GOP hopefuls like some Democrats
Mike DeWine was but a young lad of 21 in 1968 when he voted for the first time, and one of the first votes he ever cast was for a Democrat.
Ohio’s attorney general and Republican candidate for governor dated himself in naming Frank Lausche as his favorite Democrat in response to a question from The Dispatch.
The independent-minded Lausche (governor from 194547 and 1949-57) lost a primary race in 1968 to John Gilligan, who then lost in the fall to Republican Attorney General William B. Saxbe. Gilligan, of course, became Ohio governor in 1971.
DeWine said even his reliably Republican parents and grandparents were Lausche voters, appreciating his willingness to cross party lines and problemsolving skills, traits DeWine also appreciates.
Another GOP gubernatorial candidate, U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci of Wadsworth, named Delaware Gov. John Carney as his favorite Democrat. The two became “very good friends” while Carney served in Congress before becoming governor, Renacci said.
Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor, the third GOP candidate for governor, names long-time Democratic operative and strategist Jerry Austin of the Akron area “as a great guy” whose advice she values. But, ultimately, at heart, Taylor’s favorite Democrat is her late father, Mathew Capan, who was a life-long member of the party.
Mandel fans target Brown’s daughters
The Cuyahoga County Republican Party, which is supporting Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel in his latest bid to unseat Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, is accusing Brown’s daughters of self-dealing in their efforts to provide legal aid to undocumented immigrants. One of Brown’s daughters says, however, that the arrangement is on the up-and-up and that the Cleveland Republicans are playing politics.
Cuyahoga County GOP spokeswoman Andrea Bozek slammed Columbus City Councilwoman Elizabeth Brown for leading an effort in October to distribute $185,000 in city money to lawyers for undocumented immigrants facing deportation and other challenges. Of that, $157,500 is going to the nonprofit Advocates for Basic Legal Equality Inc., or ABLE, where Elizabeth Brown’s sister, Emily Brown, is working.
Bozek said she believes the arrangement violates the Ohio criminal statute against having an unlawful interest in a public contract.
But none of the city money is going to Emily Brown, a lawyer who is being paid by the Skadden Foundation as part of a two-year fellowship.
When that fact was pointed out to her, Bozek dismissed it, saying, “I just think that’s semantics.”
Also, Elizabeth Brown said, she and the rest of the council took several steps to ensure that everything was above reproach. The selection of a legal aid firm was done competitively, and since ABLE was an applicant, Elizabeth Brown recused herself from the process even though Ohio law wouldn’t have prevented her from participating even if Emily Brown was being paid by ABLE.
“Everything on this was 110 percent aboveboard,” Elizabeth Brown said.
She said that undocumented immigrants facing deportation and related proceedings have no federal guarantee of a lawyer to represent them. She added that those without it are much less likely to get a full hearing in the courts — regardless of whether they have family in the United States or whether they face deadly circumstances once they’re deported.
It’s worth noting that thousands of U.S. citizens charged with crimes receive taxpayerfunded legal representation.
Mandel is taking a hard line on illegal immigration. Earlier this year he tweeted a video from the border in which he criticized Congress for not funding President Donald Trump’s proposed border wall and for funding what Mandel called “sanctuary cities.”
Bozek said she called attention to the Brown sisters to call out Sherrod Brown on the immigration issue.
Elizabeth Brown said she understands what’s going on.
“It’s politics,” she said. “That’s why they called you. This is politics to them. To me, it’s more than politics.”