Few issues bring voters together more than protecting animals from abuse and, specifically, cracking down on puppy mills.
So in the spirit of unity, let me explain how the current battle over Ohio’s Constitution is directly related to puppy mills and animal abuse.
You see, not that long ago, Ohio had among the loosest laws in the nation when it came to curbing animal abuse and puppy mills. We’re talking about cages of breeding dogs stacked on top of each other, wire floors, etc.
And Ohio’s legislature largely refused to go along with reforms to make things better. In fact, in 2016, the legislature passed a bill protecting puppy mills (it was called the “Petland Bill” after a primary proponent) from local laws attempting to curb them.(Grove City and Toledo had passed such laws).
That’s when a group called Stop Puppy Mills Ohio decided the only way to overcome that hostile legislature and improve things was to do what Ohioans have had a right to do for a century: they began gathering signatures for a referendum to amend Ohio’s Constitution.
In 2017, they kicked off their ballot drive, aiming for a November 2018 referendum. They gained momentum and thousands of signatures quickly, and were well up in the polls. And then…wouldn’t you know it…the interests (e.g., Petland) who’d pushed through that 2016 bill suddenly wanted to talk.
Hmmm. I wonder why?
Fearful of the robust protections in the referendum, and knowing that a majority of Ohioans clearly supported such reforms, they now wanted to sit down at the table and hash out a compromise to head the Amendment off. And that compromise led to a new bill in 2018, hailed by advocates for banning some of the worst practices of abuse (like those stacked cages of breeding dogs and cages with wire floors )) That law passed the legislature, and was signed by Kasich.
The politicians of course took credit, but it’s pretty clear that it only passed because activists had chosen to use Ohio’s Constitutional Amendment process, which ultimately forced the issue of reform through the legislature. And that’s a key lesson from all of this:
In a world where a legislature is dominated by big-dollar special interests and their lobbyists, even measures as popular and right as protecting against animal abuse go nowhere. Big money and lobbying stops them. And when that big money succeeds in stopping even popular reforms, by far the best path to achieve that needed reform and get around that special-interest-serving legislature is the Constitutional amendment process. (A directed statute can be reversed by that legislature).
And as this case shows, even a credible threat of robust Constitutional protections can create enough leverage to forge positive and popular change. Without that leverage, and the ultimate check of the people over that bought-off and heavily lobbied legislatures, these puppy-mill protections would never have happened.
But here’s the thing: Not only activists pushing FOR change learned that lesson.
Who else did? Take a look at this photo:
I took it Wednesday, moments before the legislature rammed through a measure (SJR2) they hope will add huge obstacles (including a 60% threshold for passage) to the very Constitutional Amendment process that curbed animal abuse in Ohio. In that photo is a guy who intensely lobbied for that resolution, now on Ohio’s August ballot. Looking at the photo, it’s as if this guy is watching over his flock.
Just who is this powerful man?
His name is Mike Gonidakis, and he’s best known for being president of Ohio Right to Life, which gives him a lot of sway with gerrymandered politicians who crave that group’s endorsement in order to avoid primary challenges.
But Mike G. is largely a lobbyist.
He represents all sorts of interests. Some, like his marijuana industry clients, might surprise folks. But if you’re a Republican legislator, you bet you’re gonna know which interests Mike G. lobbies for, because you surely don’t want to upset the guy who simultaneously runs Ohio Right to Life. So when he’s taking the time to watch over you as you vote, you best tread carefully. (BTW, in his spare time, Mike G enjoys making light of serious matters such as the Jan. 6 insurrection):
But for this thread’s purposes, Mike G. also turns out to be a lobbyist for… Petland. And in that role, Mike G. has been working tirelessly for years to beat back laws all over the country aimed at protecting dogs and puppies from puppy mill abuse.
In Ohio, Florida, Georgia, California, Mike G. spearheaded efforts to keep state and local governments from protecting against animal abuse. His name was all over that 2016 Ohio law effort that stopped local governments, for example. (Remember, it was called the “Petland Bill.”) That’s right, to keep the guy who runs Ohio Right to Life happy, you had to stop cities from protecting dogs from puppy mills.
Mike G. even stood up an “AstroTurf” group called “Citizens for Responsible Pet Owner” to push similar bills across the country.
This mysterious “pet owner” group from OH has gone to work in CA, GA, FL, IL, NE, TN, WV, KS, MI, TX. (Here’s his filling in California).
Fortunately for dogs and those who care about them, Mike G. and his pet owners often lose—my guess is because puppy mills are REALLY unpopular everywhere. Even Ron DeSantis vetoed one of these laws!
Well, wouldn’t you know it, Mike G. was also the person who had to coordinate the 2018 negotiation and compromise law here in Ohio, staving off the Stop Puppy Mills Ohio Constitutional Amendment before it reached the ballot.
That’s right, not long after his big 2016 “Petland Law” victory, Mike G. was tasked with coordinating a compromise law. Which means he knows first-hand that the leverage reformers built by going right to the people led to the negotiation and reforms that otherwise weren’t going to happen in OH.
So when you see Mike G. looking out over his gerrymandered legislators as they gut Ohio’s Amendment process, it’s a perfectly symbolic reminder: yes, this is certainly about abortion access, but it’s also about big-time lobbyists knowing that the power of the people to go to the Constitution on issues Ohioans support is the single greatest threat to the vice-grip lobbyists have on a legislature they helped gerrymander, and where they dump special interest dollars and impact endorsements.
So now that you know this history, imagine all the other future issues—similar to saving abused dogs from monied interests hell-bent on stopping popular reforms—that will no doubt be buried forever in a bought-off legislature that no longer fears that the people can do anything about it.
Mike G. knows all this very well. That’s probably why he stood in the front row of the Gallery like he owned the place to make sure those rigged legislators knew how important this was to him, and them.
Now you know too!
Vote. No!!
I hope that people in Ohio, and throughout this country through your efforts, truly and fully understand the enormous power they hold in their own states by voting in overwhelming numbers.
No lobbyist drowning in dark money can overcome this reality.
True populism means voting out anyone on either side of the aisle who doesn't represent the will of the majority. Absent the deliberate distraction of culture wars, most people want the same things.
I know how corrupt Ohio politics are. I testified twice in front of the Senate Committee discussing the FES nuclear bailout and OVEC coal unit bailout. Neither needed the money. Yet, the money flowing around was palpable. I joked, albeit seriously, Ohio was saying to NJ, LA, IL, “hold my beer...this is how corruption is really done”. It is obscene. We saw this with PUCO and Sam Randazzo.
The point is the naked corruption in OH pervades all aspects of economic life that affects OH citizens. It is reverse Robin Hood!