Mandel Calls on boyce to Suspend Accepting Contributions to Avoid "Pay-for-Play"

Release:

LYNDHURST – Marine veteran and State Representative Josh Mandel (R-Lyndhurst) today called on Ohio Treasurer Kevin Boyce to nip a budding "pay-to-play" scandal in his office by refusing campaign contributions from the banking and finance industry, beginning today and until the Boyce-led State Board of Deposit decisions are made on April 29th, 2010.

Today, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported that Boyce has delayed awarding the lucrative, biennial designation of depositories for public funds, until April 29th – suspiciously a week after Boyce will file his April 22nd campaign finance report.
This decision flies in the face of Ohio law (O.R.C. 135.12) which requires by the third Monday in March (yesterday, March 15th), that the Boyce-led State Board of Deposit designate which banks will serve as depositories for the billions of dollars of state funds.
Postponing the decision until late April not only disregards state law, but also affords Boyce another six weeks to raise money from banks that are competing for the multi-million dollar contracts.
"Due to Treasurer Boyce’s pattern of unethical behavior, this delay just doesn't pass the smell test," said Mandel. "Either he wasn’t competent enough to get the job done by the same statutory deadline as past state treasurers, or he’s purposefully delayed action for political gain. Either way, it is yet another example of the pattern of irresponsibility that we've seen since Kevin Boyce's first day in office."
In June 2009, a Dayton Daily News investigation uncovered that Boyce used almost $80,000 of treasury funds for campaign-type material while the state was facing a $3.2 billion budget deficit. That same story also revealed Boyce’s hiring of multiple relatives of Democratic operatives, including one whose previous experience to the Treasurer’s office was working at a zoo and water park. Then, in July 2009, the Dayton Daily News caught Boyce awarding a $160,000 per year banking services contract to a bank that hosted a $30,000+ fundraiser for him a week later. And most recently, Boyce has come under local and national fire for abusing Census dollars to promote himself.
"One way Treasurer Boyce can show taxpayers that he’s serious about ending his pattern of unethical behavior is by refusing campaign contributions from the banking and finance industry until after the April 29th State Board of Deposit decisions are made," Mandel said. "We look forward to seeing Treasurer Boyce’s action on this matter and hope that he makes the right decision."