Dennis Leone on today's Dispatch editorial re: ethics scandal at STRS

From Dennis Leone, September 27, 2006

[Editorial posted below this post]

'This past December, I put a substitute motion on the table regarding the proposed settlement agreement for the lawsuit filed by the non-investment staff members who felt they deserved one final bonus check from 2003. The motion said that before the Board agreed to any payment, the Board first needed to seek restitution from Dyer and the Board members who carelessly approved the bonus checks in 2003 and before. This motion went down in flames, 9-2. Bet you can guess who the only two yes votes were.'

John, Kathie, Molly -- Today's Columbus Dispatch, Page A-10, has an editorial entitled "Raising Ethical Standards." The entire editorial is about the recent STRS Board member convictions and how the newspaper does NOT buy into the notion that they represented "over kill" -- which is how Ritchie Hollenbaugh, the attorney for Sidaway, et al, described it to the press. Hollenbaugh also said in other newspapers that the convictions were "unfair" because the board members did not get paid to be board members -- implying that they deserved the gifts. As you will see, the Dispatch editor says that the convictions were justified, and that these board members should have gone after Herb Dyer -- who originally set the tone of entitlement.

History for you: This past December, I put a substitute motion on the table regarding the proposed settlement agreement for the lawsuit filed by the non-investment staff members who felt they deserved one final bonus check from 2003. The motion said that before the Board agreed to any payment, the Board first needed to seek restitution from Dyer and the Board members who carelessly approved the bonus checks in 2003 and before. This motion went down in flames, 9-2. Bet you can guess who the only two yes votes were.

Dennis Leone