Betty Montgomery hospitalized

Technically I realize this is not just a Lucas County issue, however it could have an impact on the November election.

WTOL as linked above has the story which states in part:

COLUMBUS -- Ohio Auditor of State Betty Montgomery is being treated for Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS), an inflammatory disorder of the peripheral nerves. According to a statement from Montgomery's office, the condition is not life-threatening, but progression of the disorder can be unpredictable. Montgomery is being treated in The Ohio State University Medical Center's intensive care unit.

Yet the prognsis for this disease from the information also linked on the WTOL website:

Guillain-Barré syndrome can be a devastating disorder because of its sudden and unexpected onset. Most people reach the stage of greatest weakness within the first 2 weeks after symptoms appear, and by the third week of the illness 90 percent of all patients are at their weakest. The recovery period may be as little as a few weeks or as long as a few years. About 30 percent of those with Guillain-Barré still have a residual weakness after 3 years. About 3 percent may suffer a relapse of muscle weakness and tingling sensations many years after the initial attack.

While I hope she recovers quickly and does not have any lingering health issues, this could have an impact as to her running for Attorney General.

Lourdes Santiago gets "endorsement"

Last night the Lucas County Democratic Party Screening Committee made their choice, Lourdes who is a City Attorney would have to step down from that position if she is selected by Toledo City Council according to the Toledo Blade article.

If Toledo City Council agrees with this recommendation, Lourdes would hold the seat until the November election. According to numerous sources, Lourdes was the person that Mayor Finkbeiner wanted. It's also been stated that she was interested in another run at municipal judge in 2007. That could be why she would consider taking a pay cut since her current salary is listed at $65,000, her income would be cut in almost half in taking the several month opening.


Liberal_Dem has a post this morning giving his perspective on this recommendation.

First Source job program

Separating the extra drama that happened between the Mayor and Toledoans United for Social Action over the creation of a First Source Job program for this area that was written about in today's Toledo Blade as linked above to me is important. There are some valid questions as to the success rate of First Source in other areas and I think it's also important that resources this area already has should be a part of this discussion.

San Francisco developed a similar program in 1998. They have a 62 page pdf report that evaluates what happened with the program there. It does not appear it was an overall success as far as creating jobs for various reasons as the pdf outlines.

Alameda and Contra Costa Counties in California have instituted a one year pilot program but it appears that this is not a City Program and is being done with the cooperation of quite a few agencies.

Even if you discount some of the problems that have happened and embrace First Source as a great idea, I couldn't help wondering don't we already have a mechanism in place for this? When you read this it seems as if we do. I know when I was hired at Convergys they received tax credits and incentives for hiring many of us. While I am not an expert on The Source that the Lucas County Commissioners have worked to develop, it seems that most of what is being asked of Toledo to do with "First Source" is already in place or possible thru "The Source".

Helping people to find employment and assisting companies get credits available to them for hiring people is important. Yet doesn't it make more sense to fully utilize or enhance what we already have rather than create something new? That to me should be the first step. If for some reason "The Source" doesn't provide what Toledoans United for Social Action would like to see, is there a way to do that thru the already existing program? That way it would be of benefit to all Lucas County residents and all Lucas County Employers.

Blog it, Toledo and tears...

Okay, so I am a cry baby. I admit it. Here I can try to debate/discuss without getting emotional yet there is another side of me in the real world where I cry during movies even when I've seen the movie before. When I saw the title for Traci Curth's piece in this week's Writers Workshop. All dogs go to heaven I had a sneaking suspicion this wasn't going to be about the movie. (Which made me cry.) I'm not going to give details away, cept to say...it made me cry and Traci did a good job in conveying feelings that many of us have experienced.

Michael Miller's article is also well done as always and he didn't make me cry this week.

Kate Oatis writes some news I had missed about a great website that won a Webby Award.

As a reminder, this Saturday is the Walk for Wishes, I'm participating as a part of the Toledo Free Press team. If you'd like to make a donation you can visit here it lists all of the team members and me (hinting). To those of you who have already donated? A big thank you. Warm wishes that I will actually not be the last walker to arrive are also appreciated in lieu of donations.

Make sure to pick up this week's copy of the Toledo Free Press where there is much more to read and for those following my su do ku inabilities? Erin, who is one of my daughters, who rocks at su do ku, gave me some intensive su do ku training over the weekend. I have grasped the concept...

:-)

Toledo and the State breathe a sigh of relief....

Yet questions remain on the whole issue of tax abatements. From the Cleveland Plain Dealer article as linked above:

Toledo resident Charlotte Cuno and others contended that the tax break interfered with interstate commerce because it gave Ohio an unfair advantage over other states. Ohio argued that other states had their own tax incentives, but the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 2004 ruled in Cuno's favor.

The Supreme Court, however, decided the case on a much narrower basis. It ruled that Cuno lacked legal standing, or the right to bring the case, because she and other plaintiffs were not directly affected by Ohio's tax decision. The federal courts were never intended to be "virtually continuing monitors of the wisdom and soundness of state fiscal administration," Roberts wrote.

I do have to agree with that last statement, we the voters are supposed to be the monitors of the wisdom and soundness of fiscal administration locally and on a state basis. Either by ballot or by encouraging legislation.

Abatements seem to have become a poker chip in the never ending how much can we give you that another location won't or can't. Sometimes I think they do have a positive outcome, so I'm not anti-abatement but I do think that they should only be offered when it is demonstrates there is a large scale benefit to all from an abatement rather than millions in abatements that will only benefit a limited number.

UPDATE: With a curtsy to Roland at his blog Roland's Ramblings here is the Link to the pdf of the decision for those of you who are interested in reading it.

Ben issues the ethic's challenge...Will George sign?

Ben Konop had a press conference earlier today at One Government Center, where he reminded voters of his earlier ethics pledge:

Edmund Burke once said that the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. The recent wave of scandals at all levels of government has decimated the public trust. Citizens have come to recognize a culture of corruption that has been shaped not only by officials who were complicit in criminal activity but also by those who were complacent when confronted by it.

It’s time for a change. It’s time for all of us to become better role models and better citizens. And it’s time for our leaders to commit to holding themselves to a higher standard.

In February I stood here to take a pledge of ethics and good government to the citizens of Lucas County. Today I have returned to reaffirm that commitment and challenge my opponent to join me.

More claim they tried to warn Bob McCloskey...

The list grows as to those who "suspected" yet not one of them went public until now.

While there is quite a bit at the title link, this I think is most important to point out first:

But Ohio's top ethics officer, David Freel, executive director of the Ohio Ethics Commission, said McCloskey's peers may have had a duty to do more than just talk to him about their concerns.

He said the state's ethics law "expects that public officials come forward at attempts at bribery or alleged misconduct."

"The question of whether these were really bribes goes back to the assessment at the time. Why this kind of conduct wouldn't be reported to authorities is a legitimate question," Mr. Freel said.

It's a question quite a few of us would like an answer to.

We can't just blame this on one party. Even though the majority of those in question were Democrats, Republicans knew about this or "suspected it" too.

Filling a vacant Toledo City Council Seat

The Lucas County Democratic Party had their screening committee meet to start interviewing the 12 candidates on May 10th. However, despite whatever recommendation they come up with, here is what Toledo City Charter states is the procedure to fill a vacant Council Seat:

Section 26. The Council.

Vacancies in Council shall be filled by election of the remaining members of the Council of an individual qualified to serve as a member of Council in accordance with this Charter. In the event Council fails to fill such vacancy within thirty (30) days of the occurrence of any vacancy, then the Mayor shall fill such vacancy. Such individual shall serve by appointment until a successor is elected and qualified at an election as specified herein.

