Tight Ohio Race Will Trigger Federal Lawsuit: Democrats Said Prepared For Court Fight Over Provisional Ballots

Al Franken had to lawyer up 

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- If the battle for governor or any other statewide races end up to close to call on election night, the Ohio Democratic Party plans to litigate to make sure all votes are tallied properly.  ODP will fight a legal battle in U.S. District Court -- most likely Cincinnati or Columbus -- to ensure that all 88 counties tabulate provisional ballots uniformly and use the same methods.  Democratic sources confirmed by e-mail within the last hour that the federal voting rights case would be filed in the Southern District of Ohio, which has U.S. judges located in Cincinnati, Columbus and Dayton.  Provisional ballots are set aside and counted 10 days after the general election.  Independent statewide polls show Kasich and Strickland in a virtual dead heat.   If the election comes out that close, get ready for the lawyers.  The Columbus Dispatch reported today that the Dems were already seeking a federal court order:

"Yesterday, the Ohio Democratic Party filed a request for a federal court order to require county elections boards to provide voter addresses and other identifying information from provisional-ballot envelopes upon request."

The line appeared in Dispatch reporter Mark Niquette's long story that suggested a close race between Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland and Republican John Kasich could become a legal fight. However, if there was such a lawsuit already pending, it was not publicly available in the court clerk's offices Tuesday.  Other elections officials told The Daily Bellwether that the Ohio Democratic Party had written to local boards of elections trying to gain access to addresses and other info from provisional ballot envelopes.  Hamilton County had gotten one of the letters, and apparently turned down the ODP request.  Litigation in close elections is nothing new -- it took months for Minnesota officials to decide if Al Franken won that state's U.S. Senate seat in 2008.  Franken had a 312-vote margin that was recognized by the Minnesota Supreme Court nearly seven months after the election.  And everybody recalls Bush v. Gore and the U.S. Supreme Court 5-4 ruling that said George Bush won the presidency even though he lost the popular vote.

Hamilton County Democratic Sample Ballot Election 2010: Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland Leads The Ticket

Click It and Print It

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Here's the Democratic Party line-up that is on the ballot Tuesday Nov. 2, 2010 in Hamilton County, Ohio.  Gov. Ted Strickland heads the list, Hamilton County Commissioner David Pepper is there on the card, and U.S. Rep. Steve Driehaus. D-01, is the in the middle.  Scan down a bit and you will spot the names of Dusty Rhodes, who is running for reelection as County Auditor, and Jim Tarbell, who is seeking a seat on the Hamilton County Commission.  State Rep. Connie Pillich is after another two-year term in the Ohio House of Representatives.  Her opponent, Mike Wilson, is a founder of the Cincinnati Tea Party.

And don't forget to vote in the the judicial races, including Bill Mallory, Nadine Allen, Jody Luebbers and Steve Black.  You can print out this official Hamilton County sample ballot and take it to the polls operated by the Hamilton County Board of Elections.  The sample ballot is nice and blue.



John Kasich's Part-Time Job At Ohio State U. Pays $1,388.88 Per Hour: Average Cincinnatian Earns $21.37 Hourly Holding Down A Full-Time Gig

Wage Data For Cincy Area

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Former Wall Street investment banker John Kasich, the Republican candidate for governor of Ohio, makes more in a year as a part-time lecturer at Ohio State University than most Cincinnatians earn in full-time jobs.  Kasich gets $50,000 for 36 hours of talking -- or $1,388.88 per hour.  He takes money for speaking to college classes, something many prominent Ohioans are glad to do for free.  Former U.S. Sen. John Glenn -- a Marine fighter pilot who became an astronaut and was the first American to orbit the Earth -- comes to OSU gratis.  Comparing paychecks to Kasich's, you will see that a cop in SW Ohio -- which includes the Cincinnati area -- makes $25.21 per hour.  A fast food worker makes $8.58.  A high school teacher earns $39.59 hourly -- that is an average for public, private, parochial and charter school wages (see accompanying chart).  Kasich's pay is 35 times as much per hour as dedicated teachers -- both union and non-union -- who spend their entire days in classrooms trying to prepare Ohio kids for college classes.  Kasich has had the OSU gig for the past seven years, so it is not like he is getting a fat one-time speaker's fee.  This is a part-time position on the state's biggest campus.  Kasich has not opened up his income tax records to public view.  He is the only candidate for Ohio governor since the mid-1980s who has refused to reveal his tax data.  The OSU payments are public record.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics tracks hourly earnings for hundreds of jobs, and 63 pages of data for the Cincinnati metropolitan area is available (pdf) by clicking here. The Cincy metro covers a wide swath of SW Ohio, including Hamilton, Clermont, Butler and Warren counties. Employers rely on the stats to make sure the salaries they are paying their workers are in line with area norms. Payroll data for the Columbus metro area is available in this labor statistics report (pdf).  The per hour earnings reports for Cincinnati and Columbus are from October 2009, and its is the most recent data available.  The Daily Bellwether looked over the Cincinnati numbers for full-time workers and found some examples to compare to Kasich's $1389 an hour part-time gig:

Accountants and auditors -- $27.55 per hour.
Engineers -- $36.79 per hour
High school teachers -- $39.59 per hour
Post secondary teachers -- 36.85 per hour (this post would equate to Kasich's OSU job)
Registered nurse -- $36.61 per hour
Fast food worker -- $8.58 per hour
Janitors -- $11.99 per hour
Plumbers -- $26.83 per hour  
Machinists -- $25.14 per hour
Factory foreperson (supervisor) -- $23.39
School bus driver -- $18.66
Tractor-trailer driver -- $26.30

Across the board, the mean salary for all workers was just over $20 an hour.  For a part-time job, the pay was $12.27 an hour.  The Cincinnati area data covers about 940,800 workers.

In Columbus, the hourly pay data shows that post-secondary (college level) teachers earn $59.64 an hour.  But if the wage rates are examined closely, they show $35.33 an hour for college level instructors in the arts, humanities and communications.  Kasich has a political science contract, which is a comparable position.  He made nearly 40 times the average in the Columbus wage market.

Ohio Daily is wondering today if Kasich got a sweetheart deal. Ohio Daily has gotten info from an e-mail circulating recently among faculty members on the Ohio State University campus:

"In an Oct. 19th email, Gunther said he and other faculty members were pressured to keep inviting Kasich back, and said he called Kasich’s salary 'obscene,' especially when compared to other part-time faculty. From the email:

"Let's look at this from another perspective. According to his own official report, Kasich was paid an average of $1,389 per hour for these occasional lectures. Instructors at OSU who are simply hired to teach a course (i.e., they are not regular faculty, but they often included Emeritus faculty) were paid between $2,500 and $5,000 for an entire 10-week course. That works out to something ranging from $63 to $125 per hour of lecture time, and that does not include the additional time required for grading and holding office hours with students. Even a full professor making $100,000 per year would be paid only about $200 for a 2-hour lecture (when research, grading and office hour requirements are factored in). Kasich’s pay, which averaged about  $2,778 per lecture, is simply obscene."

