GOP attack on Brown exaggerated

THE AD: A 30-second spot by OHROC, the campaign committee of Ohio House Republicans, on behalf of Republican Bobby Mitchell.

WHERE TO SEE IT: Television in central Ohio.

IMAGES: Still shots of Rep. Richard Brown. Stock video of a predator-type person peering into a house window. Various shots of Mitchell.

SCRIPT: “Richard Brown and his political hit men have resorted to fear and intimidation. They came after Bobby Mitchell’s family. Watched his wife and children. Spied into their windows at night. Brown used shady legal tactics to try and silence him and suppress his right to vote. Richard Brown, you should be ashamed of yourself. Bobby Mitchell won’t back down. A veteran, pastor and family man, Mitchell won’t be bullied, and will be an independent voice for us.”

ANALYSIS: Using hyperbolic language and claims not backed by evidence, House Republicans are going on the attack in the 20th District in southeastern Franklin County.

Republican Bobby Mitchell, who was living with his wife in a $480,000 home in Fairfield County, rented an apartment 9 miles away across the Franklin County line just prior to the legal deadline for candidates, allowing him to say he lives in the 20th District.

A Democrat named Leonardo Almeida, working with Brown’s knowledge, lived in the same apartment complex. The Democrat kept a log for four weeks of when he saw the Mitchells’ vehicles there and whether lights were on in the apartment.

Almeida eventually filed a formal challenge of Mitchell’s residency. Secretary of State Jon Husted ruled in Mitchell’s favor after the Franklin County Board of Elections split 2-2 along party lines.

When Almeida’s attorney filed additional information, Ed Leonard, the county elections director and a Democrat, sent a memo to the Franklin County sheriff asking for an investigation of potential voter fraud involving Mitchell and his wife. Nothing has come of that investigation.

Arguing that Brown “came after” Mitchell’s family is, at best, an exaggeration. Also, there is no evidence looked through the apartment windows. In a sworn statement, Almeida said he looked for lights on as he drove by at night, and he never saw them on.

As for the claim of “shady legal tactics,” filing a challenge of Mitchell’s residency is authorized under Ohio law. Both political parties have used it, along with challenges of candidates’ petitions to get on the ballot.

Also, keeping tabs on political opponents is nothing new, although in this case, Almeida said he never saw Mitchell or his family.