Sunday, February 13, 2000
Chamber goes to bat in high court race
CAPITOL INSIDER
BY MICHAEL HAWTHORNE
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The Ohio Chamber of Commerce's ranking of Ohio Supreme Court justices won't appear as a contribution to the campaign of Republican Terrence O'Donnell. But it clearly was designed to have the same effect.
Judicial canons prohibit candidates for the bench from discussing specific cases. So it's up to the Chamber and other interest groups to do the job for them.
In this case, the Chamber's survey was designed to measure how friendly the seven justices are on business-related cases before the court.
Lo and behold, Justice Alice Robie Resnick happens to get the worst rating from the Chamber. She is running for re-election against Judge O'Donnell, an appellate judge from Cleveland.
Business and insurance interests have made no secret that they're gunning for Justice Resnick, author of a decision last year that struck down limits on damage awards in personal injury and medical malpractice lawsuits.
Labor unions and trial lawyers are waging similar battles on behalf of Justice Resnick.
The Chamber's Web site asks, “Are the scales of justice tilting against a strong economy? You be the judge.” A more appropriate headline would be, “Memo to campaign contributors who haven't figured it out yet: Don't support Justice Resnick!”
Bill Bradley is rolling out another pal from the basketball world to be honorary chairman of his Ohio campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Oscar Robertson, the former University of Cincinnati and Cincinnati Royals star, is expected to be officially named to the post later this week.
Like the Big O, Mr. Bradley was a college star in the 1960s before enjoying a successful National Basketball Association career. Mr. Robertson was an early supporter of Mr. Bradley's presidential bid, and was one of the featured speakers last year at a Madison Square Garden fund-raiser for the former New Jersey senator.
(No wonder Republican Gov. Bob Taft didn't tap Mr. Robertson last year for an open spot on the UC Board of Trustees. Those coveted spots usually go to party loyalists.)
Mr. Robertson's more official role comes as the Bradley campaign continues airing a TV spot in Cincinnati, Columbus and Cleveland featuring another basketball legend: Michael Jordan.
It marks the first time Mr. Jordan has made a foray into politics. But it's unclear if the wildly popular pitchman for everything from Gatorade to MCI/World.com will boost Mr. Bradley's campaign against Vice President Al Gore.
Senate President Richard Finan, R-Evendale, wants folks to stop whining about the cost of the new Bengals and Reds stadiums and envision what would have happened if public officials didn't support the projects.
The Bengals, Mr. Finan wrote in his weekly column, “are prepared to begin their second season in the new NFL stadium in Cleveland.” And the Reds are now owned by “a group of investors from Charlotte, N.C., who are seeking to move the team to that city just as soon as Charlotte's new stadium is finished.”
“So what would be happening in the newspapers, at the television stations and on the talk radio shows in Hamilton County?” Mr. Finan asks. “There would be you-know-what to pay!”
Maybe Mr. Finan is trying to prepare supporters of other projects seeking state money to be disappointed, since money for the stadiums is expected to consume most of the area's share of state capital funds this year.
Or maybe he's just previewing a campaign commercial for Hamilton County Commissioner Bob Bedinghaus, a fellow Republican and stadium backer who is up for re-election in November.
Michael Hawthorne covers state government for The Cincinnati Enquirer. He can be reached at (614) 224-4640.
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