BY SANDY THEIS
Enquirer Columbus Bureau
COLUMBUS -- After a week marred by the resignation of his No. 1 staffer and the loss of a major endorsement, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Lee Fisher turned to a familiar topic to help get his campaign back on track.
He announced a plan Wednesday that would help local governments save money by allowing them to buy into the state employee health plans.
"It is a great way to provide affordable insurance to a large number of people," Mr. Fisher told a news conference.
His program is modeled after a Connecticut plan saving municipalities about 30 percent, according to a recent survey provided by campaign staffers.
Despite the new initiative, a glum Mr. Fisher quickly found himself fielding a series of questions about this week's campaign setbacks.
Among them: the Fraternal Order of Police's (FOP) decision to endorse Republican Bob Taft and his running mate, Summit County Prosecutor Maureen O'Connor.
During the screening process, a panel of FOP members questioned the candidates on their positions on the death penalty. Rather than offer his support for the death penalty, Fisher running mate Michael Coleman reportedly said he believes what Mr. Fisher believes. But he did not explain his own position to the satisfaction of some delegates.
Both were asked to explain why black men are disproportionately represented on death row. In Ohio, there are 94 black men, 5 Hispanics and 87 white men on death row, yet African-Americans account for about 12 percent of the state's total population.
Mr. Coleman, an African-American, said he thinks justice is administered fairly. He and Mr. Fisher both attributed the trend to economics.
"When you don't have an opportunity for a job or an opportunity for a good education . . it increases the likelihood that the only path available is crime," Mr. Fisher said.
Mr. Coleman, surrounded by reporters, initially declined to say whether he thought the criminal justice system, not just socioeconomics, contributed to the high percentage of African-Americans on death row.
"I can't separate the two," he finally said. "You end up in the judicial system because of society."
Mr. Fisher used to oppose the death penalty, but changed his mind in the late 1980s, citing the increase in violent crime.
He and Mr. Taft now have the same position, and apparently share the same view of why the death row population is predominantly African-American.
"We're not sociologists, but it doesn't take a college professor to tell you that the No. 1 root of crime is education, and that's why Bob has made education a primary focus of this campaign," said Brett Buerck, Mr. Taft's spokesman.
Mr. Buerck called the health care proposal "an interesting idea but one that obviously was rushed out to salvage a terrible week."
On Monday, Mr. Fisher's campaign manager, Robert Richman, announced he was resigning for personal reasons. On Tuesday, Mr. Taft received the FOP's endorsement.
On Wednesday, the government watchdog group Common Cause called on Mr. Fisher to return money raised during a 12-day window that he contends allows him to receive unlimited donations from organized labor.
