It’s not asking a lot for elected officials and candidates to follow the law. But, apparently even that was too much for some in Hudson, Ohio who want to win at any cost.
Leaked emails show that former Hudson City Manager Jane Howington’s Clocktower Collaborative is a 501(c)4 that apparently was formed to support Democratic Hudson City Council Candidates. These emails uncover that Howington’s intent was to shield donors from public scrutiny and send mailers “to take some of the cost off the backs of the candidates for sure.”
There are a number of problems with this tactic, but for now we will highlight one of the largest ones: Howington’s planning emails were sent directly to the candidates. Dr. Patricia Goetz (Ward 1), Madeleine Lepidi-Carino (Ward 2), and Dr. Mike Bird (Ward 4) have all been included in the two emails that already are public. The three had a front row seat as plans were discussed to use dark money to help their campaigns.
Several lawyers who have seen these emails say it is evidence of campaign coordination which is against the law.
Dr. Bird’s Campaign Treasurer Chris Mason is also on the email list, adding an additional problem.
These candidates often complained about “dark money” during their campaigns while they had a front row seat to Clocktower Collaborative’s plans.
The second email has a new addition to the list: Summit County Democratic Party Chair Tom Bevan. All of the Council candidates for this 501c4 are registered Democrats (Macchionne dropped out), despite their repeated claims of being “non partisan.”
The Summit County Democratic Party sent attack mailers against Chris Foster (Ward 2), Skylar Sutton (Ward 3), and Scott Ruffer (Ward 4).
This email has a special request for everyone to share the Facebook page. If you look at the Clocktower Collaborative Facebook posts, you will notice many included on the email followed directions and reacted, commented, and shared on the page. Even as of November 19th, Patricia Goetz and Madeline Lepidi-Carino’s likes of the posts still are there. They haven’t yet gone back and removed them. Lepidi-Carino, who did not even file a proper campaign finance report by the deadline, still has Clocktower Collaborative shares to her campaign page.
Clocktower Collaborative mailed literature, ran Facebook ads, and even had a full page ad in Hudson Life promoting their endorsed candidates.
Some on the email list have begun leaking emails. The Ohio Elections Commission has an active complaint on this matter. How much more can we expect to come?
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