More on this as it develops, including some actual details about the Screening Committee...

:-)

Ohio and minium wage...

When Sherrod Brown came to Toledo several months ago and I heard him speak, a part of what he focused on was the need to get enough signatures to get the constitutional amendment on the Ohio minimum wage on the ballot for November 7th. At the time, Ohio and Kansas I believe were the only two states that had a minimum wage that was below the Federal minimum wage.

Now of course the Ohio House and Senate have passed a bill that will take effect in June that will raise the Ohio minimum wage to the same as the Federal one. The constitutional amendment that is still in the process of gaining signatures (last report they had a little under half of the necessary 322,899 signatures with an August 7 deadline for filing); it would change the Ohio minimum wage to above the Federal one to:

$6.85 per hour beginning January 1, 2007 and provide that effective the first day of January thereafter the minimum wage rate would be increased based on the rate of inflation according to the Consumer Price Index or its successor index for all urban wage earners and clerical workers rounded to nearest five cents.

Here's where the debate comes in. It's been stated that between 92,000 to 100,000 Ohioans currently earn under the Federal minimum wage. With or without this constitutional amendment making it on the ballot in November that will change in June. What's not clear is how many actually earn $5.15 an hour. The Policy Matters report is being used everywhere as a justification for this and even being quoted by candidates/politicians/media it states:

That proposal (meaning the proposed constitutional amendment) would raise wages for about 719,000 Ohio workers, 14 percent of the state's workforce. Directly affected are 297,000 workers who currently earn less than $6.85. An additional 423,000 are indirectly affected already earning at least $6.85 but likely to still get a modest wage increase as employers adjust pay scales to accommodate raises for minimum wage employees.

The above statement is also not clear, if 297,000 workers are directly affected and they acknowledge that the additional are "likely to get a modest increase" trying to state the first sentence as That proposal would raise wages for about 719,000 Ohio workers, 14 percent of the state's workforce is deceptive. (not to mention according to my math 297,000 + 423,000 = 720,000)

How many of those 297,000 workers earn exactly the Federal minimum wage? I remember when the Federal minimum wage went up to $5.15. I was working part time as a cashier at a gas station and was earning the Federal minimum wage of 4.75 an hour. You earned that your first 60 days then were eligible for a merit raise. Well guess what, no merit raise for me because everyone's hourly went up to $5.15. If you were lucky enough to have gotten your merit raise and earned over $5.15? You didn't get an additional raise. Nor is that business the only one who did it that way.

Then further in the report we come to this:

All in all, about 14 percent of Ohio workers can expect to see a raise if the minimum wage is increased. Those who will be directly affected that is those earning under $6.85 prior to the increase will see larger raises, about 80 cents an hour on average. Those already earning over the new minimum when it is imposed will, on average, get an estimated raise of about 26 cents an hour. Considering all affected workers together, the average affected worker was earning $6.82 an hour last year, would have been earning $7.08 by 2007 due to nominal wage growth, but can expect to instead earn $7.56, a 48 cent raise on average.

The average affected worker was earning $6.82 an hour? That would mean all this consititutional amendment is really promising them is a 3 cent an hour raise. All the rest as far as what could "potentially" happen is just that, potential.

I don't like deceptive marketing no matter who does it, and especially not for a constitutional amendment. Let's be blunt, this really honestly only can be promised to be a raise for the 297,000 people who earn under 6.85 an hour. If you take the time to read the pdf that is the bottom line.

I want honesty, is that too much to ask? Yes, lots of us were naive enough to think that the Ohio lottery was really going to make a huge contribution to our local schools, and the various other past marketing ploys that have been used to either promote for or against a constitutional amendement. I'm tired of "maybe", "possibly", "potentially", give it to me straight give it to those people who are earning under $6.85 an hour it straight too, don't promise them an 80 cents on average raise when the real bottom line truth is the only raise they are guaranteed without a union contract tied to the minimum wage is the difference between what they currently make and $6.85 an hour, which for the average number of them could be as little as three cents. Now they could very well want that as a raise, I'm not saying they shouldn't have that as a raise, but at least treat us like we are intelligent enough to see what is fact versus what is possible. If you make $6.86 an hour, legally if this constitutional amendment passes? You could still make $6.86 an hour you are not guaranteed a raise.

If people want this on the November ballot? Good for them, if it passes in November? That's fine too, but promote this honestly...

Never said I was perfect...

If you are looking for my big piece on Ethical or Unethical? You decide...

It's not done yet - I made my own error in hitting publish rather than save draft. Nor had I decided if I was even going to post it yet, it's one of those write then reflect type of stories that sometimes you go with, sometimes it stays a draft only to be deleted later. So I'm sorry about the tease factor it wasn't intentional. I didn't catch it fast enough before it came up on lefty blogs.

:-)

Mike Craig's cell phone incident...

This incident is stated to have taken place on May 4th, today is May 12th, so obviously it wasn't a "breaking news" type story. Why today? Was it because he was disciplined for the incident? The actual rule breaking in regards to a cell phone while sure it shows he broke the rules isn't a huge deal or is it?

My fourth oldest daughter a few weeks ago did not follow school rules as to having her cell phone off in school. While she had the ringer off it "vibrated" the teacher heard it, confiscated it, my husband, Miguel had go to school to collect the phone and she became the first one of my children to serve a one day in school suspension over the incident. Personally I think that's a bit harsh of a punishment over a cell phone but despite all of that the School didn't notify the Blade.

I have to wonder how did the Blade even find out about it? My speculation is this incident upset someone enough to contact the Toledo Blade. Perhaps because of this part of the article:

Mike Craig, the apparent winner in the District 3 Toledo City Council special election May 2, berated a female co-worker who told him to stop talking on his cell phone while on the job last week.

He did not "berate" her when she pointed out the cell phone use, he went back to confront her after she brought the continuing cell phone conversation to the attention of the Chief Deputy. So logic dictates this was not a short, "I really need to talk to you but I'm at work my lunch hour is in X minutes can I call you then" type conversation. I think everyone can understand why the call was important to him but...the behavior on his part does make one pause.

He stated to Tom Troy that his feelings were hurt because an employee would turn him in over a phone call. She wasn't just a fellow employee, she was performing the duties of an acting supervisor.

So we have a person who appears to have a temper and when he is caught breaking a rule goes and confronts the person who reported him even though he knew it was against the rules. The manner in which he confronted her was enough to make her feel "nervous".

While I'm still not sure as to the reason this was written? It made me nervous too, maybe that was the intent...

Mega Farms make Mega Stink

I was watching this report last night on 13ABC on the Mega Farms issue. Recently Paul Miller of Northwest Ohio Net had a four part series on his personal blog, Newshound that I found very informative. Paul goes into the problems and offers solutions during this series.

Part I - The Challenge of Agrifactories

Part II - The Challenge of Agrifactories

Part III - The Challenge of Agrifactories

Part IV - The Challenge of Agrifactories

For anyone interested in this topic, I highly recommend reading Paul's series.

Noe to change plea on Federal Charges

Speculation is rampant as to Tom Noe's asking for a hearing infront of U.S. District Court Judge David Katz to change his plea. However, this is only related to the Federal charges. According to the above linked Toledo Blade article:

Lucas County Prosecutor Julia Bates, whose office has charged Mr. Noe with 53 felonies, including theft, forgery, and tampering with records counts, said a plea change on the federal charges does not mean there is a deal with her office. She said county prosecutors are preparing for trial in their case and have not been negotiating with Mr. Noe and his attorneys.

