Ohio State Bar Association condemns negative ad run by Democrat John O'Donnell

by Chad D. Baus

7:00am Monday, November 03, 2014

The Cleveland Plain Dealer is reporting that the Ohio State Bar Association on Thursday asked Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge John P. O'Donnell to stop running a negative TV ad against his Ohio Supreme Court race opponent, Justice Judith L. French.

From the article:

The association's ad monitoring committee determined O'Donnell broke his promise to run a clean campaign with the 30-second spot that began airing this week.

O'Donnell, a Democrat, and French, a Republican, signed a "clean campaign pledge" to refrain from running ads that "impugn the integrity of the judicial system or the integrity of a candidate for Supreme Court, or that erode the public's trust and confidence in the independence and impartiality of the judiciary by verbally or visually attempting to lead voters to believe that a candidate will decide in a predetermined manner."

O'Donnell's campaign began running its first ad earlier this week. The ad's narrator claims French is "in the pocket of big utilities" and shows French's picture in front of $20 bills.

The narrator says: "French supported an unfair ruling that gave American Electric Power $368 million of our money. No wonder French has pocketed 48 contributions from utility employees and executives."

The association's Judicial Election Campaign Advertising Monitoring Committee found the ad violates that pledge.

"While there may be a perception that justice is for sale, this is simply not the case," committee chairperson Maxine Thomas said in a letter sent to O'Donnell.

"The committee now asks you to immediately remove this ad from the air, and refrain from including statements that impugn the court's integrity and imply that justice is for sale in your campaign materials. Ohioans are better served by learning about judicial candidate qualifications and experience."

Justice French has earned the endorsement of the Buckeye Firearms Association PAC. Two years ago, we lost a pro-gun justice. With the looming court battles and Governor Kasich's expected run-away victory, these Supreme Court races are at the top of anti-gun groups' wish list for races they can steal. Ohio's Supreme Court Justices are elected to six year terms. So if an anti-gun rights candidate wins next month, we are stuck with that person for at least six years, long enough to issue multiple damaging rulings. These are critical races for all Ohio gun owners.

All gun owners and those who respect personal freedom must get to the polls TOMORROW to support Judi French and all the other pro-freedom candidates on the ballot.

Chad D. Baus is the Buckeye Firearms Association Secretary, BFA PAC Vice Chairman, and an NRA-certified firearms instructor. He is the editor of BuckeyeFirearms.org, which received the Outdoor Writers of Ohio 2013 Supporting Member Award for Best Website.