Peter Beck
Peter Beck is a former Republican member of the Ohio House of Representatives, representing District 54 from his appointment in October 2009 to December 1, 2014. He resigned citing that he had "some personal matters" to take care of in December and would not be able to attend the December legislative sessions.[1]
He was first appointed to the chamber in October 2009 to replace Shannon Jones (R), who became a state senator.
On February 13, 2014, Beck was indicted by a grand jury on 53 counts, in addition to the 16 counts that were brought against him last July. The charges were reduced to 38 after the indictment was revised.[2] Beck was charged with multiple counts of perjury, theft, fraud, money laundering, receiving stolen property and one count of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity.[3][1][4] On June 2, 2015, Beck was found guilty on 13 counts related to perjury, securities sales violations and theft.[5] On August 20, 2015, Beck was sentenced to four years in prison.[6] More information can be found here.
Committee assignments
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Beck served on the following committees:
| Ohio committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Economic Development and Regulatory Reform |
| • Finance and Appropriations |
| • Ways and Means |
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Beck served on the following committees:
| Ohio committee assignments, 2011 |
|---|
| • Ways and Means |
| • Economic and Small Business Development |
| • Finance and Appropriations |
| • Public Utilities |
Campaign themes
2014
Beck's website highlighted the following campaign themes:[7]
Lower Taxes
- Excerpt: "Reform the Severance Tax. Phase out state income tax. Reform tax expenditures. Pass Municipal Income Tax bill."
Fiscal Responsibility
- Excerpt: "Consolidate duplicated Governmental Departments/Services. Pass Medicaide Cost Control Bills. Push for Balanced Budgets."
Job Creation
- Excerpt: "Pass workforce development bills. Pass bond for Venture Capital Investment (Third Frontier)."
Limited Government
- Excerpt: "Consolidate and reform PSAPs. Consolidate and reform local courts (2 part-time judges to 1 full-time judge). Continue to fund local government collaboration."
Pro-Life/Pro-Family – Social Conservative
- Excerpt: "Pass Heartbeat Bill. Pass Religious Freedom Bill. Pass Military/Religious Freedom Bill. Continue to pass and fight for bills to protect the unborn. Continue to pass and fight for Marriage Bills."
Elections
2014
Elections for the Ohio House of Representatives took place in 2014. A primary election took place on May 6, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was February 5, 2014. Rick Smith was unopposed in the Democratic primary, while Paul Zeltwanger defeated incumbent Peter Beck and Mary Jo Kubicki in the Republican primary. Zeltwanger defeated Smith in the general election.[8]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican |  Paul Zeltwanger |
71.6% | 20,043 | |
| Democratic | Rick Smith | 28.4% | 7,937 | |
| Total Votes | 27,980 | |||
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
|
Paul Zeltwanger |
50.9% | 3,861 |
| Peter Beck Incumbent | 39.9% | 3,029 |
| Mary Jo Kubicki | 9.2% | 701 |
| Total Votes | 7,591 | |
2012
Beck won re-election in the 2012 election for Ohio House, District 54. Beck was unopposed in the March 6 Republican primary election and was unopposed in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[9][10][11][12]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Peter Beck Incumbent |
100% | 38,942 | |
| Total Votes | 38,942 | |||
2010
Beck won election to District 67 of the Ohio House of Representatives.[13] His opponents were Anne Howard (D) and Robert Waters (L). The election took place on November 2, 2010.[14][15]
| Ohio House of Representatives, District 67 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| Peter Beck (R)
|
35,391 | 70.74% | ||
| Anne Howard (D) | 12,354 | 24.69% | ||
| Robert Waters (L) | 2,287 | 4.57% | ||
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Ohio scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2014
In 2014, the 130th Ohio General Assembly was in session from January 7 through December 31.
- Innovation Ohio: 130th General Assembly - Women's issues scorecard
- Legislators are scored based on their votes on women’s issues.
- The American Conservative Union: 2014 legislative scorecard
- Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
2013
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2013, the 130th Ohio General Assembly was in session from January 7 to December 31.
|
2012
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2012, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2012, the 129th Ohio General Assembly was in session from January 3 through December 31.
