COLUMBUS — A pro-business group whose anonymous $4 million ad campaign against Ohio Supreme Court Justice Alice Robie Resnick in 2000 did not stop her re-election will disclose its contributors this year and change its media message, its parent group said.

        The Ohio Chamber of Commerce created Citizens for a Strong Ohio to focus on the 2000 races of Justice Resnick and Supreme Court candidate Tim Black, both Democrats.

        The ads, funded by donors who did not have to disclose their names or donation amounts, backfired as Justice Resnick won and Mr. Black lost his first statewide campaign to incumbent Republican Justice Deborah Cook.

        In a letter to business leaders, Chamber President Andrew Doehrel said Citizens for a Strong Ohio “cannot default on its responsibility to Ohio businesses and their employees. It has determined to go ahead with an issue advocacy campaign this fall — a campaign that is positive and informative but avoids the errors that raised questions two years ago.”

        As an issue advocacy group, Citizens for a Strong Ohio is not required to comply with campaign finance disclosure laws. It is prevented from using words such as “vote for” or “vote against” a particular candidate, but courts have allowed a wide discretion in such ads as free speech.

        The letter said Citizens for a Strong Ohio will:

        • Disclose the sources and amounts of its contributions.

        • Employ a different media consultant than two years ago.

        • Conduct a positive ad campaign, while reserving the right to respond to other campaigns that “go negative first.”

        • Expand its board to allow more diversity in messages and oversight of advertising.

        The chamber decided to change its strategy when the ads became the news, said Chip McConville, the group's political director and a trustee of Citizens for a Strong Ohio.

        The ads targeted Justice Resnick for her votes on workers'compensation and to declare unconstitutional a law that established limits on lawsuit awards. They portrayed her as being influenced by labor and other special interests that contributed to her campaigns.

        Citizens for a Strong Ohio will treat the disclosure as if the group were a political action committee, listing names and dollar amounts of contributors, Mr. McConville said. It will make the information public on days PACs are required to file campaign finance reports, 12 days before the general election and 38 days after it. This year, those dates are Oct. 24 and Dec. 13. The election is Nov. 5.

        Justice Resnick praised the move but was skeptical about whether voters would get adequate information.

        “I only wish they would have disclosed two years ago,” Justice Resnick said. “The problem is they still don't have to file with anyone. There's no regulating what they disclose.”

        Gov. Bob Taft and Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell, both Republicans running for re-election, have proposed legislation that would require disclosure by issue advocacy groups. But they have no sponsors in the Legislature, and Republican leaders say it will not be a priority.

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