Ohio Supports Getting Big Money Out of Politics
By Ellen Greene Bush, American Promise Ohio Volunteer
“Dark money has no place in our democracy. The beauty of our Constitution is that it states a more perfect union is formed when justice is established and people are prioritized,” wrote Victoria Parks, recently elected city council member. Indeed, the arrests and indictments in 2020 of several Cincinnati council members were a scandal for the city government in Cincinnati and have led to an erosion of public trust.
According to a report by the National Civic League, corruption is higher when political incentives, such as campaign contributions, can be exchanged for favors; when penalties for corruption are not enforced; and when people trying to unethically influence officials know they will be successful. As Jaime Castle, a candidate who did not win the election, says: “For too long our leaders have ignored the constituents they are supposed to serve and protect by accepting big money from special interests groups that harm us and stifles progress.” This is the current state of big and dark money in Cincinnati, Ohio, and the country.
This summer a local team from American Promise Ohio (Marjorie Fox, Lou Camblin, and David McDiarmid) worked in Cincinnati to build support for getting unlimited and hidden money out of elections and policy decisions. American Promise Ohio received pledges from 17 of the 35 people running for the nine seats on the Cincinnati city council, 6 of whom won seats. The pledge calls for a federal constitutional amendment to curb financial corruption and once again bring campaign reform under the control of the states.
American Promise is a cross-partisan organization and so is this group of candidates. The list includes one Republican-endorsed candidate, five endorsed by the Charter Committee, six who are on the Democratic slate, four Democrats who the party chose not to endorse, and three independents. Newly elected Mayor Aftab Pureval and former opponent David Mann also signed the American Promise pledge prior to the May primary.
It’s time to name the names. Incumbents Steve Goodin and Greg Landsman signed the pledge as well as newly elected officials Jeff Cramerding, Victoria Parks, Reggie Harris, and Mark Jeffreys. Candidates who didn’t win seats but signed the American Promise Pledge are Jaime Castle, Michelle Dillingham, Jackie Frondorf, Brian Garry, Galen G. Gordon, Kurt Grossman, K.A. Heard, Evan C. Holt, Andrew Kennedy, Jim Tarbell, and John Williams. These candidates and newly elected officials realize that bringing corruption to an end demands action at the federal level. As Even C. Holt wrote “Cincinnati’s city government has earned itself a national reputation for being corrupt due to continual back-door deals with developers. This is not just a one-time occurrence; this is a culture of corruption. It’s absolutely disgraceful and must be changed.”
For our democratic republic to survive, citizens need a full accounting of the people and corporations seeking to influence public officials and policies. As Steve Goodin said, “I am proud to support the American Promise pledge to get so-called ‘dark money’ out of politics. Voters should be able to see who gives money to which candidates — period. Transparency is the ultimate solution.”
Twenty-two states have passed non-binding resolutions to ratify the constitutional amendment but Ohio is not one of them. American Promise Ohio wants to be ready to ratify when Congress passes the constitutional amendment. We are building a grassroots movement to make this happen in Ohio, and a huge part of that is electing federal, state, and city officials who support this important democracy effort. Not only are these recently elected Cincinnati city council members and candidates looking to clean up municipal government, but they have the foresight to see the bigger picture.
American Promise Ohio believes that all candidates for every office — federal, statewide, and local — must support a constitutional amendment to put an end to political inequality. If candidates support this, they deserve our votes. We want citizens to govern, not money.
