toledoblade.com --

COLUMBUS - At the Republican National Convention last month, Ohio Supreme Court Justice Evelyn Lundberg Stratton lamented the scant attention the two high-court races on this year's ballot have drawn.

"We're raising very little money," she told the Ohio delegation. "We'll be lucky if we get to $1 million, which is 50 percent of what we raised [in 2002]. We can't win an election on that."

But while she appealed for strong grass-roots work, it was the corporation-backed Partnership for Ohio's Future that came to the assistance of Justices Stratton and Maureen O'Connor with nearly $900,000 in ads urging Ohioans to "thank" the two justices. Both are seeking re-election on Tuesday.

According to reports filed with the secretary of state's office through Oct. 17, nearly 70 percent of the money came from the U.S. and Ohio chambers of commerce, and the rest came from corporate giants such as State Farm Mutual Auto Insurance, the Scotts Co. LLC, and Proctor & Gamble Co.

Owens-Illinois Inc., the only contributor from northwest Ohio, gave $5,000.

The money immediately went out the door to the Virginia-based political ad firm Sandler-Innocenzi Inc.

Partnership, an arm of the Ohio Chamber, is the successor to Citizens for a Strong Ohio, the organization slapped by the Ohio Elections Commission and courts for its illegal use of anonymous corporate donors to underwrite an unsuccessful bid to unseat then-Justice Alice Robie Resnick of Ottawa Hills in 2000.

But the successor Partnership has been successful in working within an Ohio law that, for the first time, expressly allowed corporations to finance "electioneering communication" as long as the donors were publicly disclosed. These ads, which cannot be coordinated with the candidate's campaigns, typically look a lot like political ads but fall just short of expressly advocating the election or defeat of a candidate.

"If you feel a little safer when you turn out the lights, maybe it's because of the hard work of Maureen O'Connor," one Partnership ad says.

Another states, "Justice Evelyn Stratton changed Ohio's adoption rules and became a national leader on adoption reform."

Justices Stratton and O'Connor face challenges on Tuesday from two Democrats, Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judges Peter Sikora and Joseph Russo, both of whom have questioned the influence such donations have had and could have on court decisions that interpret insurance contracts, limit litigation jury awards, and restrict who can sue over asbestos exposure.

"We were aghast and horrified in 2000 by [Strong Ohio's] behavior," said Catherine Turcer, of the watchdog group Ohio Citizen Action.

"What happened is the rules were changed to accommodate them. But the one good thing we do have is that we have some sense of where this money comes from. On one hand we have one chamber of commerce giving to another chamber of commerce, but we do get a better flavor of where the money comes from - insurance interests, those who want tort reform and a business-friendly court, and manufacturers," she said.

Ohio Chamber spokesman Linda Wogan said those contributing to the campaign are not seeking quid pro quo from the all-Republican court in terms of future decisions.

"We never felt that way about the court, even when millions from trial lawyers were going into court races," she said. "The chamber has always felt that Ohio would be in a better position as a state if judges at that level were appointed. But if we're going to elect them, just like any other elected position, you give to those who support your philosophy. That's the American way."

Despite a recent court decision preventing the state from enforcing a portion of the law that prohibited the airing of such ads within 30 days of an election, Ms. Wogan said the chamber stopped the ads Oct. 4.

"We chose to stay out of the window," she said. "We were hesitant about drawing a complaint or lawsuit. We felt we'd been pretty pestered by lawsuits that we felt didn't have much merit, and we did not want to be put in the position again. We got our message across about the importance of the court."

Justice Stratton's assessment of the race in September was not that far off. The Worthington justice had raised $893,560 for her race through September. Justice O'Connor of Cleveland Heights had raised $723,184.

Many of the corporations giving to Partnership this year also have contributed directly to the justices' campaigns.

Both justices had individually raised about $2 million when they were last on the ballot six years ago.

By comparison, Judges Sikora and Russo, respectively, had raised $146,761 and $204,910.

Ms. Wogan said the apparent lack of organized support for the two Democrats may have played a role in why fewer dollars were raised by Partnership this year.

Contact Jim Provance at:
jprovance@theblade.com
or 614-221-0496.

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