“We’re in the process of discovery and that process continues,” she said yesterday. That trial is set to begin Aug. 29.

The Lucas County Prosecutor's office has also stated that they have not had any communication with Federal Prosecutors as well.

Blog it, Toledo and more...

This week's edition it was hard to select a few to highlight here as recommended, too many articles that I really enjoyed reading. So, trying my best, after you check out this week's Blog it, Toledo, and Writers Workshop, what else makes the Lisa recommend list?

Michael Miller's piece on Walk for Wishes which I am also happy to be participating in is to me, important information. Justin Kalmes cover story "Commmission Impossible" is a must read as well as sending some kudos to the Toledo Free Press on the graphic for the cover. I'm assuming that was the work of the very talented Stacie Klewer.

Ten percent Rule an editiorial, makes some very valid points as well as announcing the Lucas County Commissioner's Debate that is going to be sponsored again by Toledo Free Press, WSPD 1370 AM and FOXToledo. I'm also happy to announce that I will be live blogging this debate.

So, make sure to pick up your copy of this week's edition of the Toledo Freepress and visit online because there are several more online exclusives.

:-)

For the John Kerry fans...

Something that I hadn't read in the papers yet that the Ohio Democratic Party has announced:






No other details at this point, I'll provide them if I get them.

:-)

UPDATE: Well if you thought paying $150.00 to hear Senator Obama in June for the State Democratic Dinner was pricey? Tickets to the private reception with John Kerry are $250.00 - if you want to get into the rally? It's not free. It's a $10.00 donation.

For further information contact: LCDP 419-246-9301

Corruption...

I don't normally cross post, but I wrote this on my other blog and felt given the discussion here I'd share it with those of you who normally only visit here.

Power tends to corrupt;
absolute power corrupts absolutely

Much has been made about Ney, Noe, Abramoff, Taft and other Republicans as a sign of corruption that should encourage people to vote Democrats into office, not just here in Ohio but nationwide. Yet the problem is not really Republicans, it is that Republicans have held power long enough to be corrupt. I’m crazy you say? How dare I dispute the facts surrounding these wicked, bad Republicans?

Take a short adventure with me into Toledo, Ohio…Yes, the hometown of the now infamous Tom Noe. Democrats are and have been the majority power for quite some time. Yesterday a former Toledo Councilperson, Bob McCloskey pled guilty to two federal counts of bribery and no contest and was found guilty of one of two unrelated felony counts of bribery in Lucas County Common Pleas Court.

It’d be easy to just point to McCloskey as just one “bad apple” yet there were signs that went ignored by other City Council members and in at least one particular situation City Council votes were changed. That’s a big situation, the City of Toledo is involved in a ten million dollar civil lawsuit as a result of accusations made against Bob McCloskey.

Four people changed their vote that created this situation; one of those was Bob McCloskey. The other three are not mentioned often in articles concerning this situation. However if you go back into the Toledo Blade archives, since the City of Toledo does not provide online City Journal information back to 2002, Wilma Brown, who is still a current Toledo City Council person changed her vote. Peter Ujvagi who is now the 47th District House Representative for this area and Tina Skeldon who is now Tina Skeldon Wozniak, a current Lucas County Commissioner, also changed their votes.

We also know now that Wade Kapszukiewicz a former Toledo City Council person, now Lucas County Treasurer was approached by Bob McCloskey in what he felt may have been an attempt at a bribe. Even Republican George Sarantou is publicly stating he also experienced a similar experience. It’s also now been stated that former City Council President Louis Escobar was aware that McCloskey had asked EJS for the money before the vote took place in 2002. Mr. Escobar said he told him it would “look strange” for McCloskey to change his vote after he had previously supported the developer.

Escobar was not present on August 27, 2002 when the vote took place. Yet we do not know why Wilma Brown, Peter Ujvagi or Tina Skeldon Wozniak changed their votes, most of them will not comment because of the “on going civil case”. While that’s understandable it’s also hard to just blame Bob McCloskey. While he may bear the ultimate responsibility in all of this none of these people stepped forward.

Wilma Brown made a comment in today’s Toledo Blade in another article that was about Councilman Frank Szollosi’s attempt to strengthen ethic requirements for Toledo City Council members:

"If you're gonna be a crook, you're gonna be a crook no matter how many pieces of paper you have,"

That’s true, especially if you are surrounded by public officials that will look the other way. There have been many excuses made as to why no one reported this. Many of us feel, rightfully so that these elected officials did have a duty, a moral one since it’s been stated they had no legal duty to report this.

So it’s not just a Republican issue of corruption, it’s an issue that can happen anywhere when one party is allowed to remain in control, and too many of it’s own members are not willing to speak out. Until the day comes when political parties demand ethical behavior from their own party members rather than finger pointing at the other side this will never change.

I once was lost...but now I'm found...

No, not me; Bob Vasquez's application! As liberal_dem pointed out in the comments this morning's Toledo Blade contains this information:

Bob Vasquez is a candidate, after all, for the vacancy on Toledo City Council, a Lucas County Democratic Party official said yesterday.

Domenic Montalto, the party’s executive director, yesterday said Mr. Vasquez turned in an application either late Friday or early Saturday.

That's still a difference in the timeline since it was stated Bob turned in his application on April 28th but? At least it has been acknowledged as received.

:-)

More details on the Village at Southwyck

Danielle Portteus covers this breaking news story for the Toledo Free Press.

Stautzenberger College will aid in the renovation of Southwyck Mall with a 40,000-square-foot academic building in the former Lion Home Store, Stautzenberger President George Simons said May 8.

"We are absolutely delighted to be part of this project," he said. "It is a major change for us."

Simons, Toledo Mayor Carty Finkbeiner and Larry Dillin, owner of Dillin Corp., announced the renovation plans for The Village at Southwyck.

Simons said the Board of Trustees has signed a letter of intent to expand into the mall by July 2007.

"It's not going to be another mall," he said. "It will be the re-emergence of the community and our charter is to serve this community."

Simons said academic programs including veterinary technology and private investigation will be available at the new site.

Dillin said the college is apart of the new vision for Southwyck.

"We've accomplished a major milestone and have positive support from the community," he said. "The college will bring a core group of customers back to a center of education and other stores."

There's more information at the title link. But it appears this plan does not revolve just around shopping it's going to be a blend of the college, housing and stores.

Also included as a part of the article is this website The Village at Southwyck

WTOL has some additional details, including some mixed emotions from the morning mall walkers.

Let's talk about Toledo and Ethics...

No new updates on the Bob Vasquez story from the Toledo Blade. However, Frank raises an interesting point in the comments below that I think is worth discussing/expanding on.

He stated:

City Council will make the appointment, not the Democratic Party. Bob and all the candidates should communicate with councilmembers.

While I understand the natural desire for a candidate to be "endorsed" or "approved" by the Lucas County Democratic Party shouldn't the application process be directly to Toledo City Council?

Further, shouldn't primary consideration be given to applicants who did run in the November election as opposed to people who did not run?

