Ben says "Buy Local" and you know I agree

The problem in this area isn't so much the lack of ideas, it's the lack of those who actually take action on ideas.

In other words, you have to do more than talk the talk you have to walk the walk.

Ben is doing both with his Buy Local Tour

This is more than just a "nice" thing to do, it makes good financial sense for our area as well, from Ben's blog:

The study estimated that $100 spent at Thackeray's Books resulted in a local economic return of $44. This return included revenue kept local through wages, suppliers, and profits. The same $100 spent at Barnes & Noble resulted in an economic return of only $20.

The study found that Thackeray's Books added more than $5 million annually to the local economy whereas Barnes & Noble contributed only $1.15 million.

I read the Maine Report, I've also read the research at BALLE this is something that we need to do. It to me goes hand in hand with trying to encourage creative entrepreneurial spirit to flourish.

In the Toledo Blade article on Ben's Buy Local Tour, Tim Wagener is quoted as:

"As a prior small business owner, I champion small businesses as the backbone of our economy,” said Maumee Mayor Tim Wagener.

So where is Tim's plan to continue to do this?

Phil Copeland states:

Toledo City Councilman Phil Copeland called Mr. Konop’s proposal “obvious.”

“He’s acting like he’s the only one with any ideas,” said Mr. Copeland, who plans to announce an economic policy this week. “Let’s get real and tell the people what we’re going to do for them. That’s what I’m all about.”

Phil since we have yet to hear much of anything from you at all, how you can not see this as something that Ben is telling people that he wants to do for them (building support of buying local which helps not only local businesspersons but the economy); I don't understand. But maybe sometime next week when you start "announcing" plans we'll know.

:-)

I'd also like to remind people that my favorite book store, Fireside Books, 7111 Orchard Centre Drive, Holland, Ohio, has been locally owned and operated for over 18 years. They not only try to support local authors but provide all of what the National Chains do and more...

Some Political Funding Trivia...

Ever wonder how many of our local residents donate to other campaigns and if so how much? There are several places on the net where one can do this. One I use fairly often is called "Open Secrets" Linked above is a different listing thanks to City Data Toledo

There is alot of information on the page from Toledo including some of the well known Noe related donations but I went looking for local politicans and who they donated to (there is no special reason for the difference in caps v no caps, it's just the way the site did it for some reason):

Sobczak, Mark (IBT/Business Agent), (Zip code: 43606) $500 to GEPHARDT FOR PRESIDENT INC. on 09/08/03
Sobczak, Mark (IBT/Business Agent), (Zip code: 43606) $1000 to GEPHARDT FOR PRESIDENT INC. on 09/30/03
Silverman, Marcia (none/homemaker), (Zip code: 43606) $500 to JOE LIEBERMAN FOR PRESIDENT INC on 10/14/03
Silverman, Peter (Shumaker Loop/Lawyer), (Zip code: 43606) $500 to JOE LIEBERMAN FOR PRESIDENT INC on 10/14/03
KACZALA, GINA-MARIE MRS. (LUCAS COUNTY/INTERNAL AUDITOR), (Zip code: 43606) $2000 to BUSH-CHENEY '04 (PRIMARY) INC. on 11/05/03
KACZALA, LARRY A. MR. (LUCAS COUNTY/AUDITOR), (Zip code: 43606) $2000 to BUSH-CHENEY '04 (PRIMARY) INC. on 11/05/03
KACZALA, LARRY A (LUCAS COUNTY AUDITOR), (Zip code: 43606) $18 to KACZALA FOR CONGRESS on 10/07/03
Szollosi, Francis J (City of Toledo/Councilman), (Zip code: 43605) $250 to OHIO DEMOCRATIC PARTY on 09/20/04
Ford, Jack (City Of Toledo/Mayor), (Zip code: 43607) $250 to JOHN KERRY FOR PRESIDENT INC on 06/10/04

The page for Maumee had the majority of the donations we've heard about made by Tom and Bernadette Noe, but it had a few that I wasn't aware of:

Noe, Thomas W. (Vintage Coins/Rare Coin Dealer), (Zip code: 43537) $1000 to HOBSON FOR CONGRESS on 04/14/04
Noe, Thomas W. (Vintage Coin/Executive), (Zip code: 43537) $1000 to PRYCE FOR CONGRESS on 10/08/04
Noe, Thomas W. Mr. (Vintage Coins/Coin dealer), (Zip code: 43537) $1000 to PEOPLE FOR DIGITAL COMPETITION on 07/23/03
Noe, Thomas (Self/Attorney), (Zip code: 43537) $5000 to OHIO'S 17 STAR PAC on 09/15/04
Noe, Thomas W. (Vintage Coins and Cards/President/C), (Zip code: 43537) $2000 to DIEDRICH FOR CONGRESS on 05/14/04
Noe, Bernadette (Self/Attorney), (Zip code: 43537) $5000 to CARE POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE on 12/31/03
Noe, Thomas W. (Vintage Coins & Cards/President), (Zip code: 43537) $5000 to CARE POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE on 12/31/03

The last one to CARE political Action Committee is an interesting one. I can't find any further information on that particular PAC or why the Noe's were the only two who donated, to the tune of $10,000 in this area. At first I thought it might be a typo but I did find donations from others to this PAC in other parts of Ohio. Yet the one I can't help wondering about is why Larry donated $18.00 to himself. See the interesting tidbits you can discover thanks to the internet?

:-)

WAKE UP Lucas County!

Last night I will admit I was a bit disappointed to see as reported on Progressive Toledo information on some recent polling numbers for the Democratic Candidates for the Lucas County Primary.

While I'd like to see more specifics as to the polling information, especially after reading this Toledo Blade article I can't help but wonder at times what do Lucas County voters really want?

Toledo City Councilman Phil Copeland, the third Democrat running for commissioner in the May 2 primary election, has yet to make a major policy announcement.

Tim Wagener's idea to launch an “unprecedented” countywide initiative to promote interaction between high schoolers and older citizens; is a nice one. I believe interaction and volunteerism should be encouraged, however, that to me is a more appropriate function of a school district. Springfield Schools as an example has a community service requirement for it's high schoolers. Or perhaps thru Lucas County Educational Service Center since they have connections/contact with public school systems in the district.

Student Community Service is listed in the Ohio Revised Code:

[§ 3333.04.3] § 3333.043. Programs to encourage students to perform community service.

I'm all for people selecting who they think the best candidate would be, and I fully understand that this is not going to be something we all agree on. Else there would be no need for elections, we'd all come to the same concensus on a candidate and *voila* person selected. Yet I find it continually troubling when it's hard to understand why a selection was even made. The Tim Vs Ben discussions I understand, while Tim hasn't promoted any large scale vision or plans like Ben has, Tim does have an identifiable suburban support record that is an important consideration. If Phil Copeland had such a sterling record on City Council that it was by the mere demonstration of his leadership skills there that people automatically had confidence in his ability to be a Lucas County Commissioner it would be a bit easier to understand why he would poll higher. That's not the case though, unless I've missed something...

So, I'm left at this point until more information comes out shaking my head in wonderment as to how and why some of my local county residents make their decisions in who to support on election day.

Some good news and a story that will probably have Noe ending...

First, the good news! For those of you have followed my posting over the past few months about the lack of updated information by both the local Democrat and Republican party websites; Joe Birmingham is finally listed as being an elected official on the Lucas County Republican Party website.

According to the above linked Toledo Blade article, the Lucas County Republican party could be in a situation where they have to come up with $63,000 that was conveted into a loan to them from Tom Noe.

If the party is forced to come up with the money, it would worsen an already dismal financial situation. As of mid-December, the party had just $1,226 available.

In 2002, Mr. Noe loaned the party $40,000. It was almost immediately sent to Columbus to pay for television ads for Maggie Thurber, then running for Lucas County commissioner against incumbent Democrat Sandy Isenberg.

Two years later, Mr. Noe loaned the party another $25,000. Since then, the party has acknowledged paying back $2,000, leaving a balance of $63,000.

Dennis Lange says fundraising attempts have not gone well recently, Jon Stainbrook is claiming he has the ability to raise funds. Why he hasn't one wonders, it would seem if he really wanted to convice the Lucas County Republican Party that he is the right person for the Chairmanship position he'd demonstrate that he can do what Dennis Lange has not been able to do.

As a side note...the Democratic Party of Lucas County has still not corrected their list of elected officials. Frank Szollosi is apparently still "blacklisted" and Mark Sobczak was never added, though Taylor Balderas was.

An FYI Candidate Website addition

Pam Haynam was kind enough to email me to give me the web address for her campaign, it is in the title link as well as now included in the NW Ohio Candidate Website listing in the sidebar.

It contains some information about Pam and a summary of her stance on some issues. Nice format and I do like the purple.

:-)

As an update...Pam also has a blog:

pamhaynamcommissioner.blogspot.com

There's a new blog in town....

If you listened to the podcast of the interview that Don and Jeremy did with Ben Konop you heard his call for there to be a progressive blog in this area that would deal strictly with local politics. Kurt decided to get the ball rolling on that today and created Progressive Toledo.

