Past Rears Up to Bite Former Ken Blackwell Political Team
Their complaint can be found here.
Most of the individuals associated with either LetOhioVote or New Models are former aides or consultants to Ken Blackwell, Ohio's former Secretary of State. They argue in Court that the Secretary of State does not have the authority to launch such an investigation.
That's funny.
That's the same argument that I made in 2004 when Ken Blackwell and his top aides tried to subpoena donation records to the Ohio Taxpayers Association. A link to my comments and objections can be found here.
Nonetheless, here are some of the quotes from then by Carlo LoParo, a spokesperson for Ken Blackwell at the time and now one of the individuals that was subpoenaed by Jennifer Brunner:
LoParo said the secretary of state is doing his duty to investigate campaign finance irregularities and denied any vendetta against Pullins. "We hope that Mr. Pullins fully complies with this subpoena," LoParo said. "If Mr. Pullins has done nothing wrong then he will have no problem presenting the information requested."
- Lancaster Eagle Gazette - June 15, 2004
Blackwell’s spokesman, Carlo LoParo, was unmoved. “While I’d love to join Mr. Pullins at his pity party,” LoParo said, “we have a job to do and we want him to comply with our subpoena.”
- Cleveland Plain Dealer - June, 2004
Blackwell’s office also issued a subpoena on Wednesday to Scott Pullins, chairman of the Ohio Taxpayers Association. It demands bank records and documentation of campaign activities since 2000.
Pullins’ critics contend that he and the OTA acted as an issue-advocacy front for Householder until the men had a recent falling out.
Pullins said he would not provide the records because “they’ve been constitutionally protected since 1958,” the year the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the NAACP did not have to turn over membership lists and other records to the attorney general of Alabama.
Responded LoParo: “We’re not the Alabama attorney general, this isn’t 1958 and he’s not the NAACP.”
- Cleveland Plain Dealer - June, 2004
Sometimes the past comes back to bite you.
Categories: campaign finance
Tags: ken blackwell norman cummings j kenneth blackwell carlo loparo letohiovote ohio secretary of state pierce communications ohio taxpayers association gene pierce kenneth blackwell ohio elections commission norm cummings jennifer brunner let ohio vote
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