Ohio Inspector General report alleges abuse of power by Strickland appointee
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Ohio Inspector General Thomas Charles has issued a report that alleges a longtime union leader who Gov. Ted Strickland picked to head a state agency that handles school construction projects routinely abused his power to help unions get work.
The IG report says Richard Murray, executive director of the Ohio School Facilities Commission since last September, pressured school officials to hire union labor, conducted state business on his union phone and negotiated and signed a project labor agreement that benefited three labor organizations Murray has been affiliated with, according to The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer.
"Murray, who oversees $2.8 million a day in construction spending, abused his authority by repeatedly acting as a go-between for union representatives and participating in project labor agreement arm-twisting sessions with local school districts," Charles wrote in his 40-page report.
Murray has denied abusing his authority.
Since its establishment in 1997, the school facilities commission, which partners with school districts to build and renovate schools, has spent more than $8.3 billion.
According to The Plain Dealer, the Strickland administration supported Murray in a statement released this week and said the report reached inaccurate conclusions.
Ohio Inspector General Thomas Charles has issued a report that alleges a longtime union leader who Gov. Ted Strickland picked to head a state agency that handles school construction projects routinely abused his power to help unions get work.
The IG report says Richard Murray, executive director of the Ohio School Facilities Commission since last September, pressured school officials to hire union labor, conducted state business on his union phone and negotiated and signed a project labor agreement that benefited three labor organizations Murray has been affiliated with, according to The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer.
"Murray, who oversees $2.8 million a day in construction spending, abused his authority by repeatedly acting as a go-between for union representatives and participating in project labor agreement arm-twisting sessions with local school districts," Charles wrote in his 40-page report.
Murray has denied abusing his authority.
Since its establishment in 1997, the school facilities commission, which partners with school districts to build and renovate schools, has spent more than $8.3 billion.
According to The Plain Dealer, the Strickland administration supported Murray in a statement released this week and said the report reached inaccurate conclusions.
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