People have already started to sign up to be contributors, so if you are a local area progressive who wants to get involved? I'd suggest heading on over.

:-)

As an update, I've decided to join too and I've been accepted.

This week's Toledo Free Press

Justin R. Kalmes writes an excellent summation of the Lucas County Commissioner's Debate, that I highly recommend reading. Michael Miller's piece this week is about his opening day experience at Fifth Third Field. As a member of the cheap seat crowd who also wore her comfortably worn nikes to the Lucas County Commissioner's debate...his piece struck a chord with me.

Blog it, Toledo is in it's tenth week, and it continues to be enjoyable for me to write and hopefully for you to read.

Make sure to get your copy of the Toledo Free Press since there are many great articles including the cover story which is an exclusive interview with Darlene Fisher.

:-)

As an update, as mentioned previously Nookular option has the podcast of their interview with Ben Konop that was done yesterday. You can download it from here.

Thank you to Ben and Don and Jeremy for their compliments, there is a lot of information in this interview that I think is important, so it's a "Lisa recommend" and not just because I'm mentioned.

:-)

After the debate

or let's discuss the use of words...

I watched Fox news last night at ten and watched all three news sources at 11:00 p.m. While I think too much focus has been made on Ben's Taft/Bush question I think the reporting was done well and Phil Copeland did not face the same level of questions/critiques from the other debate candidates.

I read the Toledo Blade article written by Jim Tankersley this morning. I have to say the impression I had even last night was that it was pick on George night. So it didn't surprise me that Jim Tankersley focused on that aspect of the debate. I don't necessarily agree that George Sarantou was left bruised by it but I do agree with the statement that he was "pounced" on. I also think there was alot of information that I learned from last night that will help me make a decision or at least have me know which questions I'd like answered.

This morning I also got up a bit earlier than usual to hear what Fred LeFebvre's thoughts were on the debate last night. Obviously I need to pay closer attention to the use of words because I didn't do a word count as to which candidate was mentioned more nor did I analyze the article for negative versus postive words used for each candidate. Maybe it's me and the fact that I am a political/news junkie but I didn't expect the Blade to have a glowing article about the debate. This was a really big success moment for the Toledo Free Press, they are demonstrating that while they may be a weekly with their updated information on the website when a story breaks and being the primary force behind not only this debate but one in October for the general election that the Toledo Free Press is a source that people are counting on for news. The same can be said for Fox with their complete coverage of the debate. So even if things were happy and rosey at the Toledo Blade they wouldn't write this as a "Wow Good job at the Debate".

Yet when Fred raised the point about the choice of words, I decided to take a closer look.

Realistically this whole experiment can be changed depending on what the writer wants to focus. I'll demonstrate using only what was in the Blade article to work with:

Here's Jim's lead in paragraph:

The first debate of the Lucas County commissioner's race left George Sarantou bruised - and left voters with few specifics on how five candidates would run the county.

Hypothetical Pro-George:

The first debate of the Lucas County Commmissioner's race was short on specifics but demonstrated that George Sarantou is the candidate viewed as the largest threat by other candidates.

Hypothetical Attack mode:

The first debate of the Lucas County Commisioner's race seemed more focused on individual attacks with George Sarantou on the receiving end of the majority of them.

Hypothetical Pro-Pam:

The first debate of the Lucas County Commissioner's race demonstrated that Pam Haynam is promoting herself as the "Lone Republican" and agressively challenged George Sarantou as well as making it clear she was more interested in serving the needs of Lucas County residents rather than how well she would cooperate with the current Democratic majority in the Lucas County Commissioners.

Hypothetical Pro-Ben:

The first debate of the Lucas County Commissioner's race clearly showed that Ben Konop not only provided more specifics than the other candidates present but was not afraid to challenge the Republican opponents as well; Konop stressed that he was the only one with a plan and a vision for Lucas County.

Hypothetical Pro-Tim:

In the first debate of the Lucas County Commissioner's race, Tim Wagener turned the attacks by his Democratic opponents into a positive message that he was proud of his years as a career public servant rather than a career politician and Maumee succeeded in job growth due to the ability to work together strongly disagreeing with the claim that jobs were "stolen" from Toledo.

Hypothetical Pro-Phil:

In the first debate of the Lucas County Commissioner's race, Phil Copeland, with the exception of a few comments directed at his Democratic opponents demonstrated that his goal is to focus on making Lucas County a better place rather than engage in political reparte.

Now what does this show you besides the fact I probably missed my calling working for a campaign and spinning information? That any person that reads that Blade article will take from it what they want, especially if they did not watch or hear the debate or read this blog. If they don't like George they'll focus one way. If they like George they'll focus another way and the same down the line with all of the candidates.

However, I do have to add that George's statement on WSPD that he was so battered and bruised that he had to visit two Toledo Emergency Room's last night was funny. Whether you like him or not as a candidate, he did handle himself well and laughing it off is probably a smarter option.

I'll be bluntly honest and say this primary is going to be a hard one for me in several races. I have to balance who's ideas I like the best and also to continue to be perfectly blunt decide which is the better option for Lucas County, three Democrats or a Republican that could be ignored and basically left out of the process. Would either of the three Democrats candidates end up being any different? Which one has the ability to get one of the other two to work with them and could George Sarantou do that as well? I am not dismissing Pam Hayman but she made it very clear she has no intention of focusing on working with the two current Democrats. Do we really want another former Toledo City Council person on the Lucas County Commissioners? Those are among the questions that I have to find answers for in the next three weeks so I can make my decision. Ben is still someone who's ideas I think have great promise. Yet will he focus on the burbs as much as I know Tim would...As soon as I decide? I'll let you know.

Then I have to decide Dann or Chandra...that's a whole different blog...

:-)

Okay my impressions of the debate and live blogging

First of all time flew, it didn't seem like it was an hour, I just started typing and kept going. As I wrote in the comments I was in the zen blogging zone...

All of the candidates seem like very nice personable people, all of them with the exception of Phil Copeland told me they read my blog. (Which was a surprise) That's not a slam towards Phil, he may very well read it, it just wasn't mentioned.

They also all seem very sincere in their belief that they want to make Lucas County a better place.

I'd never met Phil Copeland before, he talked a lot about his growing up poor in the inner city. He related a story about his reason for supporting the discretionary fund was when he was a young boy and played on a baseball team they didn't have the ability to have uniforms like some of the other teams did. Phil felt that using the discretionary fund for purposes like that helped build the community. It didn't appear he answered all of the questions that were asked of him, I think the two minute response created the most problems for him. His comment that got the most reaction was when he made the statement about the reason Maumee has been successful in job creation was done on the backs of Toledoans. Not a huge response because the crowd was supposed to refrain and they did a very good job in following that but kind of a half gasp/groan from the audience.

Miguel and I walked in with Pam Haynam and rode the elevator up to the main floor of the library. So I had a chance to have some brief chit chatting with her then. She stated she wasn't a polished debater but I think she did an excellent job in making her points. She kept her responses short and to the point, though she did talk faster that the other candidates so it was harder to live blog her comments. She focused on the "jobs, jobs, jobs" theme as well as pointing out that she feels she is a fiscal watch dog. One comment I didn't include was when she stated that her opponent was talking about how he could get along with Democrats if he was elected and her goal was to "watch the store". Pam's comment that got the most response was the second or third time she brought up George Sarantou sitting next to her at a Republican event stating that he was interested in using the Lucas County Commissioner race as a stepping stone to Toledo Mayor. It was a chuckle/laugh type response from the crowd.

I've had more of a chance to talk to Ben Konop than the other candidates, as in past experiences in hearing him speak he comes across as being energetic and wanting to move forward. He focused on the theme that he was the only candidate that had a plan and had vision for the County. He stayed on his message which also included stressing that he is not a career politician. He also talked about how Lucas County used to be in the past as far as jobs and standard of living and that he believes we can return to those days. Ben brought up his several of his ideas, the Cool County iniative, the regional funding, reduction of taxes for senior citizens. Ben interjected the most humor into the debate with his repeated question for George Sarantou and then Pam Haynam on the "would they still support/vote for Governor Taft/President Bush today issue. Ben handled the critiques of him from the other candidates very well demonstrating he can function well under pressure.

George Sarantou comes across as an experienced politican but not to the point where you feel he is not believable. He stressed his 24 years of experience as one of the primary reasons he would be a good County Commissioner and stated he was fiscally responsible as well. George also highlighted his work on the City of Toledo budget and his experience in working with Jeep and Dana as a few of the examples. I have to say he also does well under pressure, though I think he could have diffused Ben's question by answering it the first or the second time. However, he did get his largest response the time when he purposely ignored Ben's question and went on to talk about the Zoo levy. That was another chuckle/laugh response from the crowd. Meeting him in person he thanked me for being there and surprised me by telling me he has read my blog.

Tim Wagener surprised me when I talked with him after the debate. Not just because he stated he reads the blog but he remembered me picking on him about his website being so "red". He explained to me that red and white have always been his colors. Tim demonstrated he has a very good sense of humor not only in private but during the debate when he mentioned that "he had a website too" that got the largest crowd reaction as far as the laugh/chuckle moment for him. Tim stressed that he has experience and I do have say his response that he was not a career politician but a career public servant was the best response to Ben's statement on that as opposed to the rest of the panel. Tim appeared to be the most laid back of the candidates, but did not let statements go unanswered that he felt needed to be addressed, such as the comment that Phil Copeland made about how Maumee got jobs.

