Once again, the Strickland administra tion has displayed its ignorance of - or contempt for - Ohio's Open Records Act.
The Columbus Dispatch reported recently that a State Highway Patrol personnel wrangle had ended in a settlement with an aggrieved officer, Lt. Col. Michael Finamore - a deal that also purported to end-run the law
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Finamore, in effect, alleged that patrol Superintendent Richard H. Collins gave him a do-nothing assignment to force Finamore out of the patrol. Both had wanted to be patrol superintendent. The patrol reports to public safety Director Henry Guzmán, a member of Gov. Ted Strickland's Cabinet. Last year, Guzmán named Collins patrol superintendent. Then, Finamore alleged, his troubles began.
When Finamore appealed the new assignment, Collins had Finamore's cell-phone use reviewed. Finamore, according to the Dispatch, "was nailed for making, and lying about, unreimbursed personal calls." Finamore countered, the paper said, that the calls cost the state nothing, because he'd stayed within the cellular calling plan's ceiling on minutes.
Still, the state destined Finamore for firing. But on Dec. 20, Finamore began to request the cell-phone records of, among others, Collins and Guzmán. On Feb. 28, wonder of wonders, the state settled, allowing Finamore to retire.
But Ohio taxpayers weren't supposed to know anything. The settlement's participants - including Strickland's administration - agreed not to discuss the case with third parties, although the Ohio Supreme Court has unanimously ruled that settlements signed by public officials can't be secret. And Finamore agreed not to file any more records requests with Guzmán's department before Jan. 9, 2015 - three days before a second Strickland term would end.
Finamore's concession may or may not be legally binding. But what does the Department of Public Safety want to hide?
According to a Strickland spokeswoman, the settlement "was in the interest of both parties involved, including the state, to avoid continuing rancor" and "allows both parties to move beyond this situation."
It also attempts to move beyond the law and leave taxpayers in the dark.