Here we go again. What is it with Republicans that they think everyone else should show “personal responsibility” but it’s alright for them to shirk their responsibility, especially when it comes to debts they owe?
We learn from the Dayton Daily News that Greg Hartman, from Texas, the Ohio GOP’s candidate for secretary of state has said he will not pay a debt to Pepsi, the giant soda pop company, that he incurred in California in a lawsuit that named him and his company and that both lost, resulting in a court order to pony up about $15,000 in 1992. The debt has now grown to over $29,000, after years of Hartmann refusing to not pay it.
Although this is the latest example of his derelict behavior, which is even more troubling given that he is a former prosecutor who as a “friend of law enforcement” has promised to hunt down and jail would-be vote fraudsters, it is not the first time Mr. Hartmann, born and raised in Texas, the son of a high-powered Dallas lawyer who helped Dick Cheney on a matter of residency law in 2000 that allowed him to join then-Texas governor George W. Bush presidential ticket.
Researchers have uncovered court documents from North Carolina and Virginia showing Hartmann was arrested for a non-traffic violation, for which he was convicted and fined but has yet to pay the fine after all these years.
With the revelation contained in this story about saying he will not pay this debt owed to Pepsi, Ohio voters need to ask themselves why they would want someone who hides his records and does not pay his debts to be their secretary of state?
Haven’t we lost enough trust and integrity in our elections under eight years under Ken Blackwell? Aren’t we seeing already this election cycle stories about mis-labeled ballots, not enough postage for absentee ballots to be returned, Blackwell foot-dragging again on giving boards of election the clear guidance they need to perform their important duties?
Hartmann, who emphasizes his youth and energy, has little legal experience and absolutely no election law experience, a key requisite for the job. Ohioans don’t need someone who requires on-the-job-training, as Hartman does.
Of the four candidates running this year, it appears that Jennifer Brunner it all: experience, qualifications and commitment to restore trust in Ohio’s election process and whose leadership and impartiality, earned as a twice-elected common pleas court judge, to uphold Ohio values for open, honest, impartial and accurate elections.
