Ohio Republican Party
Chairman's Update May 25, 2014
Greetings!

Happy Memorial Day. We are so lucky to live in this great county, and we would be no where without the sacrifices of more than one million Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen who gave their lives to secure our freedoms. May we all take a moment this weekend to remember the brave men and women who courageously fought and gave their lives for us.

Governor Kasich honors fallen soldiers

In honor of Memorial Day, Governor John Kasich and Lt. Governor Mary Taylor held the annual Memorial wreath-laying ceremony at the Statehouse. The ceremony honors those that have passed away over the course of the year. This year's ceremony honored Spc. Angel Lopez, 27, of Parma, and Staff Sgt. Sonny Zimmerman, 25, of Lima, who were both killed last year in Afghanistan.

Governor Kasich pointed out that the two men gave their lives for the future of our country: "It's hope, it's peace, it's the ability to live in a free country and realize your hopes and dreams."

Immediately before the ceremony, a joint session of the General Assembly distributed the Ohio Military Medal of Distinction to the families of the fallen soldiers.

Cleveland advances to final four cities

The Republican National Committee announced that Cleveland is a finalist to host the 2016 Republican National Convention. We are thrilled that Cleveland is advancing to the next round. The Ohio Republican Party will do everything we can to boost and support Cleveland in this bid because Ohio should host this convention. John Kasich is showing the country what balanced budgets, lower taxes and a real focus on job creation can do. Ohio's turnaround would be showcased to the nation as an example of the importance of Republican leadership.

Thanks to Mayor Jackson, Cleveland business leaders, and Republican Party of Cuyahoga County Chairman Rob Frost for their hard work on the bid.

FitzGerald flip-flops on transparency

This week proved to be yet another trying one for Democratic Gubernatorial Ed FitzGerald. On Wednesday, the Cuyahoga County Republican Party hosted a press conference where Chairman Rob Frost and I called on Ed FitzGerald to come clean on his promises of transparency and to end his misuse of taxpayer money.

"The citizens of Cuyahoga County deserve to know what we are getting for the $175,000 we pay Ed FitzGerald every year," said Cuyahoga County Republican Party Chairman Rob Frost.

On May 1, the Northeast Ohio Media Group reported that Ed FitzGerald was refusing to release records that detail when he enters and leave county buildings.

Ed FitzGerald's secrecy surrounding his use of tax dollars is not just limited to his county swipe card. FitzGerald has also been using the taxpayer-paid Cuyahoga County Inspector General to vet contributions to his gubernatorial campaign. New records we uncovered show that Ed FitzGerald's Inspector General (IG) tried to hide how much time she spent doing work for FitzGerald's campaign. The documents indicate that the IG did over 57 hours of work for the FitzGerald campaign on taxpayer time. The Cleveland Plain Dealer offered jeers for Cuyahoga County Inspector General Nailah Byrd's refusal to give the Ohio Republican Party records detailing the time she spent reviewing County Council Executive Ed FitzGerald's campaign contributions and to FitzGerald for backing her up. "No matter, Byrd should repeat after us, public records are public records."

Yet another stumble plagued Ed FitzGerald this week. During a conference call with reporters, FitzGerald took aim at a House bill by saying that Kasich should "use the line-item veto to excise some of the more obnoxious provisions in the bill." The problem is that a line-item veto like this does not exist in Ohio politics unless it's a spending bill. It didn't take long for reporters to jump on this massive mistake that highlights how ill-prepared FitzGerald is for the job he is looking to take.

David Pepper supports Obamacare

While many Democrats are fleeing President Obama and Obamacare, one Ohio Democrat candidate says he would have voted for it. Democratic candidate for Attorney General David Pepper was recently asked if he would have voted for Obamacare given the chance and he answered with a definitive YES, in spite of all the pain and uncertainty it is causing Ohioans.

