​We should have had a clue that Dave Yost was trouble shortly after he was first appointed Delaware County Prosecutor in 2003.  But somehow most missed it.

Susan Hollenbach is a Delaware County Republican and from 1996 until 2003 she ran the very successful child support enforcement agency that was then under the Delaware County Prosecutor.  But that quickly changed after Dave Yost was appointed to the job.

According to the civil rights and wrongful termination complaint filed against Yost in federal court, shortly after taking office he stopped assigning child support work to most of the members of his legal staff and instead employed a novice attorney for all child support enforcement work.  As a result, child support collections plummeted during this time period at a whopping 70% rate.

At the same time, Yost continued to use federal and state funds to pay portions of the salaries of prosecutors who were no longer doing child support work in violation of state and federal law.  When Ms. Hollenbach confronted Dave Yost about these issues he went ballistic. He demanded that she not speak with the county commissioners about restructuring the office.

On November 10, 2003 Dave Yost caused Hollenbach to be suspended and at 4:40 pm he arranged for the issuance of a grand jury subpoena requiring her to turn over records in her possession by 10:00 pm the same day.  Two days later a special prosecutor was appointed and there was news coverage indicating that she was being investigated for theft in office. Later, a special audit was demanded of the state auditor of the child support enforcement agency.  Hollenbach was then terminated because she could not do her job because of these numerous investigations.

Susan Hollenbach filed suit in federal court.  The criminal investigation found no wrongdoing and the state audit, issued by Republican Betty Montgomery, cleared her in full.  

Delaware County Commissioners were forced to settle the federal lawsuit for $335,000 plus her attorney fees.  Additionally, they stated in writing that Ms. Hollenbach “did not engage in criminal conduct or wrongdoing.”

Read the rest of the story here.

Ohio Speaker Candidate Ryan Smith’s Campaign Finances are Fishy
By Connor Brown
 
Ryan Smith has only had one real contested race for election, the 2012 primary that he narrowly won.  He didn’t raise a lot of money for that race either.
 
But his fundraising would change when he was appointed to the House Finance Committee in 2013 and he began to attend the annual Winter Warmer fundraisers hosted in Florida by Virginia “Ginni” Ragan.  

Read the rest of the story here.

The latest from 3rd Rail Politics:

Ryan Smith can hold daily news conferences, make wild accusations of bullying and extortion, and claim to have as many votes as he wants, but those are not the reasons why he is not Speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives today.  In the simplest terms, and in the most convenient definitions, Ryan Smith, himself, is the problem.  
 
Let 3rd Rail Politics break it down for you:
 
     1. The Hastert Rule has always been the rule for the Ohio House GOP.  
 
Except for the two-year period between 2009 and 2011, Republicans have held a majority in the Ohio House since 1995.  In all of those years that they have held the majority, House Republicans have generally followed a version of what is now known as the Hastert Rule.  It means that before the Speaker of the House will put a measure on the floor for a vote it must have the support of at least 50 Ohio House Republicans.  
 
Ryan Smith was a senior at OSU in 1995 and it's certainly understandable that he didn’t understand this process back then.  Kirk Schuring, however, was here in 1995, and is simply following the rule that has always been in place. He hasn’t changed the rules as they have gone on, Ryan Smith simply has not educated himself about the process.  Ryan Smith owes it to himself and the institution he wants to lead to do so now.

Read the rest of the article here.  ​

In a blockbuster of a story published today, the Cleveland Plain Dealer lays out the threats and intimidation that were employed against some in the payday lending industry by House GOP leaders. 

The full article can be found here.  

The letter from the Ohio Consumers Lending Association can be found here.  

What you may not be aware of is that 3rd Rail Politics wrote about this important issue nearly 3 weeks ago.  We laid out some of the threats and provided background on some of the key players involved.  Go check out our article too.  Thank you.

The full 3rd Rail Politics article can be found here.  ​

Ohio Speaker candidate Ryan Smith held an angry news conference today.  Here's a link to the video and you can judge for yourself whether it was a good idea.  ​

Ohio Speaker Candidate Ryan Smith Is All Hat and No Cattle
Adding Session Day is Illegal and He Doesn’t Have 50 Votes
 
You would think with all the smart lawyers running around the Ohio House GOP that they would actually have someone that has read the house rules.  Case in point, see rule 1.
 
Rule 1. (Time of sessions; schedule.) (a) For the months of January through June in each year, and separately for the months of July through December in each year, the Speaker, at the beginning of each six-month period, shall establish a schedule of dates and times according to which the House shall hold sessions and at which roll call votes are taken. The Speaker may revise or supplement the schedule as necessary. The schedule and any revision or supplement thereto shall be published and a copy provided to each member.
 
