SUPPORT OF ISSUE 1 COULD GIVE HAGAN BOOST, EXPERTS SAY

COLUMBUS - By embracing Issue 1, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tim
Hagan could benefit from a big-dollar TV ad campaign urging Ohioans to
support the drug offender treatment issue, political experts said yesterday.

Mr. Hagan, who announced his support for the ballot initiative Saturday,
also could use Issue 1 to help boost turnout among likely Democratic
voters, particularly African-Americans, they said.

"I could imagine a scenario where Issue 1 fails by a small margin and Hagan
actually wins because of the Issue 1 TV ads and then he gets other votes
because he's the Democratic candidate," said John Green, a political
science professor at the University of Akron.

If voters on Nov. 5 approve the constitutional amendment, treatment would
be an option for any nonviolent first or second-drug offenders - and the
counting would start after passage of the initiative.

"We all know someone who has struggled with addiction," said Mr Hagan, a
former Cuyahoga County commissioner. "These are individuals who, if given
the help they need, can once again become productive citizens. We owe it to
them and we owe it to ourselves to give them that opportunity."

Republican Gov. Bob Taft and First Lady Hope Taft are leading the
opposition to Issue 1, saying its passage would enable airline pilots, day
care workers, and school bus drivers to conceal their drug offenses from
current and future employers.

Mr. Hagan won't appear in any Issue 1 TV or radio ads, but he is welcome at
rallies and news conferences, said Ed Orlett, director of the pro-Issue 1
group, the Ohio Campaign for New Drug Policies.

Statewide ballot issues have helped "underdog" candidates in some
campaigns, including the 1998 governor's race in South Carolina, said Dr.
Green.

Democrat Jim Hodges defeated incumbent Republican Gov. David Beasley, in
part by backing the expansion of video poker and vowing to spend lottery
proceeds on all-day kindergarten and public school construction.

Mr. Hagan's support for the drug offender treatment issue may benefit his
gubernatorial campaign, but it likely won't affect the outcome of the Issue
1 battle, Dr. Green said.

"Many Democrats support it, but many Democrats don't. It is an issue that
cuts across party lines," he said.

"I don't think it does him any damage to be for it, unless there is some
movement against Issue 1, which I don't see," said Bill Binning, political
science department chairman at Youngstown State University.

Issue 1 could motivate turnout by blacks who feel that drug laws and
imprisonment patterns "disproportionately hurt the African-American
community," said Herb Asher, a political science professor at Ohio State.
That could give Mr. Hagan a major boost, he added.