Utilities, nursing homes support Ohio lt. gov. Lee Fisher for his Senate race

[Kolesar]

By JULIE CARR SMYTH , 05.01.09, 11:33 AM EDT

Nursing homes and utility companies, two powerful interest groups that Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland has taken on publicly (sic), are both contributing to the U.S. Senate campaign of his right-hand man, Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher.

Fisher's first campaign finance report as a Senate candidate includes more than $32,000 from nursing home interests and another $27,000 from employees, family members and PACs of electric companies.

Fisher collected more than $1 million in the first fundraising period, well above what his chief rival in the 2010 Democratic primary, Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner raised. Her total was $207,000.

Among big donors to Fisher from the nursing home industry were Bruce Daskal, CEO of Legacy Health Services of Parma, and his wife Sharon, who gave a combined $7,200; and Morton Weisberg and Nicole McEwen of Multi-Care Management, who gave $4,800 each.

Fisher's donors also included Skilled Nursing Care Coalition lobbyist Alan Melamed, who along with an employee gave nearly $4,000. House Speaker Armond Budish, a Beachwood Democrat who has endorsed Fisher's Senate bid, also gave $1,000, as did several other House Democrats.

Budish, Melamed and Fisher are friends, and Melamed represented the nursing home coalition during recent negotiations with Budish and the Strickland administration over a hike in the nursing home bed tax that was advanced by the governor. Melamed also was recently named a senior adviser to Fisher's Senate campaign
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Big utility donors to Fisher included those associated with FirstEnergy ( FE - news - people ) and American Electric Power ( AEP - news - people ). FirstEnergy employees, family members and its PAC gave a combined $15,000. President and CEO Tony Alexander and his son and daughter-in-law gave a combined $7,000, and a college-aged grandson, Vincent, gave $2,000. AEP CEO Mike Morris and his wife, Linda, gave a combined $9,600.

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2009/05/01/ap6367236.html