Ohio Republican Party
Chairman Matt Borges Update

Greetings!

It was another good week for Ohio Republicans. We saw major grassroots work in the field, more mishaps from the Democrats, we announced plans for our State Dinner on May 10th, and we saw more jobs coming to Ohio.

Precinct Leaders in Franklin County

Yesterday was a national day of action for Republicans across the country and Ohio, as our precinct-level grassroots organization, Red to the Roots, got under way. Hundreds of volunteers known as Precinct Leaders were out knocking doors and making phone calls across the state. Our Precinct Leaders, stretching from Toledo to Marietta, from Dayton to Cleveland were out in neighborhoods meeting voters and spreading our Republican message. You can find out how to get involved here.

We have also compiled a list of all the 2014 endorsed Republican candidates to make voting even easier.

Our 2014 Ohio Republican Party State Dinner will be held at the Columbus Renaissance Hotel on Saturday May 10. The dinner is our largest fundraiser of the year. I am pleased to announce that we will have Governor John Kasich and Governor Haley Barbour as our featured guests. They will be joined by other statewide, legislative, and political leaders. Additional details about the dinner including how to purchase tickets can be found here. I hope you will join us.

GE believes in Ohio

A huge jobs announcement came to Southwest Ohio this week. On Thursday, Governor Kasich and JobsOhio announced that GE chose the Greater Cincinnati area for its new U.S. Global Operations Center. The project will bring with it 1,400 new jobs. It's the largest jobs win for Ohio in a decade. The new jobs will comprise one of GE's five shared services centers around the world, the only one in the US. Ohio was in competition with a number of other states, but ultimately won out because of Governor Kasich and JobsOhio's tireless efforts. Governor Kasich responded to the news by saying he's "thrilled with the confidence this move shows in the people of Ohio. JobsOhio has once again shown its value by working successfully with the company to make this happen."

The Democratic mayor of Cincinnati gave Governor Kasich huge credit for bringing the project to the Cincinnati area.

The Ohio Democratic Party meanwhile launched a negative attack against the project, but their effort came up short and was criticized by the media. It is amazing how the Democrats root against Ohio jobs. Any way you look at it, GE believed in Ohio because of John Kasich's tireless work to get Ohio back on track.

Democrat Ed FitzGerald is a hypocrite on women's pay

What was the Democrats' candidate for governor doing while Governor Kasich was bringing record job creation to Ohio? Democrat Ed FitzGerald was called out for his hypocrisy on women's pay. For weeks, Ed FitzGerald has tried to create a wedge issue around financial issues for women. It turns out that Cuyahoga County has a greater wage gap between men and women than the state of Ohio does. According to our analysis of Cuyahoga County payroll records, men get paid on average $4,853 more a year than women do, or about $1.97 more an hour. According to media reports, men make just 86 cents more per hour in state government, an improvement of 58 cents since 2007. There is a larger wage gap in Cuyahoga County than in state government, but FitzGerald has done nothing to address it.

Ed FitzGerald has also opposed tax relief for working women and families. Under the Governor's recent proposals, a single parent making $30,000 a year would save over $350 a year in taxes, a 66 percent tax cut. Under Ed FitzGerald, a working single parent would pay hundreds of dollars more in taxes every year. FitzGerald's rhetoric doesn't match reality. The truth is that Ed FitzGerald is bad for working women and families.

Democrat Turner gives bad voting advice

The Democrat running for Secretary of State, Nina Turner, sent her supporters an email this week that had bad advice about absentee voting. She informed her supporters that they could drop their absentee ballots off at their local polling place, but Ohio law does not allow voters to do so.

Her mistake is only the most recent in a string of controversies surrounding her candidacy. In March, Turner attended a "voting rights" rally where a woman who was convicted on multiple charges of voter fraud was honored. Despite calls to do so, Turner has refused to condemn the voting fraud or say it was wrong for the woman to be honored. In 2009, Turner told supporters to break the law and cast multiple ballots. The idea of Nina Turner in the Secretary of State's office should terrify anyone who believes in fair elections. Under Nina Turner there would be no rules other than to celebrate and encourage voter fraud.

Thankfully, Turner's massive screw up was reported by the Columbus Dispatch, and will hopefully not cost anyone their vote. The Dispatch also weighed in on Turner's need to rectify her mistake saying, "It is now Turner's responsibility to make every effort to counteract her bad advice to voters. After that, she can try to persuade them that she is competent to run the election system for the entire state."

Senator Portman pushes for an alternative to Obamacare

Senator Rob Portman discussed Republican alternatives to Obamacare this week. During an interview with FoxNews' Fox and Friends, Senator Portman talked about the numerous horror stories that he has heard from his constituents about skyrocketing costs and the loss of their doctors and hospitals. Obamacare has done nothing but eliminate competition and health care choice.