Fake Ohio Hunter Pictured In John Kasich Mailer: Buckeye Firearms Association Shoots Down Fraudulent Photo

Kasich Hunts For Votes With Fake Ohio Hunter

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- The pro-gun Buckeye Firearms Association says John Kasich, Republican candidate for Ohio governor, has stooped to using a photo of a fake Ohio hunter in his campaign literature. It calls him a gun-rights phony.  Or, as Ken Hanson, the group's legislative chair put it today, "Kasich is finding religion like a nervous whore in church on Sunday."  Hanson said the picture of a hunter in a recent mailer wasn't from Ohio -- the hunter depicted is aiming a scoped rifle.  But hunting with such weapons is illegal in Ohio.  Rifle slugs can travel too far from open fields and stray into populated areas.  So the scene was staged.  Or it was purloined from some other state.  Either way, it proves that Kasich knows nearly nothing about hunting or guns.  In other ads this year, Kasich has used a fake steelworker and a fake journalist. Here's Hanson on the latest Kasich scam:

"Fast-forward to late October, when the race is a statistical dead heat, and all of a sudden Kasich is finding religion like a whore in church on Sunday.  Exhibit A is a recent mailing targeting gun owners.   Note the picture on page 2 of the mailer.  A hunter in blaze orange in the middle of a field with a medium bore, scoped rifle.  Tell us, Sportsman Kasich, what is this sportsrman hunting in Ohio, since rifle hunting of that sort is not legal here?"

Kasich is firmly opposed by pro-gun groups from the NRA on down.  They frequently back Republicans, but this year are enthusiastic for Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland, who hails from rural Ohio (Scioto County) and has been a gun rights supporter all his life.  Strickland talks about the days when his family had to hunt for food when times were hard.  The Buckeye Firearms Association says Kasich's mailer has another distortion -- it claims Kasich has NRA support.  Hanson said the endorsement was moldy, from 20 years ago in a Congressional race, ancient and not pertinent to the 2010 race for governor of Ohio.  Does Hanson have cred on pro-gun issues?  Check out his bio:

"Ken Hanson is a gun rights attorney in Ohio. He serves as the Legislative Chair for Buckeye Firearms Association, and is the attorney of record for Buckeye Firearms Foundation, which filed friend-of-the-court briefs in the Heller and McDonald Supreme Court cases. The National Rifle Association's Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA) has awarded him with its 2008 Defender of Justice Award and 2009 Jay M. Littlefield Volunteer of the Year Award. He is the author of The Ohio Guide to Firearm Laws, a certified firearms instructor and holds a Type 01 Federal Firearms License."

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources hunting regulations (online here) are clear that rifles are not a among the types of firearms allowed for deer hunting. Shotguns and muzzleloaders and some handguns can be used -- but none of them would need a scope gunsight to put a deer in the crosshairs.

UPDATE: 2:10 pm -- At Ohio Daily Blog, which has linked to The Daily Bellwether, Kasich's hunter photo is being compared to a golfer teeing off with a putter.  Only idiots would try to play like that.  And only the Kasich campaign would try to fool sportsmen with an idiotic photo.  Says Ohio Daily:  "There are numerous reasons why Ohio sportsmen reject John Kasich. First, is his F rating from the NRA. That's right. I said it. F! F! F! The Ohio Elections Commission today dismissed Kasich's claim that somehow he didn't receive an F. He did. And we're repeating it in case you skimmed over it. F!  Second, Kasich forgets that many of Ohio's sportsmen and sportswomen are hard-working, blue collar, union-workers. And John Kasich just called those people 'thugs' earlier in the week.  Third, Kasich forgets that many of Ohio's sportsmen and sportswomen are residents of rural areas. They don't go hunting as part of some junket paid for by some lobbyist that starts with mimosas & eggs benedict and ends with strippers & cigars. They go hunting to provide for their families. And John Kasich's campaign mocked those same Ohioans, with humble, rural roots, in a statement a few months ago."

My senses tell me that Kasich's problems with accuracy in his campaign literature date back to his stint on Wall Street as managing director of Lehman Brothers, the bankrupt investment house.  Truth is, the Wall Streeters bent information to meet their purposes.  Lehman said it was solid.  Fact is, it was hollow.  The Wall Steeters would pump stocks, pump bonds, pump mortgage markets and derivatives.  Numbers would be strung together.  In that culture, two minus  two could come out equaling 4,000,000,000 plus.  Carnival barkers and Bigfoot hunters had as much credibility as Lehman's balance sheet. Kasich lapped it up like mimosas and eggs benedict.  Hand 'em a putter so he can tee off.  Fore.  

Republican John Kasich Didn't Bother Signing Letter Pledging To Support Law Enforcement: No Time For Ohio's Cops





CINCINNATI (TDB) -- GOP candidate for Ohio governor John Kasich snubbed Ohio's Fraternal Order of Police earlier this year.  He didn't send a personal letter expressing support of law enforcement -- a form letter from a campaign worker was all Kasich mustered.  That's an odd lapse at best, an insult at worse.  Meanwhile, Republican U.S. Senate candidate Rob Portman says he enthusiastically supports law enforcement.  Portman is playing up his endorsement from the Ohio FOP, which represents 26,000 cops (active and retired) around the state, including Cincinnati. Another Republican at the top of the GOP's statewide ticket this year, Maureen O'Connor, also is reveling in FOP support as she runs for Chief Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court. Jay McDonald, president of the Ohio Fraternal Order of Police, has written letters to Ohio newspapers praising her as a top-notch administrator and judge.  But the cops are backing Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland, in part because Kasich wouldn't give them the time of day.  Usually, the FOP's support is coveted.  The FOP's newsletter had this to say about Kasich's snub:

"Mr. Kasich did not interview with the political screening committee, he did not attend the conference to make himself available to our members and answer their questions in person, as Governor Strickland and every other candidate for statewide political office did.  A letter was sent expressing Mr. Kasich's support of law enforcement, but that was not even signed by Mr. Kasich, it was signed by a campaign worker.

"Without the participation of Mr. Kasich, we were left to press reports to get his political platform, which includes the abolition of the Ohio Income Tax and the privatization of public employees, both issues opposed by the FOP.  Also, Mr. Kasich's running mate has suggested to municipalities that they consider contracting out their law enforcement work to the Sheriff in her current role as Auditor of State."