Live blogging is quite an experience and I hope all of you enjoyed it. As Fred LeFebvre can see I kept my promise as far as not spelling his name wrong and I thank him for mentioning my blog. A huge and I mean huge thanks to Michael Miller and the Toledo Free Press for allowing me to have the opportunity to do this and of course again thanks to the wonderful staff at the Toledo-Lucas County Library, the notebook computer that they let me use was awesome, a very nice Dell. If I'm invited back to cover the debates in October, I'd like to be able to tape or arrange to copy the debate so that I have an additional source of information to go back and review to see what I missed. I also want to thank all of the candidates for participating, this is such an important part of our political process and it was wonderful to be even a small part of it.

I also want to thank the crowd because they were very well behaved and did for the most part follow the request to not interrupt with applause. It created I think a better debate than what happened during some of the mayoral debates with the crowd yelling out comments.

Thus ends the first time in Toledo history of having a live blog going on during a political debate.

:-)

More questions

Ben outlined his Cool County initiative (more on that later).

George responded to Pam's statement that George was only using running for Lucas County Commissioner as a stepping stone to become Mayor.

I'm going to slow down a bit at this point and cover some of the reactions. George Sarantou stated we need to be "future oriented". He speaks very with alot of animation with his hands, very energetic in his responses.

Tim Wagener appears much more laid back, he speaks carefully and slowly. He stated that he agrees with the suburbs and Toledo working together.

Tim was then asked if he would raise or lower taxes if elected. He stated as Mayor of Maumee that taxes had never gone up, and that he would not support a tax increase without the support of the voters.

Phil took a 30 second response that Tim's job creation was taking jobs from Toledo to Maumee. The economic growth in Maumee has been on the backs of Toledo Residents. Phil Copeland does not appear to be a polished politician, yet he speaks with animation as well.

Pam again brought up George running for Mayor (it must be pick on George night at the debates).

Pam Haynam speaks quickly she seems self confident rather than speaking fast out of being nervous.

Ben then asked Pam if she would vote and support Taft and President Bush. She stated she did support them in the past and that she thinks since there are so many immigrants trying to get into this country that we are doing fairly well right now.

George then took 30 seconds to remind people that he has worked with Democrats and his focus on the high cost of utilities as well as manufacturing such as Jeep.

Cosi support question to George Sarantou, he believes they should explore other resources rather than a levy. He said we just can't keep coming to the voters.

Tim responded to Phil's job stealing, that if you look at Arrowhead that is why jobs come there and he has never knocked on a business's door telling them to come to Maumee.

Tim brought up the unfunded mandate issue, Phil took his 30 seconds to respond stating he supported the personal discretionary funds.

Closing statements:

Phil Copeland, proud to be here and is trying to do what is best for Lucas County. He wants downtown to be like it was back in the 50's and 60's.

Pam Haynam's closing, she stated she is not a polished debater but she offers a choice because she is a real Republican. Less government and less taxes is her main theme. She then stressed her fiscal watchdog experience. She then brought up the George Sarantou running for Mayor next theme. She stressed her experience and her parenting as another reason why she wants to run and feel she is the only candidate that will bring balance.

Ben closed next, he started out thanking everyone and why the process is so important. He stated he is the only candidate with a vision and ideas. Eighty years ago things here were booming, now the economy is changing and we need serious leaderships, ideas not cliches. Lowering senior citizen taxes and stopping brain drain is also a focus for him.

George gave his closing statement next, he stated that fiscal responsibility is "near and dear to his heart". He has helped sell Wall Street on the great area that we live and that his 24 years of experience as well as fighting to lower utility costs in this area are reasons why he should be the next Lucas County Commissioner. He feels he is the voice of reason on the panel today, that he will be a full time commissioner.

Final closing goes to Tim, he has created jobs as a small business man and as an elected official. He stated he will use relationships he has built to help Lucas County, he mentioned his website (which is on my blog). He thanked everyone and asked that people do participate and vote (though he would prefer you vote for him.)

And that ends it...I'll do edits updates in a few....Wow that was an experience!

Questions continue

Why is George interested in leaving City Council to be a Lucas County Commissioner. He stated he is ready for the next step, since Maggie Thurber is not running for office that his 24 years of experience is important.

Tim responded that he is not a career politician but a career public servant and is proud of that to Ben's statement that he was not a career politician.

Tim Wagener was next, the question was could we have a fair representation if there were three Democrats. Tim responded there is a perceived impression that the Lucas County Commissioners are not focused on the suburbs.

Phil Copeland was next, does he support Unigov for Lucas County, he stated yes, that anything that is going to make Lucas County grow that he wants to be a part of.

Pam was next asked if residents outside of Toledo mistrust Lucas County Commissioners, she stated that given both democratic candidates are former city council persons.

Ben then took 30 seconds to again ask his question on where George stands on Taft and Bush and were their policies harmful to Ohio.

George said there are good Republicans and Democrats in Ohio. He feels the relevant issue is how he will represent Lucas County not to defend what Taft or President Bush has done.

The Questions begin

The first question was to Phil Copeland, it was concerning the current questions regarding recent questions concerning the Union.

He really did not answer the question except to stress what the Union has accomplished.

Pam Haynam, as the Lone Republican how would she be able to get things done was asked. She stated she would remain a fiscal conservative and would continue to stress her "jobs, jobs, "jobs".

Ben took 30 seconds to respond. He stated that Bush and Taft's failed policies have added to the problems of this area and would both Pam and George still support both of them.

Question to Ben as to selling the regional tax including Wood County. He stated that if you pool entities together. He stated that if you do that it will create a situation where senior citizen taxes can be lowered.

George Sarantou, questioned on would he call for a full audit of other suppliers in addition to Columbia Gas. George stated it was time for changes at the PUCO and a serious look into why Gas prices are so expensive.

Tim stated in response to his question that he had the ability to work with various people and that you have to put your ego aside and work for the betterment of the community.

Phil took a 30 second response. He stated that he felt that no one outside of Lucas County would support a regional tax.

Should Lucas County voters support the Zoo Levy was the next question to Phil Copeland from Michael Miller. Phil responded that the zoo was a good family value. He didn't really answer yes or no.

Pam Haynam took 30 seconds to respond to the Zoo, she supports the replacement levy but not the capital levy. She doesn't feel we can afford to raise taxes by expanding at the zoo.

Her question was how she would be a fiscal conservative. She stated she felt you could be fiscally responsible without making severe cuts.

Ben asked again if George supported Taft and George Bush.

Ben next responded to a question concerning his goals, he stated that he is not a career politican.

George asked for 30 seconds, did not respond to Ben's question asked twice but gave information on the Zoo levy. He supports both of the issues for the zoo levy.

The Debate part one

We are 15 seconds to the Debate, having complimented Fred on his new suit...we are about to begin. The crowd is very quiet, once the candidates took their seats at the podium, you could have heard the proverbial pin drop.

Wow I've just been announced, talk about putting pressure on someone to perform...

The ground rules of the debate are being announced.

They will have a beginning statement and a closing statement. Request for their to be no applause.

Phil Copeland is up first.

He started with the traditional thank you and a brief resume as to his accomplishments, including growing up in the Toledo inner city. "Where else but American can someone get an opportunity like this" was one of his opening statements. Phil states he is pro-union and pro-jobs.

Pam Haynam is next, she started with "Jobs, jobs, jobs", that her family raised her to realize that education is an important part of gaining a good job. She as the mother of three children ran for the Sylvania School Board because she realized how important education is. She supports limiting government and reducing taxes as a platform.

Ben Konop starts with his family bio starting with his grandfather coming to this area in addition to saying that it is "time for a change". He stated he is the only candidate who has created a plan on several key issues including the economy. We are at a critical time.

George Sarantou believes he can make a difference in Lucas County. He points to his experience on City Council. He has 24 years of experience that he will use to build cooperation with all parts of Lucas County, "to make Lucas County a showcase for growth". He stated he has a proven track record of working with everyone of both parties.

Tim Wagener was the final candidate, he outlined his accomplishments in the City of Maumee, as proof of his experience. The Dana Tech Center is a blueprint of what he feels can be done by working together. " If there is ever a better plan for regional cooperation that is it".

Let the Live Blogging Begin!

I'm here at the Downtown Toledo-Lucas County Public Library; waiting for the Lucas County Commissioner Debate to begin. Thanks to the wonderful Jeremy Luring one of the Library's notebook computers has been all set up for me. The candidates are arriving and Fred LeFebvre is getting ready to do an on air interview with the candidates before the actual debate begins.

I'd also like to take this opportunity to thank the following people who help make the Toledo-Lucas County Library system so great in addition to Jeremy, Dave Misko and Kathryn Fell.

Now the thrilling adventures of the sound check since the WSPD live interviews have been completed. We are about 7 minutes away from the start of the debate.

