(Columbus) - Despite his constant Wall Street bashing, Ohio Governor Ted Strickland took nearly $1.5 million in campaign contributions from Wall Street and the financial industry, even taking $25,000 from the founding family of Lehman Brothers while including the investment firm and its successor company in billions of dollars worth of state bond business, Republican leaders revealed today.
Ohio Republican Party Chairman Kevin DeWine was joined at a news conference by Ohio Senate President Bill Harris and Ohio House Republican Leader Bill Batchelder.
"It turns out that in addition to being a great critic of the financial industry, Ted Strickland is also a great beneficiary of it," DeWine told reporters, adding that Strickland went as far as to give Lehman Brothers a bond deal just one month before the company declared bankruptcy. He also gave Lehman's successor, Barclays Capital, another bond deal a month after Lehman went bankrupt and then gave them another deal just two weeks after criticizing his opponent for working at the company.
"Ted Strickland claims to be for Ohio values," DeWine said. "I would argue that hypocrisy is not an Ohio value. At the same time he's pointing a finger of blame at Wall Street, he's pocketing their campaign contributions, and he certainly had no problem including them in billions of dollars worth of state bond business in return."
"It's worth noting that the campaign didn't actually refute any of our accusations in their response," added DeWine. "I'll take that as an admission of guilt. I suspect Ted Strickland knew we would uncover this information, and that's why he's been desperately trying to pin it on his opponent instead. It's time to come clean and start talking about the serious issues facing our state."
DeWine was joined today by House Republican Leader Bill Batchelder and Ohio Senate President Bill Harris.
"When you sit across the table from someone, as I've done for the past three years with Ted Strickland, you need to be able to trust them, to believe that what they tell you is true and that who they claim to be is who they really are," Sen. Harris said. "Over time, I've come to realize that there's a difference between who Ted Strickland wants us to think he is and who he really is."
Rep. Batchelder added, "I don't care if Ted Strickland takes money from Wall Street or the financial services industry. It's a major industry in this state and an essential industry for our economy. What I reject is his hypocrisy."
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