Desert News Reports: Campaign finance reports filed Friday with the state show that union-backed We Are Ohio raised almost $30 million and spent roughly $29 million in its successful effort to defeat the law, which limited public employee unions’ bargaining rights. The group also netted more than $12 million in total in-kind contributions.
Defenders of the law were far outspent and outraised.
Republican-backed Building a Better Ohio reported spending more than $11 million through its political action committee. The coalition of business groups and others also trailed the law’s opponents in fundraising — bringing in about $11 million in donations and less than $570,000 in in-kind gifts.
In total, the groups’ spending exceeded the almost $34 million spent in gubernatorial campaign in 2010.
Ohioans were barraged with TV ads, mailers and sparring in the press during the months leading up to the November vote on whether the union law should be kept or tossed out. The bill would have restricted the bargaining abilities of more than 350,000 teachers, police, firefighters and other unionized public employees around the state.
Final results of last month’s election released on Friday show voters rejected the new law 62 percent to 38 percent.
Gov. John Kasich, a first-term Republican, and other supporters had promoted the overhaul as a means for city officials, school superintendents and others to better control their costs and keep workers on the job during a time of tight budgets.
