Our voting records aren’t Trump’s damn business. LaRose sold Ohio out. | Letters

• Ohio’s Secretary of State is criticized for turning over the state’s voter registration database to the Department of Justice.
• A local craft brewer urges the Ohio General Assembly to override the governor’s veto of a bill concerning THC-infused beverages.
• A reader questions the salaries and job creation record of JobsOhio.
• Another letter writer argues that Les Wexner could have prevented further harm by Jeffrey Epstein.
• Readers calls for increased oversight of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Our voting records aren’t Trump’s damn business

What possible justification could Secretary of State Frank LaRose have for turning over Ohio’s voter registration database to President Donald Trump’s “Department of Justice”?

Note: With Pam Bondi in charge as U.S. attorney general, it is no longer the United States DOJ, it is now an extension of the Trump administration, charged with shielding and protecting one man from any and all accusations of corruption. 

What could possibly go wrong with our voter data records?For starters, Trump wouldn’t know the truth if he ran it down with the presidential limo.

LaRose created a horrendous lie in November 2024 when he crafted ballot language for State Issue I, (the anti-gerrymandering initiative) that purposefully misled voters to vote against what they wanted to happen. Ohio Republicans celebrated the outcome.Trump is hell-bent on suppressing “free and fair” voting because he fears losing his power, (and administrative protection from prosecution) to a likely Democrat landslide in congressional elections this November.

 LaRose understands Trump’s fear and hopes to position himself favorably for some future state or, better yet, federal political appointment.

 So why not submit to the demand to turn over our personal information contained in the voter records?The best and only necessary reason I can think of is that the U.S. Constitution mandates that elections are run at the state level BY the states, NOT the federal government. So, regardless of what Pam Bondi says, (and who could doubt her motives?) Ohio’s voter data is no damn business of the federal government.Sadly, unlike election officials in Washington D.C. and 29 other states, LaRose does not have the courage or the character to stand up for us and say: “Hell no!” And he wants us to make him Ohio auditor? Hell NO! Jeff Reeder, Columbus

DeWine creating unnecessary chaos for my business

As a local craft brewer, I was deeply disappointed by the governor’s recent line-item veto of Ohio Senate Bill 56’s THC-infused beverage timeline.

Ohio restaurants and breweries, like mine, explored this market, responded to changing consumer demand and invested in order to responsibly and safely produce our low-dose hemp-derived THC beverages.

The line-item veto pulled the rug out from underneath our businesses and unnecessarily punishes state-licensed operators who have operated within the law.

The 180-day timeline originally included in Senate Bill 56 gave businesses time to sell through inventory, striking a reasonable balance between regulation and economic fairness, and allowed for future discussions on commonsense regulation.

The line-item veto forces us to eliminate product by mid-March, months earlier than expected and will create unnecessary chaos, financial losses and wasted product.

This sudden change has real consequences for small business owners, especially in an economy where margins are already tight.

I urge the Ohio General Assembly to override the governor’s line-item veto on SB 56. Doing so would restore the original timeline and respect the businesses like mine that followed the rules.

 Collin Castore, Seventh Son Brewing Co., Columbus

Nice work if you can get it

JobsOhio seems to be involved with the resignation of former Ohio State President Ted Carter.

On that topic, we are guaranteed to hear more. What I want to know is how do I get a job with THEM?

I know they all make a lot of money for themselves with VERY large salaries. Exactly how large? Who pays for it? How many jobs have they actually created? What are those salaries?

Please investigate.

Syd Lifshin, Columbus

Wexner wasn’t duped

Re “Guilt by association is not a crime,” Feb. 25: I don’t necessarily disagree with writer Bary Alan Leeman about Les Wexner being duped. He became too full of himself and overthrew a years-long trusted accountant for the high-flying life of Jeffrey Epstein.

However, he covered up a multimillion-dollar theft to save face. How many of us can afford to do that?

Just think if he had sued Epstein. Perhaps a hundred young women might have been saved from the trauma that Epstein and Ghislaine exposed them to.

Also, in case you hadn’t noticed, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Wexner BOTH used virtually the same words to describe their trips with their families to Epstein Island. We were cruising the Caribbean with our families and just stopped by for an hour for lunch.

Libby Wetherholt, Columbus

Keep ICE on the hook

With the initiation of Operation Epic Fury in Iran, coverage of mmigration and Customs Enforcementactivities has been quite limited recently.

But now is the time to be razor-focused on ICE.

The Department of Homeland Security funding bill pending in the U.S. Senate is the best vehicle to force needed operational changes and safeguards at ICE — prevent another Minneapolis!

Don’t let the White House’s strategy of “flooding the zone” — putting so many issues out there you lose focus on other important issues — distract you from a key issue here at home that needs to be resolved: the goals and operations of ICE agents and leadership.

Kristi Noem was dismissed as DHS Cabinet Secretary last week. But her dismissal DOES NOT negate the need for procedural/operational changes at ICE — changes broadly supported by the American public. These changes would require ICE agents to wear badges and name tags, do away with masks, obtain judicial warrants for arrests or home entry, end racial profiling, downgrade ICE garb from military combat to law enforcement, and focus on violent criminals rather than undocumented immigrants.

To get these safeguards, you need to immediately contact your U.S. representative and senators and insist for their inclusion in the final DHS funding bill.

Marty Kress, Columbus

We are the new Russia

U.S. leaders knew Iran was no military threat to us. They still acted as if the bombing of another country for their oil and land was a must for defending the U.S.

This nation is now emulating the Russian invasion of other countries to take over their lands and resources.

When asked if there were any limits on his international power, President Donald Trump told the New York Times, “My own morality. My own mind. It’s the only thing that can stop me.” Trump said, “I don’t need international law.” 

A Republican leader, Senator Lindsey Graham, remarked about bombing Iran, “We are going to make a ton of money. … Venezuela and Iran have 31% of the world’s oil reserves. … This is a good investment.”

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, when asked if the demolition of Iran was an opportunity more than an imminent threat, replied, “I think much of that discussion is silly and academic.”

The daunting questions now are: Who and what justifies the sending of U.S. military troops to invade and blow up a country? Do we recognize the sovereignty of nations? Do we send military troops to take over resources and land because we want them?

Wonder what World War II soldiers would think? 

Jean Gawronski, Powell