For Immediate Release
January 31, 2022
Media Contact: Doris Peters, 216-659-3362


Ohio Republican Party Chairman Robert Paduchik Violates Party Rules Keeping The Public from Attending February 4th Candidate Endorsement Meeting
Paduchik Falsely Claims Public Interfered and Instilled Fear in the Hearts of Members at the December 3rd meeting


Columbus, Ohio — January 31, Ohio Republican Party (ORP) Chairman Bob Paduchik released the Agenda for the February 4th meeting announcing it will be held privately behind closed doors in violation of committee bylaws. The Party’s Permanent Rules clearly state, “All meetings of the Committee shall be open to the public and press.” Twenty members of the ORP Policy Committee and Chairman Paduchik, a former political operative and strong supporter of Governor Mike DeWine, appear to be manipulating meeting rules as part of their efforts to have the State Central Committee (SCC) endorse DeWine for reelection in Columbus February 4th.
The ORP has sunk to new lows as the embattled Chairman continues his unprecedented violations of ORP Permanent Rules. He now mimics Nancy Pelosi who silenced the voices of millions of disenfranchised Trump supporters upset about the 2020 election. Pelosi’s wall building around the US Capitol was meant to keep dissenters away and mirrors what Paduchik is doing today – building a wall around Ohio’s GOP to “protect” them from politically engaged Ohio Republicans demanding an end to ORP corruption and primary endorsements.
“Prior to the last ORP meeting, committee members received over 200 e-mails from Ohioans requesting no ORP primary endorsements,” shared committee member Lisa Cooper, District 26. “There are also almost 1,000 signatures on a CitizenGo https://citizengo.org/en/node/203900?utm_source=em&utm_medium=e-mail&utm_campaign=&utm_content=typage on-line petition asking the ORP to stay away from primary endorsements and letting the people decide who the candidates will be in the 2022 General Election. We need to listen to our constituents,” added Cooper.
“It appears Chairman Paduchik and the Policy Committee have orchestrated the February 4th meeting to purposefully exclude concerned Republican constituents from attending, so State Central Committee members don’t have to face the public. This is not how Republicans act, it’s how Democrats act,” stated Jim Burgess from District 15. In addition to shutting out the public, the Chairman has silenced the voices of four SCC members who pre-submitted in writing motions against ORP endorsements, voter data requests, improved financial accountability and transparency, and unapproved candidate funding.
Cooper and Burgess pose a good snapshot of other SCC who are extremely upset that a small faction of their colleagues have rubber-stamped Paduchik’s bylaw violations and have voted to end all appearances of transparency. Chairman Paduchik, perceived by many to be unwilling to address public concern over ORP financial and organization troubles, abruptly ended the December meeting before finishing party business because some party members feigned concern about the public attendees they “claim” were threatening and out of control.
“With the disruptions during the September and December meetings there are serious public safety concerns. At the December meeting, several people received a lawful order from Delaware Sheriff’s Deputies to leave the meeting and they refused. Public attendees do not have a right to participate in and disrupt our meetings,” wrote Justin Bis, ORP Executive Director, in his meeting announcement email. Barring Republican constituents from attending an ORP meeting, that according to the bylaws should be open to the public and press, creates division and distrust within our party. This is something that is NOT NEEDED before the important elections in 2022.

Today, the five Republican plaintiffs who filed a lawsuit against Ohio Republican Party (ORP) Chairman Robert Paduchik celebrated a victory at last Friday’s ORP meeting. Shedding light on Paduchik’s more than $3 million in missing funds, without adequate explanation, the meeting outlined immediate, tangible steps for reform to move the Republican Party forward. Reform is only possible because of the lawsuit filed last week, culminating the persistent efforts of five Republicans who fought for accountability and faced retaliation over it. 

