“These are not grocery bags or water bottles or dime store trinkets that serve no purpose other than self-promotion,” Taylor spokesman Chris Abbruzzese said. The calendars are given to local government officials and include financial reporting deadlines and the posters include fraud reporting hot lines, he noted.
State Treasurer Kevin Boyce, a Democrat who was appointed seven months ago, spent more than $32,000 on promotional material, including water bottles, grocery bags and pencils.
Attorney General Richard Cordray, a Democrat who won election seven months ago, bought $8,824 worth of pens, letter openers and note pads that promote a consumer protection education Web site run by his office. Only the magnetic notepads, which cost $1,098, have Cordray’s name on them.
Cordray’s predecessors, Nancy Rogers and Marc Dann, spent quite a bit more. On Rogers’ watch, the attorney general’s office purchased $37,814 worth of giveaways including $17,000 in flash drives. It’s unclear whether any of these items had her name on them.
Dann, a Democrat who resigned in May 2007, used his office accounts to purchase beaded necklaces, umbrellas, golf shirts, coffee mugs, hand sanitizer and lapel pins. He rang up $80,900 in purchases for promotional items, many with his name emblazoned on them.
Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, a Democrat now running for U.S. Senate, bought $8,579 worth of memo pads, carrying bags and polo shirts. The 135 embroidered polo shirts cost $2,269 and are used by staff during work hours for identification purposes at events such as the state fair, Brunner press secretary Jeff Ortega said.
Gov. Ted Strickland, a Democrat, didn’t spend any money on promotional items, his office said in response to a public records request.
Last year, Ohio Supreme Court spent $662 on coffee mugs for new employees but the cups do not have the names of the justices on them.
Contact this reporter at (614)224-1624 or lbischoff@DaytonDailyNews.com.
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