FOP state president McDonald -- a Marion, Oh., police officer -- points out that the organization is non-partisan -- four Dems and four Republicans got its support this year.  McDonald has been on the road, where he notes that Kasich is pushing policies that would devastate public safety.  And McDonald said Kasich wants to privatize police and fire jobs.  In Lima last week, McDonald said about Kasich:

"He has repeatedly said if you can find it in the phone book, you can privatize it.  For-profit companies should not decide who goes to jail, who stays in jail, or be guarding the people in jail.  For-profit prisons are a detriment to public safety."

John Kasich's Top Advisers Include Lehman Brothers Lobbyist: Failed Wall Street Firm's Fingerprints All Over Ohio Campaign

Lehman Brothers Lobbyist Form

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- A lobbyist who represented Lehman Brothers is a key figure in Republican candidate for Ohio governor John Kasich's campaign.  Robert F. Klaffky worked for the failed Wall Street investment bank as a registered "legislative agent" in Columbus between 2000 and 2008.  Those years coincide with Kasich's time as Lehman Brothers managing director.  Klaffky's lobbyist registration form shows he reported to a Lehman Brothers office on the 11th floor of a building at 399 Park Avenue in midtown Manhattan.  For a time, that address gilded the most expensive office building in the world.  It was purchased for $1.06 billion in 2002.  399 Park Avenue is a 41-story office building that houses the world headquarters of Citigroup.  Lehman Brothers collapsed in bankruptcy in late 2008 -- it demise worsened the Great Recession and waves of woe are still washing over the U.S. economy.  Klaffky stopped lobbying for Lehman Brothers in December 2008 when the firm went belly up. 

Klaffky's Ohio lobbyist registration documents can be found by searching here, which takes you to the portal of the Joint Legislative Ethics Committee. The Daily Bellwether has posted a 2008 form filed by Klaffky that discloses his affiliation with Lehman Brothers. Klaffky said he was engaged to handle "all issues pertaining to the client."   Kasich has tried to minimize his Wall Street connections during the campaign for governor.  For example, the Republican candidate's official biography posted on his campaign website does not mention that he was a Lehman Brothers executive.

Four months ago, Columbus Dispatch reporters Joe Hallett and Mark Niquette wrote a story naming the insiders in the campaigns of Republican Kasich and Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland. Lehman Brothers lobbyist Klaffky was lumped in the group that Kasich called his key aides.  But the story did not mention the identify of Klaffky's lobbying clients.  You can read the excerpt below: exeHneidentify the firm say w:

"Kasich described his campaign as "kind of like getting the band back together." It is a mix of longtime trusted aides from his years in Congress, such as Wayne Struble, Don Thibaut and Ben Kanzeg, and newcomers such as Hansen and communications director Scott Milburn.
Kasich gushes accolades when discussing campaign staffers and volunteers individually, saying, 'A better team, in my opinion, has never been assembled since I've lived in this state. I will live and die with them.'

"Along with paid staffers, an assortment of former co-workers, unofficial advisers and old friends can be found on any given day at Kasich's Downtown headquarters. Among them: former Lehman Brothers colleague and right-hand man Jai Chabria, who Kasich said is "like a member of my family"; Franklin County GOP Chairman Doug Preisse; lobbyist Robert F. Klaffky; and longtime personal friend Ron Hartman, a member of Kasich's Bible study group."

John Kasich's New Ad Features 'Journalist' Who REALLY Screwed Up: Misused Nazi Phrase Emblazoned Over The Gates Of Auschwitz

Mytheos Holt Admitted He Was A Dolt

 CINCINNATI (TDB) -- The star of Republican John Kasich's latest television ad apologized to his entire college campus for comparing the extermination camp's "Arbeit Macht Frei" -- the phrase millions passed while being herded to the gas chambers -- to Obama's "Yes we can."

Mytheos Holt publicly had to retract his words, which appeared in a column in the Wesleyan Argus not quite two years ago.  Now Holt -- who openly admitted he was a dolt -- is going to pop up in a John Kasich TV spot that attacks Gov. Ted Strickland for false and misleading ads.  Holt claimed in his apology that he wrongly thought "Arbeit Macht Frei" was simply a German campaign slogan.  His knowledge gap proved offensive and disgusting -- it's a phrase forever associated with murder, starvation, slave labor, brutal experiments on children, and ovens, those awful ovens, the soul stealers.  The Daily Bellwether has the apology here:

Holt apologizes

By Mytheos Holt

"A few hours after my column ran this Tuesday (“Mytheology: Wesleyan Viewed from the Right: It's a Brand New Day,” Nov. 11, 2008, Volume CXLIV, Number 19) I received an angry e-mail from a friend about my usage of the slogan “Arbeit Macht Frei.”

I was under the impression that he was reacting against my implied comparison between two arguably totalitarian slogans, so I replied back snappishly, but he then informed me that it had been written over the gates at Auschwitz. I was shocked and horrified to learn this, and so I apologize for using that phrase. I had intended it merely as a reference to what I thought was an oft-used campaign slogan in Nazi Germany, NOT to imply that Obama was on the verge of committing genocide.

I realize that I was wrong not to research the phrase. If anyone should have done so, it would be a half-Jewish student whose mother's side of the family was fortunate enough to escape Europe before Hitler could get to them.  This was an extreme comparison, and I am deeply sorry to anyone who was offended by the column.

Anthony Fossacecca at Ohio Daily Blog says Holt is a rookie partisan Hack who has been in journalism only since the Spring. Fossacecca didn't know about the death camp furor, which The Daily Bellwether discovered after reading Holt's columns in a campus newspaper.  Here's Fossacecca:

"Republican Gubernatorial Candidate John Kasich is about to launch a new ad later today attacking Governor Ted Strickland for running false and misleading ads. In the spot, the Kasich campaign cites one source for their attack on Strickland : National Review blogger Mytheos Holt. And Holt is hardly a credible source. Until last spring, the poor kid was writing for The Wesleyan Argus in an ultra-conservative column called "Mytheology" before he graduated and grabbed a desk at NRO. He's also grabbed coffee for folks at Accuracy in Media and shadowy Bush group, Freedom's Watch.
With a crack resume like that, it's no wonder Team Kasich swooped in to use him as the only credible journalist willing to shill for the team.
In the spot, he's quoted calling Ted's spots "blatant misrepresentation of the truth.... ridiculous... not one sentence in context."
With youthful exaggerations like that, perhaps he should have run for State Treasurer."

