Ohio: Gop

Taylor made her announcement at the Statehouse a week after informing the Ohio Republican Party central committee that she would not run for the U.S. Senate against former U.S. Rep. Rob Portman of Cincinnati in next May's GOP primary election.

"I want to continue the progress we've made helping to provide Ohio taxpayers with a more accountable and affordable government," Taylor said at a news conference.

Taylor, 43, said she "seriously considered" a Senate bid and denied receiving any pressure from the state GOP to run for re-election. Her decision, she said, was based on "where do I fit in to be of the best service" to Ohioans.

The auditor is one of five members of the State Apportionment Board, which will reconfigure Ohio's 99 House and 33 Senate districts for the next decade after the 2010 census.

Joining other GOP state chairmen in Washington for a meeting sponsored by the Republican National Committee, DeWine will vote no on a scheduled resolution calling on Democrats to rename their party the "Democrat Socialist Party."

"That sort of noise is unproductive; it is not helpful," DeWine said.

To Democrats, the re-branding resolution symbolizes the plight of a party stuck in the past and searching for a leader, its rebirth stunted by divisive voices filling the void, namely former Vice President Dick Cheney and talk radio's Rush Limbaugh.

"They've got to start offering real solutions," said Sherrod Brown, Ohio's Democratic senator. "Name-calling, telling the Democrats to change their name, it just hurts them.

The Ohio Republican Party's central committee unanimously endorsed Taylor yesterday after she informed the 66 members in a conference call Wednesday night that she would run for re-election.

In a statement, Taylor, 43, said she appreciated the endorsement and will wait until next week to officially announce her candidacy. She declined to comment further.

She had flirted with a bid for the Senate seat being vacated at the end of next year by the retiring Republican incumbent, Sen. George V. Voinovich. Taylor, elected in 2006, currently is the GOP's only statewide executive officeholder.

A Senate campaign would have put Taylor on a collision course with former U.

Proving that the Marc Dann saga will probably never truly be over, Dann’s former aide and the main antagonist of the whole story, Anthony Gutierrez, was indicted on 10 counts today by a Franklin County Grand Jury.

The counts are:

• One Count – Theft in office (felony)
• Two Counts – Unauthorized use of property (felony)
• Three Counts – Workers compensation fraud (felony)
• Two Counts – Soliciting or receiving improper compensation (misdemeanor)
• One Count – Improper election activity (misdemeanor)
• One Count – Filing a false statement (misdemeanor)

Considering Dann was in office for little more than a year, that’s quite a list. Considering Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O'Brien’s GOP partisan hack status, I wouldn’t be counting on any mercy for Gutierrez.