Super PAC intervenes in local race

SANDUSKY — A political action committee that supports environmental causes has jumped into the Erie County commissioner races, backing two Democrats who are challenging Republican incumbents. Conservation Ohio PAC, largely supported by out-of-state money, has sent out a mailer and aired a TV commercial backing Democrats Leslie Murray and Marcus Harris and criticizing Republicans Pat Shenigo and Matt Old. The ads focus on the decision by Old and Shenigo to block building new solar and wind farms in Erie County. The group's website, at conservationohpac.org, mentions the Erie County commissioner races and shows a photo of the Marblehead Lighthouse, the iconic Ottawa County landmark. "One thing for voters to keep in mind is that these corporate interests care so little about our community that they think the Marblehead Lighthouse is in Erie County," Old said. "If they can't even get that right, do you want them setting government policy for our county?" The brief TV spot from the group says that Shenigo and Old voted against "energy independence" and "new jobs." "That means higher costs for us. We can't afford Pat Shenigo and Matt Old," it states. The mailer provides a similar message, boosting Murray and Harris for supporting economic development and criticizing the incumbents for voting to block new energy projects in Erie County. The PAC's messaging apparently references a 3-0 vote in 2023 by Old, Shenigo and the third commissioner, Steve Shoffner, to ban new industrial-scale wind and solar farms in Erie County. The vote also banned offshore wind farms in Erie County along the Lake Erie coast. They explained, at the time, that the vote applied to large projects in unincorporated areas but didn't apply to projects inside the city limits of villages and towns. It also blocked only future projects and not the two that are already underway in southern Erie County: the Wheatsborough solar power project in Groton Township and the Firelands Wind project in southern Erie County and northern Huron County. A homeowner, business owner or farmer can still put up solar panels or a wind turbine on their own property. The resolution was based on a state law authored by state Sen. Bill Reineke, R-Tiffin, which allows county commissioners to ban or limit wind and solar projects. Reineke said his measure gave local citizens a voice in projects that affect them. Opponents said the bill hurts a needed shift toward green energy. On Friday, Old defended his vote. "We have heard overwhelmingly from township trustees, farmers and residents in the areas where these projects are likely to be built that they do not want industrial-scale energy projects constructed in their communities," Old said. "Our position is a direct response to the concerns of these residents." Old continued: "I have never seen a super PAC get involved in a county-level race. One has to wonder why some anonymous corporate interest group wants Pat and I out of office. Why would they spend this huge amount of money attacking us?" Documents filed at the Federal Election Commission describe the Conservation Ohio PAC as a Super PAC that makes independent expenditures in political races. The group's website states that, in 2024, it is spending money in Ohio General Assembly races and the Erie County commission contest. The PAC's mailing address is listed as 1145 Chesapeake Avenue, Suite 1, in Columbus — the same address as the Ohio Environmental Council, a prominent environmental advocacy group. The group's filing says it shares expenses with the Ohio Environmental Council Action Fund Inc. From Jan. 1, 2023, to Sept. 30 of this year, the election commission document for the PAC listed receipts, including contributions, of about $225,000. The election commission documents show the majority of the group's money comes from out of state, including $147,000 from the Green Advocacy Project in California and $35,000 from the Local Jobs and Economic Development Fund in Delaware, with about $2,600 coming from Ohio. The Ohio Environmental Council has been vocal in supporting wind energy and solar energy to reduce air pollution and combat global warming. In a court battle waged at the Ohio Supreme Court on the fate of Erie County's Firelands Wind project, the council sided with the wind farm developers and with the Ohio Power Siting Board, which had approved the project, against opponents who included local landowners and Ottawa County's Black Swamp Bird Observatory, which said the wind farm would threaten birds. The Ohio Environmental Council won when the Supreme Court ruled 7-0 last year that the project could go forward.