University of Cincinnati's Latest Ohio Poll: Kasich's Lead Is Overwhelming IN SW Ohio

Kasich Behind In Central Ohio, Up in SW Ohio

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Today's Ohio Poll shows Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland trailing GOP nominee John Kasich statewide, with 51% of likely voters picking Kasich. The poll puts Strickland at 43% statewide with less than three weeks to Election Day. But when the numbers are broken down by geographic region, Kasich is only winning big in one section of the state, the Cincinnati area. According to the University of Cincinnati pollsters, Kasich holds a gigantic 29-point edge in the Cincinnati area -- Strickland is at 33% and Kasich 62%.  Other than that, the contest appears tight across other chunks of Ohio.

SW Ohio traditionally has been a Republican bastion and if the poll numbers are accurate it could be the region whose votes give Ohio a Republican governor over the next four years.  There is another interesting geographic wrinkle in today's Ohio Poll -- Kasich trails Strickland by an ever so tiny margin in the Columbus (Central Ohio) region. Kasich served as a Congressman from the Columbus area, and he is a well known politician there.  Kasich was also a state senator. Central Ohio is Kasich's political base, yet Strickland leads there , 49% to 48%.  Strickland's lead is razor-thin and within the poll's margin of error.  Logically, Kasich ought  be blowing Strickland out in Central Ohio because that is his backyard. But the poll suggests that Ohioans who know Kasich best -- he served as an officeholder in Central Ohio for a long time in the 1980s and 1990s -- aren't thrilled about his comeback, nor are they supporting him in droves.

Here's the geographic breakdown as reported by the Ohio Poll, which has a 3.7% margin of error. (The poll says the geographic data could fall outside the margin):

Northeast Ohio -- Strickland 47%; Kasich 49%; Don't Know 4%.
Northwest Ohio -- Strickland 39%; Kasich 45%; Don't Know 12%; Other 4%.
Central Ohio -- Strickland 49%; Kasich 48%; Don't Know, 3%.
Southeast Ohio -- Strickland 47%; Kasich 45%; Don't Know 8%.
Southwest Ohio -- Strickland 33%; Kasich 62%; Don't Know 5%

Strickland, who is from Scioto County on the Ohio River in Southeast Ohio, holds a slight lead in what is traditionally known as the Appalachian portion of the state. But the pollsters cautioned that their sample of likely voters was not large enough to ensure the results are reliable for the region.  Strickland represented the area in Congress before his election as governor in 2006. Still, it should give some comfort to Dems that the poll suggests the governor holds a slight lead in his backyard and that he also holds a slight lead on Kasich's home turf in Central Ohio.

UPDATE: 1:03 pm -- Strickland campaign manager Aaron Pickrell says the Ohio Poll has a solid reputation, but takes issue with a few of its underlying assumptions today:

"In this poll - Governor Strickland and Congressman Kasich each get 86% of their respective party's vote and Governor Strickland is winning independent voters by 1%, yet Congressman Kasich has an 8% advantage overall.  This is based on a sample that is 49% Republican, 42% Democratic and 9% Independent.  The poll conducted in September had a sample of 45% Republican, 42% Democratic and 12% Independent.  We strongly dispute a 7% Republican advantage in the turnout of this election.  If you did an apples to apples comparison of the sample used in September and the percentage of the vote each candidate receives - it would be Kasich 48% to Strickland 46%.

"Yet, even those polling numbers belie what we are seeing in early voting. Despite the so-called "enthusiasm gap," Ohio Democrats are turning out in greater numbers than Republicans. The investments that we have made in recent years in the Ohio Democratic Party have resulted in the creation of one of the strongest state parties in the nation. While the Republicans have virtually no turnout operation, the Ohio Democratic Party has a truly statewide get-out-the-vote operation that is identifying and turning out our supporters weeks before the November 2nd election.

"No one pretends this is going to be an easy election - but today's Ohio Poll does not offer an accurate snapshot of the race.  Governor Strickland is ahead by a couple of points in this race and with the superior early vote and GOTV operation - there is no question he will be successful on Election Day."

Ohio's Economy Finally Climbing Off The Mat: Data Shows Job Growth No Longer Flatlined For 2010

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- There are jobs being created in Ohio this year -- 36,200 have been added in the private sector to date.  A meager recovery, but a recovery nonetheless.  Some 600,000 jobs have disappeared in the last decade -- including nearly 400,000 during the Great Recession that started in December 2007 -- but new jobs are slowly returning to Ohio.  The economic crisis was worsened by Wall Street's collapse and the burst mortgage bubble.  The year-to-date trend line for jobs in Ohio is finally beginning to tick in the correct direction.  Meanwhile, state budget officials are reporting glimmers of other positive economic signals, including an uptick in tax revenues that reflects the current flow of Ohio's economy.  They also said state spending is down, an indication that Gov. Ted Strickland is holding the line.  The monthly financial report prepared by Ohio's Office of Budget and Management went out two days ago.  It said:

"During the month of September, Ohio's General Revenue Fund (GRF) tax receipts totaled $1.494.4 million [$1.5 billion], $56.2 million (3.9%) above the monthly estimate.  General Revenue Fund tax receipts for the year-to-date total $3.9997.7 million [rounded to $4 billion] and are $248.2 million (6.6%) greater than the same point a year ago.  For the second month in a row, Ohio has seen better-than-expected performance across most tax sources, and as a result, tax receipts for the first quarter of the fiscal year are $107.0 million  (2.7%) above estimate."

"September fiscal year 2011 GRF spending totaled $2.182.3 million [$2.2 billion] and is $173.2 million (7.4%) below estimate for the month.  On a year-to-date basis, total GRF disbursements are $33.8 million (0.4%) under estimate.  This variance is attributable to under-spending in nearly every category of GRF disbursements."

The full-text of Ohio's latest monthly financial report is available on the OBM website. It is the document dated Oct. 12, 2010.

Ohio BWC Lost $56.4 Million In Lehman Bros. Investments: State Fund For Injured Workers Netted Two Pennies Per Dollar

BWC Report Shows Lehman Bros. Hit

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- The failure of Lehman Bros., the Wall Street investment bank that employed John Kasich, the GOP candidate for governor, was a financial calamity for the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation.  Records dug up this week by The Daily Bellwether show BWC managed to recover just $1.54 million of $57.9 million invested in Lehman stock and bonds.  Kasich was a managing director at Lehman -- though he now tries to downplay his role at the bankrupt Wall Street firm.  A BWC investment committee report shows the Lehman holdings were liquidated two years ago as Wall Street collapsed in the worst financial mess since the Great Depression.  $10.5 million in Lehman stock was sold for $35,000.  That's right, $35,000.  $47.3 million in Lehman bonds was sold for $1.5 million.

 BWC also lost lesser amounts in AIG, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae -- in all $94.6 million vanished as the bubble burst.  The Oct. 14, 2008 investment committee report said:  "The bulk of these losses were attributable to holdings in four troubled prominent financial services organizations whose financial conditions deteriorated rapidly due to each firms large exposure to troubled and illiquid mortgage-related assets."

