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Tele-town halls fuel debate
On the side
Now hear this: Retired U.S. Judge Nathaniel R. Jones, a Youngstown native, is getting right in the middle of the attorney general’s race between incumbent Republican Mike DeWine and Democrat David Pepper.
Judge Jones served on the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, and Pepper worked at one time as his law clerk. They later worked at the same law firm.
The judge was responding to what he called “a scurrilous attack” on Pepper. In a television commercial, DeWine’s campaign calls Pepper unqualified for the job. In a letter to Pepper’s supporters, Judge Jones called the Democrat “one of the most qualified people to ever run for attorney general in the history of our state,” and that DeWine “has a lot of nerve calling David untrustworthy.”
Candidates forum: The A. Philip Randolph Institute and the League of Women Voters of Trumbull County are sponsoring a candidates forum from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday at Warren G. Harding High School, Warren. The first hour features Trumbull County Commissioner Mauro Cantalamessa, a Democrat, and J.D. Williams, his Republican opponent. The second hour features Democrat Michael O’Brien and Republican Randy Law, who are running for the open 64th Ohio House District seat.
Among the many issues in the hotly-contested race for Ohio treasurer is the incumbent’s use of taxpayer-funded telephone town halls.
Treasurer Josh Mandel, a Republican, has conducted 21 of the tele-town halls with topics including bullying and gasoline prices.
State Rep. Connie Pillich, his Democratic challenger, is using the town halls in a TV commercial critical of Mandel. She told me that about $125,000 in taxpayer money has been used for the town halls that are nothing more than a way to get his name out to voters without paying for it.
Mandel is the only statewide officeholder to use the town halls, something criticized by media outlets that also question the timing of them as they’ve occurred in the same year he is seeking re-election.
But Mandel spoke proudly of the calls saying he’s reached almost 250,000 Ohioans.
“This is an example of using technology to make yourself accessible to the citizens,” Mandel said.
(I will have a profile article in Wednesday’s edition on the treasurer’s race, but because there are so many issues I’m devoting this column to the tele-town halls.)
Mandel said he uses the calls “for discussions about public policy issues and issues of general interest to the [people] of the state.”
He added: “They are not used for anything related to campaign or politics.”
But Pillich said that’s exactly what they are, and that “independent experts describe as electioneering.”
Mandel brushes off Pillich’s criticism.
“I’ve come to realize in politics the other side is going to attack you no matter what and so if I’m going to be attacked for being accessible to my constituents, that is an attack I’m glad to absorb,” Mandel said. “I’m proud to be accessible to my constituents. We’ve done these and received a great response.”
Mandel points out he received a legal opinion from Attorney General Mike DeWine, a fellow Republican, that they were appropriate.
Mandel also said he recently learned that U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, the Democrat who he unsuccessfully challenged in 2012, had 38 tele-town halls during that campaign.
“I’m not accusing him of doing anything illegal,” Mandel said. “He was being accessible to his constituents the same way I am being accessible to my constituents.”
Pillich responded, “I know a lot of members of Congress use these, but they have a broad range [of issues] versus the treasurer’s office.”
‘Best practices’
Also, Pillich said Mandel “didn’t follow the best practices” for tele-town halls by failing to properly publicize them, and posting information on them on his website about 24 hours before they occurred.
“I don’t see how this could be a public service,” she added. “He talks about school bullying which has nothing to do with the treasurer’s office.”
The tax-funded calls are indicative of what Pillich says is Mandel’s longstanding political strategy.
“From Day One, Treasurer Mandel has been more focused on using this office to further his political career than he has been to the people of the state of Ohio,” she said.