Here's the results from the Lucas County Board of Elections for the at-large Toledo City Council seats from last November:

Bob Vasquez - 28835 - 8.36%
Karen Shanahan - 27560 - 7.99%
Karyn McConnell Hancock - 24958 - 7.24%
Dave Schulz - 20750 - 6.02%
Terry Shankland 18344 - 5.32%
Ernie Berry - 13367 - 3.88%
Amanda Scott-Rice - 53 - .02%

Here's the list of the 11 names that did not allegedly get lost or eaten by a copy machine as released to the Blade by the Lucas County Democratic Party:

Karen Shanahan
Terry Shankland
Chuck Cassis
Christy Cole
Tim Kilcorse
Adam Martinez
Joe McNamara
Tom Meinecke
Shelley Papenfuse
Tom Roth
Bob Wuest

I'm sure every one of those people who applied are fantastic, the fact that they care enough about the City of Toledo to apply is worthy of kudos. Yet only two of those who had their applications "accepted" ran in November. Whoever is selected is going to have to defend that seat in a special election. Logic dictates you'd want to select someone who has demonstrated they can run a campaign and have established there is local support behind them. Else all you are doing is selecting a temporary body to keep the seat warm until the next election.

It also appears that Dave Schulz is considering running for this open seat in November. In a recent press release he states this as well as applauding Frank Szollosi for his efforts in bringing about a hearing on city ethics policies which he notes ironically is taking place the same day Bob McCloskey is to appear in court.

As many of you might remember, Dave made ethics a large part of his campaign as well as pointing out areas of concern with Bob McCloskey. In addition to encouraging all City Council members, Republican and Democrat alike to support Frank Szollosi and legislation on this issue; Dave urges this go even farther:

1. Formation of an independent ethics commission. Many cities including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Louisville, Boise, Billings, Houston and Honolulu have ethics commissions to enforce the policy, offer independent opinions on appropriate behavior and serve as a public information clearinghouse.

2. Tougher more defined conflict of interest policy regulating outside employment. The citizen’s interests must come first.

3. Online reporting of campaign finance reports with searchable database and financial disclosure reports. This would allow the media to better report connections between campaign contributions and votes.

Dave ends his press release with the following statement:

“There is a glaring need for ethical leadership on Toledo City Council. The citizens of Toledo need a watchdog on City Council. Too many on council have turned a blind eye on the illegal and shady behavior of its members and I don’t see many names coming forward that have been a watchdog like I am.”

Whether Dave ultimately decides to run for this open seat; I think the points he raises are ones that should be discussed.

Always glad to help a friend

Even if it's just to share a laugh or two...Jill Miller Zimon who's blog Writes Like She Talks is a favorite of mine; had a recent article published as linked above that I played a brief inspirational role in. Being the talented writer that she is, the end result is an article that's not only well done but amusing.

:-)

He wants to be a candidate...

With a curtsy to Liberal_Dem who has been covering this story on his own blog, Politics in Mudville and on Progressive Toledo we discover there is more to this Toledo Blade article than meets the eye.

Sources close to the Bob Vasquez campaign have a different version than Domenic Montalto reported to Tom Troy.

They claim that not only did Bob submit an application in person but that there is at least one telephone answering machine message that confirms this application was received. In a situation similar to the "dog ate my homework", the phone message which was reported to have been from Domenic stated "the copy machine chewed up" Bob's application. Which if true should suggest that all is necessary would be to submit another application. It's not clear what time Tom Troy spoke to Mr. Montalto but this is what the Toledo Blade article states:

Mr. Montalto said he received a letter but no application from Bob Vasquez, of 2156 Plum Leaf Lane, the next-highest vote-getter after the six winners in the 2005 at-large city council race.

Mr. Vasquez was backed in the 2005 race by LucasCountyDemocrats.org, a splinter group that supported former Mayor Jack Ford's re-election effort, and which was affiliated with the A-team.

The party is now controlled by Democrats who backed Mayor Carty Finkbeiner, the B-team.

Mr. Montalto said he told Mr. Vasquez that if he didn't fill out an application he could not be considered by the party's screening committee.

It's worth noting that it has been stated that Bob Vasquez turned his application in on April 28th, if this is correct it would mean unless Tom Troy spoke to Mr. Montalto before last Friday and waited all this time to write today's article? Looks like Mr. Montalto has some explaining to do.

More as this progresses...

He might not be a very good candidate....

Larry "Matthew" Bartow was supposed to meet with the Lucas County Republican Party infront of the Screening Committee to fill the volunteer position of Chair for the Lucas County Republican Party.

Yesterday, he was arrested and charged with theft. According to the above linked Toledo Blade:

...after being accused of taking $2,330 from the campaign committee of Toledo Municipal Judge Robert Christiansen.

Police said Mr. Bartow was paid to create and mail 5,000 pieces of campaign literature for Judge Christiansen, who was running for and won a seat as a Municipal Court judge. The material was to be mailed the same time as absentee ballots so both arrived together in mailboxes.

"He simply took the money and ran," said Mark Berling, who authorized the expenditure.

I sincerely hope they find the right person to become a permanent chair for the Party but I really don't think Mr. Bartow would be a good candidate under the circumstances.

Unofficial Election Results from Lucas County

Summary has been released for those of you who are interested in reading it.

I have it downloaded and am looking forward to analyzing the results.

:-)

When I was at Kroger's last night as part of the general conversation since I guess I looked tired, the cashier had mentioned she had stayed up to see if there was going to be coverage on Issue 11 in Springfield. That wasn't an issue that was included as a part of my district it was related to a zoning change:

A zoning change entitled Z19-C550 enacted
January 3, 2006, changing the allowed usage for the property located at 6901 Garden
Road from RA-3 (Large Lot Rural Residential) to R-1 (Single-Family Residential).

This was soundly defeated - 2715 against and 1554 for.

In other news I discovered from reading the Unofficial Summary:

Shall the sale of wine and mixed beverages, and spirituous liquor be permitted for sale on Sunday between the hours of ten a.m. and midnight by Rosie’s Fine Foods, Inc., dba Rosie’s, an applicant for a D-6 liquor permit who is engaged in the business of operating a family owned restaurant at 606 N. McCord and Patios, Springfield Township, Toledo, Ohio 43615 in this precinct?” 99 voters in Precinct 3 said yes, 75 said no.

Could Southwyck's Woes finally be ending?

According to 13abc news:

WTVG-- May 5, 2006 - Slated for a 2007 opening, the renovated shopping area is being developed by the man behind Levis Commons.

Today, we unveil the preliminary artwork for the shopping area that will be called "The Village at Southwyck."

Developer Larry Dillin has laid out a $100 to $150 million design plan to redevelop the mall. It will include two anchor stores, smaller retailers, restaurants, office space and luxury apartments.

I'm sure more will come later in the day from WTVG and other local news sources. Could this plan be the one?

What does a 14.5 percent turn out really mean?

As those of you know who were here on election night or the morning after, it is a close race between Taylor Balderas and Mike Craig. First reports showed Taylor winning; then after absentee ballots were counted Craig is leading by 12. Provisional ballots have not been counted yet, that will not happen for ten days and the Board of Elections has not stated how many provisional ballots there are for the third Council District.

Yet, I have to take issue with this statement as quoted by the Blade from Mr. Craig:

Mr. Craig said the fact that Ms. Balderas received only a little over a third of the vote showed voters weren't happy with the job she's doing.

"I just think they were not getting the leadership they thought they should be getting," Mr. Craig said.

If one wanted to be a bit snarky...they could say that if Mike Craig's 12 vote lead holds that East Side Toledo voters were not exactly inspired by him to go out and support him.

What this really says to me is a few things, first few District 3'rs felt it important to vote and whoever is elected might want to find out what caused such apathy.

Second, maybe it's time to take a serious look at the South End being included as a part of District 3. It's obvious from the division that came out directed at Taylor because she was not an East Sider that those who are District 3 residents that do live in the South end are not getting fair representation.

Third, South Enders there was your chance to turn out and vote. Doesn't appear you care anymore than the East Siders did on this one. This was the first time someone from "that side of the river" would have been elected to represent District 3...