BWC is a state insurance pool that is funded by businesses in Ohio who pay premiums.  If BWC's investments earn money, the premiums remain stable, or drop.  If it loses money, they go up.  Wall Street's reckless practices hurt the fund, of this there is no doubt.  Here is what the investment committee reported:

"Lehman Brothers, a large investment banking firm, was force to file for bankruptcy protection on September 15 [2008] as sit incurred a liquidity crisis precipitated by a rapidly growing lack of investor and institutional counterparty confidence resulting from its weak and deteriorating mortgage and real estate portfolios."

Kasich has contended on the campaign trail this year that he was not a wheel at Lehman Bros.  Instead, he portrays himself as a minor cog.  But there are proxy records showing he was more of a Wall Street insider than he now lets on.  Kasich was on the board of Instinet, an electronic stock trading operation in Manhattan that was a major Wall Street player and helped pioneer 24-hour trading. Instinet was bought by the NASDAQ stock exchange in 2005. There is more about the history of Instinet here. The company's proxy discloses Kasich's responsibilities at Lehman Bros., which seem to be far more extensive than his current claim that he headed a tiny two-person office in suburban Columbus. From the Instinet proxy:

John Kasich. Mr. Kasich, age 52, has been a Managing Director in the Investment Banking Group at Lehman Brothers since January 2001, where he has responsibilities across a range of industry groups, including health care, power and utilities, technology, retail and financial institutions. Prior to joining Lehman Brothers, Mr. Kasich was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, representing Ohio’s 12th Congressional District, from 1983 to 2000, and served as Chairman of the House Budget Committee from 1995 to 2000. Prior to serving in the U.S. Congress, Mr. Kasich was an Ohio State Senator for four years. Mr. Kasich also currently serves as a director of Invacare Corporation and Worthington Industries, Inc., and is the host of the program “Heartland with John Kasich” on the Fox News Channel. Mr. Kasich is a graduate of the Ohio State University. Mr. Kasich has been a director of Instinet since June 2001.

 

Republicans Dig Up Dirt On Phony Steelworker In John Kasich's Latest Campaign Ad: Florida Actor With Interesting History

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Even Republican are aghast at John Kasich's latest campaign ad that uses a Florida actor to pose as an Ohio steelworker. They've noticed that the actor, Chip Redden, has a colorful [ed. note: I'm using a polite description] past. Right Ohio, the GOP leaning Ohio blog operated by Matt Naugle, a conservative who worked in Ken Blackwell's 2004 campaign, is taking Kasich apart today. Kasich's GOP campaign has promised to put Ohioans to work.  It seems he's delivering paychecks to Florida offenders.  Here's what Naugle has learned:

"Poor Chip… a local actor making a few bucks on the side and now he becomes a target of the Ohio Democrat Party machine.
I’m surprised they didn’t point out he has a MySpace page, with this being my favorite picture of Chip:

And although he is an Ohio-based actor, he has lived in other states where he has committed crimes. Here are all the ones I could match to his addresses, including a 1996 charge in Florida for battery!

Offender information
Name: REDDEN III, EUGENE V
Address: 225 CHADWORTH DR
KISSIMMEE, FL 34758-3041
OSCEOLA COUNTY
Case Number: CM 9500MM 003428
Case Filing Date: 01/02/1996
County: Osceola
Race: White
Sex: Male
Offenses
Case Filing Date: 01/02/1996
Court Case Number: CM 9500MM 003428
Court Offense: BATTERY
Court Disposition Date: 01/02/1996

And lots of traffic violations. Here are a few examples:

Offenses
Case Filing Date: 11/15/1995
Court Case Number: C 9500TC 037940
Court Offense: ATTACH LICENS PLATE NOT ASSIGN
Court Level/Degree: Traffic Criminal
Case Filing Date: 05/11/1995
Court Case Number: C 9500TT 017335
Court Offense: 51/35 SPEED: POSTED ZONE (MUNI
Court Disposition: VOLUNTARY PAYMENT – ADMIT GUIL
Court Disposition Date: 06/08/1995
Court Level/Degree: Traffic Citation

And at various times in Alaksa, he committed forgery, theft, driving without a drivers license, and driving drunk:

Offender information
Name: REDDEN III, EUGENE V
Address: AK
Case Number: 4FA-93-00439CR
Case Filing Date: 02/22/1993
DOB: 02/1969
Offenses
Case Filing Date: 02/22/1993
Court Description: Fourth District – Fairbanks
Court Case Number: 4FA-93-00439CR
Court Statute: FORGERY II
Court Disposition: No Contest Plea
Court Disposition Date: 10/12/1993
Court Level/Degree: Felony
Offenses
Case Filing Date: 11/12/1999
Court Description: Fourth District – Fairbanks
Court Case Number: 4FA-99-03631CR
Court Statute: NO VALID OL
Court Disposition: No Contest Plea
Court Disposition Date: 12/16/1999
Court Level/Degree: Misdemeanor
Offenses
Case Filing Date: 10/20/1988
Court Description: Fourth District – Fairbanks
Court Case Number: 4FA-88-02951CR
Court Statute: THEFT/FRAUD
Court Disposition: No Contest Plea
Court Disposition Date: 07/17/1989
Court Level/Degree: Misdemeanor
Offenses
Case Filing Date: 03/13/1989
Court Description: Fourth District – Fairbanks
Court Case Number: 4FA-89-00627CR
Court Statute: ALCOHOL
Court Disposition: No Contest Plea
Court Disposition Date: 07/17/1989
Court Level/Degree: Misdemeanor

There are a few other issue minor infractions he committed, but the point is he doesn’t have a clean record and in this tough political environment the Kasich campaign has opened themselves up to this attack.
And before you feel like starring in a political TV ad, prepare yourself to be embarrassed."

Here's more from Plunderbund, which wonders why Kasich couldn't find an Ohio steelworker to wear and hardhat for the ad attacking Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland.

Ohio Gov. Candidate John Kasich Says He Brought Google To Wall Street: Maybe He Was a 'Little Shriveled Walnut' On the IPO

Walnuts or Wall Street?

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- GOP candidate John Kasich holds a shriveling lead in the race for Ohio governor, and he also may lead in giving himself a pat on the back for putting Google on the NASDAQ stock market.  But a former Google exec who oversaw the company's initial public offering calls the big Wall Street firms where Kasich worked "little shriveled walnuts"  who didn't truly comprehend the technology industry.  She contends Wall Street's hunger for fees and profits left growth companies SOL.  Google became a public company in August 2004.  A team of 21 investment banks, including now defunct Lehman Bros., where Kasich worked as a managing director, helped prepare Google's initial public offering.  Although Kasich does not mention his Wall Street ties in his official campaign biography, Kasich did say in the Sept. 14 debate with Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland that he had a hand in Google's success.  A link to a tape of the debate is available here. The Daily Bellwether found Kasich talking about Google at the 21:48 mark:

"I was part of the team that took Google public. We know what Google means."

