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Nuclear Bailout Group Paying People To Follow Referendum Petitioners
By: Andy Chow | Statehouse News Bureau
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Generation Now, one of the well-funded groups in the fight over Ohio’s nuclear power plant bailout, is monitoring the referendum petition workers by putting their own people on the ground.
Generation Now was behind the pro-HB6 ads that would play around the state before the legislation was approved and signed into law. Now, they’re shifting their focus to fighting a potential referendum have workers follow petitioners to educate the voters.
Generation Now’s Curt Steiner says they’re putting people out there to counter what he believes to be misleading information from petitioners.
“The people who are circulating this petition will say anything to get anyone to sign the petition cause really it’s a bounty hunt,” says Steiner.
He adds that their workers are instructed to be polite, courteous, and to not interfere with a voter’s ability to sign a petition.
But Harold Chung, a referendum petition worker for Ohioans Against Corporate Bailouts, called police on September 10 to report that he was assaulted by one of Generation Now’s workers. Chung told police he tried to take a picture of the person who was following him, that person then slapped the phone out of his hand and shoved him.
Generation Now is not disclosing its donors.
The referendum group Ohioans Against Corporate Bailouts says the pro-nuclear bailout groups are the ones lobbing what they call “ridiculous” claims, such as invoking fears through anti-Chinese government rhetoric.