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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 2, 2008
The Ohio Christian Alliance (OCA) today is calling upon the Ohio
Legislature and Governor Strickland to address and truly hold
accountable those responsible for the improper investigation of Mr.
Joseph Wurzelbacher, known as Joe the Plumber, the highly publicized
case in which he asked Presidential Candidate Barack Obama a
question concerning taxation on his small business. What took place
in the aftermath of “Joe the Plumber” is of great concern to this
organization and its membership.
OCA is a voter education organization, committed to providing
nonpartisan educational voter guides, scorecards, and candidate
forums, and encouraging voter registration and participation in the
electoral process.
Chris Long, OCA President, said “This issue is not a partisan
battle. It is, however, a direct threat to individual freedoms of
every American to participate, engage, and question candidates and
office holders on a variety of subjects. The issue simply stated is,
‘Does the state government have the right to investigate private
citizens simply because they ask questions of candidates and/or
office holders?"
“When it came to light that the Ohio Department of Job and Family
Services, the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, and the Ohio Department of
Taxation all initiated investigations on Mr. Joseph Wurzelbacher for
no apparent reason other than that the partisans within those
agencies were seeking to discredit this private citizen, it was
obvious that this was an abuse of power and an overreach by state
governmental authorities. This is simply an outrage.”
“According to the Inspector General’s report, these investigations
had no legitimate state government purpose. The directors involved
in the unwarranted investigation violated the public’s trust, and
consequently should be terminated from their respective positions at
the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services to begin to restore
the public’s confidence once again in these State agencies. The
public’s confidence in these agencies has been sorely damaged from
the revelations of these improper investigations.”
“Governor Strickland, to date, has been slow to move on this matter.
His actions initially were simply to place the director of Job and
Family Services, Helen Jones-Kelley on paid administrative leave.
Only after the release of the Inspector General’s report of November
20th did the Governor see fit to place her on unpaid administrative
suspension for one month. By his actions, Governor Strickland is
obviously not taking this matter seriously enough.”
“If Governor Strickland wishes to truly address the seriousness of
this issue, he needs to take the purposed steps of terminating the
employment of those directors responsible for this misuse of their
positions of authority to access confidential databases for no
legitimate state government purpose.”
“We will not let Mr. Wurzelbacher stand alone. This concerns each
and every one of us.
If this goes unchecked, it will have a chilling effect in future
elections and on possible advocacy work of private citizens who will
worry whether their letter, phone call or questions of any political
candidate or office holder will prompt an investigation by state
agencies. All Ohioans should have the freedom to openly participate
in their government without fearing reprisal from some government
agency.”
Contact Chris Long at 330-887-1922
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