Wednesday, November 10, 1999
ENQUIRER EDITORIAL
Prosecutor allegations need outside investigation
Butler County is one of our region's economic green thumbs, sprouting jobs, new business, housing and high-tech companies. But trouble in the county prosecutor's office makes it look like a backwater stuck in shady politics of the past.
Prosecutor John Holcomb, who has held the job for 26 years, has amassed a campaign-fund “kitty” of $155,000 — thanks mostly to contributions from the people who work in his office.
He insists the contributions are legal. Mr. Holcomb says the money is used for various office expenses, including flowers and tickets to Reds games, Bengals games and Miami University sports — for employees.
“None of this money goes in my pocket,” he said. “It's for them, not for me. I never spent a red cent of it on myself.”
There's no law against county employees donating money to their boss — but some state lawmakers are considering proposing such a bill.
And such practices have been eliminated in most counties and in state and federal government, because they invite rank abuse of employees.
Indeed, stories in The Enquirer by reporter Janice Morse suggest that members of Mr. Holcomb's staff have been pressured to join a “2 percent club” that donates to his re-election kitty.
His extra-large war-chest has acted as candidate repellant. He has not been opposed for re-election since 1992.
And there are questions, also, about the deals that have been made with Republican Party officials to spare him an opponent if he would agree not to use his “kitty” against other Republicans.
Mr. Holcomb, the lone Democrat in county government, says he has been targeted by his enemies, including a Republican candidate for prosecutor who is a former employee, Robin Piper.
The prosecutor accuses Republicans of dirty politics and hints darkly that the whole county is corrupt. When asked last week about the possibility of a special prosecutor being appointed to investigate the campaign donations, Mr. Holcomb replied, “You ought to have the special prosecutor look at the whole damn county.”
That raises more questions.
• If Mr. Holcomb knows about some corruption that is or was going on, why doesn't he investigate and prosecute?
• Has Mr. Holcomb agreed not to prosecute because he wants political favors? Butler County Republican Party Chairman Carlos Todd said Mr. Holcomb threatened to make things happen politically or through the courts to Republicans ... unless Mr. Todd would withdraw an opponent in the 2000 election.
The finger pointing and grudges are harder to follow than family feuds among professional wrestlers. But the whole mess makes Butler County look terrible.
The prosecutor cannot be expected to investigate himself fairly. Some outside agency — a special prosecutor or the Ohio Attorney General's Office — should be requested to investigate immediately.
There have been too many accusations to ignore. If Mr. Holcomb has nothing to fear, he should welcome an investigation to clear his name.
If county officials resist such an investigation, voters will justifiably assume they are trying to cover up the corruption that Mr. Holcomb says has infested county government.
For the sake of public accountability, credibility and trust, an independent investigation is needed to find out if any laws or ethical standards have been violated.
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