BETTER LEADERSHIP

LET'S BUILD A REPUBLICAN PARTY YOU CAN TRUST AND TAKE PRIDE IN

The Ohio Republican Party does not have a level playing field for all candidates - to let the best candidate win. They believe they know better than voters and that is why they put their thumb on the scales and make endorsements before the primary. These are my promises of what I will fight for:

GOAL

#1

ANTI-CORRUPTION

When one county Chairman or Executive Committee rig the system or otherwise disenfranchise their County Central Committee members through an abuse of their power - it is a black eye on the entire Republican brand. The State Party must insist that all County Central Committee adopt articles in their bylaws for addressing member grievances in a fair and impartial manner. Those County bylaws provide articles to protect whistleblowers for revealing wrong-doing and unethical practices. The State Central Committee needs to enter into agreements with County Parties to allow County Central Committee members to appeal rulings made by the County Chairman or by the Executive Committee. The State Central Committee shall adopt similar provisions where the appeal would be heard by a commission of County Central Committee members.

ACCOUNTABILITY

I will advocate for the party to voluntary comply with Ohio's non-profit laws and Ohio's ethics laws. I will insist on detailed bylaws and that the bylaws be adhered to.

GOAL

#2

TRANSPARENCY

I believe that every registered Republican has a right to know how their political representative has voted - so I will advocate for an electronic voting system that displays all votes during Central Committee meetings - no different than what the Ohio General Assembly has in place.

GOAL

#3

SET LEGISLATIVE OBJECTIVES

The State Central Committee should set legislative objectives for office holders. This focuses their effort on adopting a few pieces of legislation every year. We cannot continue to let our legislators all work on their own pet projects. For the good of Ohio we must insist on working as a team because we have mountains to move. Accomplishing popular goals drives passion for the party rather than hoping for the best as our officeholders aimlessly wander the policy gauntlet with no cooperation.

GOAL

#4

ACCESSIBILITY

As elected political representative we have a duty to represent the will of Ohio's Republicans. To do that all our members in leadership positions need to be easily accessible and need to listen. This includes our County Central Committees. I support developing a website so that anyone in Ohio can find their county and state political representatives very easily. Additionally, the State Central Committee must insist that all County Parties and members make their contact information available on the website.

GOAL

#5

LISTENING

While our party does have some exceptional leaders, unfortunately that is not the norm. I want to restart having Republican Conventions and Republican Jubilees. These functions are an important part of listening and sharing best practices. These get togethers help to drive passion, engagement, and excitement for the party. We have to get Republicans talking to each other and develop best practices for under performing county parties and the State Central Committee must also ask what can they do better and what can they do differently to support the county parties.

GOAL

#6

BEING MORE ACTIVE

Our county parties need to do more than just one Lincoln Day Dinner as their sole means of financing operations. We need our counties to step up their efforts. I believe the State Party needs to create a speakers bureau and help county parties to fund, strategize, and coordinate bringing in popular national speakers for events like county conventions and rallies. National speakers and officeholders absolutely help to energize the Republican base and drive passion and donations to the local and State Party.

GOAL

#7

COUNTY COORDINATION

The State Central Committee needs to coordinate and engage with the county parties more. We need to continuously and actively poll county central committee members on the issues of the day. Sub committees of the State Central Committee need to work with advisory committees that are composed of County Central Committee members. When we work together with the county grassroots teams we get better buy-in for Republican plans and strategies because we included counties in the decision making processes.

GOAL

#8

GOAL

#9

LEVEL THE PLAYING FIELD

I will advocate for changing the Party's bylaws so that the State Central Committee makes no endorsements for candidates prior to the primary election. Why don't we have better candidates stepping forward? Because they know the game is rigged.

FUNDRAISING

The dirty secret of the State Central Committee is that it survives on large donations from influential special interest that are looking to get around Ohio's campaign finance laws. Companies and organizations that are prohibited from writing large check to candidates are not prohibited from writing large checks to the party. There is however a law that prevents party officials from earmarking funds to so they go to a specific candidate. So essentially the Ohio Republican Party survives through a money laundering scheme. This is why the Ohio Republican Party is not concerned with building passion for the party among its registered Republicans and do not sponsor registration drives or events. They are only interested in building passion for the special interests that can write big checks. I want the party to set goals that within eight years that at least 50% of the donations to the party are from $50 or less donor amounts. Anyone can sell the party to the highest bidder - but it takes talent to build passion for the Republican brand.

GOAL

#10

WE MUST INSIST OUR LEADERSHIP IS HONEST IN ALL DEALINGS

Ohio Revised Code 3599.04 expressly prohibits the earmarking of funds into the Ohio Republican Party's State Candidate fund. Any political party channeling donations into the State Candidate's fund at the behest of donors or candidates, in my perspective, constitutes a contribution for illegal election purposes, reflecting an intent to sidestep campaign finance regulations.

Ohio's legal framework restricts corporations from directly contributing to candidates, as concerns loom over potential undue influence on legislators, diverting them from representing constituents to prioritizing corporate interests. However, corporations are legally permitted to make contributions to political parties. Notably, even when a high-net-worth individual reaches the maximum allowable contribution to a candidate, they can still contribute to the candidate's affiliated political party. It is essential to underscore that funds allocated to the party's State Candidate's fund should ideally adhere to the preferences of the State Central Committee members.

Any form of assurance or coordination by Republican leadership, indicating a specific distribution of funds from the State Candidate's fund, could be perceived as a deliberate effort to circumvent campaign finance laws. For instance, a scenario where a major healthcare system donates $50,000 to the State Candidate's fund, coordinating with the party chairman to direct it towards a particular candidate's re-election fund, would raise serious legal concerns. The appropriate response from the Chairman should unequivocally reject any attempt to assist the donor in circumventing Ohio's campaign finance laws.

Regrettably, video and audio recordings suggest a pattern of disregard for these laws within Republican leadership, raising legitimate concerns about compliance and adherence to established legal boundaries. Addressing these issues is crucial to upholding the integrity of Ohio's campaign finance regulations and ensuring a fair and transparent electoral process.

David Johnson - former Ohio Republican Party treasurer seems to admit to circumventing campaign finance laws.

"In the symphony of our representative republic, political parties must be the conductors, leading with unwavering precision and adhering to the score of God's law. Just as the stars illuminate the night sky, so should our parties illuminate the path of integrity, guided by the principle that they are not above God's law but held to the loftiest standard, for in the realm of our republic, the rule of God's law is our sacred anthem, and we are its custodians."

~ Kelly Kohls