A liberal think tank former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland (D.) helped found with campaign money accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars from labor unions in its first four years.
Between 2011 and 2014, Innovation Ohio, a 501(c)(4) non-profit, received $635,000 from labor unions. Nearly half of the contributions came from two unions, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), which benefited from Strickland’s use of executive orders that expanded public sector collective bargaining during his time as governor.
The think tank also received nearly $117,000 from a union-funded coalition, We Are Ohio, which fought for the repeal of collective bargaining reforms brought about by a bill in the state.
Before he helped start Innovation Ohio, Strickland pursued policies sought by unions during his time as governor from 2007 to 2011. He signed executive orders allowing independent home healthcare providers and independent childcare workers to join unions. The order allowed the local AFSCME and SEIU to collect millions from childcare workers and healthcare providers, respectively, the former collecting about $2.1 million in one year.
Strickland, now a candidate for the U.S. Senate in Ohio, helped former staffers launch Innovation Ohio after his failed reelection bid in 2010 with a transfer of just under $160,000 in funds from his campaign account to the think tank.
His former deputy chief of staff for policy, Janetta King, served as president and CEO of the think thank and its companion 501(c)(3), the Innovation Ohio Education Fund, from 2011 to 2013. All of the organization’s officers were former Strickland aides during that two-year period.
Strickland’s campaign has maintained that the former governor worked with Innovation Ohio after leaving the office of governor but received no compensation from the group. Strickland listed himself as a consultant and Innovation Ohio as his employer on Federal Election Committee filings in 2011 and 2013 but was not listed on the organization’s payroll during that time, according to tax documents.
The think tank has consistently attacked Republicans and advocated for issues important to unions. In June, Innovation Ohio cited research from a Washington, D.C., think thank associated with unions to attack Republican Sen. Rob Portman, Strickland’s ultimate foe in the Ohio Senate race if he wins the Democratic nomination, for his position on the on Trans-Pacific Trade Partnership.
The organization has also pushed data from the union-funded think tank, the Economic Policy Institute, to attack Republican Gov. John Kasich.
Innovation Ohio stood on the side of unions in 2011 during the push to repeal Senate Bill 5, which was signed into law by Kasich and limited collective bargaining for public employee unions. We Are Ohio led a campaign against the bill, which was ultimately successful.
AFSCME and the SEIU made $310,000 in contributions to Innovation Ohio between 2011 and 2014. Funds from unions and the We Are Ohio campaign accounted for 57 percent of the organization’s contributions in 2011, 38 percent in 2012, and 28 percent in 2013, according to 990s for those years.
The organization’s tax filings for 2014 were not immediately available.
Multiple labor unions that made donations to Innovation Ohio, including the United Auto Workers Union and the National Education Association, have already endorsed Strickland for Senate. Committees affiliated with unions have donated nearly $100,000 to Strickland’s Senate campaign.
Janetta King left her post at Innovation Ohio in 2014 to serve as Strickland’s chief of staff at the Center for American Progress Action Fund, the advocacy branch of another liberal think tank, when Strickland went to work there.
King is now the chair of the board at Innovation Ohio and still holds her position at the Center for American Progress, according to recent FEC filings reporting her $2,000 in donations to Strickland’s Senate campaign. Innovation Ohio is now headed by a former chief of staff at the House Democratic Caucus.
When asked by the Washington Free Beacon about Strickland’s involvement in the think tank, a representative from Innovation Ohio said she had no information about the former governor’s role between 2011 and 2013 because she was not working at the organization during that period. She also offered no information about whether Strickland was employed by Innovation Ohio or whether he currently is involved in the think tank.
"Ted Strickland gave money to Innovation Ohio, raised money for Innovation Ohio, and listed Innovation Ohio as his employer, but claims he was never paid by Innovation Ohio," Ohio Republican Party Chairman Matt Borges said in a statement.
"Ted’s actions simply don’t pass the smell test, but it is not surprising that Ohio’s worst governor in history would do or say anything to distract from his terrible record when he oversaw the loss of over 350,000 jobs and our state ranked 48th in job creation."
A representative for Strickland’s campaign did not immediately respond to Free Beacon requests for comment.