Yes, we all know what Google means.  What we don't  know is what Kasich means.  Does he mean he was an important investment banker at Lehman Bros., the Wall Street company whose collapse in September 2008 helped pull down the U.S. economy?  Did he mean he was a player?  There is just not much information available about Kasich's role.  We do know that Lise Buyer was the investment banking guru at Google who was charged with taking the company public. She would have known Lehman Bros. and Kasich's role. I've not been able to contact her, but I do know she has a low opinion of the investment banks, and said firms like Lehman "emulated Audrey, the man-eating plant from 'Little Shop of Horrors,' demanding ever larger revenues to sustain their mass . . ."

Here's what Lise Buyer said about the investment banks on Feb. 9, 2009 in a column for All Things Digital:

"2. The demise of investment banks is good for IPOs. Today, we lambast investment banks because they earned it. Formerly sure-footed firms ran full speed into a bog they didn’t understand. Those whom Tom Wolfe once christened “Masters of the Universe” and “BSDs” have morphed into LSWs (little shriveled walnuts).

"How does this help the IPO market? In the heyday, technology IPOs were shepherded by boutique investment banks focused on, and economically aligned with emerging growth companies. Those banks didn’t invent, sell or swap CDOs or SIVs. Rather, in the 1990s, following the wisdom of the day, they sold out to diversified, theoretically better-capitalized, larger banks. Those acquiring banks emulated Audrey, the man-eating plant from “Little Shop of Horrors,” demanding ever larger revenues to sustain their mass, leaving new issuers who generate small fees with little IPOs, an acronym of their own; SOL.

"Now, with large investment banks hanging with the pterodactyls, there’s an opportunity for boutiques to rise again, a turn that could be very good for the IPO market."

Chinese Imports Worrying John Kasich's Invacare: Fighting Shanghai Knockoffs To Save U.S. Jobs In Florida

  

Invacare complaint to save Florida jobs

  CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Documents filed with the International Trade Commission in DC suggest John Kasich backs the fight to save an Invacare factory in Florida threatened by Chinese knockoffs.  The documents were prepared by Invacare's lawyers last month.  Ohio's  Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland has been hammering GOP challenger Kasich for serving on the board of directors of Invacare, a Cleveland-area company that moved more than 200 Ohio manufacturing jobs to China.  The loss of those jobs -- and Kasich's role in sending them overseas -- has been a hot issue in a state where globalization and imports have hit the factory economy hard.  The Daily Bellwether learned that Invacare is singing the unfair trade blues, claiming it's being victimized by patent-infringing Chinese imports.  Kasich has been a proponent of foreign trade agreements.  But trade deals can haunt U.S. companies, and Invacare is now fighting [see accompanying document] a legal battle to save 240 jobs at its factory in Sanford, Fla.  A Chinese government owned manufacturer is among the foes.  Inquiring minds might wonder:  Has Kasich fought harder to save jobs in Florida than Ohio?

In early August, Invacare filed a formal complaint with the International Trade Commission against Shanghai Shunglong Physical Therapy Equipment Co., Ltd.  Invacare contends the Chinese are making knockoffs of adjustable height beds used for home health care.  It says the beds are being illegally imported and sold in the U.S.   Here is some language from Invacare's complaint against the Chinese:

"Invacare has made significant investment in plant, tools and equipment devoted to developing, manufacturing and testing the Invacare beds.  Invacare manufactures the Invacare beds at a manufacturing plant that it owns in Sanford, Florida ('Florida Plant') and has been doing so ever since the Invacare Beds were first produced in 2003.  Invacare purchased the Florida Plant in 1994, most of which is designated for manufacturing.  The Florida plant is divided into two different spaces, one dedicated to beds, and the other dedicated to respiratory products.  The Invacare Beds make up a large portion of the beds manufactured in the Florida Plant."

The complaint also states:  "Shunglong manufactures abroad and, directly and through authorized agents, sells for importation and/or imports the Accused Products into the United States.  Invacares's employees have purchased the Accused Products in the United States after importation."

Invacare says the Chinese manufacturer sells to a New York based importer, who then offers the products to dealers and medical providers across the nation.  It said a knockoff bed from China was purchased in Cincinnati at the Queen City Medical Mart on Reading Road.

Earlier this month, the ITC voted to investigate Invacare's complaint.  The full text of the 42-page Invacare unfair trade complaint is available here (pdf). An International Trade Commission press release announcing it would investigate the Chinese beds is available here.

John Kasich's Ohio Debate Gaffe: 'We Haven't Lost Jobs to China.'

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- There really is no doubt about it. Ohio jobs have moved overseas -- thousands to China. By one count, some 66,100 Ohio jobs had been shifted to China by 2007. And Republican John Kasich was dead wrong to claim in a gubernatorial debate against Ted Strickland last night that the jobs haven't disappeared. Kasich said, "We haven't lost jobs to China."

Workers who made Eljer plumbing fixtures in Salem, Ohio would be surprised to learn their manufacturing jobs didn't go to China.
People who made Etch A Sketch, the toy that draws on a screen using two knobs, and let's you erase it and start all over again, saw their life's work leave its small town Ohio home after 40 years. CBS News reported: "To save labor and production costs, Ohio Art Company is closing its Bryan, Ohio plant and moving production to China. The company announced its decision last month. Thirty workers are affected by the move - a lot for a town of 9,000 people. The Ohio employees made their last Etch A Sketches on Friday, three days before Christmas." The new plant that replaced the operation in Bryan, Ohio (in NW Ohio) is in Shenzen, China. By the way, Bryan is in Williams County, which nearly has the state's worst unemployment rate. Almost 14% of the county's workers are jobless.

And here's Malachi Mixon, chairman of Invacare Corp., near Cleveland. Kasich is on Invacare's board of directors. The company moved Ohio jobs to China, a fact that Mixon confirmed in a Jan. 31, 2008 inveterview with The Plain Dealer:

"Q: How difficult was the decision to move production to China?Invacare CEO Mixon: 'It wasn't difficult because it's about survival. [and] We realized we simply couldn't compete from America. You can take virtually any product made in Cleveland, make it in China, ship it back here and pay the freight for probably about 25 percent lower cost.' Invacare CEO Mixon said his Ohio labor costs were about $14 an hour; "And China, 50 cents."

