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July 21st, 2009
The Associated Press
Original article
LEBANON, Ohio — A historic Ohio restaurant that has served as a presidential campaign backdrop says it is declining any taxpayer help with expensive renovations.
The owners of the Golden Lamb in Lebanon (LEH’-buh-nuhn) said Tuesday they have asked the southwest Ohio city to forgo considering aid to the restaurant.
Former GOP U.S. Rep. Rob Portman, who is running for the U.S. Senate, co-owns the property on which the Golden Lamb sits.
After the council discussed the possible relief for the restaurant on Monday, a political spat broke out.
The Ohio Democratic Party says Portman should be able to make improvements to the restaurant because of a net worth of around $17 million.
Golden Lamb Operator Mike Mullinger says in a letter that he won’t be seeking aid because of the fiscal pressures on the city.
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July 21st, 2009
By Justin McClelland, Staff Writer
Original article
A day after requesting economic aid from the city of Lebanon, the operator of the Golden Lamb has retracted his request.
In a release, the historical restaurant and inn operator Steve Mullinger said, “…(G)iven the economy and the fiscal pressures on the city, the Golden Lamb has determined it will not be seeking any economic development incentives at this time. We have asked the topic not be on the agenda at the Aug. 4 Lebanon City Council meeting.”
Mullinger appeared before council Monday, July 20 to “ask what kind of help could be available to (his) business.”
“We’re a small business that operates with unusual and above normal expenses,” Mullinger said.
Mullinger said the appearance was the continuation of talks he had been having with the city for two years regarding seeking historic tax credits.
The Golden Lamb is owned by the family of Rob Portman, who is running for the U.S. Senate in 2010. After news of Mullinger’s request became public, Portman was blasted on local radio shows and in an e-mail from the Ohio Democratic Party.
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July 20th, 2009
By Elaine Trumpey
Original Article
LEBANON – After investing $5.5 million in major renovations to the Golden Lamb Restaurant over the last two years, owners are looking for some financial help from the city.
The Portman and Mullinger families have incurred extraordinary expenses in making repairs and updates to the historic 200-year-old inn and restaurant, according to Steve Mullinger.
The renovations are essentially complete, but owners want to continue to make improvements, Mullinger said.
Utility rate credits that would forgive part of the electric bill might help, he said. Tax credits were another possibility mentioned during Monday’s council work session.
“I’m not feeling that cash is the answer,” Mayor Amy Brewer said.
The city has helped the business in several ways over the two-year course of the project, including waiving building permit fees. That waiver saved the Golden Lamb $10,000.
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June 25th, 2009
The Washington Post
Original Article
Former Ohio Rep. Rob Portman is running for Senate in 2010. Bloomberg News photo by Dennis Brack
In a political world where candidates are falling all over themselves to tout their “outsider” credentials, Rob Portman is a rare exception to the rule.
Portman, a former Congressman and Bush Administration official, is casting himself as a deal-making insider in his campaign for the seat being vacated by Sen. George Voinovich (R) in 2010 — portraying his resume as just the sort of thing that will help him get things done in Washington.
“I know enough now about where the bodies are buried [and] how the Senate works that I know I can be effective there for Ohio,” Portman said during a recent interview with the Fix as part of our “Rising” series.
Portman’s resume includes twelve years representing a Cincinnati-area House district as well as two one-year stints in the Bush Administration as the director of the Office of Management and Budget and as U.S. Trade Representative.
It’s those latter two jobs that Democrats have seized on to argue that Portman is fundamentally flawed as he seeks a Senate seat in one of the states hardest hit economically over the eight years of a Republican president.
The argument goes that Ohio voters won’t be keen on electing a close confidante of a President who remains deeply unpopular in the state.
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May 29th, 2009
By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR POLITICS WRITER
Original Article
YOUNGSTOWN — While Rob Portman, the leading Republican candidate for the 2010 U.S. Senate race, says, “You don’t turn away support,” he hasn’t sought it from former President George W. Bush, his ex-boss, and former Vice President Dick Cheney.
In an interview Thursday with The Vindicator, Portman also said Bush and Cheney haven’t offered their support for his Senate bid.
“I think endorsements are overrated, even the ones I’ve made,” he said.
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May 28th, 2009
Youngstown Vindicator
Original article
YOUNGSTOWN — While Rob Portman, the leading Republican candidate for the 2010 U.S. Senate race, says, “You don’t turn away support,” he hasn’t sought it from former President George W. Bush, his ex-boss, and former Vice President Dick Cheney.
In an interview today with The Vindicator, Portman said Bush and Cheney haven’t offered their support for his Senate bid and he hasn’t asked for it from either of them.
“I think endorsements are overrated, even the ones I’ve made,” he said.
Portman served as a U.S. House member in southwest Ohio from 1993 to 2005.
Portman resigned the seat in May 2005 becoming Bush’s United States trade representative. In May 2006, Portman became director of the Office of Management and Budget, a position he held till his resignation in June 2007.
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April 18th, 2008
Posted by Elizabeth Auster
PD Extra
Original article
Suzanne Nielsen still remembers a strange conversation she had more than 40 years ago at her children’s elementary school in Cincinnati. Nielsen was talking with a secretary when the principal suddenly popped out of his office and asked her if she knew a boy named Rob Portman. Nielsen knew him, but not well.
“Mark my words,” the principal told her. “Someday he’s going to be president of the United States.”
Nielsen laughed and pointed out that Portman was only six or seven. The principal, undaunted, repeated his prediction and walked back into his office.
“And that was the end of the conversation,” she says. But not the end of the story.
Several years ago, Nielsen ran into Portman, who by then was a U.S. congressman, and told him about the conversation. Portman got a kick out of it – so much so that when he learned The Plain Dealer was writing a story about him, he twice suggested the reporter track down Nielsen.
If there is a message here, it isn’t necessarily that Rob Portman is planning to run for president anytime soon. It’s that Portman, a former international trade lawyer whom President Bush nominated last week to become the next U.S. trade representative, is no longer shy about advertising that people see that potential in him.
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March 18th, 2005
New York Times
By ELIZABETH BECKER
Original article
President Bush announced on Thursday that he had selected Representative Rob Portman, an Ohio Republican who is one of his closest friends in Congress, to be the next United States trade representative.
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July 24th, 2004
Original article
Rob Portman has been closely allied with both Bush administrations, in roles ranging from White House staffer, shepherd of legislation through the House and stand-in on debate rehearsals.
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This obvious parody was paid for by Ohio Democratic Party, not authorized by any federal candidate or candidate committee.
Chris Redfern, Chairman, 340 East Fulton St., Columbus, OH 43215. |
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