Rather than address questions surrounding Governor Kasich’s connection to Benjamin Suarez or why the Governor failed to discipline the chief-legal-counsel who intervened on Suarez’s behalf, the Ohio Republican Party spent this week hyping up accusations that only highlight Governor Kasich’s embarrassing string of flawed appointees and nominees:
Board of Education Nominee: “On Monday, Kasich appointed former Ohio State quarterback Stanley Jackson, 37, to replace Dennis Reardon on the 19-member board and serve the final six months of an at-large term. The Republican governor’s critics raised questions about Jackson’s qualifications for the board and Kasich’s vetting process. Jackson received the appointment after meeting with members of Kasich’s staff, but didn’t provide a resume. The charter school for African-American males Jackson claims to have founded does not exist, according to the Department of Education, and yesterday the Ohio State University confirmed to The Dispatch that Jackson didn’t graduate from there.” [Columbus Dispatch, 6/21/2012]
State School Board Nominee: Columbus Dispatch Headline: “State school-board president defends Hitler post on Facebook” : “State Board of Education President Debe Terhar said she was not comparing President Barack Obama to Adolf Hitler when she posted a photograph of the Nazi leader on her Facebook page with a message critical of the administration’s new gun-control efforts. But she does say we “need to step back and think about it and look at history” to see that tyrants have disarmed their citizens….The photograph apparently originated with the Facebook page of Uncle Sam’s Misguided Children, which features a variety of anti-Obama, pro-gun posts and photos, such as scantily clad women hoisting large guns, a polar bear with the words ‘Holy f*** I’m glad I’m white,’ and another saying ‘Where’s Lee Harvey Oswalt when you need him?'” [Columbus Dispatch, 1/22/2013]
Three Ohio Ethics Commission Appointees: “The Ohio Ethics Commission, a state board responsible for navigating political conflicts of interest, has a potential blind spot of its own. Three of the panel’s five members, or their spouses, have contributed to Gov. John Kasich’s campaigns over the years, an analysis has found. Kasich, a Republican, appointed or reappointed all three to their current terms.” [Cleveland Plain Dealer, 8/23/2013]
State Medical Board Appointee: “A key figure amid Ohio’s feuding anti-abortion factions has landed a seat on the state medical board. Gov. John Kasich appointed Mike Gonidakis to the panel that regulates doctors in October, and state senators confirmed him Thursday. Gonidakis was executive director of Ohio Right to Life until last December. The organization is Ohio’s oldest and largest anti-abortion group and was a key road block to the stringent ‘heartbeat bill.’ The failed bill would have banned most abortions at the first detectable fetal heartbeat.” [Associated Press, 12/14/2012]