BIOGRAPHY

Bob Fitrakis

CAREER & ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Fitrakis is a Political Science Professor in the Social Sciences department at Columbus State Community College, where he won the Distinguished Professor Award in 2012. He has a Ph.D. in Political Science from Wayne State University and a J.D. from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law. He was a Ford Foundation Fellow to the Michigan State legislature and currently serves as a Near East Area Commissioner.

AUTHOR

He co-authored “What Happened in Ohio: A documentary record of theft and fraud in the 2004 election” (New Press, 2006), and has authored or co-authored 12 other books including six on election integrity. Fitrakis is the editor of the Free Press, freepress.org and columbusfreepress.com.

NOTABLE CASES

Fitrakis was admitted to the Ohio Bar in 2003. In his first major case, he sued Ohio State University for violating students’ civil rights who were organizing the annual Hemp Festival, and won. He represented anti-fracking activist Madeline Fitch, arrested for civil disobedience at a fracking well in southeastern Ohio. He also had charges dismissed against Kevin Egler in Kent, Ohio for posting an “Impeach Bush” sign on public property. He has served as the attorney for the Columbus NAACP, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, the Ohio Green Party, the Ohio Rights Group, Columbus Film Festival, The Neighborhood Network, Columbus Institute for Contemporary Journalism, among others.

ELECTION PROTECTION

Fitrakis has been an election protection activist since March 1994, when he served as an international observer for the national elections in El Salvador. He co-wrote and edited the El Salvador election report for the United Nations. Fitrakis was an election protection attorney on November 2, 2004 in Franklin County. After witnessing election suppression, he called the first public hearings on voter suppression and election irregularities and was one of four attorneys to file a challenge to Ohio’s presidential elections results: Moss v. Bush and Moss v. Moyer. In 2006, Fitrakis was co-counsel in the King-Lincoln-Bronzeville lawsuit against the Ohio Secretary of State’s office seeking to end racially discriminatory electoral practices in Ohio and to ensure free and fair elections. He authored a 50-point consent decree to ensure election integrity in Ohio submitted to the current Secretary of State. Many of these proposals have been adopted by the state of Ohio.

In December 2004, Fitrakis testified before the Judiciary Committee of Congress at the request of Rep. John Conyers in both Washington D.C. and Columbus. The information gathered from the Fitrakis’ investigations and hearings resulted in the Conyers Report, “What Went Wrong in Ohio?” released January 5, 2005. Fitrakis spoke to the National Press Club in Washington D.C. on Ohio’s election issues. Fitrakis briefed John Kerry, worked on election reform with Rep. Maxine Waters (D-LA), and briefed the Democratic Party Senate leadership. He later briefed the Congressional Progressive Caucus as well as the Congressional Black Caucus and the Senate Democratic leadership. Dr. Fitrakis testified at the Election Assessment hearings in Houston, Texas in 2005, which became part of the Carter-Baker Commission Report on federal election reform.

POLITICAL
Dr. Fitrakis ran as the Green Party Lt. Governor with Anita Rios in 2014 when the Green Party received over 100,000 votes in Ohio. Bob was also a candidate in the 3rd congressional district in 2012 and as the Green Party endorsed candidate for governor of Ohio in 2006. He was a member of the Green Shadow Cabinet as the Federal Elections Commissioner since 2013, after he worked with Jill Stein, the 2012 (and 2016) presidential candidate.

JOURNALISM
Bob Fitrakis served as Executive Director add Board member of the Columbus Institute for Contemporary Journalism (CICJ) and since 1993 has published the Free Press since 1992 and acted as editor of the Columbus Free Press, freepress.org and columbusfreepress.org. He has written monthly investigative news articles, including articles on Klan activities in Ohio. He both participated in, and wrote about a controversial plan by Columbus’ NAACP to “out” Klan leaders in Ohio.

Dr. Fitrakis was a columnist and investigative reporter for Columbus Alive from 1996-2002, a local alternative weekly newspaper, and was awarded First Place for Best Coverage of Government for the article “The V File” investigative report on Sen. George Voinovich and Second Place for “Spook Air” about Southern Air Transport’s ties to the CIA and drug-running at Rickenbacker Air Base in central Ohio from the Ohio Society of Professional Journalists (OSPJ). “Spook Air” was also awarded a Second Place in Investigative Reporting from the Press Club of Cleveland. In 1999, the OSPJ awarded him Second Place in two categories: Best Coverage of Government for his coverage of corruption in the bail bond industry “Money for Nothing” and Best Investigative Reporting for “The Shapiro Murder File” linking several of Columbus’ prominent citizens to organized crime. “The Shapiro Murder File” also won an Honorable Mention nationally from the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. In 1998, he won an investigative reporting award from the Central Ohio Chapter of the SPJ for his article “Striking it rich in the bail bond industry.” He has also written for other national and local publications.

From 1990-2000, Dr. Fitrakis co-hosted a regular public access news/public affairs program, “From the Democratic Left,” offering analysis of political events and social issues, locally and nationally. This program chronicled the activism of the progressive community in Central Ohio, from Gulf War demonstrations to anti-Klan protests. From June 1996, he has co-hosted a weekly public affairs call-in talk radio program, “Fight Back!” first on WSMZ103.1FM and on WVKO 1580 AM 11:30am-12:30pm Saturdays. He was the host of a drive-time show on Columbus’ Air America in 2008 and had a weekly show again in 2012. He hosted “Fight Back!” weekly for Talktainmentradio from 2011-2016. He had served on the Board of the Neighborhood Network, a non-profit providing independent media outlets for the community including WCRS-FM. He has hosted a radio program on WCRS-FM since 2009. He serves on the Board of the Central Ohio Green Education Fund, the non-profit managing WGRN-FM community radio and has hosted a show on that channel since 2016.

He is the author of five Fitrakis Files books: Spooks, Nukes & Nazis, Free Byrd & Other Cries for Justice, A Schoolhouse Divided, The Brothers Voinovich and the Ohiogate Scandal and Star Wars, Weather Mods and Full Spectrum Dominance. compilations of his writings at the Free Press and Columbus Alive. Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman co-wrote Did George W. Bush Steal America’s 2004 Election? Essential Documents and What Happened in Ohio? A documentary record of theft and fraud in the 2004 election (New Press 2006) (with Steve Rosenfeld) and How the GOP Stole America’s 2004 Election & Is Rigging 2008, George W. Bush vs. The SuperPower of Peace in 2003 and Imprison Bush in 2004-2005. Fitrakis also wrote The Idea of Democratic Socialism in America and the Decline of the Socialist Party (Garland Publishers 1993). Dr. Fitrakis is a frequent speaker on political, labor and social policy issues at national academic and political conferences.