Ohio governor’s ethics conviction listed top story in 2005

Governor Bob Taft’s lowest point, a conviction on ethics charges, topped the list of the state’s most noteworthy stories of 2005 according to the Associated Press story.

Taft, serving his second four-year term, pleaded no contest in August to failing to report 52 gifts worth nearly $6,000 that he received over four years. Franklin County Municipal Judge Mark Froehlich found him guilty, fined him $4,000 and ordered him to send e-mail messages to Ohio newspapers and state employees apologizing for his behavior.

Taft, who had declared high ethical standards a hallmark of his administration and had fired subordinates for ethics violations, immediately said he would not resign.

“I will continue to do the job to which I have been elected by the people of the state of Ohio,” Taft said in AP story.

An recent poll showed Taft’s approval rating at 15 percent. Time Magazine in a recent issue named him one of the country’s three worst governors.