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Letter to the editor: April 27, 2009
Austria flip-flops on earmarks
Re: Turner bucks regional trend on earmarks, DDN, April 26, 2009. For nearly a decade in the Ohio General Assembly Steve Austria’s press releases went on ad nauseum to remind us he never met an earmark he didn’t like. Then in 2008 he rode Ohio’s “Earmark Commander in Chief” Dave Hobson’s coattails into the U.S. Congress. Earmarks are always sold as “public/private partnerships,” but we should all understand public/private partnership is just spin for “public money going into private pockets.” Hobson’s and Austria’s earmarks are no different.
Take for example the $3.9 million earmark for Nextedge Applied Research and Technology Park near Springfield supported by both Austria and Hobson. It’s bad enough these taxpayer dollars were awarded by un-bid contracts to Hobson and Austria campaign contributors, but it’s especially alarming if we follow the money just a little further. When Dave Hobson retired from Congress, Mrs. Steve Austria lost her job and six-figure salary as Hobson’s District Director and Campaign Consultant, so we shouldn’t be surprised that Nextedge brought Congressman Austria’s spouse in as Director of Sales and Marketing.
We should all hope Mr. Austria is sincere about his sudden opposition to earmarks, but there are a few questions that could help confirm his intentions. For starters, Mr. Austria should tell us why Mrs. Austria’s employment with Nextedge is not revealed in his Financial Disclosure Statement filed with the Federal Election Commission. Was it an oversight or is he ashamed to disclose his spouse is a direct benefactor of an earmark supported by both him and his mentor, Dave Hobson?
John Mitchel
Beavercreek, Ohio
(937) 427-8442
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