Noe, Ney scandals keep ethics issues in focus

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But analysts say the major issue for voters remains the war in Iraq.

COLUMBUS (AP) — The sentencing of heavyweight fundraiser Tom Noe and the guilty-plea agreement by U.S. Rep. Bob Ney, both Republicans, won't bring major changes to the statewide campaign strategies of either party, officials and others say.

Count on ethics to remain a major issue for Democrats, using Ney, Noe and Republican Gov. Bob Taft as targets, but they cannot count on that issue alone to win back state offices they've been shut out of for at least 12 years, said Athens County Democratic Chairwoman Susan Gwinn, who also is president of her party's county chairs.

Republicans acknowledge the woes of Ney and Noe make it tougher to get their message through, but they must make voters realize that the pair are not on the ballot and turn the focus on who is running, said Ohio GOP spokesman John McClelland.

"We've said all along this is going to be a tough election year for Republicans, but we're not going to sit here and let people who are not on the ballot interfere with our jobs," McClelland said.

About Noe, Ney, Taft

On Friday, the U.S. Justice Department announced Ney would plead guilty to two criminal charges in the congressional corruption probe spawned by disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Ney faces more than two years in prison.

On Tuesday, a federal judge sentenced Noe to two years and three months in prison for illegally funneling $45,000 to President Bush's re-election campaign. Noe also faces theft and other charges because of shortfalls in a $50 million rare-coin investment he handled for the state.

Taft, who cannot seek re-election because of term limits, last year pleaded no contest to four charges of failing to report golf outings and other trips discovered during the Noe investigation.

Assigning blame for corruption works "only if it ties in directly with a politician," said Bruce Newman, a professor of marketing at DePaul University who studies voter behavior. The war in Iraq and President Bush's handling of it is foremost on voters' minds, even in a statewide race, Newman said.

"I think they're going to have difficulty if they don't focus on the central issue in the country today, and that's our position in Iraq," Newman said.

Ney's replacement

Republican Joy Padgett, the party-backed state senator who will replace Ney on the Nov. 7 ballot, is understandably eager to put the Ney episode behind her. She won the spot easily in a special GOP primary Thursday. She faces Democrat Zack Space, a city law director in Dover.

"Voters are not interested in the politics of negativity and personal destruction. They responded to my positive vision of leadership with integrity, boldness and a clear plan for the betterment of our district," Padgett said in a statement.

Sunday, September 17, 2006