Ohio Republican Party
Chairman's Matt Borges Update
June 22, 2014

Greetings!

Today we are a little over 100 days away from the start of early voting in Ohio. We are well under five months until Election Day. Everything we do over the coming weeks and months is important and there is only one goal: keep our Republican officials in office and continue Ohio's comeback.

Think about how far we've come since Republicans took office just over three years ago.

We've gone from record job loss to over 250,000 private sector jobs gained, from an $8 billion budget hole to a fully filled state Rainy Day Fund. We've seen taxes cut, education reform, and pro-life legislation signed. All of it will be taken away in an instant if we don't work together, take nothing for granted, and do everything we can to win in November.

Ohio's unemployment rate continues to fall

Ohio unemployment fell to 5.5% this week, the lowest number since 2007. That number is far below the national rate and is due to the hard work and tireless dedication of our Republican leadership. All told we have seen over 250,000 private sector jobs created since Republicans took office.

Mike DeWine's Ice Cream Social is TODAY

One of the highlights of the political calendar occurs this afternoon: Attorney General Mike DeWine's Ice Cream Social. It's today from 1-5 p.m. at his home in Cedarville. Their address is 2587 Conley Road, Cedarville. Mrs. DeWine's famous pies are literally in the oven as this email is being sent. You don't want to miss it.

Another round of tax cuts

On Monday, Governor John Kasich signed another $400 million tax cut for Ohio families. That makes over $3 billion in tax relief for Ohioans since Governor Kasich and Republicans took office in 2011. The new tax cuts will greatly aid low income workers with the expansion of an earned income tax credit. In addition, Ohioans making under $40,000 a year will see a $500 increase in their personal tax exemption. Those who make $40,000 to $80,000 will see a $250 increase. Small businesses will also see a 75 percent tax deduction to help them create more jobs. Democrat Ed FitzGerald opposed the tax cuts that will leave more hard earned money in all Ohioans' pockets. We must make sure that our Republican leadership gets another four years to continue Ohio's comeback.

Ed FitzGerald's Big Government Agenda

Democrat Ed FitzGerald added nearly $200 million in spending to his big-government agenda this week, making his potential tax increases even more costly to Ohio families. Since launching his campaign, FitzGerald has proposed bigger and more expensive government for Ohio taxpayers. In May, The Columbus Dispatch reported that FitzGerald had proposed at least $2.1 billion in new spending with no way to pay for it. Now, FitzGerald has added at least $185 million to his unpaid tab. The $2.3 billion in new spending is only the beginning of FitzGerald's spending proposals. Governor John Kasich and our dedicated Republican leadership have dug us out of the $8 billion ditch Democrats left us in three and a half years ago. We must make sure that tax and spend democrats like Ed FitzGerald do not reverse that progress.

Transparency means nothing to Ed FitzGerald

Ed FitzGerald picked Jeannet Wright to be the Cuyahoga County Treasurer and over see over $800 million in investments. The problem is, Wright has failed to comply with county ethics policies for more than three years. The appointee only started complying after FitzGerald promoted her. The County Council and even FitzGerald's hand-picked Inspector General have expressed concern and are investigating. What has FitzGerald said about the mess in his government? Nothing, he's been too busy campaigning. FitzGerald's pick couldn't even ethically report her own business activity, why would she accurately manage the county's $820 million portfolio? This appointment shows the lack of importance transparency and accountability have in FitzGerald's government.

We continue to follow Ed FitzGerld everywhere he goes to figure out what he is hiding when refusing to release his key card data that would show when he is at work. This week we even waited outside the AFL-CIO. We will hold FitzGerald accountable to the residents of Cuyahoga County and all Ohioans.

Strict crack down on Ohio's human trafficking

New anti-human trafficking legislation was signed into law Friday morning to crack down on the sex trade that takes an estimated 1,079 Ohio children every year with even more at risk. The new legislation strengthens penalties on solicitors, increases protection for victims, and makes it easier to get cases involving human trafficking prosecuted. The bill also ups the misdemeanor charge for buying sex from a 16 or 17 year old to a fifth degree felony.

September designated Safe Driving Month

Governor John Kasich designated September as "Safe Driving Month" in honor of WBNS-10TV's sports anchor Dom Tiberi's daughter Maria. The legislation was signed June 17th, nine months to the day that Maria lost her life in a car crash due to distracted driving. Dom and his wife have since founded Maria's Message, a campaign to raise awareness for safe driving. Maria's Message has now been taken to 16 schools and reached over 8,000 people.

