Dean digs at Bush, praises Ohio efforts at Toledo stop

[Algorem]

;chairman's stump speech rallies local Democrats

http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061104/NEWS09/611040397/-1/NEWS

By JIM TANKERSLEY
BLADE POLITICS WRITER

...Mr. Dean, the chairman of the Democratic National Committee, told a packed VFW hall that Republicans have damaged the country by dividing Americans — and that Democrats, if they work hard enough, can ride a desire for change to big wins in Ohio and nationwide next week...

“God knows,” Mr. Dean said, drawing cheers, “in Ohio you can’t trust Republicans with your money.”...

Miss Kaptur called Mr. Dean’s visit a boon for northwest Ohio, which she said hadn’t seen more than a quick glimpse of a DNC chairman for 40 years. She said he “reminds us how the party used to be” connected to its base voters...

The VFW crowd was filled with base voters. When Mr. Dean said it could be difficult to convince “a right-wing President” to go along with Democrats’ ideas, someone in the front row shouted, "Impeach him!"...


Montgomery tied to donor scandal before Noe
Lawsuit challenges Ohio's liquidation of firm

http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061104/NEWS09/611040398/-1/NEWS

COLUMBUS — In March, 1996, Republican Attorney General Betty Montgomery used a hand-written note to thank Larry E. Rogers for pouring $35,000 into her campaign — the day before a new state law took effect that limited contributions to $2,500.

“Larry, if you don’t mind, on occasion I’ll try to stop by to update you on the issues we’re working on and to get your advice,’’ Ms. Montgomery wrote to Rogers, the president and chief executive of PIE Mutual Insurance Co.

Less than two years later, Ms. Montgomery and other GOP elected officials that Rogers showered with campaign contributions shunned him.

In February, 1998, a special counsel appointed by Ms. Montgomery convinced a judge to order the liquidation of PIE because its liabilities exceeded its assets by $240 million...


Charges fly in races for Ohio attorney general, secretary of state

http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061104/NEWS09/611040405/-1/NEWS

The race for Ohio attorney general is tightening as political operatives dig into their opponent's legal work in search of material for attacks.

A Mason-Dixon poll for The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer released yesterday shows state Auditor Betty Montgomery, the Republican candidate for attorney general, running even with her Democratic opponent, state Sen. Marc Dann, at 44 percent.

Greg Hartmann, the GOP nominee for secretary of state, trails his Democratic opponent, Jennifer Brunner 41 percent to 32 percent, the poll showed.

The Plain Dealer said the telephone survey of 625 respondents had a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points. The poll was conducted Oct. 31 to Nov. 2...


Democrats leading in most state races

http://www.cleveland.com/open/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/1162632994132110.xml&coll=2

Saturday, November 04, 2006
Mark Naymik
Plain Dealer Politics Writer

A wave is breaking, and it threatens to wash the Republican Party out of the state offices it has dominated for 16 years.

With three days to go before Tuesday's election, not a single Republican leads among candidates for the top five state offices. The party's gubernatorial candidate, Ken Blackwell, appears headed for a major thrashing. Democrat Ted Strickland, who has never trailed in polls this year, leads Blackwell by 19 points, 56 percent to 37 percent. Democrats vying for secretary of state, auditor and treasurer also lead their Republican opponents, though by smaller margins.

Even Betty Montgomery, long considered one of the GOP's most popular politicians, has lost the lead she had held all year over Marc Dann in the contest for attorney general. The poll shows that race dead even at 44 percent for each candidate.

Montgomery, who already has spent eight years as attorney general and now serves as auditor, enjoyed a 10-point lead in the last Plain Dealer poll barely a month ago...


Noe wrote 71 checks to self, witness says
Recorded coin purchases were not made, court told

http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061104/NEWS02/611040476/-1/NEWS

Prosecutors in the Tom Noe criminal trial called their last witness yesterday after calling 53 others over the last three weeks.

Dineen Day, an investigator with the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation, helped prosecutors conclude their case with a flourish by showing the jury a steady stream of checks that prosecutors say Noe wrote to himself, contractors, friends, and associates.

All of the checks, totaling nearly $4 million, were identified by Noe as coin purchases for his business, Vintage Coins and Collectibles.

But Ms. Day said she could find records of only a few coins being purchased. The value of those coins was below $1,000, she testified...


Ohio Democrats sue to add election-day observers

http://www.cleveland.com/newsflash/cleveland/index.ssf?/base/politics-1/1162607056255260.xml&storylist=cleveland

11/3/2006, 10:22 p.m. ET
The Associated Press

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The Ohio Democratic Party on Friday asked a judge to force Secretary of State Ken Blackwell — the Republican candidate for governor — to allow the party to add up to 300 observers to witness Tuesday's election.

The Democrats recruited 150 to 200 observers by an Oct. 27 deadline, with the understanding that, under Ohio law, the application could be amended and more names could be added later, said Mark Griffin, a lawyer representing the party.

However, Blackwell's office on Wednesday issued an advisory to Ohio's 88 county boards of elections saying they could not add any names submitted after Oct. 27, although the observers who filed for the original appointments could be substituted.

Ohio law states: "Notification shall take place not less than 11 days before the election on forms prescribed by the secretary of state and may be amended by filing an amendment with the board of elections at any time until 4 p.m. of the day before the election."...



Blackwell tells rally he can beat the odds

http://www.cleveland.com/newsflash/cleveland/index.ssf?/base/politics-1/1162602843123400.xml&storylist=cleveland

11/3/2006, 8:08 p.m. ET
By DAN SEWELL
The Associated Press

CINCINNATI (AP) — Ken Blackwell told a throng of supporters Friday that they can help him win by campaigning "neighbor-to-neighbor, family member-to-family member, and church member-to-church member."

The Republican gubernatorial nominee, running substantially behind Democrat Ted Strickland in recent polls, said he's won elections before after trailing in polls.

"Elections are about one-day sales," he said at his campaign office in the College Hill neighborhood. "They are about getting out our vote on election day."

Joined by wife Rosa and other family members and friends at the rally, Blackwell talked about his long career, including stints as mayor of Cincinnati and as an undersecretary at the Department of Housing and Urban Development in the George H.W. Bush administration. Now secretary of state, he is trying to become Ohio's first black governor...


Parties mobilizing lawyers for election

http://www.market-day.net/article_37034/20061103/Parties-mobilizing-lawyers-for-election.php

Posted on November 3, 2006

WASHINGTON, Nov. 3 (UPI) -- Over the next few days, hundreds of lawyers will be flying to distant states to prepare for litigation following the upcoming U.S. election.

They include lawyers for the Democratic and Republican national committees, 800 Justice Department lawyers and lawyers working for, or volunteering for, liberal or conservative groups and civil rights organizations, The New York Times reported. The biggest legal mobilizations are in those states with tight races like Missouri, Florida and Maryland.

Some legal battles are already under way. In Ohio, Democratic lawyers have been trying to convince postal officials they should accept absentee ballots mailed with insufficient postage.

"We're not going to make the mistake we did last time, which was to wait until after the election for litigation," Chris Redfern, chairman of the Ohio Democratic Party, told the Times...