:-)

Bill Peirce Press Release on Proposed Gambling Amendment

Thanks to Jason at Yearning to Breathe Free I found out about Bill Peirce's postion on the proposed Gambling Amendment. The Toledo area is involved in this since if passed it would allow slot gambling to take place at Toledo Raceway Park.

While I understand the desire to increase/create funding abilities for the State, I was already skeptical as to the amount of money that would go to education even prior to reading this press release. After reading the press release this one particular section made me even more concerned:

Ohio is asking absolutely nothing in return for this permanent privilege. The “Learn and Earn” ballot issue would not require any payment for the 10 casinos. Indeed, by specifying who will receive the licenses, the proposal prevents competitive bidding. In places where casino licenses are put out to bid (Pittsburgh, for example), gaming companies pay plenty for the privilege. A good estimate is that Ohio is giving away a privilege that it could sell for $4 billion dollars!

The backers of the proposal will argue that state and local governments will receive annual tax payments worth hundreds of millions. Even there, however, Ohio will be short changed. Pittsburgh will extract a tax of 54%, even after taking hundreds of millions up front. The Ohio proposal calls for a tax of 39%! The backers have referred to a tax of 45%, but 6% goes back to the racetracks to subsidize breeding race horses, so that leaves 39% for the public sector. Even for the paltry portion that does go to the public sector, the designers of this proposal have had the arrogance to tell the legislature exactly how the money shall be spent.

Last I heard not one of the candidates for Governor supported this amendment. That alone should tell you something...

Update: I stand corrected, it appears according to this Toledo Blade article that Jim Petro is a supporter of increased gambling in Ohio.

Jennifer Brunner coming to UT this Saturday

The Lucas County Young Democrats, in cooperation with the University of Toledo Young Democrats have announced that Jennifer Brunner, who is the Democratic candidate for the office of Ohio Secretary of State will be speaking at 12:00 (noon) this Saturday.

If you would like more information on attending this event please contact Kevin Cooper, at lucas@ohioyd.org or by phone at 419-944-5864.

If you'd like more information about Jennifer Brunner, you can visit her website at:

http://www.jenniferbrunner.com/

Blog it, Toledo and the Toledo Free Press

This week's Blog it, Toledo is up which focused on MySpace, the link to the Parent's safety tips is not working properly so I suggest this one as a substitute until I have a corrected one.

The article on the upcoming Lucas County Commissioner's Debate is a highly recommended read. For those of you who have asked me about ticket information for the April 10th debate from the article:

The April 10 debate, which is sponsored by Toledo Free Press, WSPD-1370 AM and FOX Toledo 36, is scheduled to run 6-7 p.m. The debate is a ticketed event; obtain your free tickets through your candidate of choice. The debate will be broadcasted live on the radio and TV stations. Fred Lefebvre of WSPD is the debate emcee; the moderators are Laura Emerson of FOX Toledo 36 and Michael S. Miller of Toledo Free Press.

And for those of you who want to follow the debate online, I will be there live blogging the debate.

Being a blogger, having your phone calls not returned is all to common, yet Michael Miller's "Nuts and Reinbolts of phone calls" points out a situation that should not be way things are done here in Toledo, Ohio.

There is of course alot more in this week's Toledo Free Press, and maybe someday I'll actually stop blogging so much to have fun with this so do ku that seems to be the local rave.

:-)

University of Toledo gets Third Frontier Funds

This is good news for this area, from the press release:

The Third Frontier Commission awarded the grants through a competitive RFP evaluation process in which proposals from 17 different entities were reviewed and scored by Taratec Corporation, an independent evaluating corporation. To qualify, companies receiving awards must have their principal place of business in Ohio. The Ohio Department of Development (ODOD) administers the grants.

“Today’s award recipients are developing technologies and products that are making them industry leaders,” said Lt. Governor Bruce Johnson, who also serves as State Development Director and Chair of the Third Frontier Commission. “Through initiatives like the Third Frontier, we are reclaiming Ohio’s culture of innovation.”

University of Toledo (UT), located in Toledo (Lucas County), was awarded $1,000,000 for its “Test Facility for Experimental Development of High-speed Rotating Components and Subsystems.” This facility will be dedicated to the experimental development of advanced, high speed (up to 150,000 rpm) rotating equipment. UT’s collaborator, Teledyne Continental Motors – Turbine Engines (TCM-TE) plans to use the facility to test bearings and compressors. TCM-TE expects initial sales of newly developed turbine engines to be $3.25 million with 10 to 20 new jobs created.

The Toledo Blade also reported this but did not mention Teledyne or the job creation information:

The University of Toledo was awarded $1 million for its “Test Facility for Experimental Development of High-Speed Rotating Components and Subsystems.”

The facility will be dedicated to the experimental development of advanced, high-speed rotating equipment

NW Ohio's Political make up.

Living in Northwestern Ohio, I realize our whole area can't be defined as either a clear majority of "Democrat or Republican". Lucas County does have the largest number of voters and it is assumed it is more Democrat with the majority of voters living in Toledo. The surrounding Counties have less voters in number but tend to vote Republican in election results.

So, I decided to do a little research. Below are the numbers from 2004 for the Presidential Race and Senator. Then I included the 2002 numbers for the Governor's Race and the 2000 numbers for President and Senator. This doesn't mean I'm predicting who will win, but it does mean that so much attention gets placed on where Bush or Kerry won when if you look at the rest of the numbers, Voinovich won Lucas County so did Taft and in 2000 Dewine won in Lucas County. If you look at the numbers for the Senate races even in Lucas County the Republican Senator got more votes than the Republican Presidential candidate, which was the same in the majority of counties in NW Ohio. So it's not quite the clear blue/red division some are trying to make it out to be and it's a little more involved than how a Presidential candidate did.

Lucas: Kerry 132,651---Bush 87,146
Fingerhut: 90,250---Voinovich: 121,535
Hagan: 49,648---Taft: 76,572
Gore: 108,344---Bush: 73,342
Celeste: 74,682---DeWine: 89,753

Fulton: Kerry: 8,224---Bush: 13,640
Fingerhut: 5,039---Voinovich: 16,342
Hagan: 2,995---Taft: 9,600
Gore: 6,805---Bush: 11,546
Celeste: 4,799---DeWine: 13,007

Hancock: Kerry: 10,352---Bush: 25,105
Fingerhut: 7,096---Voinovich: 27,626
Hagan: 4,151---Taft: 15,757
Gore: 8,798---Bush: 20,985
Celeste: 6,384---DeWine: 22,337

Henry: Kerry: 5,111---Bush: 9,902
Fingerhut: 3,299---Voinovich: 11,628
Hagan: 2,069---Taft: 6,814
Gore: 4,367---Bush: 8,530
Celeste: 3,124---DeWine: 9,361

Defiance: Kerry: 6,975---Bush: 11,397
Fingerhut: 5,279---Voinovich: 12,778
Hagan: 3,225---Taft: 7,049
Gore: 6,175---Bush: 9,540
Celeste: 5,070---DeWine: 10,133

Paulding: Kerry: 3,610---Bush: 6,206
Fingerhut: 3,134---Voinovich: 6,385
Hagan: 1,939---Taft: 3,972
Gore: 3,384---Bush: 5,210
Celeste: 2,973---DeWine: 5,175

Putnum: Kerry: 4,392---Bush: 14,370
Fingerhut: 3,794---Voinovich: 14,671
Hagan: 3,110---Taft: 8,592
Gore: 4,063---Bush: 12,837
Celeste: 3,616---DeWine: 12,714

VanWert: Kerry: 4,095---Bush: 10,678
Fingerhut: 3,721---Voinovich: 10,697
Hagan: 2,085---Taft: 6,561
Gore: 4,209---Bush: 8,679
Celeste: 3,416---DeWine: 8,954

Williams: Kerry: 6,481---Bush: 12,040
Fingerhut: 4,503---Voinovich: 13,563
Hagan: 2,967---Taft: 7,731
Gore: 5,454---Bush: 9,941
Celeste: 3,980---DeWine: 10,820

Wood: Kerry: 29,401---Bush: 33,592
Fingerhut: 19,641---Voinovich: 41,821
Hagan: 11,521---Taft: 25,172
Gore: 22,687---Bush: 27,504
Celeste: 16,333---DeWine: 32,097

This post at Buckeye State Blog is what "inspired" the research for this post. I don't agree with his perception that North Ohio is more liberal, NEO might be but NW Ohio is different than NEO.

Ohio Politics Weekly...Flannery V Strickland

Bryan Flannery and Ted Strickland both answer three questions put to them, I found the differences in their answers, especially when it related to jobs to be very revealing.

Flannery answers specifically as to this region, Strickland gives general points and directs people to go to his website.

It's a recommended site to visit, there are other features that might interest you including online sources.

:-)

Teen arrested for creating false alarm...now what?

Local news channel WUPW is reporting the March 23rd abduction incident was false and that the girl who made the claim has been charged in Lucas County Juvenile Court on a count of making false alarms earlier today.

This was the third incident as reported by the Toledo Blade and other local media.

This week's edition of the Toledo Free Press has an article titled Experts offer tips for abduction prevention; still a valid concern because at this point the two other abduction attempts are believed to be true as well as the three Perrysburg incidents.

