Fitrakis Certified As Independent Ohio Governor Candidate

Columbus, OH — It is now official. Bob Fitrakis, the lawyer, journalist and college professor who helped to lead the fight against the stolen Ohio election in 2004 has been formally certified as a Green Party candidate for governor in Ohio's November 7 election. He joins Democratic Congressman Ted Strickland, Republican Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell, and Libertarian economist Bill Peirce in the race to replace the current Republican governor and convicted criminal Robert Taft, who is not eligible for re-election. More on the Fitrakis campaign can be found on his campaign website and blog.

"Secretary Blackwell and all candidates in Ohio should respect the voters," said Dr. Fitrakis, when informed that 4,496 certified signatures from Franklin County, 566 signatures from Montgomery County, and 865 signatures in Cuyahoga County put him well over the 5,000 certified signatures needed to be a certified Ohio gubernatorial candidate, with 85 county certification processes not yet available.

"I plan to win this election by convincing the people of Ohio that we can hold our heads high again by removing the disgraceful culture of corruption that both the Democrats and Republicans have wallowed in for too many years. Independent and third party candidates have served recently as governors in Connecticut, Maine and Minnesota, and Ohio will soon be added to that list."

"Going way beyond election fraud," he continued, "we hard-working Ohioans have seen our tax dollars and our trust in government squandered in a thousand ways. Working class Americans deserve a living wage, secure pensions, universal healthcare, and a sustainable planet."

Judith Powell, a longtime African American community activist in Columbus who has been volunteering for the Fitrakis campaign said, "Folks are frustrated and don't know what to do. Well, they can get on our band wagon and vote for Dr. Fitrakis for Governor in November. This is our turn to join together and STOP DOING BUSINESS AS USUAL! Mr. Blackwell, just because a person says they are faith based, doesn't mean they are serving the Lord above. And Rep. Strickland, why were you missing in action for all of our Voter Suppression Hearings, even though thousands of votes were not counted? You only showed up when Congressman John Conyers came to Columbus. It was Dr. Fitrakis who took the lead to challenge the stolen election."

Looking back at American history, Fitrakis said, "Some people forget that the Republican Party was itself a third party that emerged in the 1850s when the Democrats and Whigs did not sufficiently oppose slavery. Americans took a leap of faith in 1860 to elect Abraham Lincoln from that untested third party, and their trust was justified. Seeing how bad the corruption has become in the Buckeye State, I believe that Ohioans will make a similar leap of faith when they elect their first Green governor in November."

Speaking to supporters in his Columbus hometown, Fitrakis said, "I would like to thank the thousands of people who signed my petitions and the many volunteers who helped us to successfully complete the first phase of the campaign. I also want to thank Anita Rios and Tim Kettler, who also helped to expose the stolen election in 2004, and who are running for Lt. Governor and Secretary of State to clean up the fraud from Ohio's electoral processes."

Now that he is an official candidate for governor, Dr. Fitrakis plans to attend all scheduled debates, speak at all official candidate forums, and monitor the voting process so that the 2006 election cannot be stolen again by Mr. Blackwell and his cronies.

"I urge every voter to go to my website at www.bobforohio.com and my blog at www.fraudbusterbob.com to read about my campaign before making up their minds," said Fitrakis. "We welcome all voters, no matter what your current party affiliation, and plan to have a cabinet that welcomes principled civil servants of all parties once we are elected in November. Those who cling to the old, rotten system are going to go down with the ship. Those who want to be part of a new, fraud-free Ohio that is run by, for and with the people of our great state should get on board this campaign now."