|
2011
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2011, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2011, the 129th Ohio General Assembly was in session from January 3 through December 31.[16]
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Endorsements
Presidential preference
2012
Peter Beck endorsed Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election.[17]
Noteworthy events
Investment fraud scandal
On July 26, 2013, Beck was indicted on 16 felony counts of investment fraud. He was accused of cheating investors in a company called Christopher Technologies out of around $200,000 while acting as the company's Chief Financial Officer. He allegedly used this money for his political campaign and as donations to a church in his hometown.[18][19]
On February 13, 2014, Beck was indicted by a grand jury on 53 counts, in addition to the 16 counts that were brought against him the previous July. The number of counts was later reduced to 38 after the indictment was revised. Beck was charged with multiple counts of perjury, theft, fraud, money laundering, receiving stolen property and one count of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity. Some of the new charges also related to campaign contributions, and alleged that Beck diverted money that he received for investments into his campaign account. After the new indictment, House Speaker William Batchelder (R) stated that effective immediately, Beck would relinquish his leadership position in the Ways and Means Committee. Batchelder also said on the new indictment that, "It is still my belief that it is in the best interest of Rep. Beck, his family, and the constituents of the 54th House District for him to resign."[20][21][22][23]
On December 1, 2014, Beck resigned from the Ohio House of Representatives.[1]
On June 2, 2015, Beck was found guilty on 13 counts related to perjury, securities sales violations and theft.[5] He was found not guilty on another 25 charges.[5]
Ralph Kohnen, one of Beck's attorneys, said, "This is not a case about theft. It's about sophisticated, licensed financial advisers who took a gamble on a startup company. They missed."[24]
On August 20, 2015, Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge John Andrew West sentenced Beck to serve four years in prison.[6] The judge did not order Beck to pay restitution to the victims of the fraud.[25]
In December 2016, the Ohio First District Court of Appeals approved three counts of theft and overturned the 10 remaining counts for which Beck was convicted in June 2015. The court said seven of the counts violated the statute of limitations and three lacked sufficient evidence. On December 22, 2016, Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Tom Heekin ordered Beck to be released from prison by the end of the year.[26]
On April 17, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a request for a new trial for Beck. According to Governing, the rejection "appear[s] to have brought the case to a conclusion."[27]
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Peter + Beck + Ohio + House"
- All stories may not be relevant to this legislator due to the nature of the search engine.
See also
- Ohio House of Representatives
- House Committees
- Ohio General Assembly
- Joint Committees
- Ohio state legislative districts
External links
- Official campaign website
- Profile from Open States
- Campaign contributions: 2012, 2010
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Dispatch.com, "Indicted state Rep. Peter Beck resigns," December 2, 2014
- ↑ Yahoo.com, "Ohio ex-lawmaker convicted of 13 charges including perjury," accessed June 2, 2015
- ↑ www.dispatch.com, "State Rep. Peter Beck indicted on 53 additional charges," accessed February 13, 2014
- ↑ WVXU, "Former state representative Beck goes to trial March 23," December 19, 2014
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 fox19.com, "Ex-lawmaker Pete Beck guilty on 13 counts," accessed June 2, 2015
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 wlwt.com, "Former Rep. Peter Beck sentenced to prison in fraud case," accessed August 20, 2015
- ↑ petebeckohiorep.com, "Issues," accessed April 28, 2014
- ↑ Ohio Secretary of State, "Official primary election results for May 6, 2014," accessed July 3, 2014
- ↑ Ohio Chamber of Commerce, "2012 General Assembly Primary Candidates," January 17, 2012
- ↑ Ohio Secretary of State, "2012 Republican Primary Results," accessed June 12, 2014
- ↑ Ohio Secretary of State, "2012 Democratic Primary Results," accessed June 12, 2014
- ↑ Ohio Secretary of State, "Ohio official results for 2012 General Election," accessed June 10, 2014
- ↑ Ohio Secretary of State, "State Representative: Results for general election on November 2, 2010," accessed June 11, 2014
- ↑ Ohio Secretary of State, "Democratic State Representative: Results for Primary: May 4, 2010," accessed June 11, 2014
- ↑ Ohio Secretary of State, "Republican State Representative: Results for Primary: May 4, 2010," accessed June 11, 2014
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "2011 Legislative Sessions Calendar," accessed June 6, 2014(Archived)
- ↑ Mitt Romney for President, "Mitt Romney Announces Ohio Leadership Team," February 28, 2012(Archived)
- ↑ wcpo.com, "Ohio Rep. Peter Beck of Mason indicted in investment fraud case," July 19, 2013
- ↑ kentucky.com, "Attorney: Indicted Ohio lawmaker won't resign," July 22, 2013
- ↑ www.dispatch.com, "State Rep. Peter Beck indicted on 53 additional charges," accessed February 13, 2014
- ↑ Associated Press, "OH lawmaker facing new counts yields chairmanship," accessed February 13, 2014
- ↑ www.fox19.com, "State Rep. Peter Beck indicted on 53 more counts," accessed February 13, 2014
- ↑ www.upi.com, "Ohio state representative indicated on 69 counts," accessed February 13, 2014
- ↑ Cincinnati.com, "Ex-Mason mayor found guilty in fraud case," June 2, 2015
- ↑ local12.com, "Judge sentences Peter Beck to spend four years in prison," accessed August 20, 2015
- ↑ WCPO, "Former Mason Mayor Pete Beck will be let out of prison early," December 22, 2016
- ↑ Governing, "New Trial Denied for Ex-Ohio State Lawmaker," April 17, 2018
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
Ohio House of Representatives - District 54 2013 - December 1, 2014 |
Succeeded by Paul Zeltwanger (R) |
| Preceded by Shannon Jones (R) |
Ohio House of Representatives - District 67 2009-2013 |
Succeeded by Andrew O. Brenner (R) |
