Jim Petro
Encyclopedia
James M. “Jim” Petro is an American politician from the Republican
Party, and a former Ohio Attorney General
. Previously, Petro also served as Ohio State Auditor
. Petro was a candidate for the Republican nomination for Governor of Ohio during the 2006 Ohio Primaries, but lost to Ken Blackwell
. He currently serves as Chancellor of the Ohio Board of Regents
.
. A Brooklyn High School graduate, he attended Denison University
in Granville, Ohio
where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree and joined the Lambda Chi Alpha
fraternity
. He later earned his law degree from Case Western Reserve University School of Law
in Cleveland, Ohio
. Petro served as an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney for Franklin County
as a trial lawyer responsible for felony prosecutions, and then as Assistant Director of Law for the city of Cleveland, Ohio. After starting his private practice, Petro became prosecuting attorney for the city of Rocky River, Ohio
.
. He served four years as a state representative. In 1991, Petro became County Commissioner for Cuyahoga County; during his four year term he was President of the board for a year.
Petro was elected Ohio Auditor in 1994. As Auditor he served as the chief inspector and supervisor of public offices in the state; the office is the largest state auditing agency in the United States, second in size only to the United States Government Accountability Office
.
In November 2002, Petro was elected the Ohio attorney general. In 2005, Petro became the first Ohio attorney general to argue a case in front of the Supreme Court in over thirty years; he won the case by a vote of nine to zero. As Ohio’s Attorney General he successfully defended the law banning late term abortions in the state.
, who served as Attorney General from 1991 through 1994.
In 1998, the state Republican party created a "candidate fund" to which lawyers and others could contribute; the fund in turn gives funds to candidates. In March 2006, the Toledo Blade reported that the GOP had directed contributions totaling $1.49 million to Petro, the current attorney general, and $1.27 million to State Auditor Betty Montgomery
, a former two-term attorney general running to become attorney general once again. If the Blade reporting is accurate, then the Ohio GOP is clearly favoring Petro over Blackwell in the primary campaign. Of note, this is the first open contested Republican primary for Governor in many years. The Ohio GOP has previously managed to broker their primaries; i.e., talking all candidates but the favored one into dropping out.
The Blade's analysis found that firms that contributed the largest amounts of money to the candidate fund received among the most in fees from the state for being "special counsel" - private-sector lawyers hired to do legal work for the state. For example, through its lawyers, lawyers' families, and political-action committees, Calfee, Halter & Griswold, a Cleveland-based law firm, has contributed at least $186,000 to the Ohio GOP's state candidate fund since 1998. In that same period, the firm has collected more than $17 million in fees from the attorney general's office, all in no-bid contracts. Jim Petro allowed his special counsel to interfere in a private estate and there were lawsuits filed in the Butler County Probate Court by one of Jim Petro's "Special Counsels". The case(s) in Butler county were not in the least dependent on Federal Legislation nor were they related to Medicaid exigencies. The ability to "interfere" with private estates is derived from Federal Legislation requiring each state to seek reimbursement of funds paid on behalf of Medicaid recipients. The Special Counsel program was specifically tasked with this effort, as the staffing levels necessary to monitor each of the 88 counties would have exceeded the existing in-house funding levels.
, was selected after Petro’s first running mate, Hamilton County Commissioner Phil Heimlich, dropped out of the campaign to run for re-election as Commissioner of Hamilton County.
Petro positioned himself as a conservative in the primary election. He is pro-life, against gay marriage, and supports Ohio’s concealed carry weapons law.
At one point in the campaign, Petro had raised the most money for his campaign, having $2 million on hand. The Blackwell campaign had $1.5 million on hand. Several polls conducted showed Blackwell as the frontrunner; one of these was an April 2006 poll that showed Blackwell leading Petro 39-32 in the primary, with 29 percent undecided.
Petro, along with 14 other candidates, (including Blackwell and eventual Democratic Party
nominee Ted Strickland
) were accused by the Ohio Citizen Action group to have failed to meet Ohio's campaign contribution law which requires best efforts to disclose the names, addresses, employment status, employer, and place of employment of individuals who donate $100 or more to a political campaign. Blackwell, Petro, and Strickland all received a "B letter grade" from the group for their levels of disclosure.
Petro was defeated in the May 2, 2006 primary by Ken Blackwell
, Ohio's then-Secretary of State
.
appointed Petro Chancellor of the Ohio Board of Regents.
