BY SANDY THEIS
Enquirer Columbus Bureau
COLUMBUS -- Despite two Republican-written laws designed to restrict the amount labor unions can donate to statewide candidates, Democrats say they have discovered a 12-day window that allows unions to send them unlimited funds.
A top aide to Lee Fisher, the Democratic candidate for Ohio governor, confirmed that Mr. Fisher has received some money during the period, which ends Monday, and is urging unions to give to other Democratic Party candidates and causes.
But an aide to Republican candidate Bob Taft insists that Mr. Fisher is misreading the law, and hinted that the Taft campaign will file a formal complaint with the Ohio Elections Commission.
Both sides appear to agree on one key point: The case hinges on whether a stay granted by the 10th District Court of Appeals remains in place or has been lifted.
In March, the appeals court handed labor unions a major victory when it struck down provisions of a 1995 state law that restricted the use of union dues for political contributions. Ohio Attorney General Betty Montgomery appealed and got a stay.
On July 1, the Ohio Supreme Court refused to hear the case.
Attorney general spokesman Chris Davey contends that the stay remains in place because the appeals court has not lifted it.
Alan Melamed, a lawyer and Mr. Fisher's campaign manager, disagreed. He noted that the court order specifically states that the stay will be in effect "until such time as the Supreme Court determines the appeal or refuses to accept the appeal."
Democrats have long insisted that the 1995 campaign finance law was an attempt to diminish the clout of unions, a traditional big-money source for Democrats. The appeals court said the law violated labor's right to free speech but left intact companion provisions that limit the amounts individuals and political action committees can give to statewide and legislative candidates.
Immediately after the appellate court struck down the provisions dealing with labor, the Republican-controlled General Assembly passed a law designed to limit the amount that labor unions can donate. But that law does not take effect until Monday.
Democrats argue that unions can give unlimited money from July 1 to July 13, the effective date of the new restrictions.
Brian Hicks, Mr. Taft's campaign manager, noted that both political parties agreed on the need for campaign finance reform, and the need to limit the influence of special interests, such as labor. Yet Ohio Democratic Party Chairman David Leland pointed out that the Republican General Assembly, the Republican governor and Secretary of State Taft -- also a Republican -- have taken credit for passing the campaign finance restrictions.
"We're doing the best we can to follow the campaign finance law du jour," Mr. Leland said. "It's been ruled unconstitutional, abused, discarded and rewritten."