One does wonder though if it had been known that this third abduction attempt was false if the Mayor would have issued this release:

Beginning March 24, Toledo police and firefighters will team up in a citywide effort to patrol neighborhoods surrounding schools before and after classes. The extra precautions come in response to three attempted abductions of teenage girls that occurred in the past eight days. Composite sketches of two of the alleged perpetrators in those incidents have been disseminated throughout the city to public safety officials. Mayor Carty Finkbeiner urged anyone with information on any of the cases to contact Crimestoppers, police or his office.

At this point no word on if the increased patrols will continue.

Unemployment numbers for Lucas County improving

In the figures just released by ODJAF, our area has continued to show improved numbers since January and compared to February of last year. With the exception of Fulton County which made a .1% increase since January 06.

Lucas 221,000 (Labor Force) 205,300 (#Employed) 15,700 (#Unemployed) 7.1 (2/6) 7.6 (1/6) 8.0 (2/5)
Toledo 144,100 (Labor Force)133,200 (#Employed) 11,000 (#Unemployed) 7.6 (2/6) 8.1 (1/6) 8.7 (2/5)
Wood 66,000 (Labor Force) 62,200 (#Employed) 3,900 (#Unemployed) 5.8 (2/6) 5.9 (1/6) 6.6 (2/5)
Fulton 22,800 (Labor Force) 21,200 (#Employed) 1,600 (#Unemployed) 7.0 (2/6) 6.9 (1/6) 8.2 (2/5)

As to the rest of the state?

Among the state's 88 counties, the February 2006 unemployment rates ranged from a low of 3.8 percent in Delaware County to a high of 13.9 percent in Monroe County. Rates increased in more than half of the counties. The comparable rate for Ohio in February was 6.1 percent.

Nine counties had unemployment rates at or below 5.0 percent in February. The counties with the lowest rates, other than Delaware, were: Holmes and Mercer, 4.4; Warren, 4.7; Auglaize, 4.8; Hancock and Medina, 4.9; and Geauga and Shelby, 5.0 percent.

Nine counties had unemployment rates above 9.0 percent during February. The counties with the highest rates, other than Monroe, were: Pike, 11.0; Morgan, 10.7; Meigs, 10.5; Vinton, 9.9; Adams, 9.6; Huron, 9.5; and Ottawa and Perry, 9.4 percent.

Curtsy to Ohio 15th District Blog for the information.

Fort Industry Square and 18 parking places...

As I read the above linked Toledo Blade article, several questions immediately came to mind. This plan will create 18 parking spaces, now taking part of what was stated in the article:

The Mills family trust, owners of the block-long, 19th century Fort Industry Square brick structure across Summit from SeaGate Centre, has had trouble filling retail space for several years. Its biggest obstacle: no curbside parking in front of the development, which is 60 percent vacant.

"We're talking about adding curbside parking so we can market the building and concentrate on retail and resale shops, or where people can stop and get a quick bite to eat," said Matthew Mills, the building manager.

Without even getting into the financial aspect of what these Summit Street improvements would cost. Adding 18 parking spaces isn't going to dramatically improve desire to shop or to eat, except for perhaps 18 cars. Where are all the rest of them going to have to park? Where they currently have to park which according to Matthew Mills, parking alone wasn't the only reason they lost tenants.

Then, this next part made me think:

Left-turn lanes, originally created to get vehicles out of the flow of traffic while they wait to make turns across Summit, would be removed and replaced with raised medians with plants and greenery like that added recently to Cherry Street.

Wouldn't that make traffic even worse after a large downtown event? Sure, it will look pretty as you sit there and wait but creating more traffic flow problems especially when there is still talk about building an arena downtown just doesn't make sense, especially to only gain 18 parking spaces...

Murphy's Place Jazz is on the web, they are mentioned in the Toledo Blade article.

Test of Audioblogging

Lisa on her own blogger challenge...

I've written about my favorite place to eat on Toledo Talk but wanted to highlight that here. It is El Tipico Restaurant, 1444 South Ave in Toledo, Ohio. I have been going there since I was 8 or 9 years old, they have been in business for 38 years. Beyond the food always being excellent no matter what I select, and the fact they take such care with my one daughter who is a vegetarian it is a place of memories for me. Memories of my father because he's the one who used to take me there and it's the first restaurant that Miguel and I went to as a couple. The lack of a liquor license bothers some people, however that's never been an issue for us, infact it makes it even more of a family dining experience. I never miss a chance to enjoy their guacamole. Ironically, this week El Tipico is the featured restaurant in the Toledo City Paper. Eric Olsen does an excellent job in covering the many reasons why it's my favorite place.

I'd also point out when I first started this challenge I wasn't aware the County started a "Buy Local" emphasis almost a year ago...but it doesn't appear it went anywhere beyond the initial announcement.

Maybe this time it will, especially if we keep it going. All in all I'm glad I did this, I found some new places I want to try and once again confirmed that there are reasons why I love this area.

Unions "enraged" with Frank Szollosi

I watched this yesterday on 13 WTVG they don't have a hard copy of it only the video. So, since they don't keep the video up, I'm transcribing it here because I think some of what was said should be documented.

Lee Conklin: Close to a shouting match has really developed now, a true war of words between the Police and Fire unions and Toledo City Councilman

Susan Ross Wells: On Wednesday, Councilman Frank Szollosi told 13 ABC Action news that police and fire officials are abusing overtime with permission from Mayor Carty Finkbeiner. But the head of the Toledo Fire Fighters Union fired back demanding an apology from Szollosi.

Frank: So at this point Finkbeiner it would appear is giving them what they want more overtime and it's yet to be seen what kind of a wage increases that the administration will agree to.

Gregg Harris (identified under screen as President TPPA): Frank Szollosi before he opens his big mouth ought to check the facts.

Susan: Well that was Wednesday, today the Police Union continued firing in this war of words, 13 ABC news Bill Hormann is on top of the story. Bill?

Bill Hormann: Susan, Gregg Harris says Toledo Police and Fire members are enraged by Szolloi's comments. So today, the TPPA demanded that Szollosi say I'm sorry and step aside.

Frank: He came into this office and he expressed his displeasure at the tape you showed him.

Bill: Councilman Frank Szollosi admits that and TPPA President Gregg Harris had a short but intense meeting Wednesday regarding Szollosi's charge.

Gregg: I was very upset with his comments they were totally false and the comments that he made were totally inappropriate.

Bill: And after fuming for two days, Harris issued this press release demanding that Szollosi apologize for his remarks and then resign from City Council.

Gregg: I'm not shutting my mouth and I'm not being quiet until that man both apologizes and resigns.

Frank: It's a ridiculous notion to think that I would resign for asking tough questions about the public's money.

Bill: Szollosi says his real concern is the City's budget that he says he meant to take aim at how the Finkbeiner administration is handling overtime charges but recognizes his comments may have missed the mark.

Frank: If my remarks were inartful and were hurtful to the men and women of the fire department or the police department, I absolutely apologize for that because that was not my intent.

Gregg: I don't think he mispoke unless he is an extremely ignorant man, more ignorant than I assumed but he absolutely should not have made those statements and I have not heard an apology.

Bill: Well now he has, but Harris is continuing the fight.

Gregg: He needs to turn around and watch his butt walk out of town. I'm tired of his mouth.

Frank: I do encourage people to have a thick skin and to remain civil in our discourse about all of this.

Bill: Frank Szollosi is also quick to point out that he supports funding for better police and fire equipment and supports funding for more man hours even fought for proposed, fought against proposed layoffs but the unions are still upset with him right now and they say unless he resigns there is no cease fire in this war of words.

Lee: Alright, thanks Bill, and Frank Szollosi also points out if you look at the numbers that police over time is up 23% so far this year and fire up 69% in OT. He says that at the current rate the city will spend over 5 million dollars in over time for this year but the Finkbeiner administration has only budgeted 3.5 million dollars. Gregg Harris who you saw doesn't dispute the numbers but says they are justified. He claims the shortage of man power for big events like the Nazi rally for last year and the recent fires we've had in the City of Toledo.

What is obvious or at least should be obvious is Gregg Harris has a problem with Frank, and Frank has some issues with the Union Leadership as opposed to the union members as a whole. I'd also point out that costs related to the Nazi rallies happened in 2005. Not 2006. One also can't help wondering if the real issue was overtime why the Unions would not present facts rather than making this some type of personal vendetta demanding that Frank resign over an issue that has some basic truth to it once you remove the A vs B team bs from it all. Lastly, there is a professionalism aspect to this as far as how this represents our city.

I think Frank could have handled it better initially, but I think Gregg Harris was also very inappropriate and made it clear it was "I" not "we" in most of this. With the new edict from the mayor concerning increased patrolling of both police and using firefighters to patrol before and after school, it's obvious that the City is going to go way over the 3.5 million dollars budgeted. That should be addressed, and that was the whole main point that seems to have been missed in this "War of Words" coverage.

Charity begins at home...or it's supposed to

The above linked Toledo Blade article has started a local firestorm. Not on the proposed cut of $720,000 to the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council, which provides criminal and vehicle records to police and courts in northwest Ohio, not on concern over the possible 5 million dollars in over time costs. What has created this firestorm?

