State Rep. John E. Barnes, a Cleveland Democrat, has filed a defamation lawsuit against the Ohio Democratic Party and its chairman, Chris Redfern, alleging white lawmakers get better treatment and he was punished for raising the issue of racism in the party.

State Rep. John E. Barnes wanted to talk to the Democratic House leader about his committee assignments after the 2010 election, but he says that he was instead told to make that request through the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus.

Barnes is black, but the Cleveland Democrat said he did not see any value in joining the Black Caucus. He called the organization�s �moral compass� troubling, and he �wanted to be treated as an individual rather than as a member of a presumed monolithic block of votes based upon his skin color.�

White Democrats, Barnes said, could simply let their committee preferences be known, while black lawmakers had to go through the Black Caucus.

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�There should not be a process where there�s a certain procedure that John has to follow because he�s an African-American legislator,� Barnes told reporters yesterday as he discussed an unusual defamation lawsuit he filed this week against the Ohio Democratic Party and its outgoing chairman, Chris Redfern.

�I understand the focus is, you want to have people where you can manage them like they�re on a plantation. That�s unacceptable and insulting to my intelligence.�

Barnes said Redfern and other House Democratic leaders were offended by his refusal to join the Black Caucus. That and his raising the issue of racism in the party led to less-desirable committee assignments, he said, and ultimately led the state Democratic Party to endorse his opponent in the 2014 primary.

Barnes is asking for at least $50,000 in a defamation lawsuit filed in Franklin County that accuses Democrats and Redfern of making false claims that he disenfranchised voters and blocked Medicaid for the poor.

Traditionally, such complaints would be made before the Ohio Elections Commission, but a recent federal court ruling on Ohio�s law against telling lies in campaign ads left the commission without jurisdiction.

Barnes� lawsuit went further than just explaining why a Democratic Party mailer was false and hurt his reputation. He also detailed the process after the 2010 election in which Rep. Armond Budish, the then-speaker, wanted to remain in leadership as minority leader but was being challenged by then-Rep. Ted Celeste of Grandview Heights.

Barnes alleges that then-Black Caucus president Rep. Sandra Williams, D-Cleveland, told Budish that �in order to deliver the votes, OLBC needed all of the assignments, and �in addition we need $200,000� (or words to that effect).�

Barnes cautioned Williams that asking for money to deliver votes could cross a line, according to the lawsuit.

Barnes said he ultimately voted for Budish for leadership, but �other white legislators that voted for Ted Celeste were given plum committee assignments.�

When a seat opened on the powerful House Finance Committee, Barnes alleges that Williams offered him the seat but only if he agreed to join the Black Caucus.

Barnes and fellow Cleveland Democratic Rep. Bill Patmon drew the ire of party leaders for votes on some key issues. The two have defended their voting records as solidly Democratic, but an Innovation Ohio report of votes on key bills backed by Gov. John Kasich last session found the two voted with Kasich more than 75 percent of the time.

�I will partner with Gov. Kasich. I make no excuses for who I talk to,� Barnes said. �We have to create an environment where we put aside party and petty differences of politics ... and come together to work together.�

Redfern said House Minority Leader Tracy Maxwell Heard, D-Columbus, who also is black, recommended that all House incumbents be endorsed this year. But the party�s executive committee instead endorsed the primary opponents of both Barnes and Patmon. Both incumbents still won.

Redfern said he is not on the executive committee, which, he noted, also includes black members. After the vote, he said, it was the state party�s job to support candidates who got the endorsements.

�John Barnes has been in my home and attended events as late as the summer of 2010,� Redfern said. �If I didn�t like John Barnes, I wouldn�t have invited him into my home.�

Redfern, who will be stepping down soon as party chairman, called the lawsuit �ludicrous.�

�What happens now is, anybody who has felt disrespected by the party over the last nine years gets to get their coverage,� he said. �Anytime you have new leadership come in, it�s time to attack the old leadership. Let�s attack Redfern with these baseless claims because he�s on the way out, and who�s going to defend him?�

Asked if he thinks Redfern is racist, Barnes said: �His actions certainly are racist.�

jsiegel@dispatch.com

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