Bob McCloskey facing additional charges

As reported by WTOL and the Toledo Blade:

TOLEDO -- Gregory A. White, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio announced Wednesday that a two-count information was filed charging Toledo City Council Member-at-Large Robert A. McCloskey. The information charges bribery in violation of the Hobbs Act.

Count 1 of the information alleges that on March 22, 2006, McCloskey accepted a $3,000 bribe from an unnamed Toledo businessman who was cooperating with the FBI. Count 2 of the information alleges that he accepted a second $2,000 bribe from the same businessman on April 12, 2006.

Now George Sarantou is stating on 13ABC he was approached with an envelope and he was not sure what was in the envelope. That it was sealed and thick it felt like it contained money, but Sarantou said he didn't want it, he wasn't interested and gave it back to McCloskey.

Wade Kapszukiewicz made a similar statement to the Toledo Blade claiming that in 2002 McCloskey offered him an envelope containing 5 one hundred dollar bills.

What I find interesting is George Sarantou states he told the City Law department about this and Michael Beazley who was the Toledo City Council Clerk was aware of the situation with Wade; how many other people knew and why wasn't some type of public claim or ethics complaint filed? According to the Toledo Blade article Wade denied this incident happening for almost four years when asked by reporters.

If all of this is true, why did Bob McCloskey continue to seek public office? Even if voters still selected him why would he even be considered for President of Toledo City Council or any key appointments? The silence from those who knew about this is bothersome.

Some number/name confusion....Dave really is the winner....

WTOL is reporting this as information from the Lucas County Board of Elections, I called the newsroom and they stated this is what the BOE reported to them and that they would re-check the information.

Precincts Reporting: 356 of 356 Percent of Total = 100%
Candidate Incumbent Votes Vote %
William Jennings 1,479 21%
Jon Stainbrook 1,295 18%
WINNER John Birmingham 2,777 38%
David Schulz 1,613 23%

These are the numbers I was given when I called the Board of Elections not more than two minutes ago:

Birmingham 1,479 21%
Jennings 1,295 18%
Schulz 2,777 38%
Stainbrook 1,613 23%

Here's what the numbers were before they were updated:

Precincts Reporting: Percent of Total = 78%
State Central District 11 Republican:

William Jennings 857 19%
Jon Stainbrook 940 21%
John Birmingham 910 21%
David Schulz 1,715 39%

For the latest release from 11 to be accurate Dave would have had to lost 102 votes somewhere and John Birmingham would have had to have gotten 1,867 in that last 22% of votes.

I'll check later to see if this is changed/updated.

:-)

UPDATE 5:42: WTOL still has not corrected these numbers

TADA! UPDATE 8:39 a.m.: This has been corrected and Dave is correctly listed as the winner.

:-)

Now we wait...

For the absentee and provisional ballots to be counted and results released.

So, while you are waiting, now would be a good time to stop by the Toledo Free Press and read this week's Blog it, Toledo column. The cover story on Barry Soskin and the Storm is highly recommended as well as Michael Miller's weekly Lighting the Fuse, and some very excellent pieces as a part of the Writers Workshop.

:-)

First Lucas County Numbers in

I'll keep updating on this thread as it makes major changes:

Lucas Co Comm Democrat - 100% of Precincts Reporting
(D) Ben Konop 13,638 47%
(D) Tim Wagener 7,745 27%
(D) Phil Copeland 7,423 26%

Lucas Co Comm Republican - 100% of Precincts Reporting
(R) George Sarantou 11,569 71%
(R) Pam Haynam 4,681 29%


U.S. Representative OH 9th Dist (R) - 86% of Precincts Reporting
(R) Bradley Leavitt 6,858 40%
(R) Ed Emery 5,217 30%
(R) Dirk Kubala 5,037 29%

Updated numbers for this race not sure if all absentee and provisionals are included:

Toledo City Council District 3 - 100% of Precincts Reporting
Mike Craig 1,291 37%
Taylor Balderas 1,279 37%
Fred Kutz 539 16%
Don Boisselle 363 10%


Toledo City Council District 3 - 100% of Precincts Reporting
Taylor Balderas 1,193 38%
Mike Craig 1,167 37%
Fred Kutz 467 15%
Don Boisselle 315 10%

Precincts Reporting: 87 of 356 Percent of Total = 78%
State Central District 11 Republican:

William Jennings 857 19%
Jon Stainbrook 940 21%
John Birmingham 910 21%
David Schulz 1,715 39%

Precincts Reporting: 140 of 356 Percent of Total = 78%
District 11 Democrat:

Frank Szollosi 3,292 24%
Kollin Rice 631 5%
Jack Ford 4,852 35%
Carty Finkbeiner 5,147 36%

Toledo Zoo Addl Tax-1 Mill/10 Yrs - 100% of Precincts Reporting
No 28,616 51%
Yes 27,719 49%

Toledo Zoo Repl Tax-0.85 Mill/5 Yrs - 100% of Precincts Reporting
Yes 32,366 57%
No 24,112 43%


They reporting on 13 that Lake Local Schools lost by 30 votes.

And the votes begin!

It's way to early to really report anything so I'll update as soon as there are larger numbers of counties reporting as far as State candidates.

No local numbers yet, but hopefully soon:

Update: 9:55 p.m almost 11% of total State:

Update: 10:21 p.m. almost 22% of total State:

Update: 10:46 p.m. over 41%

Blackwell, J. Kenneth / Raga, Thomas A. 50,780 55.78%
Petro, Jim / Padgett, Joy 40,249 44.22%

Blackwell, J. Kenneth / Raga, Thomas A. 100,319 54.82%
Petro, Jim / Padgett, Joy 82,683 45.18%

Blackwell, J. Kenneth / Raga, Thomas A. 219,506 56.08%
Petro, Jim / Padgett, Joy 171,877 43.92%

AP has announced Blackwell as the predicted winner...

Strickland, Ted / Fisher, Lee 62,612 80.87%
Flannery, Bryan / Stams, Frank M. 14,811 19.13%

Strickland, Ted / Fisher, Lee 133,635 79.41%
Flannery, Bryan / Stams, Frank M. 34,643 20.59%

Strickland, Ted / Fisher, Lee 247,969 81.50%
Flannery, Bryan / Stams, Frank M. 56,301 18.50%

Attorney General (Democratic)
Dann, Marc 55,438 80.55%
Chandra, Subodh 13,384 19.45%

Dann, Marc 110,029 74.37%
Chandra, Subodh 37,920 25.63%

Attorney General (Democratic)
Dann, Marc 197,442 74.19%
Chandra, Subodh 68,702 25.81%

Treasurer of State (Republican)
O'Brien, Sandra 39,157 53.37%
Bradley, Jennette B. 34,213 46.63%

O'Brien, Sandra 76,981 51.87%
Bradley, Jennette B. 71,426 48.13%

O'Brien, Sandra 163,110 51.23%
Bradley, Jennette B. 155,281 48.77%

Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court (Democratic) - 01/01/07
O'Neill, William M. 41,416 61.66%
Wagner, A.J. 25,754 38.34%

O'Neill, William M. 84,344 57.52%
Wagner, A.J. 62,294 42.48%

O'Neill, William M. 149,918 56.89%
Wagner, A.J. 113,621 43.11%

Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court (Democratic) - 01/02/07
Espy, Ben 35,167 53.56%
Sikora, Peter M. 30,496 46.44%

Espy, Ben 80,712 55.80%
Sikora, Peter M. 63,922 44.20%

Espy, Ben 151,729 57.77%
Sikora, Peter M. 110,916 42.23%

Update 11:14 p.m. with 58% of the State in looks like it will be

Blackwell v Strickland

Montgomery V Dann

DeWine V Brown

O'Neill V O'Donnell...