The proposed budget would reinstate a so-called discretionary fund out of which council members could contribute to nonprofit agencies that serve public purposes. Each councilman would be able to distribute $7,500.

The mantra is "Government should not be involved in giving charity". Sure that's a concept I generally believe in but what happens when people don't donate to charity?

What about our region? How do we compare with the rest of the Nation when it comes to charitable giving? From the 2005 Giving USA report as reported by Forbes:

Region 3: East North Central: (Ill., Ind., Mich., Ohio, Wis.) In these Great Lakes States, giving trails compared to national averages, both in average amounts contributed and in percentage of income donated.

Those who rely on needing help from charities can't just magically disappear or wait until people decide to donate. Merely making this $7,500 per council person disappear from the $235.08 million budget isn't going to solve any of the requests for donations. The only way the need for donations will end is if individuals or corporations step up to donate first so that there is no need for worthwhile charties or agencies to request help in the first place. Government shouldn't have to fill this need, so if you are truly against it? Stop placing the government in the position where it feels it has to because we don't.

Here's just one local agency that needs your help...Toledo Seagate Food Bank

One of my favorite quotes from Franklin D. Roosevelt is on their sidebar:

The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much it is whether we provide enough for those who have little.

:-)

This just in from the Toledo Free Press

City Councilman Phil Copeland has agreed to particpate in a debate with the candidates for Lucas County Commissioner.

:-)

Blog it, Toledo

This week's column is up, and the Toledo Free Press has several good articles this week. It also has the sad news that Bob Frantz is leaving, which is a good move for him since he's going back to Cleveland but for me since I listened to him probably more at the 6:00 p.m. time slot than I did the morning one...I'm going to miss him, I'm also going to miss calling him and hearing him say "It's Lisa Renee...the Blogger!". I'm glad I called in Friday, I've had a lot of fun with Bob. Speaking of Bob, his column is an interesting one.

Michael Miller's piece this week is about rape of young children, I understand where he's coming from on that one.

There are several online exclusives, one of which is Reflecting on Toledo and Ireland by Patrick Gorman, that I found very interesting and highly recommend.

I also think the Business Spotlight is a great feature and will remind those of you who are going to participate in my Blogger Challenge that you have until Sunday night...

Don't forget to pick up your copy of the Toledo Free Press, where in addition to the cover story about the Toledo Zoo, there are many other articles that you don't want to miss.

When visiting Discourse of a Demiurgic (One of the Blog it, Toledo blogs) tonight I found this "Personal DNA Quiz", and it looked too interesting to resist.

My results:

Animated Inventor

Also don't forget to mark your calendars!

The reasons behind the fire hydrant...

Starting with the latest news on the fire hydrant front:

On February 28, 2006 the Toledo Blade reported:

Mr. Finkbeiner disclosed that he plans to have the city's fire hydrants repainted.

The mayor invited the audience to cheer for their preferred hydrant color between red/yellow and Midnight blue/gold.

He said other colors are being considered for a planned repainting of the city's 10,000 fire hydrants. He said his preference is red.

The last time Mr. Finkbeiner was mayor, his preference was green and white.

Flashback to 1997:

The mayor is big on making Toledo a prettier city. He ordered all fire hydrants painted green and white to blend in with their surroundings. He just unveiled new welcome signs sporting his name and sports team logos. More than 400,000 flowers have been planted across the city in public rights of way during his term in office.

By the time 2001 came around 700,000 flowers were planted and the hydrants received regular fresh coats of paint.

Then of course times changed and as you can see if you look at the bottom of the right sidebar, or click here for a larger image, this hydrant hasn't had a coat of paint in quite some time. Yet it to me defines something that Carty did that despite the initial flack worked. Now to change that to the opposite making these hydrants some gaudy red seems to be in exact opposite of what he wanted when he first decreed the white and green. Even this hydrant while rusty and in need of a nice refresh, it does blend in.

Kind of the symbol of this area to me, we find something that does work after initial resistance and rather than continue to go with it? We don't.

A blogger challenge....

Back in February, Toledo Mayor Carty Finkbeiner is quoted as saying, he'd like to see Toledo shed its image as a "shot-and-a-beer, factory, bowling alley town." Yes, I know I've pointed out this quote before but I couldn't help thinking of it again when I read the title linked article from Toledo Blade about the recent closing of three eclectic dining spots in this area.

There are many reasons given as to why these dining establishments closed, including:

"People are so busy. The art of etiquette has been lost. The art of dressing up and enjoying dinner is [gone]."

There are so many chain restaurants - 'big-box restaurants' - it's not funny."

The big-box restaurant statement really should be looked at. That can be used to demonstrate one basic problem with Toledo. We don't support our own. Small business makes up the largest growth factor in other parts of Ohio as far as employment numbers. Many people criticize Wal-mart yet have no problem eating in big box restaurant or buying paint and home repair items at a big box home improvement store. Look at the grocery store market in Toledo, the days of the independent grocer have almost come to an end. Book stores? How many are locally owned anymore? Pharmacies? How many are locally owned anymore?

If a Lucas County Commissioner or a Mayor really wanted to help our local economy to grow, to me the focus should be on some sort of marketing plan to promote locally owned small businesses. This wouldn't require a huge investment, all it takes is raising public awareness.

So with that in mind I'm issuing a challenge to all of this area's bloggers. Starting Monday, March 20th write about at least one locally owned business that is your favorite, in any category, as long as it is locally owned and operated. I'd prefer we avoid franchises and that you be a consumer rather than an owner for the purposes of this challenge. Either post a link here or on Toledo Talk where I am going to link this as well or email me when you have written this post and I will list all of you who have done this for my March 29th Blog it, Toledo column on the Toledo Free Press website. If I've featured you before? I will still list your blog if you participate. If more than one of you pick the same location to write about? You'll still be included. Here's our chance to show that we can get this started...

Update...I should have included to be able to get this done all links to posts need to be written where listed above by Sunday, March 26th by at least 7:00 p.m. for me to meet my Toledo Free Press deadlines.

:-)

Last I heard Frank Szollosi is a Democrat...

Yes, I am sure all of us know about the A Team verus B Team division in Lucas County. Yet I was visiting this morning to see if Mark Sobczak was added since his name was missed when the update was done to add Taylor Balderas and to change who the Mayor of Toledo was.

I'm going down the list of names which is alphabetical and I come to "S". I noticed Frank Szollosi is not listed. So then I checked the google cache of the page, even when the site had Jack Ford listed as mayor, Frank was not listed. Google cache link as of this morning.

It can't be as a reaction to Frank's letter in the Toledo City Paper in response to Jack Wilson's letter of last week, because this is not something recent it looks like it's been awhile and I am smacking myself for not spotting it earlier. (Full letter will be included in the comments so it will still be available after the next TCP comes out.)

Frank is involved in the Ohio Democratic Party, I do believe he's on the Executive Committee and he is also running for the State Central District 11 spot for Lucas County. It seems a bit petty to not include him as one of the Lucas County Democratic Office Holders. So who made this decision? Did Frank not want to be included or was he not included...Curious bloggers want to know...

pssstttt Lucas County Republicans...Joe Birmingham....you know that guy on Toledo City Council?...

I'm beginning to think you guys like me writing about this....

You could complain...but it is free

Blogspot had a major crash last night. Some blogs have been down since yesterday. Some are fine. My other blog Liberal Common Sense is one of the ones that is down but Glass City (as you can see) was luckily not a part of the bad filer that according to Blogspot "the server will be replaced then shot".

What I have learned though is that some people don't bother to read the help board. They come in and post "HELP" where if they just took one quick look at allllll of the other posts they would see "Gee, it's not just my blog". I've also spotted several different "types" of bloggers.

Relieved - they are happy it's not just them or something they personally messed up.

Addicted - they want it fixed now and the mere idea of not being able to access their blog has them emailing CNN because it's that important.

Angry - they want everyone to know that blogger sucks and are going elsewhere.

Irritated - they are unhappy with the lack of information on the outage but remind everyone that the service is free.

Gloaters - they aren't experiencing the outage and want you to visit their blog, which not to be mean or anything, it's easy to see why some of them don't get many visitors. I saw several blogs last night that were huge pages of personal rants with no paragraph breaks where it seemed the smart thing to do was to quietly back out of the blog rather than comment.

Panic - these are mainly newbies who post HELP without reading the forum and have messed with their blog for hours probably deleting half of it in their panic to "fix" it.

Twisted - They joke around about Blogger selectively picking blogs to create some sort of "Blog Survivor" to see who will still stick it out. (It did get a few laughs.) So did the idea of it being some sort of "Blog Twilight Zone", from another one of the also twisted among us.

Of course some of us are combinations of the above, I don't like it of course, but there's not much I can do about it. I've thought about moving my blogs to their own domain but most of the time blogspot works fine. You do get what you pay for and in this case? It is a free service....and yes, I am irritated yet slightly twisted.

I also have to add I find this error message funny:

If you believe you should be able to view this directory or page, please try to contact the Web site by using any e-mail address or phone number that may be listed on the liberalcommonsense.blogspot.com home page.

