More Fuel for the OH20 Fire - Nancy and Newt

Update 05/08/2008- A lot of folks are getting this post in particular when searching for info on the OH-20 race. Garland supporters immediately disputed the below info (see comments). Although I had already checked the contributions against APTA's expenditures on those dates, I did a more thorough search of the FEC records after receiving the comments below. There is, in fact, a record of an APTA contribution to Monday Morning for an identical amount in a different month's report. There are several contribution to RNSEC listed by APTA in that cycle, which do not exactly match in time or amount with the contributions reported by RNSEC purportedly from Nancy Garland, but I find it parsimonious to assume that the contributions I highlight below were in fact actually made by APTA as claimed by the commenter, and merely delivered by Ms. Garland in her role as lobbyist. I have left the post intact so as not to re-write history, and I explained all of this in a separate post the next day.

This is one of the races that has caused me to sit out the primary season. On the one hand, Bev Campbell is not an ideal candidate. On paper, some might say she's not even a very good candidate. Her opponent Nancy Garland has the support of the local party, which should count for something, and also gives one hope that the party might actually put some resources into the race this time around.

On the other hand, Bev Campbell knows the district very well, and ran a campaign that almost took out a Republican incumbent with little or no institutional support. When she called for a recount, she did it in a targeted way, and handled the negative outcome in a professional manner. She has also been a long-time commenter and supporter of Blue Bexley.

I was leaning toward coming out and making a statement in support of Bev today, but then I got her mailer this weekend. The Campbell campaign accuses Ms. Garland of using her position as director of the Ohio Physical Therapy Association to support Republicans. It puts the evidence next to an unflattering candid photo of her opponent. I thought the piece was a little too ugly, and I was leaning toward keeping my mouth shut again.

Then I got the FCDP and Garland response:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

As the Executive Director of the Ohio Physical Therapy Association (OPTA), Nancy Garland's role is to work on behalf of the Association's 2,400 members and all physical therapists across the state of Ohio. As part of this effort, OPTA has contributed money to Democrats and Republicans as the Association has worked for Direct Access legislation and other initiatives to simplify the health care system and to enable patients to get the care they need. During a time when the House and Senate were controlled by Republicans, it was imperative that OPTA work with members of both parties to ensure their voice was heard.

OPTA made contributions totaling $4,250 to the following Democratic campaigns overthe past 3 years:

1. Friends of CJ Prentiss
2. Committee for Joyce Beatty
3. Teresa Fedor for Senate Campaign
4. Friends of Driehaus Committee
5. Chris Redfern 2006
6. Ohio House Democratic Caucus Fund
7. Friends of Dale Miller
8. Ohio Democratic Party
9. Citizens with Celeste
10. Tom Sawyer Senate Committee

Garland did not make the above contributions, OPTA Political Action Committee did. To say otherwise, would be false and misleading. Nancy Garland wants to make it clear in the strongest language possible that she is a committed Democrat and that OPTA's contributions to Republican candidates were not done on her behalf, but on behalf of the physical therapists and patients that OPTA represents. (emphasis added)

As the endorsed Franklin County Democratic Party candidate, Garland is the unanimous choice by the Franklin County Democratic Party's Screening Committee to represent Ohio's 20^th District.

"Nancy Garland is a loyal Democrat who has been working to help the party for 37years. From her days on Capitol Hill as a staffer to Congressman Hightower and through her work as an advocate for the Physical Therapists, Nancy has been committed to fighting for the principles of the Democratic Party. The Franklin County Democratic Party fully supports Nancy Garland as our Candidate for State Representative in the 20^th House district," said Chairman of the Franklin County Democratic Party Bill Anthony.

To me, that's a little to strong of a response given the record. Ms. Garland may not have made a personal contribution to Husted, MacGregor, et al., but at the federal level, she has made multiple large contributions to the Republican National State Elections Committee, and a 4-figure contribution to Newt Gingrich's Monday Morning PAC. These contributions were not made by the American Physical Therapy Association, they were made by Nancy Garland (click photo to enlarge).

I'm not endorsing in this contest (or any other for that matter). I'm personally voting for Bev Campbell because she has worked hard for my vote. While I can certainly understand a vote for Nancy Garland, it wouldn't appear that it should be based on a supposed 37 year commitment to the Democratic Party.