The country "needs a new approach that actually is consistent with getting costs down" and offers people the chance to "choose their health care provider," Senator Portman said.

Veterans deserve higher education credit for service

Lt. Governor Mary Taylor visited her alma mater, the University of Akron, to promote proposed legislation that would set up requirements for public colleges and universities across the state to give credit to veterans for prior experiences and courses. Taylor was joined by Ohio Rep. Frank LaRose and Ohio Board of Regents Chancellor John Carey. Taylor, LaRose, and Carey praised the University of Akron for leading the way with higher education veterans' affairs by opening the Military Services Center. The Center offers veterans assistance with enrollment, priority registration, and guidance throughout their degree. Lt. Governor Taylor hopes that other colleges and universities will follow the University of Akron's lead and become more veteran friendly. The proposed legislation would be a huge step in making that a reality.

The Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame is looking for Ohio Veterans who have generously and continually given to their local communities, state, and nation after honorably serving their country. Do you know a veteran that deserves to be honored for their outstanding contributions? Nominate them here.

Non-partisan report shows Ohio's progress in election changes

The PEW Charitable Trusts released its 2012 Election Performance Index Study, an independent, non-partisan national report. The report highlighted the significant progress Ohio has made in making it easy to vote and hard to cheat.

Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted praised the findings saying, "Here we have yet another independent and nonpartisan national group calling attention to significant improvements we've made in how we run elections on Ohio."

Secretary of State Husted pointed to his decision to send absentee ballot request forms to all registered voters as a defining factor behind the reduced time it took to vote in Ohio.

Nothing runs like a Deere, but corrupt officials can't outrun Dave Yost

This week State Auditor Dave Yost uncovered that former Franklin County Fair Treasurer, David Brobst, stole $211,000 from the group and spent it at John Deere. Brobst took the money from the account as a "loan" in order to buy a John Deere tractor for his personal farm in Groveport.

"Nothing runs like a Deere," Auditor Yost said about the findings, "but that doesn't give you the right to buy one on the public dime."

The case will now fall to Franklin County Prosecutors for further investigation. It is just the latest finding by Auditor Yost that may lead to criminal prosecution. The Auditor is a fierce protector of our tax dollars.

Thirty-nine indicted in drug ring bust

Attorney General Mike DeWine announced that over three dozen people were arrested on trafficking and possession of drugs charges in Marion County. The drug bust happened on Thursday following a two-year federal investigation into the county's drug activity.

"These indictments and arrests focus on the mid-level traffickers and the addicts who are fueling the demand for drugs being brought into Marion County," Attorney General DeWine said of the bust. "While we know we cannot arrest our way out of the drug abuse problem, those who break the law must face the consequences. It is our hope that those arrested today will use this as a wake-up call to turn their lives around."

Summit in Columbus promotes fiscal responsibility

This week, Treasurer Josh Mandel hosted a national financial summit of state treasurers in Columbus. The State Financial Officers Foundation (SFOF) is an organization of state treasurers and chief financial officers from across the country that promotes fiscally responsible public policy and promotes free market economic policy.

The SFOF thanked Treasurer Mandel for hosting the summit in Columbus and it's president praised Ohio's financial turnaround by stating, "Josh has restored integrity to a scandal plagued office, leveraged technology to launch new initiatives that benefit local governments and taxpayers, and conservatively managed his budget and billions in state investments through turbulent economic times."

Education reform passes the Ohio House

This week the Ohio House of Representatives passed a wide-ranging education bill that focused on reducing the number of high-school dropouts and giving more high-school students the ability to earn college credit. The bill includes almost all of the things Governor John Kasich laid out in his budget proposal last month. Large reforms within the bill include new ways to stop failing charter schools from reopening under a different name, requirements for school districts to develop methods to identify students at risk of dropping out and then create specific academic pathways to get them to graduation, and opening up career-technical programs to students as early as the seventh grade.

Caucus Conversation with President Faber

Ohio Senate President Keith Faber joined The Senate Report to discuss what the Ohio Senate has been working on to keep Ohio moving forward. The comprehensive discussion focused on the economic growth that has taken over the state. President Faber hit on topics such as the Capital Budget, job creation, and tax relief that are creating jobs and improving the economy in Ohio.

Good-bye and Good Riddance

On Friday, President Obama announced Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius' resignation from his cabinet. Sebelius was in charge of the Obamacare website that was plagued with glitches up until the final day of registration. For the last six months Republicans have called for her resignation based on Obamacare's failures and her failure to explain why the administration had not been adequately prepared. Despite her resignation, Obamacare continues to be a disaster for the Democratic Party and for Americans.

Sincerely,
Matt Borges
Chairman, Ohio Republican Party