Everytime I see it, I think "HELLO, no one can access the page to see if there is an email or phone number, duh...."

:-)

This week's Blog it, Toledo

This week I included some information that will hopefully help some of you who are new to reading blogs as far as knowing the easiest way to find blogs on various topics. Because of course my goal is to get more of you to read blogs and maybe decide to try your hand at having a blog. If you have decided to try blogging, let me know because you could very well be one of the next blogs I write about.

There are some other really good articles featured in the Toledo Free Press this week, including the cover story on the abortion battle in Ohio by Michael Brooks. Scott Calhoun's exclusive online article on the BGSU V UCLA is a recommended read for all sports fans and Alan Cohen's guest column on The Erie Street Market makes some good points. Personally I think the walking path idea has some merit.

I'm really looking forward to the upcoming Lucas County Commissioner's Debate on April 10th, Looking for Mr. Copeland, who still has time to join in.

How many of you have dreamed

Of being able to live in one of the Bartley Lofts? Everytime I visit the Toledo Free Press website and I see the ad...I think about it and sometimes I visit the link, just to dream.

I have a few units I particularly like...702 and 703, which has an awesome loft bedroom. (yes 7 is my favorite number) 603 which also has one of the bedrooms as a loft, 604 and 602. Alas all of my favorites but 604 are no longer for sale but? That doesn't stop a dream.

:-)

YEAH! Lucas County Democrats update website

Carty is finally listed as the Mayor, Taylor Balderas is listed, the only one missing is from what I can see is Mark Sobczak.

Now, if that could be fixed and if the Republicans ever update?

Happy Days...

Thank you to whoever listened to my kvetching about it to fix this.

:-)

New Lucas County Republican Club...

Fallen Timbers Republican Club has been formed and their first meeting is scheduled for April 3, 2006. From their nicely done website:

The Fallen Timbers Republican Club is currently forming in the Waterville, Monclova and Providence Wards District of Lucas County. While there may be a substantial number of registered Republicans residing in our area, more noteworthy things can be accomplished working together than as individuals. We need to pull together with the aim of better governance in our villages, townships, county and state. Join the club for congenial fellowship and accomplish something in advancing conservative ideals that benefit our families and communities.

If you are interested or want more information it's available at:

www.h2oville.com/gop

Puerto Ricans, in my opinion rock...

I openly admit being married to a Puerto Rican, I am biased. In reading today's La Prensa, I came across the above linked article that is about HR 4437. Cleveland City Council stepped forward to create a resolution against this bill:

The Cleveland City Council action was co-introduced by Councilman Joe Santiago of Ward 14. The resolution was introduced as an emergency measure. Here’s what Santiago told La Prensa about his motivation for stepping up to the plate and taking action.

Santiago, along with his assistant Sr. Alicia Alvarado, OP, said the bill is unconstitutional and is a huge blow to the freedom of all U.S.-Americans. “All of us come from immigrant families and we cannot forget the hardships that our families encountered in the past. This House Bill would make criminals of many of us living in the United States today.”

“I am of Puerto Rican descent and do not have to be concerned about immigration problems, but I support my Latino brothers and sisters,” added Santiago.

Then Santiago drew a frightening parallel between HR 4437 and Nazi Germany when he said, “This can be compared to what Hitler did to the Jewish population sixty years ago and cannot be tolerated in Ohio and any other state in this great nation. We must work together to find solutions to making immigrants legal citizens so that they can continue to work and provide for their families.”

Santiago’s words and those of the Cleveland Council Resolution can be expected to carry weight with Sen. Voinovich, a former mayor of multicultural Cleveland, and who, historically, has been sensitive to the needs of immigrants.

Supposedly Ted Strickland is now stating he regrets voting for this bill...I'm not sure I totally agree with the Hitler comparison and I do agree that something needs to be done about illegal immigration. There are too many problems with HR 4437 though, and it doesn't deal directly with the real problems which are why people hire illegal immigrants in the first place and how that can be addressed not just for the sake of those who want to come here? But for everyone.

Jack Wilson takes on Johnny Hildo

The downside to the format of the Toledo City Paper is they don't have a way to archive letters. So I'll post the letter in full in the comments rather than take up front page space so it will be "preserved".

Part of Jack's letter to the editor:

It is interesting that your paper's commentator on "City Politics" and the Democratic Party, Johnny Hildo, is not a registered Democrat; nor even a registered voter in Lucas County. His writing style — disingenuous, facts skewed, morally fraudulent — is similar to the Blade's former political writer, Fritz the Weasel.

Johnny doesn't seem to be in the mood to retract, pointing out spelling errors in Jack's letter. (I gotta admit Jack spelling McCloskey's name wrong was probably too hard for Johnny to resist.) Then Hildo drops this bombshell, which I can't verify. The Lucas County Dem site google cache doesn't show it and they use a robot script that some websites use so that it can't be archived by one of the various "way back machine" type services out there.

Little white lies by Johnny Hildo

According to the Toledo Blade (3/1/06), Bob McCloskey has begun shaking down local businessmen to help pay for his legal defense against charges that he shook down local businessmen for City Council votes. He is also "considering" a legal defense fund-raiser. "I probably will do something," McCloskey was quoted. "We haven’t discussed it yet. My attorney’s putting it together."Surprisingly, the following was posted on the calendar on the Dem Web site that same day: "March 24 Bob McCloskey Defense Fund Fundraiser, The Chop House, Maumee, 7 p.m. Contact: Bob McCloskey: (419) 691-8292"We guess McCloskey hasn’t discussed this fund-raiser with himself. Perhaps he finally did, because the posting has now disappeared from the calendar.

There's been some speculation as to who "Johnny Hildo" is, I don't think it's Fritz, but after this column? I am starting to have some good ideas as to who our mystery writer is, more of course when I have something solid.

:-)

UPDATE 3/14: McCloskey's defense fund fundraider on March 24 at the Chop House in Maumee postponed because of questions concerning state ethics laws.

Questions Concerning Phil Copeland

After reading the above linked Toledo Blade article I started to wonder, especially about this portion of the article:

Local 500 paid Mr. Thomas and Mr. Copeland higher salaries than any other union officers in Toledo in 2004, according federal filings.

Mr. Thomas' salary, set by a membership vote, was $130,638 in 2004. Mr. Copeland's was $113,675, a 69 percent increase from 2000.

(Copeland) He said he did not take member-approved raises when "work was down" from November, 2002, to July, 2004, and instead took the money as a lump sum at the end of 2005 - a move Mr. Allotta said he explained to federal investigators when they questioned the payment to Mr. Copeland.

Then I remembered reading in the Blade information on Phil Copeland's tax return's being released to the Blade. So using the wonderful services available thru the Toledo-Lucas County Public Library's news archive database:

On October 27, 2005 Author: TOM TROY BLADE STAFF WRITER

City Council candidates also were asked for their tax returns for the years 2002, 2003, and 2004. Mr. Copeland provided all three years, and Mr. McCloskey provided his returns for 2002 and 2004. Mr. Copeland's return for 2004 shows adjusted gross income of $113,823, primarily his salary as secretary-treasurer of Laborers Local 500. He had an Internal Revenue Service tax bill of $19,919. His returns showed adjusted gross income of $92,156 in 2003 and $90,754 in 2002.

Given that, I don't see how Phil Copeland's statement that he took a reduction in salary until July of 2004 can be true. It's possible it was done in 2002 and 2003, but questions really come to mind for 2004. Not having seen the detailed information, all I can do is speculate. Since the Blade has it, it would have been nice if they would have answered that, perhaps they will. It would also be nice of one of our local media sources would make the same demand of this information from all of the Lucas County Commissioner Candidates. It would easily answer this question, since if there was a lump sum salary payment made in 2005 it would be reflected as to the amount on his 2005 Income Tax Return.

Then the credit card questions with the union, according to todays article:

Mr. Copeland, (has) a union-provided Cadillac DeVille. Both of their expense accounts, which include gasoline purchases, exceeded $30,000 in 2004.

Does Phil Copeland have and use one of these Union Credit cards? The article today implies it but that would be contradictory to what Phil Copeland said in the October 14, 2005 Author: VANESSA WINANS BLADE STAFF WRITER that was about candidates credit scores when it was discovered Phil didn't have enough of a credit history to have a rating:

"I haven't tried getting anything since I got the liens," said Mr. Copeland, who explained that he maintains a checking account and pays for everything with cash.

Hopefully if these questions aren't answered I'll get the opportunity to ask them before the primary.

UPDDATE 3/13/06: Toledo Blade confirms there was a lump sum payment made of the deferred salary. So the only question that remains is the credit card use statement.

Bob Frantz has a full hour tonight....

"Judy" a caller on WSPD has stated from her observation that Jon Stainbrook treats women "horribly". Bob Frantz pointed out that Jon worked actively for the Kerry campaign. Dennis Lange, the interim chair of the Lucas County GOP, stated he did receive Jon's resume today. (Jon was also on channel 11 announcing he wanted the Lucas County Chair position, he was also in the Toledo Blade, about a week ago.)

