Posted on 04/10/2016 1:19:53 PM PDT by bimboeruption
As Ohio Gov. John Kasich campaigned for the presidency, Ohio taxpayers paid $222,243 in overtime during the past year to the state troopers who guard him on the road and at home.
The nine State Highway Patrol troopers assigned to the governor's executive-protection unit earned $183,600 in overtime in 2015, a 64-percent jump from 2014, according to state payroll records released today in response to a request from The Dispatch.
Four troopers earned more than $20,000 in overtime pay last year for working more than 40 hours a week; one earned nearly $27,000 to boost his annual pay to $94,400.
Online records show that the same troopers also earned roughly $38,600 in overtime during the first six weeks of this year, a rate nearly double that of last year as Kasich’s campaign for the Republican presidential nomination accelerated into the 2016 primaries.
Including exploratory forays prior to his presidential announcement on July 21, Kasich has spent nearly half of the past year -- at least 177 days -- out of state on the campaign trail.
The Ohio Department of Public Safety has declined to release separate records detailing the pay, overtime and compensatory time off earned by the governor's security detail and the troopers' expense reports.
The records are legally exempt from release because their disclosure could imperil Kasich's safety by revealing "patterns, techniques or information relevant to the size, scope or nature of the security and protection provided to the governor, " state lawyers wrote. The Ohio Supreme Court has ruled records that could compromise the governor's security are exempt from public view.
When the state payroll database was released in prior years, the job assignment of Kasich's bodyguards was listed as "executive protection unit." The designation was dropped this year, a move that shielded the troopers' identities.
The job assignments were were not listed this year, along with those of officers who work undercover, to protect their identities, said Tom Hoyt, spokesman for the Department of Administrative Services, which handles the state payroll.
State officials have declined to say who is paying the travel, meal and lodging costs of Kasich's patrol security detail as he campaigns out of state. It is possible the campaign is paying all or some of those costs.
In a response to a recent public-records request, the Department of Public Safety reported it had no records of billings to the Kasich campaign and no records reflecting payments from Kasich for America.
"To ensure safety and security, we do not discuss any of the resources used as part of the executive security detail," said Lt. Craig Cvetan, patrol spokesman.
Ohio Democratic Party Chairman David Pepper said: "John Kasich has won exactly one state -- his own -- so the 177 days he's spent out of state on the campaign trail appears to be a totally wasted effort. However, Kasich isn't just wasting his own time, he's wasting taxpayer dollars and neglecting the job he was elected to do."
Kasich says he can handle his gubernatorial duties adequately while on the road.
State law requires the patrol to protect the governor. Kasich is assigned around-the-clock security whether at his Riffe Center office, his home outside Westerville or traveling in or out of state for vacation or any other purpose.
In the first six weeks of this year, the nine troopers apparently assigned to Kasich’s security detail worked about 850 hours of overtime, according to state payroll records.
One trooper has earned more than $7,000 in overtime pay this year -- averaging nearly $1,200 a week -- to more than double his typical weekly salary.
The lieutenant in charge of the executive-protection unit reported more than 100 hours of overtime at $57 an hour, receiving more than $6,000.
Unmarked State Highway Patrol vehicles also have been driven and used out of state, notably in neighboring Michigan, to help guard Kasich.
The nine troopers on the security detail earned a total of $801,105 in all pay last year -- an average of $89,000 each.
This is the same jerk who was above living in the Governor's Mansion and had the taxpayers pay to install extra security in his private home.
Face it, the rules don't apply to Johnny, just us peons.
His father was a mailman, doncha know...
Kasich is as safe as any other average American. I’m not trying to be insulting, but most people are not News Hounds like us, and they don’t know who he is, once they find out, still may not give a big whoop. You are NOT in danger John Kasich. You are barely even on the radar enough to become a Spoiler. Why not be a Great American and send that security detail to where it’s really needed, over to Trump or Cruz?
And grandpa worked in a coal mine and grandma couldn’t read...ad nauseam.
Most second and third generation Americans who grew up in the 50’s and 60’s can tell that same story.
Right.
I know who Kasich is and wouldn’t walk across the street to see him...as would most Ohioans IMHO.
I can proudly say I’ve never voted for a RINO...including Bush1 and 2.
I’ve voted Third Party for Pat Buchanan, Howard Phillips, Chuck Baldwin and Virgil Goode.
If a candidate’s views reflect mine, that’s who I vote for. UniParty be damned.
Seems that should be a campaign expense as he isn’t serving Ohio when campaigning
I agree. He’s spent at least 177 days out of state on the campaign trail.
We’re paying for him and his security team.
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