BY SANDY THEIS and JANICE MORSE
The Cincinnati Enquirer
COLUMBUS -- Richard Cordray, the Democratic candidate for attorney general, outlined his plan Wednesday for converting the troubled private prison in Youngstown into a state-run penitentiary.
He called on Ohio Attorney General Betty Montgomery to bring a nuisance suit to shut down the facility. Once closed, he said, Ohio should use its eminent-domain power to take over the prison, where six men escaped Saturday.
Five have been returned, but one remains at large.
By converting the prison to a state-run center, public safety -- not private profits -- would be the prison's top concern, he said. "Betty Montgomery has been missing in action on this important public safety issue," he said at a news conference. He attributed her relative silence to a fear of criticizing Republican lawmakers who resisted efforts to impose new controls on the facility earlier this year.
Gov. George Voinovich, a past supporter of private prisons, asked Ms. Montgomery on Monday for legal advice on ways to shut down Northeast Ohio Correctional Center.
Chris Davey, a spokesman for Ms. Montgomery, said she is reviewing a number of legal options. A response is expected by week's end. "These are answers that only can be gotten by rolling up your sleeves and looking at the law books," Mr. Davey said.
In a letter sent Tuesday, State Sen. Robert Hagan, D-Youngstown, accused the Republican governor of playing politics. He dubbed Mr. Voinovich's call to close the prison a "callous attempt to generate votes for your Senate candidacy. . . ."
Other Democrats are seizing the issue as well.
Gubernatorial candidate Lee Fisher called for the prison to close and for the Nashville-based company that operates it to reimburse local officials for escape-related costs.
His GOP rival, Bob Taft, supports private prisons and believes it is too early to rule them out.
Mike Dawson, a spokesman for the governor, suggested both parties keep politics out of the debate.
He noted that Youngstown officials wanted the prison for the jobs it created, but grew frustrated with the violence that seems to plague the facility.
Yet Democratic political analyst Greg Haas said private prisons are an issue that clearly divides the two parties this campaign season.
Democrats and organized labor traditionally have opposed privatizing public functions. Republicans, however, have launched successful efforts to privatize everything from liquor stores to some public schools.
"In this case, the issue is emotional, it's clear-cut and it shows the risks involved when you're dealing with public safety," he said.
Meanwhile, Peter Davis, executive director of the Correctional Institution Inspection Committee, hopes to moderate the debate. For him, the issues boil down to this:
"What's wrong with this particular place and how it's been operating during its bleak 14-month history? And second, what does this say about the future of private prisons in Ohio -- period."
