Coughlin: Strickland Broke the Law to Help His Friends

COLUMBUS, OH - State Senator Kevin Coughlin issued the following statement after today's Ohio Supreme Court ruling invalidating Ted Strickland's veto of a recently-passed tort reform bill:

"Today's ruling by the Ohio Supreme Court confirms what we have known all along - Ted Strickland broke the law in his very first act as governor. In an ill-conceived attempt to reward his personal injury trial attorney friends, Ted Strickland proved that pay-to-pay is alive and well in Columbus.

Ted Strickland represents Ohio's past partly because he is beholden to the ancient dinosaurs of old American politics - organized labor and trial attorneys. These two special interests will not create jobs in our state. They will not modernize our economy. They will not transform Ohio into a fit and vibrant competitor on the global stage.

As governor, Ted Strickland seems intent on saddling Ohio with the policies of our long-forgotten past. And it seems he is willing to break the law to do it."