The list of ResponsibleOhio investors is so bizarre. Featuring marquee names like FROSTEE RUCKER of the Arizona Cardinals and Texas check-cashing magnate William "Cheney" Pruett, you couldn't find a goofier bunch of profit-hungry weed advocates if you tried.
Here's the list of the big backers publicized thus far, annotated with the seedlings of biography:
Rick Kirk: The president and CEO of Hallmark Campus Communities owns massive residential complexes at universities all over the U.S. (University Edge at Kent, the Summit at Coates Run at Ohio U., etc.).
Oscar Robertson: “The Big O,” 76, a legendary NBA guard, is currently the owner of Orchem in Cincinnati. Orchem manufactures food processing, institutional and industrial chemicals (like new product line Big O Signature Cleaning products, floor cleaners that will target staph bacteria).
Nanette Lepore: As a Youngstown native, Lepore has become something of a fashion guru noted for her “gypsy-influenced designs,” according to New York magazine. "This is an incredible opportunity for places like my hometown of Youngstown to generate significant dollars for things like road and bridge repair, which in turn will create thousands of needed jobs," Lepore said in a press release. And, yes, the tax advantages are crystal clear. But the primary market’s profit would still go directly into these concentrated investors’ pockets. Weird how that works?
Barbara Gould: Matriarch of the arts in Cincinnati, Gould is a noted Cincinnati political donor (to both parties). She sent thousands of dollars last year to State Auditor David Yost’s Democratic challenger, John Patrick Carney. Yost, of course, famously said of this organization's plans: "What Will We Have Next — 12 Monopolies for Whorehouses in the 12 Largest Counties?"
Frostee Rucker: A defensive end for the Arizona Cardinals (???).
Frank Wood: Secret Communications LLC sounds like a pretty good corporate name for what’s going on at ResponsibleOhio, but it’s actually the company for which Frank Wood serves as CEO. He's sort of a teamwork/mentoring leader and a noted Cincinnati entrepreneur.
Sir Alan Mooney: Mooney is a knighted minister who trains financial advisers and serves on corporate boards. He’s also skilled in what he calls “self-activation.”
William J. Foster: As a disabled veteran, Foster is a noted philanthropist who owns A-1 Quality Logistical Solutions in Cincinnati (a fixed-cost labor service supplier, in a sense).
William “Cheney” Pruett: Well, with a nickname like *that*... Pruett is a father, a conservative and a Christian, who dabbles in all sorts of consumer finance endeavors (Nacogdoches Cash Now LLC, Pittsburgh EZ Check Advance LLC, Collateral Lenders Of Texas Inc., and that ilk).
John Humphrey: Pretty much the same as Cheney up there. He’s the CFO of Cheney’s Texas-based DMP Investments,
Bobby George: The only really Northeast Ohio-based investor on the list, who you might know from the Barley House and other establishments around town.
"The campaign is honored to have such well-respected businesswomen and men, as well as patient advocates supporting our effort to offer a common-sense solution to Ohio's failed drug policies," ResponsibleOhio executive director Ian James said in a press relezzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...
The group will submit ballot language later this year before embarking on a signature-gathering odyssey (they'll need 305,591 by July 1). This story isn't gonna burn out anytime soon, so do stay tuned.
