Secty of State: Hartmann (R) Assailed by Blogger on ID Theft Issue

Blogger Jill Miller Zimon of WritesLikeSheTalks had an excellent letter to the editor published in today's Cleveland Plain Dealer:

Republican secretary of state candidate Greg Hartmann's statements about identity theft are evasive and contradictory ("Identity theft becomes issue in statewide race," June 2).

His decision to say more later about what he would do to prevent identity theft is nonsensical. His campaign Web site boasts that he "has been featured in dozens of news accounts - including a national Fox News broadcast - for his groundbreaking work in protecting Ohioans from identity theft." Yet he fails to provide even a single link to such an account. His "My Plan" section fails to mention any evidence of "groundbreaking work" and, where the site does address the Internet, it says he wants to expand use of the Internet for efficiency's sake without a single mention of how he'll keep Ohioans' information secure.

Hartmann might describe his efforts as groundbreaking, but without any specifics to indicate that he has been, can be or even wants to be successful at protecting Ohioans' private, personal information from identity theft, voters should be extremely wary.

Wary, indeed. Hartmann's opponent Jennfier Brunner (D-Columbus), on the other hand, has taken the lead on this issue with a very specific five-point plan for protecting private information and fighting identity theft.