At Friday’s meeting, Paduchik acknowledged that a forensic audit of ORP financial statements would be conducted by an unnamed CPA firm for each of the four years beginning January 2017 and ending December 2020. He also admitted that his removal of the five plaintiffs from their respective subcommittees amounted to a retaliatory action, after the plaintiffs questioned Paduchik’s financial mismanagement. As a result of the lawsuit, the ORP finally held an open discussion of Paduchik’s violations of party bylaws, due to the inappropriate campaign donations and in-kind contributions to unendorsed candidates such as Governor Mike DeWine.

Looking ahead, the Republican plaintiffs’ fight is far from over. Paduchik improperly terminated Friday’s meeting without a two-thirds vote of party membership, failing to introduce two motions that expose conflicts of interests related to State Central Committee (SCC) members. One motion revealed the names of 14 SCC members with conflicts involving Governor DeWine: 

• Mike Berger
  
• Monica Robb Blasdel
  
• Jim Carnes
  
• Dan Carter
  
• Gary Cates
  
• JoAnn Davidson
  
• Robert Frost
  
• Dave Johnson
  
• Penny Martin 
  
• Brad McCloud
  
• Betty Montgomery
  
• Jim Simon
  
• Dee Talmadge 
  
• Bryan Williams 

According to the plaintiffs, those SCC members should recuse themselves from voting to endorse the Governor at the ORP’s next meeting in February 2021.

“Because of Republicans who believe in accountability, our party is one step closer to reform, but this is only the beginning,” said Laura Rosenberger, one of the plaintiffs. “Paduchik has a long list of questions to answer about the Ohio Republican Party’s finances and his toxic culture of retaliation, and we won’t rest until he answers them. Ohio Republicans deserve a leader who is accountable to them, and Paduchik is not that leader. His time is running out. Change is coming.”

For Immediate Release
November 30th, 2021

Columbus, Ohio — Today, five Republican plaintiffs filed a lawsuit against Ohio Republican Party (ORP) Chairman Robert Paduchik, accusing him of misreporting over $3 million in missing funds without adequate explanation, among other violations. In an attempt to protect and preserve the ORP, the plaintiffs demand a jury trial and accountability from Paduchik and other party leaders.

Filed in the Franklin County Common Pleas Court, the lawsuit can be found at ORPAccountability.com. Prior to filing the lawsuit, the plaintiffs sent Paduchik a formal demand letter, asking him to remedy his improper conduct, but to no avail.

The lawsuit’s named plaintiffs include Mark Bainbridge, JoAnn Campbell, Joe Miller, Laura Rosenberger, and Denise Verdi. In violation of party bylaws, all five plaintiffs were removed from their respective ORP subcommittee positions by Paduchik in recent months, as a result of retaliation for questioning his failed leadership and financial mismanagement.

Among other findings, the plaintiffs detail significant funds that have gone missing from ORP financial statements without adequate explanation, including but not limited to $1.7 million that disappeared in 2017, $437,000 in 2019, $638,000 in “Accounts Receivable” that were established in 2017 and 2018 and then written off in 2021, and $271,000 this year—a total of more than $3 million. Furthermore, the plaintiffs claim Paduchik wrongly supported candidates who were unendorsed by the ORP and improperly reorganized ORP leadership after complaints were raised about his chairmanship. Also named in the lawsuit is ORP Treasurer Dave Johnson, who was responsible for overseeing the unexplained missing funds.

Demanding a jury trial, the plaintiffs urge the Court to order Paduchik and Johnson to inspect ORP’s books and records, in addition to executing an accounting and audit that may determine the whereabouts of the missing funds. The plaintiffs also request that the Court order the defendants to reinstate them to their subcommittee positions, following their inappropriate removal.

“After years of failure and millions of dollars gone missing, it’s time for new leadership at the Ohio Republican Party,” said Rosenberger. “As proud Republicans who believe in fiscal conservatism, we won’t rest until Robert Paduchik and his enablers answer for their utter ineptitude and abandon the positions of power they never should’ve had. The millions of Republicans across our state deserve accountability and we are demanding it on their behalf. The Ohio Republican Party needs to be saved from within.”

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