Petrelis Files

Diebold Exec Ignores Ban on Political Donations

Despite a ban on political contributions from Diebold
executives, implemented in June of 2004 after the voting
machine corporation's chief executive officer, Walden O'Dell,
came under heavy criticism for hosting a fundraiser
for George W. Bush and signing a letter promising to
deliver Ohio's electoral college vote to him.
one Diebold leader apparently never got the memo about
the ban.

USA Today published an insightful story last year on O'Dell trouble and his ban, that provides background to his voting machine company's political woes.

A Federal Election Commission file on Isac Tabib
reveals he made a $1,000 this past June to Republican
U.S. Senator Michael DeWine, who's up for reelection
in 2006. Why let a little thing like the company's
policy prohibiting such contributions stop Tabib from
writing out a check to DeWine?

By the way, DeWine will have at least one Democratic
Party challenger next year, none other than Iraqi war
vet Paul Hackett. You may have read Hackett's name in
the news lately because he lost a special election for
Ohio's second district seat in the House of
Representatives in August.

Who beat him? Rep. "Mean Jean" Schmidt, the vicious
Congresswoman who took to the House floor a few weeks
back to defame former Marine Rep. John Murtha after he
called for American troop reductions in Iraq.

Tabib's monetary gift to DeWine shows one thing about
Diebold. When they say something is company policy, it
doesn't mean all that much.