Posted by amyers68 on 06/18/09
Last updated 06/22/09

UPDATE:

Sen. Bob Schuler, a longtime veteran of the legislature and one of the co-sponsors of SCR-13, died Friday night at home after a long battle with cancer. Senate President Bill Harris canceled Tuesday's session so members and staff can attend funeral services and consequently all committee hearings have been canceled as well.

Our thoughts go out to Senator Schuler's family.

We expect the hearing will be rescheduled soon and will keep you updated. Our apologies for any inconvenience.

SCR-13 is scheduled to be heard on Tuesday, June 23rd by the Senate State & Local Government & Veterans Affairs Committee. This will be the second hearing in the last two weeks, so things are moving very quickly. This time, the committee will allow proponent testimony, and public testimony will be allowed!

Ohio State House
77 S. High St., Columbus, OH 43215
South Hearing Rm., 10:00 am

Please contact members of the committee here and request their support of SCR-13, or you may use SLAM or State Liberty Action Mailer here. If you can make it to Columbus, your support is greatly needed! And if you wish to testify, all the better!

SPREAD THE WORD!!

WHAT TO KNOW:

1. If giving a testimony, please BRING 3O COPIES for the committee members.

2. Be sure to sign your name when you arrive and indicate whether you intend to testify. Sign-up sheets are available at all meetings.

3. The Chairman will announce when a particular bill is coming before the committee for discussion. The bill's sponsor is usually the first to speak. After his testimony, the Chairman then may ask for testimony from proponents and opponents.

4. All testimony and committee discussion must be addressed through the Chairman.

5. Begin your testimony by addressing the Chairman and committee members. State your name, address, and why you are there. For example: "Mr. Chairman Hughes, members of the Committee, my name is Pat Q. Public and I'm from Columbus. I am in favor of this bill because...."

6. Be courteous and brief in your language and address. Try not to repeat testimony offered by previous witnesses. Be prepared to answer questions. Respond to the questions as best you can. You need not be embarrassed if you do not have a specific answer.

7. Do not be nervous as there is no right or wrong way to testify. Legislators are your friends and neighbors elected to represent you -- they want to hear what you have to say.

8. Demonstrations, applause, or addressing committee members or other witnesses in the audience are prohibited.

http://www.ohiofreedom.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3313

Posted by amyers68 on 03/30/09

We request you give this the widest dissemination

OpEd: March 30, 2009

Steve Austria doomed to defeat

            It's never too early to face the facts, not to mention plan for their consequences, and the simple truth is that Steve Austria will be gone from Congress no later than 2012.  The reason; after the 2010 census, Ohio will lose two congressional seats and the 7^th Congressional District will be carved up to protect more senior incumbents from both parties.  Here's why you can take that to the bank.

            Ohio is dying -- that is reflected in the fact that since 1980 we have lost five Congressional House seats.  As those seats drop off the electoral map, the competition for the decreasing number of voters becomes keener and the preferred method of competing is to make promises you can't keep, including earmarks and spending for your constituents, but more important, for special interest campaign contributors.  Because there's only so much campaign cash to go around, fund-raising has become a ruthless science based on deception and fear mongering.  Although it won't do Steve Austria and his lobbyist spouse any good in the long run, here's how they came to power, which also explains why they will be irrelevant at the turn of the decade. 

            Both Steve and Eileen Austria sat on the Dayton Development Coalition Wright Patt 2010 Advisory Committee, Steve as a State Senator and Eileen as Dave Hobson's District Director, and as such, rubbed elbows with Miami Valley 's most wealthy and influential "kingmakers."  Since Dayton is dying faster than the rest of south-central Ohio , the powerful elitists in Montgomery County thought it was only fair they redistribute Greene County wealth among the Coalition's inner circle.  Although the double dealing is wide and deep, the 2003-2006 $1.9 million taxpayer-funded BRAC Initiative Agreement provides us with the most flagrant and transparent example of "pay-to-play" politics.  Steve and Eileen Austria as well as Greene County elected officials were willing participants because that guaranteed political success, at least for the short term.

            Briefly, here's the money trail that starts with Greene County and Ohio taxpayers and ends with Dave Hobson, Steve Austria and other elected officials after it is money-laundered through the Coalition.  In 2003 Greene County Commissioners awarded $1.9 million to the Dayton Development Coalition to protect existing jobs and attract others to Wright Patterson AFB.  The Coalition in turn hired the Greentree Group in Beavercreek , Washington lobbyist PMA Group and other high priced consultants who had passed through the revolving door from the Department of Defense to the private sector.  For example, IRS public disclosures indicate that the Coalition President and CEO, a former Air Force officer and close friend of the Austrias , received more than $500,000 in compensation in 2005 and 2006, the last two years of the BRAC contract.  According to www.fec.gov and the Greene County Board of Elections, he in turn contributed thousands to Hobson , Austria and other elected officials in Greene County .  The list goes on and on.  Greentree associates and their families have contributed over $50,000 to Hobson and Austria .  In return they received Hobson earmarks and a "no-bid, no work, no value added contract" funded by an interest free loan, $900,000 from the Ohio Third Frontier initiative and an outright $100,000 grant.  During the period of performance of the BRAC Initiative Agreement, the Dayton Development Coalition paid lobbying firm PMA over $500,000.  According to www.fec.gov, over the years PMA associates and their families contributed more than $100,000 to Hobson and Austria .  PMA has recently closed its doors after being raided by the FBI in November following allegations they illegally bundled campaign contributions to Dave Hobson, Steve Austria and other Congressmen, which brings us back to the 2010 and 2012 elections.            

