Ohio's Ney stuck in wait-and-see game

3 Jul 2006 // There's often a caveat these days when Ohio Republicans talk about re-election prospects for their embattled congressman, Bob Ney. As state Rep. Clyde Evans put it at a recent GOP barbecue, "Unless he's indicted, I think he'll do very well."

In a district that stretches more than 200 miles through hills, farms and small-town Main Streets, Ney has been the go-to guy for a dozen years. He won 66% of the vote in 2004. Now he's a central figure in the federal corruption investigation of convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff and, according to the political newsletter Hotline, the most vulnerable House incumbent.

The six-term Republican from Heath is accused in court papers and testimony by a former aide of accepting gifts, trips and campaign donations from Abramoff and his clients in exchange for official actions. The House ethics committee is investigating him. Ney's top Capitol Hill aides are leaving, and federal investigators last week subpoenaed his district director.

Ney, who turns 52 on Wednesday, hasn't been charged and says he has done nothing wrong. He also says he'll run even if he's indicted. "I'll be serving ... until the day the voters decide whether they want me to continue," Ney said in an interview. "They make the decision. No one else."

Clouds over GOP

Diane Carnes, head of the Ross County GOP, says an indictment won't shake her support. "I trust him," she says. "I'm going to be there for him because he's always been there for us."

Some of Ney's past backers, however, say an indictment would change their votes. Some already are considering a switch to Democrat Zack Space, 45, an attorney and hotel developer from Dover.

Retired paper mill supervisor Arlan Cox said he is "up in the air" about whether he'll stick with Ney. As he prepared for a Lion's Club fish fry at a downtown park, Cox said he knew little about Space, but "we need to clean house in Washington and start over."

Ohio is awash in scandal, making it prime territory for the "culture of corruption" argument Democrats are using against Republicans in their quest to take control of the House and Senate. The largest corruption probe in Ohio history has produced charges against 14 people. The two most prominent:

• Republican Gov. Bob Taft was convicted of four misdemeanors involving golf outings, dinners and other unreported gifts; his approval rating in May was 26%.

• Tom Noe, a rare coin dealer and party fundraiser, pleaded guilty to illegally funneling contributions to President Bush. Noe also is charged with embezzlement arising from his management of a $50 million coin investment for the state worker's compensation fund.

The drag on GOP candidates here is palpable. Two-term Sen. Mike DeWine, seven-term Rep. Deborah Pryce and six-term Rep. Steve Chabot are in contests that Hotline editor Chuck Todd and other independent analysts rate as tossups or potential upsets, although all three won their last races with 60%.

Ken Blackwell, the Republican candidate for governor, doesn't talk about Taft. "Bob Taft is not in the matrix," he declared, smiling, when asked why. Lieutenant governor candidate Tom Raga, rallying the troops at the backyard barbecue here in Ney's district, stuck to indirect allusions. "Republicans in Ohio love being Republicans," he said. "They may have someone they're disappointed in or unhappy with, but they're Republicans."

Space, who declined interview requests, won the Democratic primary with a campaign centered on ethics. His website features a pledge to accept no gifts, trips or meals from lobbyists.

'Representative #1'

Ney stepped down as head of the House Administration Committee in January after Abramoff, in his plea agreement, described official acts performed by "Representative #1," later identified in court papers as Ney, in exchange for "a stream of things of value." Abramoff partner Neil Volz, once Ney's chief of staff, pleaded guilty to trying to corrupt Ney. He testified that Ney was a "champion" for Abramoff's clients.

Ney, Abramoff and former House majority leader Tom DeLay took an expensive golf trip to Scotland, subsidized by the Tigua tribe of Texas, an Abramoff client. Ney later tried to help the Tiguas reopen a casino.

Ney calls Abramoff "a con man" who deceived him and wants to stay out of jail. Accounts of his own activities are distorted, Ney says: "Did I spend hours and hours and hours and hours on his issues? No."

If Ney survives the election, it could be because of the Social Security glitches he has unraveled, the federal money he has secured, the sympathetic ear he offers his constituents. "People know him personally," says Republican Connie Meyer, a registered nurse here. "Word of mouth is going to help."

Controversy has only intensified Ney's attentions to the home folk. "I don't cancel events" in tough times, he says. "I just continue on a pretty rigorous schedule."

One staple is leading students on tours of the Capitol. "Welcome to the floor of the U.S. House. My name is Bob Ney, and I'm your member of Congress," Ney began recently, standing before 63 sixth-graders and 14 chaperones from Jackson (Ohio) Middle School.

Ney recently did the tour for 84 students from a neighboring district after they got stuck in traffic and missed their scheduled tour. The desperate request came from Democrat Violet Cummings, a Ney constituent on the trip. When he came through, driving all night from Ohio to Washington because of a canceled flight, Cummings took down her Zack Space lawn sign.

"How could I work against somebody who cares that much? ... He can't be all bad if he cares that much about the kids," she said.