UPDATE 3:09 PM -- Data published earlier this year by Policy Matters Ohio, a Cleveland think tank that is largely supported by labor, shows 10 companies in Ohio shifted production to China between May 2009 and May 2010. All told, there were 1,294 Ohio jobs lost. Kasich said there were none. Policy Matters Ohio gathered its data by analyzing records compiled by the U.S. Labor Department under the Trade Adjustment Act. Here's some of what the think tank said in its July report:

". . . by far, the largest number of Ohio jobs that have been shifted abroad and certified under the trade assistance program have been going to Mexico [4,668 jobs]. Each of the three largest certifications involving production shifts -- Ford Motor Co.'s Cleveland cast plant, Wal-Mart's eyeglass plant in Lockbourne and Avon's cosmetics plant in Springale (near Cincinnati) -- saw production go to Mexico. The vast bulk of the jobs shifted to Mexico, as with China, are manufacturing jobs."

Ohio GOP Gov Candidate John Kasich Confesses: As House Budget Chair I Screwed Up My Federal Ethics Forms

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Sloppy not crooked. Or stupid not crooked. The Kasich for Governor campaign now has an explanation for a federal financial disclosure form that shows he purchased shares in a Goldman Sachs investment fund before the fund was launched in 1999. John Kasich's excuse: He didn't manage to correctly fill out the legally required paperwork. In other words, John Kasich -- who was responsible for putting together the entire budget for the United States government -- couldn't get things right on his Ethics in Government Act report. Shades of former Ohio Gov. Bob Taft, who had his own problems with lapses on ethics forms. Kasich made his mistake in 2000, the year he wanted to campaign for the presidency. Now he's running for governor of Ohio and correcting the decade old error. Kasich is supposed to be sharp with numbers, and worked at Lehman Brothers as a managing director. He was an executive at the Wall Street investment bank when it collapsed and helped trigger the current worldwide financial crisis. Inquiring minds are wondering: Does Kasich know how to watch the store?

GOP Ohio Governor Candidate John Kasich: Records Show He Bought Into A Goldman Sachs Internet Fund Before It Was Launched

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- John Kasich was chairman of the U.S. House Budget Committee in July 1999 at the height of the dotcom boom. His federal financial disclosure statement (a portion excerpted above) shows he acquired a stake in the Goldman Sachs Internet fund on July 1, 1999. But Goldman Sachs didn't launch its Internet mutual fund until October 1, 1999. Kasich's financial disclosure statement indicates he got a three month head start. The record suggests that Kasich -- who didn't seek reelection in 2000 -- was closely following developments on Wall Street. Did he have access to inside information? Goldman Sachs said it created the Internet fund to offer an opportunity to invest in "what may be the most compelling technological change in our lifetime." It was the go-go era before the dotcom crash. After leaving the House, Kasich went to work for Lehman Bros. Inc., a Wall Street investment bank that collapsed in 2008.

Copies of four years worth of Kasich's House financial disclosure reports are available here (pdf) at the Center for Responsive Politics. [Ed. Note: The financial disclosure statement about Goldman Sachs is for calendar year 1999. Kasich signed and dated it May 12, 2000. He certified the information was accurate: "I certify that the statements I have made on this form and all attached schedules are true, complete and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief." The word certify is printed in capital letters.] Zacks.com has data about the Goldman Sachs Internet fund, which trades under the symbol GITAX. And Money Magazine's online edition noted the fund's Oct. 1, 1999 debut with a headline that day saying, Goldman Cooks Up A Net Fund. Just in case there are any doubts about the October 1, 1999 launch date of the Goldman Sachs fund, the Daily Bellwether has retrieved a decade old Goldman Sachs press release that announces its opening to investors. The full-text is reprinted below:

"PR Newswire
October 1, 1999, Friday - 13:35 Eastern TimeGoldman Sachs Launches the Goldman Sachs Internet Tollkeeper Fund(SM); A Different Approach to Internet InvestingSECTION: Financial NewsLENGTH: 760 wordsDATELINE: NEW YORK, Oct. 1Goldman Sachs Asset Management today launched the Goldman Sachs Internet Tollkeeper Fund, a specialty equity mutual fund investing in growth companies poised to benefit from the expansion of the Internet. What is an Internet Tollkeeper? -- Internet Tollkeepers include established telecommunications, media, technology and Internet companies; -- These businesses, like a toll collector for a highway or a bridge, have the ability to grow revenue by increasing traffic (customers or sales) and by raising tolls (prices); -- These are companies with strong market share, brand recognition, recurring revenue streams and pricing power. What is the investment focus of the Goldman Sachs Internet TollkeeperFund? -- Primarily, companies that provide access, content (movies, music and videos), services and infrastructure (servers, routers, networks) to Internet providers and users; -- Secondarily, companies whose rapid adoption of the Internet has improved their business model, as well as Internet-based companies capable of generating long-term sustainable profitability, -- This approach contrasts that of "pure play" Internet funds investing in new dot.com companies. Who manages the Goldman Sachs Internet Tollkeeper Fund? -- The Goldman Sachs growth equity team, managers of the Goldman Sachs Capital Growth, Strategic Growth and Growth Opportunities Funds; -- A team with an 18 year institutional track record and over 150 years' combined investment experience. "The evolution of the Internet has transformed the economic landscape. Theopportunities that have been created are significant -- so, too, are therisks, particularly for investors," said Douglas Grip, President of GoldmanSachs Funds Group. "The Goldman Sachs Tollkeeper Fund offers a potentiallymore conservative approach to investing in what may be the most compellingtechnological change of our lifetime." Goldman Sachs Asset Management was formed in 1988, providing individualinvestors the opportunity to tap the resources of a premier global financialservices firm and put this expertise to work for them in their individualportfolios. As of June 30, 1999, Goldman Sachs Asset Management had $191.1billion in assets under management. Investors have access to more than 30 Goldman Sachs Funds, managedaccording to institutional investment processes that deliver region-,capitalization-, and style-specific equity portfolios; and benchmark-driven,research-intensive fixed income funds. These investment processes combine thebest of what Goldman Sachs has to offer: active management, global resources,significant research capabilities, risk management expertise, proprietaryquantitative models, and a team approach. Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) is a leading global investment banking andsecurities firm, providing a full range of investing, advisory and financingservices worldwide to a substantial and diversified client base, whichincludes corporations, financial institutions, governments and high net worthindividuals. Founded in 1869, it is one of the oldest and largest investmentbanking firms. Goldman Sachs is headquartered in New York and maintainsoffices in London, Frankfurt, Tokyo, Hong Kong and other major financialcenters around the world. Some risk factors that can negatively affect pure-play internet stocks canalso negatively affect Internet Tollkeeper stocks. The Fund is subject togreater risk of loss as a result of adverse economic, business or otherdevelopments than if its investments were diversified across differentindustry sectors. Securities of issuers held by the fund may lack sufficientmarket liquidity to enable the fund to sell the securities at an advantageoustime or without a substantial drop in price. For more complete information about the Goldman Sachs Internet TollkeeperFund, call 800-526-7384 and request a prospectus. Read the prospectuscarefully before investing. Goldman, Sachs & Co. is the distributor of the Goldman Sachs Funds. The Goldman Sachs Internet Tollkeeper Fund(SM) is a service mark ofGoldman, Sachs & Co. SOURCE Goldman, Sachs & Co. CONTACT: Kathleen Baum of Goldman, Sachs & Co., 212-902-5400COUNTRY: UNITED STATES (92%); 92%);STATE: NEW YORK, USA (92%); 92%);CITY: LONDON, ENGLAND (65%); 65%);COMPANY: Goldman, Sachs & Co. GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INC (98%); GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INC (98%); GOLDMAN SACHS FUNDS GROUP (64%); P (64%); ORGANIZATION: Goldman, Sachs & Co. GOLDMAN SACHS FUNDS GROUP (64%); TICKER: GS (NYSE) (98%); GS NDSEG##GS"

