which “permits a board of elections that uses multiple precinct polling locations to appoint a reduced number of judges… and requires only one presiding judge for the multiple precinct polling location, instead of a presiding judge for each individual precinct.” [S.B. 8, 2/10/09] |
OMG! O'Shaughnessey knows how to throw a powerful punch against the Husted smears. It looks like Husted is just doing some lying.
In my opinion, if you liked the voting disasters (broken machines, Republican party interference during county of votes, disenfranchised voters, understaffed polling locations, not enough voting machines in Democratic districts, caging of voters, etc., etc.) Ohio experienced during Kenneth Blackwell's time as Ohio Secretary of State, you'll love Jon Husted. However, if you are for free and fair elections, Mary Ellen O'Shaughnessey is your candidate.