from the email inbox:

All Children Matter
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: GREG BROCK
616-776-5440

August 13, 2007

Statement regarding Ohio Secretary of State’s complaint against All Children Matter Ohio PAC and inaccuracies in the Columbus Dispatch reporting on the issue

All Children Matter (ACM) Ohio PAC is an organization dedicated to the election of public officials who are committed to the enactment of meaningful reforms to ensure that all children in Ohio – without regard to race or family income – have equal access to a quality education.

On April 4, 2007, the Ohio Elections Commission informed ACM-Ohio that it had been referred to the Commission for an alleged violation of Ohio’s campaign finance laws as they apply to transfers between ACM-affiliated PACs in Virginia and Ohio. This allegation ACM-Ohio flatly denies.

Ohio statute is very clear that unlimited transfers between affiliated political action committees are legal. Ohio Rev. Code § 3517.102(C)(7). Therefore, transfers between ACM-Ohio and its affiliated PAC in Virginia were completely compliant with Ohio law.

Transfers between Ohio-registered PACs and their out-of-state affiliates are routine. In fact, numerous union-affiliated PACs have performed similar transfers without drawing the ire of the Ohio Secretary of State. The Secretary of State’s office has failed to explain why it selected ACM – Ohio for its complaint but is choosing not to target these other Ohio PACs with its complaint.

New complaints were filed last week with the Ohio Elections Commission against three Ohio organizations to demonstrate the double standard being applied by the Ohio Secretary of State. Complaints reciting these various groups’ unlimited transfers between PACs and their apparent affiliates were filed against the United Auto Workers Ohio State PAC, America Votes for Working Families 2006 and the Communications Workers of America Ohio Legislative Action Committee. Several of the sources of transfers of funds to the Ohio PACs named in the complaints are organizations which are completely unregistered and unregulated. Copies of the complaint are available upon request.

Finally, in its August 12, 2007, report on the complaint, the Columbus Dispatch appears to state that ACM has been involved in Ohio campaigns prior to 2006. This is completely erroneous. ACM did not support or oppose any candidates in Ohio prior to 2006, nor did ACM make any expenditures in Ohio elections prior to 2006.

ACM-Ohio looks forward to the opportunity to present the facts and the law to the Ohio Elections Commission in due course. ACM-Ohio is confident that, upon consideration of the facts and Ohio election law, the complaint will be found to be completely meritless.

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ACM filed this complaint against those unions to highlight the double standard Brunner is using:

This attack by SoS Brunner is simply an effort to pander to teacher unions by cracking down on school choice. Brennan, for any faults he may have, has done incredible work to dismantle the union’s stranglehold on your childrens’ education, and improving the chances children will receive an higher quality education by exposing the education system to market forces. But when parents and students and pick schools, that limits the political power of teachers unions, who exclusively support Democrats. I’m glad ACM is throwing this back in Brunner’s face to expose her hypocrisy.

And if you think the Columbus Dispatch is objective, you should hear their podcast about charter schools, which is as unbiased as something the NEA might produce. These guys are news reporters and not public school lobbyists, right?