Update 11:43 a.m.

O'Brien, Sandra 250,811 51.56%
Bradley, Jennette B. 235,587 48.44%

Espy, Ben 238,068 55.08%
Sikora, Peter M. 194,152 44.92%

Four minutes to go and a winner already declared...

With only 44 precinct's reporting Ted Strickland has been declared the winner - would be ironic if this ended up not true but it is probably accurate.

Precincts Reporting: 44 of 11288 Percent of Total = 0%

Bryan Flannery 390 10%
WINNER Ted Strickland 3,705 90%

What we know so far Election news

Lucas County 495 Precincts 292,520 Registered Voters

DIRECTORS' ESTIMATED TURNOUT: 66,700 Democrats: 57,844 Republicans:36,079

That's the Predicted Turnout - will it end up being lower? That we will find out later. As Jill pointed out in the comments the numbers don't add up. :-)

Also some FYI type information:

Ohio has 88 bipartisan county boards of elections. The Secretary of State`s office installed point-to-point T1 lines for all 88 county boards of elections, providing direct, high-speed electronic connections between the agency and the counties. This allows open and direct electronic communication between the Secretary of State and the county boards.

Live Election Results from the State of Ohio

Update:

Paul Miller is reporting:

I just heard on WIMA-Lima that the attorney general's office is holding all results - ALL RESULTS, INCLUDING LOCAL RACES - until 9 p.m., due to the problems with counting in Cuyahoga County. I'll try to get more details and pass it along.

Which means we have about an hour since that is probably in effect for Lucas County as well.

Yes - we are all on delay according to the state website:

A court has ordered a precinct in Cuyahoga County to remain open until 9:30 p.m. The Secretary of State's office, therefore, will not report results until after all polling locations are closed.

Slow...low start to Lucas County voting

More is at the above link but the basics:

And as of 9 a.m., voter turnout was about 3.5 percent for the county.“I think that’s low,” said Jill Kelly, director of the Lucas County Board of Elections, pointing out that average turnout for a partisan primary is between 22 and 25 percent for the day. Ms. Kelly had no number to compare to the 9 a.m. total from previous elections.Ms. Kelly said there were some “slow starts” at several stations — she declined to say how many — where several machines weren’t running.

With about 50 poll workers having called off, Ms. Kelly is down to 1,930 workers of the needed 1,980; she said no “fill-in,” or replacement workers, were found.“We were disappointed,” Ms. Kelly said, saying it was difficult to train people last-minute. “When that happens on the eleventh hour, what do you do?”

I will most likely be live blogging what results I can access for tonight as they come in. In addition Paul Miller told me that live blog numbers for Ohio will be done at State of Ohio Blog Alliance fondly known as the Conservative SOB's and he will be doing live blog updates on Northwestern Ohio on his blog Newshound

If I find out any other online sources for results I'll post them here. The tabulation and recording may go slow but we do have the blogging aspect of this down. Hope you voted, I haven't yet, I have to wait till Miguel gets off work but I'll let you know how busy my polling place is and what I can find out from the poll workers present.

:-)

As an update, Eric over at Plunderbund is working the polls in Delaware County...so it's not just Lucas County that is slow. To quote Eric?

Wifi! Woohoo! Word of the day: S L O W. Pretty much sums it up. Slow as all get out where I’m at in Delaware County. Not one single line or wait…other than poll workers waiting on voters. If your horse benefits from a slow race, you are in the money!

My update...Just got back from voting, my new polling place was pretty empty, no waiting I was voter number 74 for my district. This was my first time with the touch screen, last time I used the optical scanner. While I don't like the view print option part of the touch screen, I think it was okay. I still liked the old pull the curtain lever type machines but if this ends up actually working faster and more accurate? Touch screen for me was easier and faster than the optical scanner.

:-)

The Ohio Supremes...

One of the many decisions tomorrow for those who select a Democratic ballot is between four candidates for two Ohio Supreme Court seats in the General Election. As you can see by the above poll done by the Columbus Dispatch this is how those races stood:



As the Toledo Blade pointed out back on April 12th, there is a difference in ratings for these candidates as decided by the Ohio State Bar Association.

Judge William O'Neill was rated "recommended"
Judge A.J. Wagner was rated "adequate"

Ben Espy was rated "highly recommended"
Judge Peter Sikora was rated "recommended"

Judge A.J. Wagner and Judge William O'Neill both refused to sign the clean campaign pledge suggested by the Ohio Bar Association as reported in this Blade article.

The Ohio Democratic Party has endorsed Espy and Wagner, so who will voters select? Will they go on the ratings of the Ohio Bar Association and support the two that are listed as more highly qualified or will they go with the ODP and select the other two?

There's gold in that thar poop...

Seriously, to the tune of 1.19 million...and since the Toledo Blade wrote about this good news as linked above, felt it was important to point this out incase you missed the above linked story:

UT researcher Kevin Czajkowski and experts from Bowling Green State University and the Medical University of Ohio received $1.19 million last year to find out what happens when farmers apply treated biosolids to farm fields for soil enrichment, as they have for decades. The goal is to see if the sludge has any detrimental effect on land, water, or humans.

The project is just one of the studies fueling University of Toledo's steady increase in research and training funding.

Awards to the university from federal and state government and private industry amounted to $33.8 million last year, about 5 percent more than 2004 and 80 percent more than the $18.9 million that was brought in during 2001. Most of the awards were for research, although some were for other programs, such as a $1.2 million grant to UT's education department to support, recruit, and train science and math teachers.

More campaign updates...

Just received this Press Release from Ben Konop:

Vote Konop for Change on May 2!

It's time for change in Lucas County. Throughout my campaign for Commissioner, I have talked about new ideas and a fresh vision for Lucas County. I have talked about my vision for growing our economy, creating jobs in our community, and lowering property taxes for seniors and working families.

I am the only candidate to offer new ideas and a fresh vision for our community. I'm also the only candidate to run a positive campaign and not rely on negative personal attacks. Please join me in making Lucas County a place where all of us can live the American Dream.

I ask for your vote on May 2nd in the Democratic Primary.

Visit Our website

Sincerely, Ben

Konop For Lucas County 100 S. Huron, Suite 7C Toledo OH 43602

I also saw my first Phil Copeland commercial, guess he decided to run some tv spots after all, nothing new offered just the same claim that he created jobs. I like Ben's "heritage" spot, which ran right after Phil's. You can tell Miguel's been paying attention he knew right away who the one male voice was in Ben's ad.
(Bonus points for anyone else who knows) :-)

I stopped by and visited Pam's online chat, it seemed to go very well, just a few tech glitches but was a nice way for her to reach out to people interested in her campaign.

As an update - this just in from Dave Schulz:

Dear Friends and Supporters,

Thanks for your past support of my city council campaign and political endeavors. I am writing to ask you for your vote for my friend Dirk Kubala for 9th district congress. Dirk offers refreshing ideas and perspectives. He was able to raise money to get 15,000 postcards out and we are confident that this will provide the winning edge. But he needs your support to assure victory on Tuesday May 2nd.

Also, if you live in Toledo proper, Oregon and Jerusalem Township, I ask you for your vote for re-election to the Ohio Republican State Central Committee.

Thank you and please vote for Dave Schulz and Dirk Kubala.

Last minute campaigning for Lucas County Commissioner Primary

The Toledo Blade covers part of the story. Ben Konop has the goal of walking 30 miles which in itself is a major accomplishment in his attempt to reach out to voters of Lucas County. He's continuing to demonstrate he is willing to put all of his energy into winning the Democratic Primary.

