A Message from Gov. Bob Taft

“I am here today to publicly apologize to the people of the State of Ohio for my failure to provide complete financial disclosure statements to the Ohio Ethics Commission as mandated by law.  I accept total responsibility for my mistake, and I’m sorry.

As a public official, I am required to submit financial disclosure statements on a yearly basis listing the sources of gifts in excess of $75.00.  My office had a system in place to ascertain the value of tangible gifts in order to report them as required.  Regrettably, I did not establish an adequate system to monitor the value of golf outings and other social events.

As recreation, I have played many rounds of golf with friends and acquaintances.  I paid for some of these outings, while others I did not.  I have now confirmed that forty-five golf outings over a period of seven years exceeded $75.00 in value and therefore should have been reported on my financial disclosure statements.  In addition, over the same period of time, six other social events and one gift were not disclosed.

Upon becoming aware of my failure to disclose these activities, I promptly notified the Ohio Ethics Commission.  I promised my full cooperation and diligently provided all information to assist the Commission in bringing its investigation to a conclusion.  While I can assure the public that my self-reported mistakes did not constitute a purposeful violation of law, I nevertheless failed to adhere to the disclosure requirements of Ohio’s ethics laws. 

In addition to specifying the undisclosed activities, I have fully reimbursed the appropriate individuals.

As Governor, I have made it clear that I expect all public employees to follow both the letter and the spirit of the ethics laws, and have demanded no less of myself.  I have personally failed to live up to those expectations, as well as the expectations of the public, and I am disappointed in myself.  I have a renewed commitment to correct the problems that contributed to this situation and have already taken steps to do so.

Words are not adequate to express the remorse that I feel personally for the embarrassment that I have caused to my administration and to this great state.  I want to offer my sincere and heartfelt apology to my family, friends, staff members, and all those who have supported me.  Most importantly, I want to apologize to the citizens of Ohio.  I hope you will understand that my mistake, though serious, was not a purposeful one and hope and pray that you will accept my heartfelt apology and allow me the opportunity to restore your trust.”

Comments

[VikingSpirit]

Bob, do us a favor and resign. Not just for the good of the Republican Party, but more importantly for the good of Ohio.

[VikingSpirit]

Another thing-Taft should be impeached if he dosen't resign.

[Tomas Chocolate]

This is a sad sight to see any high level public official. However, Gov. Taft's immediate response suggests this could be a good example for all. But one thought remains - this is minor - anything else in the closet still??? I hope not. The Ohio GOP has great momentum I would not like to see tarnished.

[John]

Tomas,

A well-balanced post. Thanks.

While we are all disappointed in the Governor's failure to report these outings, it should be recognized that Taft called for the investigation himself and he's paying the high price for those offenses.

But let's get back to the business of the state and let the governor start the process of earning back the confidence of Ohio voters.