08/26/08 Press Release from Ohioans For Financial Freedom

For immediate release:
Tuesday, August 26, 2008

“SHOW OHIOANS THE MONEY!”

Columbus― The Committee of Ohioans For Financial Freedom today called on the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing (COHHIO) to Show Ohioans the Money behind the new deceptive websites aimed at killing jobs and financial choices in the state, or immediately shut them down.

The COHHIO websites (www.end391.org and www.yesonissue5.com) both solicit donations purportedly to support passage of Issue 5 yet contributions are directly deposited into their taxpayer supported Coalition on Homelessness and Housing via a PayPal account.

“The websites expressly urge a “Yes” vote on Issue 5 yet fail to carry a disclaimer disclosing who paid for the websites as is required by law for any ballot committee attempting to influence an issue election,” said Kim Norris spokesperson for Ohioans For Financial Freedom. “COHHIO should immediately disclose who is funding this campaign to kill 6,000 jobs in Ohio.”

The COHHIO is a 501(c) 3 tax exempt corporation. It receives hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars every year.

“Why is this organization, which is supposed to help the homeless, hiding who is really paying for this campaign? Are they using taxpayer money? Or, are they being funded by powerful special interests such as the credit unions who are trying to put their competitors out of business?” asked Norris.

According to Network Solutions the domain name for COHHIO’s website (www.end391.org) is actually owned by Connie Busch of eSpace communications, a Dublin, Ohio based consulting firm whose clients are Telhio Credit Union, e-Choice Solutions which is an online brokerage for credit unions in Ohio, and CU Ballot , an electronic voting system for credit unions. (see eSpace’s website here: http://www.espacecommunications.com/portfolio.html.

“COHHIO should come clean on who is paying for his campaign in Ohio.”

Ohioans For Financial Freedom is currently circulating petitions in Ohio with summary language approved by the Attorney General. It:
Repeals section (3) of H.B. 545 offering consumers more lending options
Allows for short-terms loans to be made under H.B. 545
Repealing Section 3 of H.B. 545 means protecting 6,000 good-paying jobs with benefits, protecting Ohioans’ financial freedom and protecting consumers’ rights to privacy about their personal financial choices.