What struck me is the differences in campaign styles. Which if you read that article you'll probably notice as well.

The Blade didn't list this but Pam Haynam is sponsoring a live chat thru her website today at 4:00 p.m. You can visit her here for more details.

If you haven't read the editorial done by Toledo City Paper, I recommend stopping by. I especially agree with this:

On May 2, it’s time for some serious changes to begin for the Toledo area, including setting the stage for a new Lucas County Commissioner to be elected in November.
What does the county commissioner do? In part, he or she administers more than $40 million worth of federal funds to local job and family services; balances the budgets of the county courts and sheriff’s department; operates the work-force development office The Source (which in just a year-and-a-half, has provided 3,000 locals with stable employment), and ensures that Lucas County’s emergency services are ready in the face of a disaster. ‘County commissioner’ may not be as glamorous as ‘mayor’ or ‘president,’ but it’s as important.

If you’re sick and tired of the ‘same old, same old’ problem of ineffectual Toledo leadership, get thee to the polls this Tuesday. Statistics show more Americans vote in "American Idol" than in their local primaries … even though Kellie, Paris and Taylor aren’t the ones responsible for the future of entire cities.

What it boils down to is this — if you do not vote this Tuesday, you have no just cause for whining about Toledo’s problems or its lack of leadership. Effecting change does not require marching in the streets or staging a sit-in. It’s as simple as participating in a process that millions of people across the world long for — your community is waiting for you to save it. So take up the challenge, lead by example — vote this Tuesday, May 2.

Well done, TCP, I hope Lucas County residents listen...

Central Committee Seats and Independent Voters

The Blade has as linked above an article about the State Central Committee Seats for the Democratic and Republican Party that will take place on May 2nd. It's important to note that these elections are to select who will win that seat.

Back on April 19th I posted about these candidates.

This for me is one of the hardest parts of being a more Independent voter. During a primary you have to decide first off which party you want to declare for. Sometimes there are candidates that are Republicans you'd like to see win, especially in the case of the State Central Committee seats and there are Democrats that you would like to see win. Yet, you can only pick one party. I'm not sure if there is another way to do this, but it's the way it is done here and probably the way it will remain.

If you are going to request a Republican ballot and are in District 11, I hope you do consider David Schulz His commitment to ethics and his desire to make the Lucas County Republican party more effective has been demonstrated and I believe he deserves to be re-elected to this seat. Dave has the endorsement of the Ohio Republican Party.

As for the "showdown between Frank, Jack, and Carty", on the Democratic side of District 11; Jack Ford has held this seat even prior to being Mayor of Toledo. If you do feel it's time for a change, I would suggest Frank Szollosi. I don't feel as Mayor that Carty has the time to participate in the process nor do I believe this race should be some type of a popularity contest. It should be about which one of the candidates will put their energy into progress and Frank has participated and supported the Democratic Party of Ohio.

Lucas County Commission Endorsement

Yes, the Toledo Free Press, Toledo Blade and La Prensa thus far have all made their endorsements public.

But, I had not yet made my endorsement. Yes, I realize the importance behind this endorsement. I'm sure it will have a huge impact on this race, well, okay maybe not but some of you probably at least laughed over that last statement.

Some brief history, I started Glass City Jungle in January. I was inspired to try to become more involved in politics locally for several reasons, while I had mainly focused on national politics on my other blog, I realized there was a lot going on locally that wasn't being talked about. A few weeks after the creation of this blog I was invited to meet with Ben Konop to talk about local blogging and internet related topics.

I was interested in what Ben had to say but I was skeptical at first, the more I learn about politics the less quickly I decide who I will or will not support. I've also tried to create this blog with the idea in mind that it wasn't just about me, it's about all of this area. Which is why I have written about and promoted Democratic events and Republican events, basically if you are doing something political and you invite me? I'll not only try to attend but write about it as factually as possible without interjecting too much of "me".

Back to Ben, I liked his ideas, I liked his energy, yes, I liked Ben, however that didn't mean I was necessarily going to vote for him. As this campaign has progressed, I've also come to respect him. He handled himself well at both debates, has taken some heat that the majority of the time wasn't deserved and yet kept focusing on the issues, kept coming up with ideas. I had some concern regarding there being three Democrats as Lucas County Commissioner, that to me is important because we do need a balance of power. If a Democrat is selected it has to be one that will not be afraid to "rock the boat" if necessary and be able to do it in a way that still can foster future cooperation. I believe Ben can do that. Ben has proven to me that he not only listens to other people's ideas but will embrace them and do his best to actually move forward. That's what Lucas County needs. We have spent decades talking...So on May 2nd, I'm voting for Ben Konop for Lucas County Commissioner.

Ben named as possible for McCloskey seat?

I wouldn't have believed it if I had not have heard it, Carty was just on Channel 11 and stated that if Ben didn't win the May 2nd primary could be one of the names considered for Toledo City Council or Jeanine Perry?

Sigh...it's too early to even be thinking about Ben not winning the primary so to make that kind of a public statement by Carty I think is inappropriate. Granted I am not that close to Ben but he wants to be Lucas County Commissioner. And Perry? Double sigh...

(insert imaginary frowny face)

Better use of Northwest Ohio resources...

The other day I read a post on Maggie Thurber's blog about some good news that had been released from the Regional Growth Partnership. There has been discussion about LCIC and how it could better be used, however, RGP has been around for several years. It also appears to have had some success, so wouldn't it make sense to better utilize what we had that was working?

http://www.rgp.org is their website. Head on over, check out what they offer and also while you are there read the Pdf of their Newsletter for April

Some other interesting news is also listed there, Economic Outlooks, and if you look at who the Board of Directors that make up Regional Growth Partnership?

List

Seems like this is less government more people, which is what many of us want, growth and businesses created and encouraged by those who have the most experience.

Ohio Supreme Court on Schulz v. McCloskey

Fox News was first with the story, their link is above.

MERIT DECISIONS WITHOUT OPINIONS

State ex rel. Schulz v. McCloskey:

In Quo Warranto. On motion to dismiss. Motion to dismiss granted. Cause
dismissed.

Moyer, C.J., Resnick, Pfeifer, Lundberg Stratton, O’Connor and O’Donnell,
JJ., concur.
Lanzinger, J., not participating.

Statement from Dave Schulz:

I am gratified that the court ruled I had standing to bring the case but regret that the court couldn't muster the courage to try the case. The citizens of Toledo suffer for that. I do take comfort knowing that both defendants in the case face more severe legal problems that could ultimately end in the usurpers being thrown out of office.

Statement from Attorney Terry Lodge:

When the voters overwhelmingly voted for term limits in 1992, they voted for term limits, not to allow politicians to make the observation of term limits a matter of the honor system.

Regrettably, the Ohio Supreme Court has dismissed the lawsuit without even giving Toledo and Ohio voters a written opinion. Thus we do not have any guidance as to when terms of elective office can or cannot be restricted.

The effect of the Supreme Court's decision is to alter Toledo's term limits law into a cudgel to drive ethical leaders to follow the law and leave office, while less honorable ones may choose to abide by the law, or not - because term limits apparently are no longer quite the law. That sorry situation doesn't say much for democracy, and it doesn't bode well for the future of Toledo municipal government.

On a semi-related note, Bob McCloskey has announced today that he is stepping down from Toledo City Council as per this breaking news piece.