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
Party, and a former Ohio Attorney General
Ohio Attorney General
The Ohio Attorney General is the chief legal officer of the State of Ohio in the United States. The office is filled by general election, held every four years. The Ohio Attorney General is Mike DeWine.-History:...
. Previously, Petro also served as Ohio State Auditor
Ohio State Auditor
The Ohio State Auditor is responsible for auditing all the public offices of the state of Ohio. The auditor is elected to a four-year term. The current Auditor is Dave Yost....
. Petro was a candidate for the Republican nomination for Governor of Ohio during the 2006 Ohio Primaries, but lost to Ken Blackwell
Ken Blackwell
John Kenneth Blackwell is an American politician and activist who served as the mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio from 1979 to 1980 and Ohio Secretary of State from 1999 to 2007. A Republican, he was the first African-American to be the candidate for governor of a major party in Ohio. In 2006, Blackwell...
. He currently serves as Chancellor of the Ohio Board of Regents
Ohio Board of Regents
The Ohio Board of Regents is the coordinating board for higher education in Ohio. The board was created in 1963 by the Ohio General Assembly to: provide higher education policy advice to the Governor of Ohio and the Ohio General Assembly; develop a strategy involving Ohio's public and independent...
.
Early life and early career
Petro was born October 25, 1948 in Brooklyn, OhioBrooklyn, Ohio
Brooklyn is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. The population was 11,169 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Brooklyn is located at ....
. A Brooklyn High School graduate, he attended Denison University
Denison University
Denison University is private, coeducational, and residential college of liberal arts and sciences founded in 1831. It is located in Granville, Ohio, United States, approximately 30 miles east of Columbus, the state capital...
in Granville, Ohio
Granville, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there were 3,167 people, 1,309 households, and 888 families residing in the village. The population density was 790.4 people per square mile . There were 1,384 housing units at an average density of 345.4 per square mile...
where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree and joined the Lambda Chi Alpha
Lambda Chi Alpha
Lambda Chi Alpha is one of the largest men's secret general fraternities in North America, having initiated more than 280,000 members and held chapters at more than 300 universities. It is a member of the North-American Interfraternity Conference and was founded by Warren A. Cole, while he was a...
fraternity
Fraternities and sororities
Fraternities and sororities are fraternal social organizations for undergraduate students. In Latin, the term refers mainly to such organizations at colleges and universities in the United States, although it is also applied to analogous European groups also known as corporations...
. He later earned his law degree from Case Western Reserve University School of Law
Case Western Reserve University School of Law
Case Western Reserve University Franklin Thomas Backus School of Law is the law school at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. It opened in 1892, making it one of the oldest law schools in the country. It was one of the first schools accredited by the American Bar Association and was...
in Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
. Petro served as an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney for Franklin County
Franklin County, Ohio
Franklin County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. In 2010 the population was 1,163,414, making it the second largest county in Ohio and the 34th largest county in population in the United States. Franklin County is also the largest in the eight-county Columbus, Ohio...
as a trial lawyer responsible for felony prosecutions, and then as Assistant Director of Law for the city of Cleveland, Ohio. After starting his private practice, Petro became prosecuting attorney for the city of Rocky River, Ohio
Rocky River, Ohio
Rocky River is an affluent western suburb of Cleveland, Ohio, United States located in Cuyahoga County approximately nine miles west of Public Square in downtown Cleveland. The city is named for the river that forms its eastern border...
.
Political career
Petro began his political career in 1977 when he was elected to the Rocky River city council, and later served as the director of the city. In 1980, he was elected to the Ohio House of RepresentativesOhio House of Representatives
The Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; the other house of the bicameral legislature being the Ohio Senate....
. He served four years as a state representative. In 1991, Petro became County Commissioner for Cuyahoga County; during his four year term he was President of the board for a year.
Petro was elected Ohio Auditor in 1994. As Auditor he served as the chief inspector and supervisor of public offices in the state; the office is the largest state auditing agency in the United States, second in size only to the United States Government Accountability Office
Government Accountability Office
The Government Accountability Office is the audit, evaluation, and investigative arm of the United States Congress. It is located in the legislative branch of the United States government.-History:...
.
In November 2002, Petro was elected the Ohio attorney general. In 2005, Petro became the first Ohio attorney general to argue a case in front of the Supreme Court in over thirty years; he won the case by a vote of nine to zero. As Ohio’s Attorney General he successfully defended the law banning late term abortions in the state.
Campaign contributions by lawyers
Before Ohio enacted limits on campaign contributions in 1995, outside lawyers working for the attorney general's office directly gave more than $410,000 to the campaigns of Democrat Lee FisherLee Fisher
Lee Fisher was the 64th Lieutenant Governor of Ohio, who served with Governor Ted Strickland from 2007 until 2011.He is a member of the Democratic Party.In addition to serving as Lt...
