Main Street

Gov. Kasich trying to “divide and conquer” SB 5 opposition

Governor John Kasich is in a pickle. The groups opposed to his signature achievement, the union-busting Senate Bill 5, have gathered over 714,000 signatures to put the measure on the November ballot, three times the number required. In addition, polling shows a bleak picture for Ohio’s approval of his performance (only 34 percent would vote for him in a 2010 rematch) and SB 5 (a 55 percent majority would vote for repeal, a measly 35 percent would let the law stand).

In this environment, Kasich is taking a page from the book of the Wisconsin GOP: When it looks like the other team might win, try to change the rules of the game.

From the Columbus Dispatch:

To break what appears to be strong, unified opposition to Senate Bill 5, Gov. John Kasich and his allies might seek to have the umbrella law that would weaken collective bargaining for public employees divided into multiple ballot questions.

In other words, divide and conquer. Since repeal would succeed on an up-or-down vote, Kasich wants to muddy the waters. His representatives are lobbying the Ohio Ballot Board to break down the SB 5 question into its multiple provisions.

His initial attempt, has failed. Ohio Secretary of State John Husted, a fellow Republican, is not playing along (yet):

“The Ballot Board cannot divide a referendum up into multiple issues,” Husted’s spokesman Matt McClellan said in an e-mail. “Only initiated petitions, such as Citizen-proposed Statutes or Citizen-proposed Constitutional Amendments may be divided up by the Ballot Board.”

Here’s the problem: Kasich’s monkeying could ultimately succeed. Under Ohio election law, you can the Ballot Board can split up a ballot initiative or constitutional amendment, but there is no such language permitting – or prohibiting – using a similar process on a referendum.

With all the corporate lobbyists and lawyers in Kasich’s camp, there’s still a chance of them regrouping and finding a loophole or leaning on the right official to prevent the up-or-down vote we want. But while they have the money and the wing-tips, we have the real army on our side – at least 714,137 strong.