Comments on: Josh Mandel = Vice Chair, Ohio House Public Utilities Comm.

By: Jill

Jill — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 14:06:00 +0000

Daniel, again, I really appreciate the information from experience that you provide. Fascinating. Though it does make me feel more and more naive.

By: Daniel Jack Williamson

Daniel Jack Williamson — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 07:18:00 +0000

One needn’t have the corresponding committee assignment to get donations from White Hat. David Brennan sends out a questionnaire, like many endorsing PAC’s do, to legislative candidates. If the candidate answers the questionnaire the way that David Brennan favors and the opposing candidate does not, one becomes eligible for donations from White Hat connections. Thus, a David Brennan endorsement is decided by much the same methods used by Ohio Right to Life, or NARAL, or Planned Parenthood, or the Sierra Club of Ohio, or the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, or the Ohio Education Association, or the Ohio Civil Service Employees Association, or the NRA (to name a few).

By contrast, the PAC’s of the utility and insurance industries that donated thousands of dollars to the Democrat incumbent that I opposed in 2002 and 2004 never sent me any candidate questionnaires seeking my platform positions about issues relating to utilities or insurance. Their relationship with my opponent was so cozy that they freely donated to him without feeling any obligation to find out what I was about. Perhaps my opponent’s seat on those respective committees was mere coincidence. I tend to file the matter under the heading of “Things that make you go ‘Hmm!’” (hat tip to C & C Music Factory)

By: Jill

Jill — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 03:07:00 +0000

Okay Bill – so – how DO I get a handle on what’s going to happen to what’s in my mailbox? I know I need to always read your blog and email you the questions I think of.

But what else – what are red flags? I hate feeling so stupid about this, but what am I looking for, or for the absence of?

By: Jill

Jill — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 03:05:00 +0000

Thanks, Daniel – yes, I did a Money Tree search on Josh and one of the big insurance guys and sure enough, there was significant money. But then again, he got tens of thousands from White Hat connections and he’s not on anything that APPEARS to be related. So…I don’t know.

I’ll tell you one thing I remember: growing up, I recall always hearing that utility stocks were the best to buy because they were the most stable in earnings. I guess that’s still true.

By: Jill

Jill — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 03:03:00 +0000

Wendell I don’t know if mind horsetrading for stuff my district could use or that would benefit it, but there’s no evidence yet of any of that happening. Do you think he’s really going somewhere else – like Spada to BOE and Josh to Senate? I don’t know – I get the sense that Spada is NOT the frontrunner for the BOE, but I know NOTHING really about this particular beast.

By: Jill

Jill — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 03:01:00 +0000

Team Member – That seems to be a theme from other comments and other blog posts I’ve read, especially the last item in your comment re: this district is shifting away from red. I have to tell you, the absence of him in the journal and as a co-sponsor of ANYTHING in the house, for a guy who is supposed to be a bright spot for the GOP-led legislature, even to a neophyte like me, seems odd.

By: Bill Callahan

Bill Callahan — Sat, 17 Feb 2007 16:44:00 +0000

The previous comments are all correct, of course, though Wendell's point about horse trading begs the question of which constituents will get the horse, and which will get the horse puckey.

But the real meaning of Mandel's new job is that he now shares direct, personal responsibility for what happens to your electric and gas bills and your broadband video/Internet choices. He has become a decider, as the utility lobbyists and PACs will not forget.

Word is that First Energy and Co. will be hitting the General Assembly for major new legislation on the "electric deregulation" front this year (it's why they want Strickland to keep Schriber in the PUCO chair for a while). Young Josh will be in the thick of this... well, I hesitate to call it a "fight", it's more like a transaction. He'll also be one of the lobbyists' go-to guys for the upcoming, um, transaction on state video/broadband franchising.

I'm sure he sees this role as pure, golden upside. Of course if lots of voters (and Democrats) in the district were to start paying attention to what he's doing and how it's likely to affect the bills in your mailboxes, that could make young Josh's life considerably more complicated.

By: Daniel Jack Williamson

Daniel Jack Williamson — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 14:07:00 +0000

It works for the minority caucus, too. The incumbent I challenged in 2002 and 2004 received campaign donations from utility and insurance PACs, and he has held seats on those respective committees, too.

Continue your vigilance, Jill.

When re-election time comes, if there are utility and insurance PACs donating to the Mandel campaign, then there should be some red flags about pay-to-play politics.

By: Wendell

Wendell — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 13:34:00 +0000

Team Member is right on about the use of these committee assignments as “plums” for fundraising.
Beyond Public Utilities, Insurance will be a huge source for a campaign war chest.
Jill as for how this helps him represent your community and the issues facing you, Josh is seen as one of the few bright spots for the Ohio GOP in the last election cycle and the party is rewarding for this. Good committee assignments (and a vice chairmanship) will allow him to horse trade on votes for legislation that will help your district (…at least that’s how it’s supposed to work)

By: Team Member

Team Member — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 11:54:00 +0000

I am wondering if he got the Vice-Chair of the PUCO committee to help him raise money for his re-election campaign in two years? I don’t know your district, but I would imagine that he could be in danger because of the voting patterns in some of the east-side suburbs.