New investment for Northwest Ohio

McLane Co. Inc., a wholesale grocery products distributor announced this week that they will invest $119 million in a new distribution facility in Findlay. A 337,000 square-foot facility will be built in Findlay's new industrial park, Tall Timbers West. The construction is projected to start mid-June and will be completed by early 2016. The new distribution facility is to create an estimated 425 full-time jobs.

Lt. Governor Taylor tours expanding company

Lt. Governor Mary Taylor visited Cole Tool & Die production facility this week. The Mansfield company, who produces metal products for Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler, has boomed over the last few years. In April, the Ohio Tax Credit Authority approved a 50 percent, seven-year Job Creation Tax Credit to help them expand their company. The initial team of 18 employees has expanded to about 55 employees with the plan to grow to 75 by the end of the year.

VA scandal highlights Obama's inaction

This week further showed Obama's lack of concern for the growing Veterans Affairs scandal that has left our veterans waiting for care they deserve. VA hospitals were operating with terrible service, a lack of interest in their patients, and a waiting time that was so long that some are claiming patients died waiting for care. The whole situation is a massive failure on the country's duty to take care of the men and women that put themselves in harm's way to protect our freedoms. Ohio lawmakers including Speaker of the House John Boehner and Senator Rob Portman have been vocal about the need to address the "systemic failure" that has led to the mistreatment of veterans in VA hospitals. Speaker Boehner is addressing how to move forward in the legislature while Senator Rob Portman is requesting more transparency in the VA office to make sure we truly understand the "size and scope" of the problem.

Accurate Budgeting Act introduced by Portman

Senator Rob Portman, a member of the Senate Committee on Finance, introduced the Accurate Budgeting Act. This bill would require the Joint Committee on Taxation to release a "dynamic" score of all major tax legislation. Virtually all economists agree that major tax changes can alter economic growth rates, which in turn impact the revenue effect of those changes. However, currently the JCT's official "static" scores exclude these macroeconomic impacts.

"Something holding back tax reform is our current static revenue estimating system that fails to take into account the dynamic effects of the integrated and competitive global economy," Portman said. "That's why I am introducing the Accurate Budgeting Act, so that legislators can make decisions based on real economic numbers rather than static, out-of-touch estimates that discourage reform."

Improve school safety

Attorney General Mike DeWine and Governor John Kasich are proposing a plan for Ohio schools to use additional grant money to make necessary security upgrades. According to figures from Attorney General Mike DeWine's office, 84 of 4,438 schools required to file school safety plans are non-compliant, 43 have outdated plans and the plans of 41 schools are missing. If approved, new grants would be available through the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission for security upgrades at both public and private schools.

City of Mansfield recovering from fiscal emergency

Auditor Yost has long been a partner of local governments to improve their operations and make sure that tax dollars are being spent appropriately. The City of Mansfield has been in fiscal emergency since 2010, in large part due to the failing economy of Ted Strickland, but Mansfield is making a comeback! Auditor Yost has partnered with Mansfield to bring fiscal responsibility and strong leadership. Mansfield is not out of the woods yet, but they are in a much better place now than they were 4 years ago.

Springfield High School Hosts Mandel

At one stop in Springfield, Treasurer Mandel spoke to more than 350 Springfield High School students who earned certificates in financial literacy this school year.

"Whether they're going to go to college, go onto the military or go get a job after school, we want them to be able to manage their finances," Mandel said. "Kids throughout the country are not always equipped with those skills."

Supporting Ohio's Women-Owned Businesses

This week, Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted spoke at the Licking County Women's Republican Club meeting. He focused on his efforts to make it easy to vote and hard to cheat and what his office is doing to roll out the red carpet for job creation by cutting the red tape. As part of the Ohio Business Profile program, Jon Husted honored some of the 250,000 women-owned businesses this month in an ongoing effort to highlight successful and innovative businesses in the state. You can learn more about these great women-owned businesses by visiting www.OhioBusinessProfile.com.

Sincerely,
Matt Borges
Chairman, Ohio Republican Party