, who served as Attorney General from 1991 through 1994.
In 1998, the state Republican party created a "candidate fund" to which lawyers and others could contribute; the fund in turn gives funds to candidates. In March 2006, the Toledo Blade reported that the GOP had directed contributions totaling $1.49 million to Petro, the current attorney general, and $1.27 million to State Auditor Betty Montgomery
Betty Montgomery
Betty Montgomery is an American politician from the state of Ohio. A Republican, she formerly served as Ohio State Auditor.-Prosecutor:...
, a former two-term attorney general running to become attorney general once again. If the Blade reporting is accurate, then the Ohio GOP is clearly favoring Petro over Blackwell in the primary campaign. Of note, this is the first open contested Republican primary for Governor in many years. The Ohio GOP has previously managed to broker their primaries; i.e., talking all candidates but the favored one into dropping out.
The Blade's analysis found that firms that contributed the largest amounts of money to the candidate fund received among the most in fees from the state for being "special counsel" - private-sector lawyers hired to do legal work for the state. For example, through its lawyers, lawyers' families, and political-action committees, Calfee, Halter & Griswold, a Cleveland-based law firm, has contributed at least $186,000 to the Ohio GOP's state candidate fund since 1998. In that same period, the firm has collected more than $17 million in fees from the attorney general's office, all in no-bid contracts. Jim Petro allowed his special counsel to interfere in a private estate and there were lawsuits filed in the Butler County Probate Court by one of Jim Petro's "Special Counsels". The case(s) in Butler county were not in the least dependent on Federal Legislation nor were they related to Medicaid exigencies. The ability to "interfere" with private estates is derived from Federal Legislation requiring each state to seek reimbursement of funds paid on behalf of Medicaid recipients. The Special Counsel program was specifically tasked with this effort, as the staffing levels necessary to monitor each of the 88 counties would have exceeded the existing in-house funding levels.
Candidate for Governor
On January 30, 2006, Petro announced that Joy Padgett would be his running mate for the Governor’s position. Padgett, a Republican state senator from Coshocton, OhioCoshocton, Ohio
Coshocton is a city in and the county seat of Coshocton County, Ohio, United States. The population of the city was 11,682 at the 2000 census. The Walhonding River and the Tuscarawas River meet in Coshocton to form the Muskingum River....
, was selected after Petro’s first running mate, Hamilton County Commissioner Phil Heimlich, dropped out of the campaign to run for re-election as Commissioner of Hamilton County.
Petro positioned himself as a conservative in the primary election. He is pro-life, against gay marriage, and supports Ohio’s concealed carry weapons law.
At one point in the campaign, Petro had raised the most money for his campaign, having $2 million on hand. The Blackwell campaign had $1.5 million on hand. Several polls conducted showed Blackwell as the frontrunner; one of these was an April 2006 poll that showed Blackwell leading Petro 39-32 in the primary, with 29 percent undecided.
Petro, along with 14 other candidates, (including Blackwell and eventual Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
nominee Ted Strickland
Ted Strickland
Theodore "Ted" Strickland was the 68th Governor of Ohio, serving from 2007 to 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served in the United States House of Representatives, representing ....
) were accused by the Ohio Citizen Action group to have failed to meet Ohio's campaign contribution law which requires best efforts to disclose the names, addresses, employment status, employer, and place of employment of individuals who donate $100 or more to a political campaign. Blackwell, Petro, and Strickland all received a "B letter grade" from the group for their levels of disclosure.
Petro was defeated in the May 2, 2006 primary by Ken Blackwell
Ken Blackwell
John Kenneth Blackwell is an American politician and activist who served as the mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio from 1979 to 1980 and Ohio Secretary of State from 1999 to 2007. A Republican, he was the first African-American to be the candidate for governor of a major party in Ohio. In 2006, Blackwell...
, Ohio's then-Secretary of State
Ohio Secretary of State
The Secretary of State is responsible for overseeing elections in the State of Ohio. The Secretary of State also is responsible for registering business entities and granting them the authority to do business within the state, registering secured transactions, and granting access to public...
.
Board of Regents
On February 28, 2011, Governor John KasichJohn Kasich
John Richard Kasich is the 69th and current Governor of Ohio. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a member of the United States House of Representatives, representing from 1983 to 2001...
appointed Petro Chancellor of the Ohio Board of Regents.