Some of you may be aware of Ohio's 6th Congressional District, and how important it is for the Democrats to retain it to win back control of the House in 2006. Currently held by Ted Strickland (
http://www.tedstrickland.com), who is running for Governor this year, OH-06 is a heavily rural, moderate district that split evenly between Kerry and Bush in 2004. It is one of the GOP's best chances to pick up a Democratic seat this fall. Their chances got better recently when Democratic State Senator Charlie Wilson, the party frontrunner got bounced off the ballot for failing the signature requirement. He's now running as a write-in candidate for the nomination (and should win it anyway).
But the GOP's chances of winning the seat are about to go up in smoke. The Republican Party's "favorite" for the seat, State Rep. Chuck Blasdel just got caught with his proverbial hand in the cookie jar. What he did, and why it matters is on the flip.
Blasdel, a conservative GOPer who's helped to make Ohio the laughingstock of the political world is apparently a tax delinquent of the first order. This is from the Ohio Valley's online newspaper, and comes straight from DavidNYC at SwingStateProject:
"The state says state Rep. Charles Blasdel, a Republican in the 6th Congressional District race, owes $20,986.23 or $54,915.87 in estimated delinquent taxes and fees on two defunct businesses he co-owned.
The issue is a huge misunderstanding, and will be cleared up, said Jessica Towhey, Blasdel's campaign spokeswoman.
The state attorney general's office on behalf of the Ohio Department of Taxation filed 13 tax judgments between Nov. 24, 1995, and Aug. 8, 2001, totaling $20,986.23 against Blasdel Cline Inc. and Executive Cigar Inc., according to records at Columbiana County Common Pleas Court.
...
Based on its records, Mark Anthony, an AG spokesman said the two companies owe $54,915.87 in estimated delinquent taxes and fees as of Friday."
http://www.vindy.com/...
As David writes at Swing State, "I think they send people to Leavenworth for less." http://www.swingstateproject.com/...
Damn straight, David. Read the rest of the article, and if you have expertise in this field let us know what exactly Blasdel's doing wrong (and how bad it is).
In political terms, this is far more damaging to the GOP than Wilson's faux pas was for the Democrats. With Wilson's ballot error, it's a mistake that would be erased by his winning the primary (and with a name like "Charles Wilson", it's not hard to write yourself in on a ballot. Imagine if your last name was Kryzanowski? Shudder). In Blasdel's case, his error is a fatal one for a campaign. Look for Wilson to hammer Blasdel repeatedly as a tax delinquent, with all the evidence pointing to Blasdel as incapable of serving in Congress.
Blasdel's chances of winning just went up in smoke, as long as this story has legs. Looks like the Democrats' chance of winning the House in 2006 just got a tad bit easier.
