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I have been wondering why we have not heard more from our local politician’s about Issue 3. Franklin County Commissioner John O’Grady is the only elected official who has voiced an opinion and he’s against it. Today, I got some answers in an excellent article from The Other Paper. Some of the reasons the politicos gave are laughable.
“Frankly, I haven’t looked at it,” Mayor Mike Coleman said this week, saying he’s been focused on getting the city’s financial situation on track.
He hasn’t studied it! I hope he realizes Columbus is one of the cities that will have a casino if Issue 3 passes. Doesn’t sound very focused to me.
Commissioner Marilyn Brown wouldn’t even respond.
Brown, who is a Democratic candidate for secretary of state in 2010, did not respond to repeated attempts to reach her for this story.
In August, she told Columbus CEO magazine through a spokeswoman that she isn’t taking a position on the casino proposal “because she is focused on county matters and running for Ohio secretary of state.”
I hope she realizes Franklin County is one of the counties that will have a casino if Issue 3 passes. I would think that would be a county matter.
According to The Other Paper, the silence from politicians can be summed up in one word. Unions. Most local politicians in Central Ohio are democrats and unions are one of their biggest supporters. However, the FOP, AFL-CIO, and the UAW all support Issue 3. If a democratic politician comes out against Issue 3, they could lose important votes from a big part of their base.
Still, I’d like to see more democratic politicians show the courage that Commissioner O’Grady exhibited and let us know where they stand on Issue 3.
Source: A safe bet?
[...] posted here about local politicians running away from Issue 3, the recently passed constitutional amendment to [...]