AG candidate Robert Owens asks, “What took so long?”
This in via email from the Robert Owens for Attorney General campaign:
AG candidate asks opponent “What took so long?”
DELAWARE, OHIO – Independent attorney general candidate Robert Owens today responded to an announcement by Mike Crites, which suggested slight changes to the handling of legal contracts in the attorney general’s office. Owens said that the end of his opponent’s silence on the issue was long overdue, but that the Crites pitch was not a significant change and timed for political purposes.
Owens questioned the timing of the proposal, saying “since Mr. Crites himself acknowledges that these no-bid contracts have been a root source of corruption for years, why are we just now hearing from him?”
Robert Owens has made the elimination of no-bid contracts a centerpiece of his campaign to restore integrity in the attorney general’s office. In speeches, candidate questionnaires and interviews, he has consistently emphasized the need for a fundamental change in the system, including the handling of contracts through the AG’s office.
“When I announced my candidacy nearly four months ago, I said that the no-bid contracts must end, to be replaced by an open competitive bid process,” Owens said. “I find it very ironic that the day after a new poll shows our campaign gaining significant traction is when Mr. Crites chose to announce this mimicking proposal. His plan is not an open competitive bid process, as we’ve been calling for.”
In addition to proposing the elimination of no-bid contracts, Owens has stressed the need for increased transparency in all of state government operations. He is the only attorney general candidate to have signed the Buckeye Institute’s “Pledge for Transparency and Openness in Government.”
