HOW HE SEES IT Ohio needs campaign finance reform

By State Sen. RANDY GARDNER
SPECIAL TO THE VINDICATOR
As the sponsor of three campaign finance bills over the past three years, I am pleased the General Assembly appears poised to finally enact comprehensive reform in the weeks ahead.
Campaign finance reform never ranks higher than education, jobs, health care or taxes in public opinion polls asking Ohioans to list the most critical issues facing our state. But legislators know that how we raise and spend campaign money permeates almost everything we do at the Statehouse, and helps determine who wins and loses in the political arena.
Faced with this reality, there is nothing more important for legislators to do in the month of December than to enact campaign finance reform that respects the public's right to participate in the political process.
Here are a few basic principles that I believe are key to any meaningful reform:
UFull Disclosure: This is the most fundamental tenet of all. We must require that every dime in every political account be disclosed so that the public knows who is attempting to influence elections in Ohio. So-called "issue-advocacy" groups that buy millions of dollars of television and radio time in a campaign season must be disclosed. On this there can be no compromise.
UParty Operating Accounts: We now know of some of the abuses of county political party operating accounts that receive secret donations and spend money in undisclosed ways. These accounts must be opened to full public view, and their lawful activities clearly defined.
UCounty State Candidate Funds: We must abolish or dramatically change how these funds operate. We know that these funds are being used as "banks," whereby large sums of money are deposited for future political payback. County political parties should be involved in statewide elections. But state candidate funds should not be used to conveniently place on deposit campaign cash in an attempt to bypass contribution limits. It's time to close these political banks.
UBig Labor and Big Business: I believe there must be a period of time during the campaign season when the influence of labor unions and corporations is curtailed. Use of union and corporate treasury funds should not be permitted in the final stretch of a campaign, and should not be used for direct donations to candidates.
UContribution Limits: Some have called for an end to limits on contributions, but I continue to support them. Removing contribution caps would encourage large political donations to a smaller group of candidates, usually incumbents already in power and mostly to those in the most powerful positions. I'm concerned that the ability of average citizens to impact elections would be further diminished, and power concentrated in fewer hands at the Statehouse.
USpecial Interests: We must do everything we can to stop the "coordination of campaign efforts" between candidates and special interest third-party groups disguised as "independent" organizations. This is a very challenging task, but we must try. This illegal activity should be clarified in Ohio law and carry significant penalties for violators.
This is an ambitious reform agenda. While I realize that some compromise may be necessary, I would hope than none of these principles is rejected altogether.
I firmly believe that a new era of full disclosure is achievable, where labor unions and businesses are treated equally, and where broad-based participation is encouraged through a strong two-party system.
The General Assembly should not go home for the holidays without getting this done. The citizens of Ohio should expect no less.
X Gardner, R-Bowling Green, is Senate president pro tem and sponsor of Senate Bill 214, campaign finance reform legislation currently being considered in the House of Representatives. He sponsored two other bills on this subject in the past three years.