By Spencer Hunt
Enquirer Columbus Bureau

COLUMBUS - Petitions to repeal part of the state's sales tax will be submitted to election officials today, setting off a high-stakes battle over government spending that could end in a November referendum.

Handing over the signatures of 140,000 Ohioans will be Ken Blackwell, the high-profile secretary of state from Cincinnati whose leadership of the repeal drive has alienated him from many fellow Republicans.

Blackwell, who wants to be elected governor in 2006, says majority Republicans in the General Assembly betrayed taxpayers by adopting a temporary penny-on-the-dollar tax hike in May to help eliminate a $4 billion budget deficit.

The increase in the state tax from 5 percent to 6 percent is expected to raise $2.6 billion before it expires on June 30, 2005.

"This was the largest tax increase in the state's history," Blackwell says. "There's no getting around that."

Republican Gov. Bob Taft, legislative leaders and just about everyone who gets a government paycheck or benefit is lining up against Blackwell.

Taft calls the repeal "reckless and irresponsible.'' Others say Blackwell cares more about his career than the critical government services thousands of Ohioans need.

"Blackwell keeps talking about cutting big government and cutting government spending," said Gayle Channing Tenenbaum, a lobbyist for the Public Children Services Association of Ohio.

"It's a lot different to go out and tell people - working people - that they're going to lose their child care and their health care," Tenenbaum said. "That's really what's at stake here."

Morris Butler, 78, a Hyde Park retiree, said it was wrong to increase the tax.

"If they don't have the money, they should cut back," Butler said. "I can't levy a tax on my neighbors when I can't pay my bills."

Christina Smith a 33-year-old Fairfield typist, says paying an extra penny on the dollar hasn't bothered her. "It's not a big enough increase for me to worry about."

Organized petition drive

While an extra penny on the dollar tax may not seem like much, Blackwell said it helped increase state spending by what he termed an unacceptable 9 percent over the previous two years to $48.8 billion.

Volunteers and paid signature takers organized by Blackwell have collected the signatures of more than 140,000 residents living in 50 of the state's 88 counties, according to Blackwell spokesman Gene Pierce. Blackwell needs a minimum 96,870 signatures from 44 counties to place the repeal before the General Assembly.

If lawmakers take no action by May, Blackwell says he will start another petition drive. This one would put the repeal directly before voters during the November presidential election.

A successful repeal at the polls means the sales tax would end roughly seven months early. Blackwell estimates that would save taxpayers between $650 million and $800 million.

Blackwell presumes a referendum in November, saying lawmakers "will probably thumb their noses at the 140,000-plus citizens who are asking them to reconsider."

Groups fighting repeal

In the meantime, a coalition of social service, education, senior citizen and government groups are mobilizing to combat Blackwell's repeal effort. One group called the Campaign to Protect Ohio's Future could publicly announce its plans as early as today.

Tenenbaum, one of the group's organizers, says the campaign's mission will be to warn Ohioans that repealing the tax would mean less money for schools, colleges, health care, day care, public libraries and city fire and police forces.

"This would put at great jeopardy the lives of very vulnerable people in Ohio," she said. Tenenbaum thinks Ohio voters would support keeping the tax, "once they understand the magnitude of what such a cut would mean."

Groups representing schools and teachers are warning that funding cuts would force more districts to ask voters to raise their local property taxes.

"It's highly likely that schools would get cut because education is the second largest portion of the budget," said Donna Boylan, a lobbyist for the Buckeye Association of School Administrators. "We probably have the least ability to handle that."

Tom Mooney, president of the Ohio Federation of Teachers, a union that represents more than 20,000 educators and school employees, said the 1-cent tax hike should remain until lawmakers and the governor find a better solution to budget problems.

Mooney thinks Blackwell's repeal may backfire and harm his campaign for governor, especially if a repeal would mean cuts to local government funding.

"I think he's going to see a lot of local Republican elected officials having to think long and hard about whether or not they can support this," Mooney said. "That's going to be hard."

Political implications

Blackwell faces competition within the Republican Party in a race for governor from Attorney General Jim Petro and Auditor Betty Montgomery. Taft cannot run for re-election in 2006.

Mooney said Blackwell's repeal is an attempt to position himself with the more conservative elements of the party to help win a three-way primary race.

"That's the game here," Mooney said. "We all know that."

Blackwell brushes aside those claims, saying that he has consistently fought higher taxes throughout his political career in Cincinnati and as an elected state officeholder. He opposed Gov. George Voinovich's proposed sales tax hike for schools in 1998 and took part in an unsuccessful effort to repeal Gov. Richard Celeste's income tax hike in 1983.

Blackwell said social service groups and educators exaggerate the impact of the repeal.

He said funding cuts should come only to those government programs that are proven to be inefficient or ineffective.

He said enough money could be cut in this fashion to put the state's finances in order.

"We are talking about shaving $650 million to $700 million off of a $24.8 billion (one-year) budget," Blackwell said. "That, in fact, translates to less than 3 percent."

Taft disagrees with that argument, saying painful changes would have to be made to nearly every major area of the budget to cut that much money in six months' time.

"It would be devastating for schools and devastating for higher education," Taft said.

Blackwell admits the upcoming debate will be tough, especially considering the political muscle lining up against him.

"Dick Celeste and the big government machine kicked our butts 20 years ago, but the ring is bigger and this boxer is smarter," Blackwell said. "If they think they've engaged someone who is going to cut and run, then they don't know my history."

Campaign at a glance

• The Ohio General Assembly increased the state sales tax from 5 percent to 6 percent in May as part of a two-year budget. The tax will generate $2.6 billion before it expires on June 30, 2005.

• Under state law, 96,870 signatures are needed to ask the General Assembly to repeal the tax increase.

• Citizens for Tax Repeal says it has collected more than 140,000 signatures.

• The request for repeal must be filed no less than 10 days before the start of the next General Assembly session.

• If the General Assembly doesn't respond within four months, supporters can begin another petition drive to put the repeal before voters in the Nov. 2 general election.

• Supporters have three months to collect another 96,870 signatures.

• If approved by a majority of the vote, the repeal would take effect in 30 days.

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E-mail shunt@enquirer.com