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Ohio Gov. John Kasich has over the years received political contributions from three of five members of the Ohio Ethics Commission or their spouses. The revelation comes as Democrats seek investigations of Kasich's dealings.

(Scott Shaw, The Plain Dealer)

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The

, a state board responsible for navigating political conflicts of interest, has a potential blind spot of its own.

Three of the panel's five members, or their spouses, have contributed to Gov. John Kasich's campaigns over the years, an analysis has found. Kasich, a Republican, appointed or reappointed all three to their current terms.

A fourth member, appointed by former Gov. Ted Strickland, was a high-profile supporter of the Democrat's 2006 campaign and donated to his unsuccessful re-election bid. In recent years the board included other Strickland appointees who donated to Democrats.

"It is worrisome how politically connected those folks are who were appointed to this commission," said Catherine Turcer of Common Cause Ohio, a good-government group.

Political relationships between the public's watchdogs and the officeholders whose behavior they may be asked to evaluate are to be expected, observers say. State law requires half of the board's members to be Democrats, half Republicans. And in Columbus, a company town where the Statehouse is the factory, governors and others with appointing authority typically limit their searches to the connected and familiar.

"Partisanship has never really been an issue for us," said Paul Nick, a longtime board employee who serves as executive director. "It's results that matter. Not conjecture."

But Democrats see new relevance in these ties as they call for an ethics investigation of Kasich. The board this month

– made by Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald, Kasich's likely challenger in 2014 – to explore the governor's involvement with Worthington Industries, a company that received state tax credits.

The hundreds of thousands of dollars in incentives came as Kasich collected deferred compensation from Worthington, where he was a director before becoming governor. The deal is one of several FitzGerald and Democrats have highlighted as they raise questions about JobsOhio, the state economic development agency that Kasich privatized.

Ethics Commission Chairman Merom Brachman said data from Kasich showed no need to investigate and expressed concern about inviting "political theater." Democrats later emphasized how generous Brachman and his wife have been to Kasich's campaigns. They also cited

about a $500 donation Kasich made to Judith Brachman's failed campaign for state treasurer in 1990.

"The governor and six of nine JobsOhio directors are financially tied to companies receiving public funds, and it doesn't pass the smell test that these Kasich donors were either unable, or unwilling, to take action," Ohio Democratic Party spokesman Matt McGrath said of the Ethics Commission. "Because there's literally no oversight over JobsOhio and it is underperforming, the commission had a duty to investigate at least the governor's self dealing, but it would appear instead that the fix is in."

Northeast Ohio Media Group, which provides content to cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer, examined dozens of campaign finance records filed with the Ohio secretary of state and documented online by the Center for Responsive Politics at opensecrets.org.

The review found that:

Active board members and their spouses have, combined, contributed about $20,000 to Kasich's campaigns for Congress and governor since 1992.

No one among that group has given more to Kasich than Judith Brachman, who has put $9,000 into his gubernatorial war chest – $5,000 of it arriving last year.

Merom Brachman, a Republican originally appointed by Democratic Gov. John Gilligan in 1975 but

Bruce Bailey, a Republican

John Gall, husband of board member Maryann Gall, gave Kasich $1,000 this year.

Betty Davis,

Records show no candidate contributions from Michael Flack, a Democrat appointed by Kasich in 2011. The board's sixth seat, which by law must go to a Democrat, is vacant.

Merom Brachman, the only member to respond to requests for comment, has given to many other Ohio candidates – mainly to Republicans and mainly in legislative races. Between 1993 and 2006, records show, he contributed $6,800 to Mike DeWine's U.S. Senate campaigns. DeWine, a Republican, is now Ohio's attorney general.

In a telephone interview Thursday, Brachman said he refrains from giving to statewide candidates whose executive offices fall under the Ethics Commission's jurisdiction.

But, according to campaign finance reports, Brachman gave $500 to Josh Mandel in 2009, weeks after the Republican announced a run for state treasurer. Brachman also gave $200 to then-Treasurer Richard Cordray in 2007 and added $250 a year later, when the Democrat was running for attorney general. Mandel and Cordray won their races.

Brachman did not recall the donations, but did not dispute them when reminded. He noted that Mandel was a state legislator at the time and said Cordray had been a family friend.

Brachman downplayed the role political donations past or present have on the board's decisions. Specifically, he recalled investigating then-Gov. Bob Taft, a fellow Republican, for failing to report gifts. The board in 2005 referred the case to a prosecutor for criminal charges. Taft later was convicted of four misdemeanor ethics violations.

Brachman also was part of the board that investigated the late Paul Mifsud. A top aide to Republican Gov. George Voinovich, Mifsud accepted and covered up free remodeling work from a state contractor.

"As with some other major issues I have seen in the years I have served, to my knowledge, I do not recall matters where the consideration has been colored by identity, party or contributions," said Brachman, who has sat on the board for more than 30 years.

Kasich spokesman Rob Nichols said the governor looks for "high moral character" when selecting board members and questioned why Democrats would attack Brachman.

"Does a political past disqualify or impair you? I would point to the House Ethics Committee," Nichols said.

In the U.S. House, elected members who represent each party – clearly political animals – are the ones who make up the committee and investigate their own. They have come out with findings against members on each side of the aisle in the past.

Besides Davis, past Strickland appointees have donated to him and other Democratic candidates. Steven Dettelbach contributed a combined $2,250 to Strickland's campaign in 2006 and 2007 and was named to the board in 2008. At the time, Dettelbach also was known for prosecuting public corruption cases in Cleveland. Today he is the U.S. attorney for the Northern District in Cleveland.



Other Strickland appointees gave smaller amounts to other top Democrats, including Cordray and former Treasurer Kevin Boyce. And Ann Marie Tracey, a Democratic holdover from Taft's administration, contributed $800 to Strickland's 2006 campaign.

Ethics Commission members earn $75 for each meeting they attend, but no more than $1,800 a year. Nick, the executive director, said the board averages 10 meetings a year. Most board decisions are unanimous.

Nick said members abstain from investigations when they sense a conflict of interest, typically when the member is an attorney whose client is involved with a pending case. But state law does not prohibit active members from contributing to candidates.

"I'm not sure that having made a campaign donation is a basis for a recusal," Nick said.

John Green, director of the Bliss Institute of Applied Politics at the University of Akron, said general political activity is not a hindrance to an ethics commission being effective. Green also recognized how hard it would be to find members who are politically pure.

"Anybody who has the confidence and respect of the political leaders and could get appointed to such a position is very likely to have been involved some way in politics," Green said.

Another political scientist, Paul Beck of Ohio State University, agreed that these types of appointments typically go to people with political connections. He also vouched for the historical integrity of the ethics panel, noting its tough stance against Taft in 2005.

Ideally, though, of all public agencies, "you would think an ethics commission would be pristine," Beck said. "These should be people who don't even have a self-interest."

Turcer, the good-government advocate, believes that, short of a ban on campaign contributions by board members, more transparency is necessary to keep public trust.

"The Ohio Ethics Commission," she said, "is supposed to be about exactly what their name is."

This story was reported with Plain Dealer Columbus Bureau Chief Robert Higgs.