HOUSE CANDIDATE JOHN DYCE CALLS OUT LAROSE, SPRAGUE AND FABER FOR DUCKING ACCOUNTABILITY

HOUSE CANDIDATE JOHN DYCE CALLS OUT LAROSE, SPRAGUE AND FABER FOR DUCKING ACCOUNTABILITY Statewide GOP Candidates Have Failed To Speak Out Against Republican Culture Of Corruption In Columbus

COLUMBUS -- Retired postal worker and veteran John Dyce, the Democratic candidate for Ohio House District 5, called out the three statewide Republican candidates slated to appear at the Mahoning County GOP dinner in Youngstown Tuesday for ducking accountability on their party’s culture of corruption in Columbus. “We are calling on Keith Faber, Frank LaRose and Robert Sprague to stop ducking accountability on corrupt charter schools such as the Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow, the Cliff Rosenberger predatory payday lending scandal and the Republican culture of corruption in Columbus,” Dyce said at the event, which also featured a 15-ft.-tall inflatable duck. Dyce pointed to the resignation of disgraced Republican House Speaker Cliff Rosenberger amid reports the FBI is investigating his travel with lobbyists for the payday and title loan industry. Nearly a month later, Dyce noted, Republican Treasurer candidate Robert Sprague and Secretary of State candidate Frank LaRose have ducked their responsibility to speak out. “Meanwhile, Auditor candidate Keith Faber has been ducking his own record of cozy relationships with the predatory payday lending industry. Faber has taken nearly $75,000 in campaign contributions from the payday lending industry, while failing to act for a decade on a 2008 voter-approved mandate to rein in the industry,” Dyce said. “Republican leadership in the Ohio Statehouse is broken beyond repair, dominated by scandal and corrupted by one-party rule and a cozy, pay-to-play culture.” Dyce also pointed to the three ducking their responsibilities regarding the corrupt e-charter Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow, with a whistleblower last week alleging the school intentionally manipulated attendance data to bilk more money from Ohio taxpayers. “Keith Faber took checks totalling at least $223,000 for himself and his caucus from for-profit charter school operators, while looking the other way as ECOT bilked Ohio taxpayers out of $80 million,” Dyce said. “Frank LaRose took nearly $10,000 from ECOT affiliates and has ducked whether he would return any of ECOT’s donations. Robert Sprague has taken at least $1,350 from ECOT lobbyists, and at a news conference in January, Sprague provided flimsy excuses for the ECOT disaster -- even going so far as to call for less accountability for online charter schools. “By ignoring Chartergate, the Ohio GOP has sold out Ohio’s kids. If Columbus Republicans are willing to sell out our state's kids to the highest bidder, what aren't they willing to sell?”