Taft Ethics Conviction is Ohio's Top 2005 Story
By Joe Danborn
Gov. Bob Taft's lowest point, a conviction on ethics charges, topped the list of the state's most noteworthy stories of 2005, beating out the heavy casualties of an Ohio Marines battalion. Taft's plummet — from scion of the state's most prominent political family to first Ohio governor convicted of a crime — also trumped investigations into investments by the state's insurance fund for injured workers, which was third in the rankings by Ohio Associated Press newspaper editors and broadcasters.
Taft, who had declared high ethical standards a hallmark of his administration and had fired subordinates for ethics violations, immediately said he would not resign. |
Taft, serving his second four-year term, pleaded no contest in August to failing to report 52 gifts worth nearly $6,000 that he received over four years. Franklin County Municipal Judge Mark Froehlich found him guilty, fined him $4,000 and ordered him to send e-mail messages to Ohio newspapers and state employees apologizing for his behavior.
"The court of public opinion and the court of history have already and will in the future continue to impose a far greater punishment than what I can impose on you today," Froehlich told the Republican governor.
Taft, who had declared high ethical standards a hallmark of his administration and had fired subordinates for ethics violations, immediately said he would not resign.
"I will continue to do the job to which I have been elected by the people of the state of Ohio," he said.
An October poll showed Taft's approval rating at 15 percent, and Time magazine last month named him one of the country's three worst governors.
The case against Taft spiraled off a scandal over state losses from investments in rare coins and other funds. In October, federal prosecutors accused Toledo-area coin dealer Tom Noe of funneling $45,400 in illegal contributions to President Bush's re-election bid. He has pleaded innocent.
Noe, a prominent Republican fundraiser and political appointee, has acknowledged that up to $13 million is missing from a $50 million coin fund that he handled for the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation. Ohio attorney general Jim Petro has accused him of stealing as much as $6 million but no charges have been filed so far.
As the scandal unfolded, Republicans from President Bush to the local level rushed to return or donate to charity contributions they got from Noe.
"The man knows everybody," said Republican Larry Kaczala, the Lucas County auditor. "He's one degree of separation from everybody in the state."
