PD: Fisher, Haseley Knew of Barbash's Tax Problems

Mark Naymik of the Plain Dealer is reporting the following this morning :

Strickland's administration also delivered a negative communication last week. That's when it acknowledged that the nobody told the governor that state's top development officer, Mark Barbash, had tax troubles before his promotion in February to the Cabinet-level post.

Barbash resigned Friday after a media report revealed he owed the Internal Revenue Service more than $146,000.

Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher knew of Barbash's problem, as did the governor's chief of staff, John Haseley. Yet, neither said anything to Strickland, who found out only when Barbash told the administration he had received a foreclosure notice on his home.

The situation sends a couple of possible messages, neither of them good.

One, the governor's staff keeps him out of the loop. Or, two, the governor doesn't pay attention to his own vetting process.

So, Lee Fisher and John Haseley knew of Barbash's tax problems and yet failed to tell the Guv?

Shame on them.

Governor Strickland is in the midst of a tough budget cycle and is looking at a no-gimme re-election campaign next year. These two should know better than to make his life more difficult than it already is.

As for Mark Barbash, fear not! You may owe $146,000 to the IRS, but Akron mayoral recall instigator Warner Mendenhall has you topped! He owes $196,000. So, Mark, you may not be fit to be director of Development, but you can feel free to start a petition drive to recall your local mayor. And, you can whine about it if your mayor's supporters try to point out your tax lien as a reason not to support your recall efforts too, just like Mendenhall has.

Akron Recall Is On

Yesterday Akron City Council Clerk Bob Keith certified that Warner Mendenhall's group Change Akron Now has more than enough signatures to recall Mayor Don Plusquellic. Plusquellic will now have 5 business days to resign or City Council will be required to schedule a recall election between 40 and 60 days later, meaning it would be sometime between late June and mid July.

I have an e-mail into the Ohio Democratic Party wondering how they will respond to this recall. When I hear back from them I'll post on it.

Over/Under on Akron Recall Effot

Anyone want to take a guess on how many signatures short Warner Mendenhall's personal vendata against Akron Mayor Don Plusquellic will be after their recall petitions are submitted today? I'm setting the line at 500, and I want the over.