Blackwell met with pastors more often than IRS says

By Andrew Welsh-Huggins, The Cleveland Plain Dealer, March 12, 2006

Columbus -- Secretary of State Ken Blackwell has met with two conservative pastors more often than alleged in an IRS complaint accusing the pastors of improperly supporting his campaign for governor, according to a review of documents by the Associated Press.

While the complaint looked at nine publicly reported events sponsored by the pastors, a review of Blackwell's daily schedule found 18 other meetings or other contact with the pastors, including flights on a church-owned plane, meetings in Blackwell's office and attendance at church services.

Blackwell, a Republican and favorite of conservatives, had contact with pastors Russell Johnson and Rod Parsley or their churches 27 times from January 2004 through March of this year, according to AP research, which included a review of Blackwell's confidential schedule, obtained through a public records request.

That's more than a third of the total number of events with a religious theme listed on Blackwell's schedule and represents the largest number of contacts with specific pastors.

At issue in the complaint is the context of the contacts. Blackwell says he was involved either as secretary of state or as an elected leader supporting a cause -- in many cases a 2004 ban on gay marriage.

Liberal ministers critical of Johnson and Parsley question how the pastors can separate their ties to Blackwell from his campaign for governor.

Blackwell said none of his meetings with Parsley or Johnson or any of the dozens of other ministers or churches he visits regularly have anything to do with partisan politics.

"Anybody that would peg the IRS complaint to the frequency in which I meet with any pastor would in fact be misinterpreting the code," he said. "The code does not prohibit or restrict interaction to any specific number. It talks about protecting against engaging in partisan politics."

Blackwell's GOP rival for governor, Attorney General Jim Petro, declined to comment, except to say he occasionally meets with ministers but not with Parsley or Johnson. Former candidate Betty Montgomery, the state auditor, also meets with ministers but has not met not with Parsley or Johnson.

The schedule obtained by the AP from Blackwell's office ends in September, when the official calendar was transferred to Blackwell's political campaign.

Asked for the public portion of Blackwell's schedule from September through March, the campaign provided 158 pages, with most events blacked out as campaign-related and hence not a public record.

Blackwell said no documents held by his campaign are covered under open records law, including calendar items that reflect events -- such as appearances with the pastors -- that he made as secretary of state.

Blackwell has been raising money for his governor's campaign since at least 2004 but said years earlier that he planned to run.

He has never made a secret of the fact that he is a conservative Christian who integrates his faith into his public and private life as often as possible. However, the records show the campaign is sensitive to the issue.

"Public schools will be in attendence, so be careful of the way Christianity is included speech," according to a scheduling note for an Oct. 7 event in Cincinnati.

Johnson is chairman of the Ohio Restoration Project, a group of religious conservatives that helped spearhead the gay marriage ban.

He said the meetings reflect his church's association with Blackwell, which dates to before his run for governor and includes Blackwell's support of the gay-marriage ban.

"I have never in a public gathering said, Vote for Ken Blackwell,' " Johnson said. "I have affirmed his strong stands for life, marriage, and candidly, low taxes."

Parsley is chairman of Reformation Ohio, a similar group whose goal is to convert 1 million people to Christianity, help the poor and register 400,000 new voters.

Parsley declined an interview request, but the church said in a written statement that Parsley has met with Blackwell only in his capacity as secretary of state to discuss voter registration or Blackwell's support of traditional marriage.

The complaint to the IRS, filed in January, alleges Johnson and Parsley and their churches have improperly promoted Blackwell's gubernatorial campaign over other candidates by featuring him at large rallies.

The complaint asks that the federal agency investigate whether the pastors violated federal law prohibiting churches from engaging in political activity and endorsing candidates for political office.

The meetings on Blackwell's schedule add to the issues raised by the complaint, said the Rev. Eric Williams, a United Church of Christ pastor who coordinated the complaint's filing.

"It just reinforces my understanding that there's been a lot of intention going into planning things, cultivating political relationships, developing the machination that goes into, you know, raising up this candidate," Williams said.

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