Why I’m Running the Akron Marathon to Stop its Sponsor’s Corruption
Why did a public utility company that claimed it needed a bailout buy naming rights as the presenting sponsor of a major sporting event? Why did that same investor-owned monopoly spend tens of millions of dollars in bribes in return for a $1.3 billion law (HB6) that subsidized its coal and nuclear power plants while cutting subsidies for clean energy? The short answer is because our current electoral system limits our choices and encourages public corruption.
As I recently wrote for Rank the Vote, Ranked Choice Voting (Instant Runoff) is a simple upgrade to our ballots that can reduce corruption by giving voters more choices and more chances to hold politicians accountable. I’m running the FirstEnergy Akron Marathon to raise awareness and funds for the nonpartisan nonprofit Rank the Vote Ohio to help solve Ohio’s corruption problem. Please donate here.
I originally wanted to run the Akron Marathon to challenge myself and to enjoy seeing my home city in an exciting way — running down closed roads downtown, up familiar trails like the Towpath, and around local landmarks like the grounds of Stan Hywet Hall. I’m grateful to the organizers and sponsors who make this race possible. But I’ve been increasingly bothered by the constant reminders of the biggest public corruption scandal in Ohio history. Not only does FirstEnergy appear in every communication about the marathon because it’s part of its official name, but it’s on everything from the starting line to the finisher medals. For each of the 26.2 miles I’ll be running the blue line through Akron, I’ll be branded with a bib sporting FirstEnergy’s logo.
It’s not just the race itself — FirstEnergy’s heavy advertising throughout Northeast Ohio makes reminders of its corruption inescapable: It bought the naming rights to the Cleveland Browns’ taxpayer-funded FirstEnergy Stadium, and its logo is prominently featured at every sports field with lights, including behind home plate at Indians (soon to be Guardians) games. Plus FirstEnergy’s name is on signs dotting Summit Metro Parks’ bike and hike trails — meaning I see them constantly while I’m running. All this advertising raises the question why a literal monopoly with no competition, and with electricity rates that are supposed to be regulated by the state, would buy so many sponsorships with ratepayers’ or taxpayers’ money? The short answer is because FirstEnergy wants to create the appearance that it gives back to the community so that it can buy goodwill or complacency from ratepayers and politicians — while pocketing massive profits for its investors as it jacks up rates and pollutes our environment with impunity.
FirstEnergy’s most visible sponsorships were intentionally chosen for the propagandic purpose of greenwashing, meaning that the company sprinkles dollars on causes that appear green — like parks and recreation — in order to distract from its massive government-backed investments in fossil fuels. Earlier this year, the Sierra Club gave FirstEnergy an “F” for “their lack of serious clean energy goals” and “continued heavy reliance on dirty coal.” In fact, since Ohio’s legislature still refuses to repeal HB6, FirstEnergy has already forced Ohioans to pay at least $166 million (and counting) to bail out failing coal plants.
Even worse than FirstEnergy’s role in the Ohio Statehouse’s HB6 scandal were the dirty politics that enabled it — symptoms of a rigged system that encourages corrupt transactions and insulates public officials from accountability. According to the U.S. Attorney who announced the indictments, the scheme wasn’t even FirstEnergy’s idea; it was Ohio’s Speaker of the House and his political allies who approached FirstEnergy “looking for someone to bribe them.” They almost got away with it because Ohio’s elections are already corrupted by limited choices and non-competitive districts, as explained in my piece about how Ranked Choice Voting can help.
Ohio’s corruption is a systemic problem, and it requires a systemic solution. Just as consumers have no real choice when they buy electricity from a monopoly, voters have no real choice about who gets elected in a duopoly. Competition is necessary for free markets to spur innovation and for consumers to hold corrupt businesses accountable. So how could we increase political competition to expand the market of ideas for policy solutions and empower voters to hold politicians accountable? The short answer is that passing Ranked Choice Voting (like Maine and Alaska did with ballot initiatives) can help level the playing field for people-powered campaigns to compete against big money by increasing the number of parties and candidates who can compete without splitting votes.
Making elections more competitive with Ranked Choice Voting can help make politicians more responsive to the will of voters instead of special interests and can help pave the way for progressive reforms. You can click here to learn more about Ranked Choice Voting or click here to donate directly to Rank the Vote Ohio. I will also be grateful if you share my story to help keep raising awareness, or if you donate to my personal fundraiser via Facebook or Instagram to support me as I run the marathon for Rank the Vote Ohio.
Kyle Herman volunteers as co-executive director of Rank the Vote Ohio. He has experience working for elected officials at the local and national levels and is currently working for an international nonprofit on democracy assistance programs aimed at increasing transparency and accountability in foreign countries. Kyle is a graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University and the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.
