League of Women Voters of Ohio Education Fund
State of Ohio November 4, 2008 Election
	Robert M. Owens Answers Questions Candidate for Attorney General

The questions were prepared by the League of Women Voters of the Cincinnati Area and asked of all candidates for this office.
Read the answers from all candidates (who have responded).

Questions & Answers

1. What specific actions should the Attorney General take to protect consumers in Ohio?

Protecting consumers starts by sacredly guarding their tax dollars, eliminating the "corruption tax," which by some accounts has been as much as $2,000 per family. This means changing the system that awards nobid contracts to large campaign contributors representing special interests. It also means eliminating the current "slush funds" that are created by monies collected by the attorney general's office through settlement and litigation. Those funds should be returned to the people's treasury. As attorney general, I will work to reduce regulation on small business (often falsely marketed as "consumer protection"), while increasing focus on prosecuting fraudulent business practices. Finally, consumer protection means fighting crime. I will work to expand capabilities for the Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) forensic lab in order to better support law enforcement across Ohio. I will also work to expand education to communities and law enforcement regarding citizen rights to self defense.

2. What changes would you propose in the authority of the Attorney General?

The attorney general should not have the authority to unilaterally distribute hundreds of millions of dollars in no-bid contracts. I am the only candidate to propose, from the beginning of the race, that every contract be subject to a full, open competitive bid process. All financial transactions of the attorney general's office should be readily available (i.e. online), open to public and media scrutiny. The only way to restore integrity to the office of attorney general is through independent oversight and full transparency. I am the only candidate to sign the Buckeye Institute's "Transparency in Government" pledge. Let there be no more blind trust in politicians. The system itself must be changed. As an independent, I alone have the ability to make these changes without concern from party politics and big money special interest pressure.

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Responses to questions asked of each candidate are reproduced as submitted to the League.  Candidates' statements are presented as submitted. The answer must not exceed 100 words. Direct references to opponents are not permitted.

Read the answers from all candidates (who have responded).

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Created from information supplied by the candidate: October 4, 2008 00:29
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