Originally published by: James Nash and the Columbus Dispatch
January 3, 2011
A week before leaving office, Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner made one last attempt to squeeze information out of a secretive group that stopped Gov. Ted Strickland’s effort to install slot machines at racetracks.
Brunner said LetOhioVote.org and four of its principals refused to comply with subpoenas intended to reveal the group’s donors.
She referred the matter to Attorney General Richard Cordray for possible prosecution.
Brunner and Cordray, both Democrats, leave office next week.
For nearly a year, Brunner has been locked in a standoff with LetOhioVote.org, which formed in late 2009 to block Strickland’s plans for lottery-run video slot machines at racetracks.
LetOhioVote.org’s leaders have refused to say who gave the group more than $1 million to fund an aborted ballot measure challenging Strickland’s plan.
The group has exploited loopholes in campaign-finance laws to avoid disclosing its donors.
Kevin Kidder, a spokesman for Brunner, said the secretary of state won’t back down from her position.
“The secretary continues to demand transparency in campaign finance right to the very end,”Kidder said.
David Langdon, the lawyer for LetOhioVote.org, said the secretary of state’s case has no merit.
Link to article: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2011/01/04/brunner-tries-again-to-uncover-donors.html