Tribune Chronicle - Corruption Charges Hang Over 2006 Elections

(The Warren Tribune Chronicle)Corruption charges hang over 2006 Ohio elections

By STEPHEN ORAVECZ Tribune Chronicle

Barbara Sykes was one of the hapless Democrats skewered by Ohio Republicans
in 1994 - the year the GOP took control of state politics. Running for
treasurer, she lost to Kenneth Blackwell by 370,000 votes.

This year, Sykes is back on the statewide ballot. The state representative
from Akron is running for auditor this time.

The political climate in this election, she said Monday in Youngstown, is
the same as it was in 1994 - because of corruption charges against the party
in power then and now, voters are ready for a change. Back then it was
Democrats who crashed and burned. Now, Sykes said, ''There's not much
Republicans can do to stop the train wreck in 2006.''

Or is there?

Sykes cited polls, including one sponsored by a public workers union, that
showed Democrats leading four of the five statewide races for administrative
offices. That AFSCME poll, which came out a couple of weeks ago, shows Sykes
leading state Rep. Mary Taylor, a Republican from the Akron area, by 17
points. Polls in the governors race show Democrat Ted Strickland leading
Blackwell, who is now secretary of state. Strickland also has $2 million
more to spend than Blackwell.

But it is still early. Even though candidates have been going strong all
summer, voters generally don't tune in until after Labor Day. That is plenty
of time for Republicans to switch tracks.

With one exception, down-ticket GOP candidates have plenty of money to get
their name and their message out to voters.

For instance, Taylor raised three times as much money as Sykes in the last
two months. While the latest reports do not include expenditures, Taylor had
$618,000 available to spend compared to just $309,000 for Sykes.

In the attorney general's race, Republican Auditor Betty Montgomery
increased her already substantial money lead over state Sen. Marc Dann, a
Liberty Democrat. Montgomery has $2.3 million to spend compared to Dann's
$486,000. Republican Greg Hartmann retained a $200,000 lead over Democrat
Jennifer Brunner in the secretary of state's race.

Only Republican treasurer candidate Sandra O'Brien, the Ashtabula County
auditor, trails badly. Democrat Richard Cordray has $1.3 million compared to
just $7,400 for O'Brien. O'Brien, however, spent next to nothing on her
grassroots appeal to conservative voters in the primary, when she upset of
incumbent Treasurer Jennette Bradley, and O'Brien is apparently following
the same strategy this fall.

For most of these candidates, a lot will depend on the governor's race.

While others have said Strickland needs a wide margin of victory to carry
the rest of the ticket to victory, Paul Sracic, Youngstown State University
political science professor, disagrees. He does not expect most people know
much about the down-ticket candidates, so they will cast partyline votes.
That would mean even a narrow Strickland or Blackwell win provide adequate
coattails.

The exception comes in the Dann-Montgomery race. Having won three statewide
elections, she has the name recognition for voters to make an independent
choice - even if Strickland wins.

Sykes said the AFSCME poll shows Montgomery leading by about 5 points, but
that is close enough for Dann to have a chance. Sykes said his job between
now and Nov. 7 will be to hold her accountable for what Sykes sees as some
questionable decisions she made as auditor. Montgomery, of course, defends
her record.

Sykes is not concerned about the funding gap between her and Taylor. Even
though Dann is confronting an even larger gap, he has repeatedly said he is
not concerned either.

His target was to have raised $1 million by July 31 and have about $500,000
in the bank. While he did not hit those goals, he was close. Since he
entered the attorney general's race, Dann has raised about $930,000, and he
is just $14,000 short of the half-million mark in his campaign account.

The test for Dann will come in the next three months. To get his message
out, he said he will need to raise a total of $1.5 million. Even with that,
he clearly won't outspend Montgomery. But with a Strickland victory, Dann
thinks that will be enough.