FitzGerald Campaign Press Secretary Lauren Hitt released the following statement on the resignation of two staffers in Lt. Governor Mary Taylor’s office, and the subsequent announcement that Inspector General Meyer, a former employee of Mary Taylor, would investigate the matter.
“Governor Kasich needs to demand some answers from his lieutenant governor. For instance, how was she unaware that her Chief of Staff was frequently not reporting to work? What issues made the work environment in her office ‘hostile’ as asserted by a former employee. As Director of the Department of Insurance, has Mary Taylor also failed to exercise appropriate oversight in that position?
Mary Taylor has some explaining to do and the only one who can demand she explain the failure of her supervision is her boss, Governor John Kasich. Ohioans will be waiting to see if the Governor takes action or if he thinks his administration is exempt from accountability.”
What Others Are Saying About the Kasich Administration Resignations:
ABC 6 (Columbus)
NBC 4 (Columbus)
10TV (Columbus)
CBS 7 (Dayton)
WLW-AM (Cincinnati)
Columbus Dispatch: 2 of Mary Taylor’s staffers out in hours flap: A public-records request from a liberal blogger led to Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor realizing that her chief of staff wasn’t doing her job. Laura Johnson, 33, the only chief of staff Taylor has had in 3 1/2 years as lieutenant governor, resigned on Thursday at Taylor’s request. Heather Brandt, 30, executive assistant to Johnson, also resigned, citing an “unhealthy hostile work environment” in her resignation letter…Multiple spokesmen within the Kasich administration said it wouldn’t be unusual for Taylor not to have known where Johnson was or whether she was working throughout the day. But Taylor, a Republican, and her spokesman seemed to offer conflicting statements on whether the work Johnson was responsible for was completed.
Toledo Blade: 2 Taylor staffers quit in wake of time issues: Two staff members of Ohio Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor resigned this week after a public records request found that the hours for which they were paid were “significantly” less than the time state parking garage records showed they were actually in the building. Laura Horowitz Johnson, Ms. Taylor’s chief of staff who worked with the Republican lieutenant governor on the 2010 campaign and in the state auditor’s office, resigned Thursday. Her one-sentence letter offered no reason. Ms. Johnson’s assistant, Heather Brandt, resigned Wednesday, citing an “unhealthy hostile work environment” in her brief letter….Ms. Johnson was paid $120,016 a year as chief of staff, and Ms. Brandt made $60,008. Taylor spokesman Chris Brock said the office did not know the value of the time for which the two were paid but may not have worked.
AP: Top aide to Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor resigns: A top aide to Ohio’s lieutenant governor has resigned after irregularities were found in her timesheets, a spokesman for the office said Friday. Laura Johnson, chief of staff to Republican Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor, stepped down Thursday at Taylor’s request, said Taylor’s spokesman Chris Brock. Johnson’s administrative assistant also resigned Wednesday. Records indicate their working hours and parking records do not match, according to Taylor’s office. There were days when both women reported work hours either before entering or after leaving the garage.
Plain Dealer: Issues in Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor’s office will spill into Kasich-FitzGerald race: Analysis: It’s an election year, so the resignation of Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor’s chief of staff – announced Friday afternoon in a time slot often reserved for the dumping of less-than-favorable news – will stir political consequences.