Public Functions in Private Spaces

Yesterday, when the Fitrakis/Rios for Ohio Governor and Lieutenant Governor campaign turned in our final tally of 10,960 signatures, we were told by one of Secretary of State J. Kenneth Hackwell’s employees that we probably won’t be approved for the ballot until late June, or early July, hence impairing our ability (and that of other third parties) to raise money as ballot-approved candidates for the fall 2006 election. Because a few members of the entourage took photos outside the Borden Building, the privately-owned building housing the secretary of state’s office, building security pushed a camera into the face of one of the photographers and called the police on us.

This is how the game works. Instead of building a state building, which would belong to the people and which could be sold during hard times as an asset, Hackwell pays a ton of our tax money to the private owners of the Borden Building. That way, Hackwell and his staff can play “good cop” while the private security company harasses his political opponents. Recall that Hackwell had former U.S. Congressman Dan Hamburg arrested in December 2004 while he sat at a table at the café in the Borden Building. Also, Hackwell had private security forces harass black activist Judith Powell when she went to his office with WVKO 1580AM Radio talk show host Charles Traylor to talk about voting irregularities.

The only thing the Democrats and Republicans can agree upon is that it is OK to harass.