Get Ready For Costliest Governor's Race In Ohio History: $40 Million Plus Likely On Kasich v. Strickland

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- The Democrats expect to raise more than $20 million for Ted Strickland's reelection campaign. Republicans have been tossing around similar numbers for GOP challenger John Kasich. Strickland's 2010 campaign manager Aaron Pickrell, who was just on the phone with The Daily Bellwether, confirmed that he's sure the contest will set spending records: "This is going to be an extraordinarily expensive campaign." He said the governor's reelection budget will be at least $3 million more than the $17 million spent defeating Cincinnati's Ken Blackwell four years ago. Pickrell said the money is necessary for television ads, new media and to "build a massive field operation" that can send volunteers door-to-door spreading the governor's message.

While early polls show Strickland trailing Kasich, Pickrell said the data is not discouraging. He said the economy trumps all issues. "People are angry, they're blaming anyone that is currently in power." But the data also shows, "People trust the governor and people like him. Those are things you cannot buy." And, "There is no question this is going to be a tough political year." Pickrell sees early polling suggesting the race -- at this point in time -- is Strickland facing the economy, not Strickland facing Kasich. That will change over time as voters begin to focus on Kasich, a former congressman and Lehman Bros. investment banker who is largely unknown statewide.

John Kasich's Family Suffered Terrible Loss On Eve of Lt. Gov. Annoucement: Campaign Kept News Quiet

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- John Kasich's mother-in-law died on Jan. 13, 2010 of congestive heart failure at a hospital in Naples, Fla. It was the day before Kasich announced Ohio Auditor Mary Taylor would be his running mate on the Republican ticket for governor of Ohio. The campaign did not make a public announcement of the death. A friend of the Daily Bellwether has passed along a copy of the obituary from the Naples Daily News, a paper owned by the E.W. Scripps Co., a publishing and broadcast company that is based in Cincinnati:

"Leslie Moore Waldbillig, 78, of Naples passed away peacefully Wednesday January 13, 2010 at Naples Community Hospital, after a brave battle with congestive heart failure, with her family at her side. She was born February 28, 1931 to Gladys B. Moore and Harry Leslie Moore.
Leslie was preceded in death by her husband, Charles Craig Waldbillig; and infant brother, Harry L. Moore, Jr.
"Grandy" is survived by her loving daughters, Karen Waldbillig (John) Kasich and Kristen Moore (Mike) Ferraro; grandchildren, Emma and Reese Kasich, and Anna, Julia and Nicholas Ferraro, and Kristina Ferraro of London, England. She is also survived by brother, William B. (Nancy) Moore of Orleans, MA; nieces, Diane (Brad) Dodge of Roswell, GA, Susan (John) Mix of Greenbrae, CA, Carol (Dr. David) Penfield of Orleans, MA; nephews, Steve (Patricia) Day of Columbus, OH, and Ken (Mary K) Day of Montgomary City, MO; and many greatnieces and nephews, who gave her much pleasure.
Leslie was a graduate of Newton High School of Newton, MA and ColbySawyer College of New London, NH, where she studied secretarial science.
Before marrying Craig in 1963 and moving to Columbus, OH to raise her family, she traveled the world and enjoyed a successful career, most notably as secretary to the president of Altitalia Airlines, North America operations. Leslie loved God and America. She adored her grandchildren and delighted in knitting and needlepointing special gifts for them and her friends. She was active in Girl Scouts of America, the COSI Womens Association, Columbus Coralina Club, bridge and investment clubs. More recently, she enjoyed her various knitting circles, including the Knotty Ladies, knitting for charity and sports- especially The Ohio State Buckeyes. She was also a member of Naples Sailing and Yacht Club. Leslie once said she wanted "to be remembered as a good mother." Mom, you succeeded.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions be made in her memory to Colby-Sawyer College, Office of Development, 542 Main Street, New London, NH 03257, or the American Heart Association , 5455 North High Street, Columbus OH 43214. The family is planning a Celebration of Life service and private burial on a later date. Arrangements by The Naples Funeral Home, 3107 Davis Blvd, Naples, FL 34104."

John Kasich for Governor: Ex-Lehman Bros. Exec Offers History Of U.S. and "The Shirt Off Our Backs"

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- The immigrants gave us the phrase "the shirt off our backs." That was John Kasich's explanation in February 1999 when he announced he was running for president, a very short-lived run in a campaign that went nowhere. Kasich ended up working for Wall Street investment house Lehman Bros., which did know how to take the shirt off people's backs. Lehman's collapse in 2008 helped unleash the Great Recession. Ohio and the U.S. are still feeling the effects. In fact, there are millions of people who can't afford homes, who can't afford to retire, who can't afford college let alone shirts.

Kasich's 1999 presidential announcement speech that threw his shirt into the ring still lives on in cyberspace. His history lesson about how America was settled involves shirts, or lack of them. Read on:

"Your grandmother and your grandfather were living somewhere over in Europe a couple generations ago, and your grandpa told your grandma 'We're going to America.' Your grandma said, 'We're going where? I don't want to go.'
Maybe grandpa had a doubt in his mind, and grandma said 'We're going to America.' But together they made the decision to get in a small boat, it probably leaked, imagine the food, very little water, I would imagine; and they floated across the ocean to a place they didn't know.
And when they landed, they didn't know where they were. When they started traveling across America, they had no clue where they were going to end up, unless they had a relative that made the journey before them.
And you know what they were pursuing? They were pursuing freedom, personal responsibility. They were pursuing rugged individualism and at all times they were compassionate. Because they were the first ones to turn to the person next to them that didn't have anything and said, 'How can I help?' That's when we got the phrase 'the shirt off our backs,' from these immigrants that came across that ocean in search of the American dream. "