Don't look for any changes to happen until this summer, Dennis stated they would probably not fill the chair position until they finish their reorganization process. Dennis also stated that there could be a change where the chair position is a paid position rather than the current volunteer one. He also confirmed when asked that he is interested in the position if changes were to be made, the implication being he'd be interested if it was a paid position.

Bob then moved on to the Toledo Public School decision to extend to the High Schools the Uniform code, promoted as a "Dress Code", (ick) so there was not alot more discussion as to the Lucas County Republican Party. It would have been great to have been able to ask Dennis about their website and when Joe Birmingham (yes Dennis it's Joe not John) might finally be listed as being a Toledo City Councilperson.

Toledo Talk has a pretty good discussion thread going on about the Dress Code aspect.

Ben Konop is also supposed to be on air with Bob, that should be interesting. I'm on hold so we'll see if I get a chance to get on the air to ask my question. Which I did, I wanted to ask about the ethics pledge but he covered that so? I asked him to highlight some points of his Cool County iniative since creating more jobs that keep my college age bunch here after graduation? I'm all ears.

:-)

Blog it, Toledo!

Seems hard to believe but it's the 5th week for Blog it, Toledo! I've enjoyed every moment so far and am looking forward to sharing even more blogs in the future. After you get a chance to visit this week's featured blogs, I'd suggest a few other articles from Toledo Free Press.

I always enjoy reading Michael Miller's opinion pieces, this week was no exception.

One of the online exclusive articles this week is by Michele Howe, it's titled "Sapient Life Markers for Forward Thinking Women". I highly recommend this article, and as a woman who is about to turn 46 this month, it made me realize some of what I was feeling was not only normal but contains some excellent advice.

I'd also direct your attention to Matt Sussman's first column in the Toledo Free Press. For those of you who are local bloggers or readers of the blog, you'll recognize Matt's name because he is the man behind the Futon Report.

:-)

Lucas County Commissioner Debate April 10th

Toledo Free Press will sponsor a political debate on April 10 between four of the five candidates on the May primary ballot for Lucas County Commissioner, one Democrat and one Republican will move forward to face off in the November General Election. The debate runs from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the McMaster Center in the Downtown branch of the Toledo-Lucas County Public Library. Free parking is available. More information is in the article linked above.

Media partners in the debate are WSPD-1370 AM and FOX Toledo 36, WSPD will be carrying the debate live and I'll be there live blogging the debate as well as posting quotes and impressions after the debate has concluded.

Lucas County Endorsed Candidates for Primary

Taylor Balderas - Toledo City Council, District 3
Honorable James Bates - Lucas County Court of Common Pleas, General Div.
Honorable Gary Cook - Lucas County Court of Common Pleas, General Div.
Honorable Charles Doneghy - Lucas County Court of Common Pleas, General Div.
Honorable Thomas Osowik - Sixth District Court of Appeals
Honorable James Ray - Lucas County Court of Common Pleas, Juvenile Div.
Honorable Marcy Kaptur - 9th Congressional District
Honorable Teresa Fedor - State Senate District 1
Honorable Edna Brown - House District 48
Matt Szollosi, esq. - House District 49
Honorable Peter Ujvagi - House District 47
Anita Lopez, esq. - Lucas County Auditor
Honorable Carty Finkbeiner - State Central Committee District 11
Honorable Jeannine Perry - State Central Committee District 11
Margaret Murray, esq. - State Central Committee District 2
Dr. James Patrick - State Central Committee District 2

Which means no endorsement in the Lucas County Commissioner Race and Jack Ford of Toledo, Kollin Rice of Oregon, and Frank Szollosi of Toledo were not chosen to be endorsed for the State Central Committee District 11 seat.

I'd also point out the Lucas County Dem party could update to list who was endorsed but still have not bothered to correct their Office Holders page as one example:

Jack Ford - Mayor of the City of Toledo

Lucas County Republican website still has not been updated either.

At first glance, this is not supportive of small business

Last week's edition of the Toledo Free Press had an article written by Toledo Mayor Carty Finkbeiner. He has agreed to be a regular contributer, and I admit I liked alot of what he stated in this first article. Especially this:

Furthermore, we must provide for the businesses in Toledo, and those looking to move to the City, a community that is safe, clean and green. Getting citizens involved in their respective neighborhoods, making City Hall more "user-friendly" and increasing the number of police we have on the streets will help meet this goal.

Toledo must also work to become a more business-friendly city. More specifically, we must focus on one of our greatest assets, small businesses. It is important for us to let small business owners and entrepreneurs know they are one of this city's most important resources. As far as the City is concerned, we will lend them a hand when we can, one that will help owners navigate through government bureaucracy, and we will be their advocate with the area banks. I met this day on the subject of ease of obtaining plans and permits from City Hall.

However, when I read Toledo Blade article that states tenants of a portion of the Erie Street Market were given two weeks notice to vacate, I started to wonder how this helps small businesses.

I realize this is for a renovation project, yet you would think there could be some manner of doing the renovation that allowed those who were there to remain. It's realistically no different than what is happening at Westgate.

All the vendors that were given notices will have to submit business plans that will be reviewed by the CitiFest committee, and all rent structures will have to be renegotiated, said Mr. Boyer. He added that the city's economic development team and the mayor have all been intensely involved in the process, especially since the city will also be providing some funds.

Thanks for your support in having a store here but we think we can do better now so...shooo...and if we decide you can stay? You'll pay more...

If this is how things are made easier for small businesses in Toledo? Someone might need to rethink what the word "easier" means.

Louis Escobar in the Toledo City Paper

If you have not read this week's cover story for the Toledo City Paper, it's worth checking out. Some of the things Louis says in this interview I believe are important to point out from this interview done by Jason Webber:

After I completed my first term, I was not happy about the way elected people conducted business. I kept using the phrase, ‘I feel like I’m in 5th grade again.’ There were veiled threats, people trying to buy you, thinking that you had a price. It just didn’t feel like we were working together for the best interests of the people of our city. Then the makeup of the Council changed. Some of the people who came to council, it seemed to me, didn’t really want to work together … concerned about their own success or their own district … not looking at their district as part of the whole city. When I became president, I wanted to fix city council. As president, I maintained a meeting with all the council members one on one at least two or three times throughout the year. But then … there began to be a little more of a breakdown. They said, "if I want to meet with you, I’ll call you." And then the change that was going on in the Democratic party—when the A-team formed their pact, I was never invited to be a part of that. And the B-team didn’t want me either, apparently. That was that whole issue when we appointed Phil Copeland — the people who are now in charge of the headquarters never once called me or any of my colleagues and said ‘Lets sit down and talk about who we want to replace Mr. Gerken." They had some meetings among themselves and at the last minute, they sent us a letter saying, ‘You will do this.’ That’s not democracy — that’s dictatorship. There’s no dialogue. I have said over and over again that there should be dialogue. There are people now who are in leadership of the party that I don’t want to be associated with — ethically and morally. I believe I could have won reelection for my third term, but I chose not to because I don’t want to interact with those people.

In the beginning, when (McCloskey) heard that I received the party nomination, I was told that he made some disparaging remarks about my sexual orientation. Lucy Weaver, a member of the Latino community, had arranged for a meeting at the Latino Club between Bob McCloskey and myself so that Bob could confront me on whatever questions he had. Supposedly, he agreed to just remain silent. But he never supported anything that I proposed. Even the Human Rights Ordinance that was passed—he intentionally walked out of the chamber when the vote came so he was not there for the vote. Any issue that I have championed or supported … I can’t think of any time where he’s supported it. Bob never really tried to get to know me or what I stood for or what I believed in.

There's alot more at the title link, but I do believe some of these points made are valid. Toledo needs to learn to work together better, we need to either stop commissioning study after study or at least start paying attention to some of the ones done in the past and actually start moving forward. Action can be taken, if people put their personal differences aside and start acting rather than just talking.

Tim Wagener's website

Thanks to the Toledo Blade's article I discovered Tim's website. First what I noticed immediately it was done by the same person that designed Carty's website and is similar except for it being red. I'm happy he has a website so I'm not going to critique that cept to say...it's very red...

What should be noticed is who Tim has as his Campaign Chairs:

Mayor Marge Brown, Oregon
Mayor Stan Wielinski, Whitehouse
Mayor Chuck Peyton, Waterville
Trustee Gary Kuns, Monclova Township

His achievement page is well done and includes mention of the Maumee Theatre (which was and still is a favorite place of mine).

His endorsement page contains alot of endorsements, all of those listed are from outside of the City of Toledo. So it appears Tim is building on the concept that he is a candidate for the rest of Lucas County at this point.

I haven't talked with him or anyone from his campaign but, I wanted to include this as I will the other candidates for office as I discover they are on the web. Tim's website is also listed on the sidebar for future reference.

Blog it, Toledo

The fourth Blog it, Toledo is up on the Toledo Free Press website. This has been a very exciting and enjoyable adventure for me and hopefully for you as well. What is even more awesome is the way that the Exclusive Online content has continued to grow each week. This week especially there are some really good articles that you will only find online. Then add to that the other articles in print and online?

Have to say I'm proud to be even a small part of the Toledo Free Press.

:-)