Carney seeks probe of JobsOhio

Columbus Democratic state Rep. John Carney’s latest call for action on JobsOhio came with a little wrinkle.

In a letter to Republican Ohio House Speaker William G. Batchelder, Carney asked the veteran Medina lawmaker to “invoke rule 29” of the Ohio House and create a bipartisan committee to investigate JobsOhio. Gov. John Kasich’s privatized development agency has been blasted by critics for a lack of transparency, potential conflicts of interest and other issues.

Like all of the past calls for some action against JobsOhio by Democrats, including Carney, the “ rule 29” ploy will almost certainly be rejected, as the GOP holds a 60-39 majority in the House. A spokesman for Batchelder said the speaker hadn’t received Carney’s letter, and added that Batchelder “is continually grateful to Gov. Kasich and those working at JobsOhio for their unwavering commitment to bring jobs to our state.”

But Democrats say Carney’s request is unique, if nothing else, because rule 29 is so rarely used.

“Please consider this a formal request for you to appoint a bipartisan select committee for the purpose of conducting legislative oversight hearings into JobsOhio’s improper use of taxpayer funds on politically motivated ads, conflicts of interest, and other improprieties,” Carney said in his letter. He is a probable candidate for state auditor next year.

Carney’s letter was prompted by a recent Dayton Daily News report that JobsOhio had used $1.35 million in taxpayer money for an ad campaign, and that some of the business leaders quoted in the campaign either were paid by JobsOhio or served on the agency’s board.

In June, The Dispatch first reported that JobsOhio used state dollars for this purpose — a campaign featuring advertisements mostly in Ohio.

jvardon@dispatch.com

@joevardon

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