(b) Sessions of the House at which roll call votes are taken shall be held on the dates and at the times prescribed in the schedule. The Speaker, by written notice transmitted to each member, may cancel a session required by the schedule.
 
Last week Ryan Smith forces announced that the next vote for Speaker would be held on Wednesday, May 23, 2018.  Why?  Because Speaker Rosenberger had set that date for a session before he resigned. 
​
Read the rest of the article here.

ICYMI, here's my latest article for 3rd Rail Politics:

In a series of demands, news releases, and now a draft finding for recovery, State Auditor David Yost has indignantly opined that online school ECOT had no right to use public money on television ads that criticized the Ohio Department of Education.  The problem, however is that while all of this makes for a flashy headline for the constantly headline seeking Yost, ECOT didn’t write a check nor did Altair Learning Management or IQ Innovations. In fact, NO public money was utilized. Period.

None of the parties involved were ECOT employees (or agents of ECOT for that matter) and no ECOT employees or monies could be directly linked to the advertisement. In fact, the only link the auditor could muster was that the entity that paid for the advertisement had provided services to ECOT in the past.

That’s a weak link to ascertain. A private business is a private business whether or not some of its clients are public entities. Doing business with the government does not mean you have to turn over your entire business’s record and all its spending. (Just ask Governor Kasich about that with JobsOhio.) Nor does it mean that because you spend money to protect your client (your business interests) that the money was somehow “funneled.” If there was a check cut from ECOT to a business for the exact amount and for the specific reason (i.e. “advertisement”) in question, that would be one   thing. But no such transaction exists.

Read the rest of the article here.
​

​The first and most important of jobs of any wannabe Speaker of the Ohio House is to retain the majority.  And last night, May 8, 2018, wannabe Speaker candidate K. Ryan Smith utterly and completely failed. 3rd Rail Politics can share with you that of the 21 open Republican House seats, Householder supporters captured 20 of them.

For the first time in Ohio history, the House GOP campaign arm, OHROC, endorsed and intervened in contested primaries.  They spent over $1 million dollars, while working public employees half to death. They then set up and financed two out of state Super PAC’s that launched unprecedented attacks using money that would otherwise violate Ohio’s campaign finance limits.  The result was 1 victory, 20 losses, along with one incumbent lost. With a record like that, Ryan Smith, the presumptive Speaker, and Scott Ryan, the Chairman of OHROC, should withdraw from the Speaker's race.

Read the rest of the story here

​Recently, the Ohio chapter of the Christian Coalition has reactivated. They have apparently hired an energy director and are now advocating for extremist, left wing, environmentalist positions. 

Unfortunately, this is no longer the Christian Coalition that we once knew. The Reverend Pat Robertson and Ralph Reed have long left the group and its fundraising has plummeted. 

 So enter a cadre of left wing, environmentalist foundations.  

According to their most recent tax records , the Christian Coalition had annual revenues of $1,245,431.00. Based upon other tax returns, $505,700.00 of those revenues came from one source, the Energy Foundation. In other words, their most recent reports show that approximately 41% of their budget comes from a left wing foundation. All in all, between 2007 and 2014 the Christian Coalition took in a whopping $3.4 million from left wing groups and foundations.

The Energy Foundation is also behind a new group in Ohio called the Ohio Conservative Energy Forum. It is led by Mike Hartley, a former top staffer for Governor John Kasich. Its lobbyists are William Byers, IV, and Greg Bennett. The Energy Foundation is also funding groups such as Young Conservatives for Energy Reform and the Conservative Energy Network. 

But let’s be clear. These organizations are neither conservative, nor are they pro-energy. All of these groups are simply fronts for liberal, extremist, environmental foundations. By buying off organizations like the Christian Coalition or forming new ones with “conservative” in their names, they hope to fool you about their true intentions.

But not everyone is being fooled. In fact, conservative organizations and publications are quickly catching on to this attempted Trojan Horse. In Florida, Americans for Prosperity has exposed efforts by left wing environmentalists to mandate the use of solar power. Even the venerable American Spectator has caught on to the act. Others are exposing the Young Conservatives for Energy Reform. 

According to the Capital Research Center, the effort to coopt conservative groups on environmental issues has been going on for some time. A 2013 report states that the Christian Coalition infiltration began as early as 2010. 

The left’s tentacles are deep and they do not give up easily. Just because a group uses “conservative” or “Christian” in their name, doesn’t mean that they are still conservative or Christian. As they say, follow the money. 

Here's my latest for 3rd Rail Politics. ​