            Compared to Austria , the four Republican Congressmen whose districts border Austria 's 7^th District (Turner, District 3; Jordan, 4; Boehner, 8; and Tiberi, 12) are virtually untouched by the PMA scandal.  The political reality is that after the 2010 census, they will all need Republican votes from the 7^th District to survive.  Regardless of which party controls redistricting after the 2010 census, Republicans will be Mr. and Mrs. Austria 's worst enemy as they will carve up the 7^th District and redistribute conservative voters among neighboring districts.  In short, because of the PMA scandal, Austria will be odd man out to protect the other four Republican Congressmen in central and south central Ohio .  Maybe then folks in Greene, Clark, Fairfield and other counties in the 7^th District will understand the real Hobson/Austria legacy.

Contact information:

John Mitchel

Beavercreek, Ohio

(937) 427-8442

www.reformcongress.com

Posted by amyers68 on 02/22/09
Last updated 02/22/09

 

Austria contributors in bad company

Although it was not announced until recently, back in November the FBI raided the offices of PMA, a Washington lobbying firm. Just like Dave Hobson before him, Congressman Steve Austria received thousands from PMA associates, including Paul Magliochetti, who founded the firm in 1989. According to John Bresnahan, Politico, sources close to PMA said the firm has "disintegrated" in recent months and Magliochetti has hired criminal defense counsel.

For more than two years this reporter has been requesting an investigation into Hobson's and Austria 's connections with PMA and the Dayton Development Coalition. I have been seeking public records from the Greene County Commission that could point to Hobson and Austria steering the no-bid BRAC Initiative contract to the Coalition in 2003. According to Bresnahan, Pentagon officials are also studying whether the military is "receiving value" for work done by small defense firms like Greentree Group and Qbase, two companies paid by the Coalition to work on the BRAC Initiative, a $1.9 million contract funded by Greene County taxpayers. Greentree and Qbase employees have also contributed thousands to Hobson and Austria . Furthermore, according to www.opensecrets.org, during the BRAC Initiative period of performance (October 2003 - September 2006), the Dayton Development Coalition paid PMA more than $500,000 to lobby on "real estate" matters. I have a hard time connecting the dots between "real estate" and protecting defense related jobs at Wright-Patterson.

In any case, it's time Dave Hobson and Steve Austria return their PMA contributions or better yet, give them to charity as other legislators have pledged to do, unless of course Hobson and Austria expect they will need that money at some point for their own criminal defense counsel.

John Mitchel

Beavercreek ( Ohio )

Posted by amyers68 on 02/12/09

The resolution mentioned a couple of weeks ago regarding Ohio claiming sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment now has a website where you can go read the resolution and sign an online petition in support. The goal is to get as many signatures as possible to deliver to the state house in early March. Please give it a visit, spread the word, and most importantly, sign the petition!

www.ohiofreestate.com

Posted 02/12/09 KathyLatshaw BeaReady Smithville, OH

This is great to see and thanks for posting here. Makes it real easy for me to include on District page :-)

Posted 02/12/09 Gabe McGranahan Mogadore, OH

If you are so inclined, you can also download a petition form to take door to door. Thanks!

Posted 02/12/09 filosophia Columbus, OH

I signed one already and will sign as many more as necessary. Thanks for posting.

Posted by amyers68 on 02/07/09

We request you give this the widest dissemination.

Mitchel Files: Press release, February 7, 2009

$900,000 missing in Greene County ?

Beavercreek , Ohio , Saturday, February 7, 2009: John Mitchel, Patriots Against Public Corruption founder, announced that he would testify before the Greene County Commission on February 10^th at 9:00 AM.  He claims that the Greene County Commission has conspired to illegally launder County tax dollars into the campaign funds of Dave Hobson, Steve Austria and other Greene County politicians.  Furthermore, according to Mitchel, the Board of Commissioners has collaborated with other elected and appointed officials to cover up pervasive "pay-to-play" politics in Greene County .

In response to the announcement Mitchel commented, "In 2003 the Greene County Commission signed an un-bid contract with the Dayton Development Coalition for $1.9 million to lobby for Wright Patterson AFB during 2005 Base Realignment And Closure (BRAC) negotiations.  Except for politicians, officers and staff at the Coalition, and a few consultants, this sweetheart deal did nothing to advance economic development in the Miami Valley , let alone Greene County .  Not only does this look and smell like money laundering on behalf of Austria , Hobson and others, it may violate three state laws, not to mention the federal Racketeering Influenced Corrupt Organization (RICO) Act."

Mitchel added, "I think it's strange that even though the contract was for $1.9 million, only $1 million was financed by Greene County taxpayers through a grant and Economic Development Note with interest.  I believe the citizens first should know why they paid the interest on an interest-free loan to the Dayton Development Coalition, a private corporation, and second, what is the source and what happened to the unaccounted-for $900,000.  Sooner or later we will learn the answers to those questions.  Hopefully that will happen Tuesday after I offer my testimony before the Greene County Commission."

Contact information:

John Mitchel

mitch07ohio@sbcglobal.net

Patriots Against Public Corruption Now (PAPCNow)

http://www.meetup.com/ronpaul-102/