An Attempted (Legal) $87 Million Heist

The corrupt local political machine and I agree: Issue 7 is a scam.

The theme of this week, for whatever reason, is local elections matter… even in cities like Columbus where the local Democratic machine has crushed any possible opposition from the left or the right.

The thing about Democratic machines is their sachems don’t actually believe in the principles of democracy. They don’t want more people voting because that would decrease their leverage at re-election. In Ohio, Democrats in Cincinnati, Cleveland and Columbus can pin any failures of local government on the Republican leadership of the state.

In Columbus, our machine couldn’t educate their voters enough to kick the last vestiges of the Franklin County Republican Party—the municipal judges—to the curb in nonpartisan races that lacked the magic letter next to candidates’ names in 2019.

Given the party’s failures to properly educate its voters on judicial races, there’s now a concern that a shadowy group could greenwash its way to an $87 million payday with zero accountability.

Here’s how the issue will be presented by those looking to profit on the measure:

On November 2, Columbus residents have the opportunity to vote on a ballot issue that would redirect $87 million from the city’s general fund to create four funds: an Energy Conservation and Energy Efficiency Fund, a Clean Energy Education and Training Fund, a Minority Business Enterprise Clean Energy Development Fund and a Columbus Clean Energy Partnership Fund. Two of those funds – worth $67 million – would be transferred to an unidentified group with no legislative oversight.

I mean, what god-fearing Democratic voter would be against buzzwords like, “Energy Conservation, “Energy Efficiency,” “Clean Energy Education and Training Fund,” and “a Minority Business Enterprise Clean Energy Development Fund and a Columbus Clean Energy Partnership Fund.” These are all things that sound inherently good unless you break the cardinal sin of Columbus residency and think about them for more than 15 seconds.

Yet, the truth remains that it’s easier to throw around buzzwords than enact decent public policy through a ballot initiative.

From The Columbus Dispatch Editorial Board:

It is not clear who is behind ProEnergy, what makes them green energy experts or how they intend to use an amount of taxpayer money equivalent to about 11% of the total taxes the city will collect this year for its general fund operations. 

[…]

The initiative is represented on the ballot by an apparent Texas resident, a deceased woman and four others. 

Dispatch reporters could not reach most of the petitioners in recent years.

ProEnergy Ohio front man John Clarke (sometimes John Clark Jr.), faces election fraud charges related to the ballot issue. 

The Columbus resident and electrical engineer pleaded not guilty to two counts of tampering with government records, both third-degree felonies, and two counts of election falsification, both fifth-degree felonies in Franklin County Common Pleas Court. 

You almost have to respect the grift. Sometimes I wish I were half the scumbag that my freakish opponents claim I am, because, my god, how nice would it be to be charged with two felonies and think, you know what? I’m going to try to bamboozle MSNBC/property value voters into shunting $87 million into some unaccountable front group that would allow me to take the money and run?

The measure will likely fail, as it should. But thanks to the Franklin County Democratic Party turning local elections into a sham, that result is no surefire guarantee. Will the cabal learn its lesson after flying too close to the sun? I have a better chance of winning the next two MegaMillions back-to-back.

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