"Your lives have been changed, but you're changing other people's lives and giving them strength," Governor Kasich remarked to Tiberi's family during the signing. "My pledge is to all those parents that are out there that have lost kids, that I am your advocate, that I want to be your advocate, my family wants to be your advocate."

Senator Portman calls for investigation into Taliban leaders' release

U.S. Senator Rob Portman spoke on the Senate floor this week, calling for action on his Taliban detainee transfer resolution demanding an investigation into the national security impact of President Obama's decision to release five high-level Taliban leaders from Guantanamo Bay.

"It's about protecting our men and women in Afghanistan," Portman stated. "It's about ensuring what they have fought for over the last decade, the gains they have made in our nation's war against terrorism and for the people of Afghanistan, will not be squandered as we are seeing today in the country of Iraq."

Portman asked for unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration, but Senate Democrats blocked the motion.

Ohio Republicans push for answers

Ohio Republicans John Boehner and Mike Turner are expressing their outrage over the IRS not finding and producing two years of emails that would help track down what happened when conservative organizations were targeted by the organization. Congressman Turner called for the appointment of independent counsel stating that the Obama administration has made it clear that they are not committed to transparency and accountability.

Speaker Boehner also added that "the White House has not lifted a finger to help us get to the bottom of this."

New legislation strengthens protections for active military

This week Attorney General Mike DeWine applauded new military identity theft legislation that was signed into law. The legislation establishes harsher penalties for those who commit identity fraud and theft against active-duty service members and their spouses.

"These changes will make Ohio one of the toughest states for punishing felons who commit identity fraud against active-duty service members," Attorney General DeWine said. "I applaud the Governor and the General Assembly for recognizing the importance of this issue. Military service members and their families sacrifice so much to protect our country, and it's our job to do all we can to protect them."

Ohio New Business Filings on record pace

Continued good news from Secretary of State Jon Husted on the economic front: Under Republican leadership Ohio has broken state records for new business startups two years in a row -- 88,068 in 2012 and 89,735 in 2013. And based on the monthly figures from January through May, we're trending toward another record year in 2014!

Secretary Husted also set uniform voting hours for all future Ohio elections in light of a recent federal court ruling.

"The federal court has affirmed what I have long advocated: That all voters in Ohio should have the same opportunity to vote," Secretary Husted said in a press release. "The uniform hours I am setting will cover all future elections as the court required, taking into account the differences between municipal, special, primary, general and presidential elections."

Ohio House passes legislation pushed by Auditory Yost and Representative Hagan

The Ohio House passed legislation that makes it possible for local governments to remove elected officials who allow taxpayer money to be misused. The legislation, the Fiscal Integrity Act, was sponsored by Representative Christina Hagan and advocated for by Auditor Dave Yost.

Shockingly, Auditor Yost's opponent voted against the measure in the legislature.

Yost, French, and Kennedy receive endorsement

The Ohio Society of CPAs endorsed Ohio Auditor Dave Yost along with Supreme Court Justices Judi French and Sharon Kennedy for re-election. Two panels, each made up of 17 members, separately evaluated the candidates and then came to a collective decision.

Auditor Yost received the endorsement due to adhering to his promises and "doing exactly what he said he would four years ago: emphasizing performance audits, eliminating unnecessary cost and red tape with government mandates and driving value to attest service recipients while reducing risk to taxpayers."

Justice French and Justice Kennedy deserve a second term because they "adhere to the important principles of judicial fairness and impartiality, and maintain a commitment to the rule of law."

Mandel hosts investment conference

This week, Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel's office hosted a Center for Public Investment Management (CPIM) conference in Bowling Green. CPIM provides contenting education for public funds managers and the Treasurer's office hosts these conferences across the state. During this gathering, local government investment officials heard presentations on finance, investments, cash management and ethics.

If you need further proof of why we need Josh Mandel for another four years, look at how quickly he was able to turn around the State Treasurer's office. Democrats Boyce and Ahmad left behind a corrupt mess and Mandel cleaned it up quickly, while also helping to restore Ohio's economic status. This week, Amer Ahmad, the former deputy treasurer, pled guilty to forging travel documents when fleeing to Pakistan to get away from corruption charges.

Sincerely,
Matt Borges
Chairman, Ohio Republican Party