ATTN OHIO: Toledo Scandal
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| Fri, 10-15-2004 - 12:27am |
Wednesday, October 13, 2004
Thieves hit Democratic Party offices; computers containing sensitive data
removed
By ROBIN ERB
STAFF WRITER
Thieves shattered a side window overnight at Lucas County Democratic
headquarters in Toledo, stealing computers with sensitive campaign
information and triggering concern of the local party's ability to deliver
crucial votes on Nov. 2.
Among the data on the stolen computer of the party's office manager were:
e-mails discussing campaign strategy, candidates' schedules, financial
information, and phone numbers of party members, candidates, donors, and
volunteers.
Also taken were computers belonging to Lucas County Commissioner Tina
Skeldon Wozniak and to a Texas attorney working with the Kerry/Edwards
presidential campaign to ensure election security.
The thefts have prompted the Kerry/Edwards campaign and Democrats in
Washington to offer help and have left local officials fretting about the
crime's impact on the upcoming election, in which Ohio plays a high-profile
role.
"This puts us behind the eight ball," party spokesman Jerry Chabler said.
"This can affect our entire get-out-the-vote operation."
Ohio's Democratic Party pledged to deploy volunteers, lend computers, or
"provide whatever source of assistance they need," said spokesman Dan
Trevas.
The political importance of Lucas County cannot be overstated, Mr. Trevas
said.
"It's a major Democratic county in a swing area, surrounded by Republican
and moderates," Mr. Trevas said. "A lot of votes come out of northwest
Ohio."
Both President Bush and Sen. John Kerry have campaigned throughout the
region repeatedly. With a saturation of television ads by both parties in
the local market, it has become one of the most contested regions in the
country.
Barbara Koonce, the office manager, said information on her computer had
not been backed up since August. "I try to do it at least once a month, but
we've been so extremely busy here, it's not the first thing on our minds,"
she said.
Beyond the missing data, the break-in also might have lasting "collateral
damage" because 25 to 50 volunteers come to the headquarters to make phone
calls, send out campaign information, and "do the necessary grunt work," in
any campaign, Mr. Chabler said.
Toledo police took fingerprints at the scene with the hopes, in part, that
they may be identified or matched to unidentified prints at other crime
scenes.
Neither Chief Mike Navarre nor other investigators would elaborate on the
details of the case, although lead investigator Jim Dec confirmed, "We
collected valuable physical evidence."
At Democratic headquarters, officials stopped short of publicly blaming
partisan politics, but at the same time, they all but ruled out
run-of-the-mill criminals.
Two other computers, holding less sensitive information, were untouched, as
were a petty cash box that usually holds $80 to $100, televisions, portable
radios, and other electronics. Moreover, other offices inside the building,
1817 Madison Ave., were not entered. Files, papers, and pamphlets remained
in neat piles, and campaign signs leaned, apparently undisturbed, against a
wall.
"They knew what they wanted," Mr. Chabler said, calling the incident a
'third-rate burglary,' " a not-so-subtle reference to the break-in at
National Democratic Committee offices in 1972 that began the Watergate
scandal that eventually led to the President Nixon's resignation.
Meanwhile, activities at Democratic headquarters, usually in a frenzy just
three weeks before the election, were temporarily stalled yesterday.
Volunteers had left the building about 11 p.m. Monday, believing they had
set the alarm, officials said.
But another worker may have unintentionally interrupted a beam from a
motion sensor, preventing the alarm's activation, Mr. Chabler said. The
crime was discovered about 7 a.m.
Guardian Alarm manager Kris Zielinski said she could not discuss a
customer's account, but she confirmed that such a situation could occur.
Still, the alarm's user would be alerted to the trouble by a light or some
other indicator, she said.
With the election three weeks away, other headquarters around the country
have been the targets of suspected political shenanigans, although there
was no immediate link made between those cases and the Toledo break-in.
"It's wrong," said Chris Vance, chairman of the Republican Party in
Washington State, where intruders have stolen or attempted to steal
computers from at least two campaign offices recently. "It's not how
Americans conduct their elections."
The sentiment was echoed by local Republican chairman Bernadette Noe, who
noted that two Republican billboards were defaced by vandals overnight.
"It'd be so disillusioning to think our process could stoop to
such lows," she said.
Sandy Isenberg hugged workers as she walked into the building about 9 a.m.
She said that workers had to rebuild the databases in May after Ms.
Isenberg took over the party chairmanship from Paula Ross. The move
followed a bitter public dispute that had divided much of the party.
"When we took over the leadership of the party, we had to reconstruct
everything," Ms. Isenberg said. "We'll do it again."
The party is offering a $2,500 reward for information leading to the arrest
and conviction of those responsible. If the information is provided before
the election, the reward is $5,000.