Blogs, new features and lunch boxes

This week there are many exclusive online features to enjoy besides Blog, it Toledo. Ironically my first website shared with you was one that let me take a walk down memory lane. Then reading Melanie Dusseau's piece for the Writers Workshop, "In search of the Hardy Boys"where we discover she is looking for this. (Five days left to bid Melanie!)

Online and in Print, there is also a new Opus Cartoon and a Toledo themed crossword. Maybe I'll have better luck at completing the crossword than I have mastering Su do ku... Michael Miller reviews a CD that I would love to own. Yes, I am a fan of Johnny Cash.

This week's edition also has the first Toledo Business Link insert, which also has some very informative articles in addition to the many other features this week.

:-)

Lucas County Commissioner Debate - Republicans

Pam Haynam and George Sarantou had their turn in front of the cameras tonight with the Toledo Blade's Jim Tankersley and Lee Conklin asking the questions.

It didn't start out well for Pam, the first question asked by Jim Tankersley asked her what her definition of a "real" republican was; then further pressed on her definition asking who else she would name as not being a "real" republican other than George Sarantou. I don't think she expected the question it's probably one of those situations where now she would have a name or two to suggest but it was a rocky start for her.

George stated he believes in jobs, low taxes and opportunity for all, he did however feel that the 4.4% increase in assessments was a justfied position taken by Toledo City Council. When asked about the veto vote on Costco, he stated he felt that $10.00 a hour was a good starting wage especially if you take Costco's benefit package into consideration.

Pam stated she would have voted for the veto but she would not have supported the abatement. She feels abatements are not generally suited for retail employers and should be more for manufacturing or technical employers.

Next George said that he felt there was no effective marketing campaign here in Toledo and that LCIC could be better utitlized. Jim Tankersley pointed out that Bass Pro did not come here despite the marketing of both the County and the City. George then stated that the area had to reach out to cities with high crime or that were not happy where they currently were located to sell them on this area.

If you missed this, I'm sure the Blade will offer video tomorrow rather than me going thru each question/response and I'll go right to my impressions. What kind of a Republican Lucas County Commissioner do you want? If you want one that will disagree if necessary with the two Democrats who are currently Lucas County Commissioner and who did pledge to not run for any other office then Pam Haynam is the candidate for you. If you want one that will work with the two Democrats and states he will not vote no but find solutions and is planning on serving a full term if elected Lucas County Commmissioner yet artfully did not pledge that, then George Sarantou is for you.

It would have been interesting if George would have been asked given his statement that he can work with the Democrats currently on the Lucas County Commissioner's why someone should vote for him rather than one of the Democrats.

I have a high degree of respect for both Pam and George and if the choice was between one of them and Phil Copeland it would be a no-brainer for me as far as the general election. So it would come down to those who are going to vote in the Republican Primary what role do they want a Republican Lucas County Commissioner to play. The household vote as to who did better in the debate goes to George, but those present stated they were voting for Pam because they felt she would better represent the suburbs and would prefer the lone Republican to be more of a watchdog who would dissent loudly and publicly if necessary. One comment made by one of the "debate watchers" was that they felt that if it would have been possible for solutions that Maggie Thurber would have been able to do that as well.

update....Kurt's impressions on the Republican debate at Progressive Toledo.

update...Blade article and video of debate.

Lucas County Commissioner Debate - Democrats

Progressive Toledo has a post from yesterday on this. Yesterday was technical difficulties day for me. First blogger would not publish then our dsl went down. Yes, I am so technologically spoiled I decided to wait and see if it was fixed last night as promised, which of course it wasn't. (SBC tsk tsk) So this morning I am on dial up.

I did watch the debate last night and took prolific notes, the Blade did provide video to the debate for those of you who missed it here I plan on watching it again to see if I missed anything. (update...yes my dsl is back)

Intial feeling was that it would have been nice if it would have been a bit longer of a format. With commercials it was well under a half an hour and there were some time management issues that were obvious. Jim Tankersley did a nice job in the questions he asked as well as trying to press for more complete answers if necessary. Diane Larson also had some good questions for all three candidates.

Phil Copeland once again did not answer questions, even when pressed by Jim Tankersley he gave non-answers. The initial question concerning Phil's claim of creating jobs when Local 500 has in reality lost jobs ended up with a non-answer that basically affirmed that Jim was correct in stating that Phil has not created any new jobs. Even when asked by Diane Larson what concrete plans he had, he did not have one except he wanted to be friendly and bring unions in.

There was no economic plan revealed by Phil, other than his statement of if he is elected he will work with the Two Commissioners going to them stating "I got an idear about bringing some business in". Ben mentioned Phil's earlier promise of unveiling his economic plan which was not really responded to.

Tim Wagener promoted what is his campaign message of "Experience Matters", pointing to the Dana Tech Center as a success story that he felt should be a blueprint for future job creation. He when asked if he had any bolder plans other than his one involving senior citizens and high schoolers interacting more stated that until he gets into office he won't know. He wants voters to consider his years of public service which he stated was more combined than all of the others running for Lucas County Commissioner as why he should be elected. I don't think it was intentional, but Tim gave off an attitude of superiority that might not be received well by some voters. I wasn't the only one who noticed it, those viewing with me also commented on that without me saying anything.

Trying to view Ben Konop's performance critically is hard, he did an excellent job, he answered questions even hard ones relating to his not having political experience or what management experience he had, he kept to his talking points and took a comment from Phil Copeland where Phil said Ben was "fooling" people about tax increases and used that to bring up a comment that bothered many of us that Phil stated about not being concerned if people thought they were voting for Bill Copeland. Ben even demonstrated he had practiced his closing and was the only candidate that had it timed properly. While it's not talked about often, being able to work with the limited amount of time the media is going to give you to create soundbites is an important one. Ben demonstrated that he can handle the media aspect of a Lucas County Commissioner's job on top of promoting his message that he believes it is time for a change and that his not being a career politician is a plus rather than a minus. Only complaint I would have with Ben's performance is I think he was a bit too technical on the economies of scale discussion. That's something he could explain further but difficult to express in a short time frame to people that might not have heard him speak about that in more detail.

Those watching with me gave the "win" to Ben, second place to Tim and a very distant third to Phil. How much of an effect will this have depends on how many people viewed it. I would be very interested in hearing from anyone that has now seen both debates that still feels Phil Copeland should be the Democratic candidate.

So there is my take on the debate, I will watch tonights as well and hopefully now that I have been techonolgically restored, be able to post tonight.

On Progressive Toledo the discussion brought up the college degree topic since Ben is the only one with a college degree. Here's my take on that. I think a college degree is helpful however it is possible to have life experience that would also make a person qualified for public office. Tim Wagener as an example, is qualified from an experience point of view. Ben's lack of political experience should be no more of an issue than Tim's lack of a college degree as far as a direct comparison scale to me. That is the unfortunate thing about this election, there is a valid concern that Phil Copeland could win the primary because voters that are informed are going to be selecting between Ben and Tim. Several people have voiced concern that Tim should drop out of the race because he is creating a potential for the vote to be split. Personally I'd like to believe that wouldn't happen but presented with the information from the last Blade poll where it is clear people think that they are voting for Bill Copeland? I guess it boils down to hoping for the best and that the informed voters take everything into consideration and outnumber those that are not. I'm not going to take the position that Tim should step down, even though I understand where those who have stated it are coming from.

Politics in Mudville also has impressions of last night's debate.

Jon Stainbrook's mystery endorsement revealed!

Well, sort of revealed. I still can't find any information on the group but thanks to an article written by Jim Tankersley of the Toledo Blade as linked above, we do know that Paula Pennypacker is the founder of the Grass Root Republican Party Coalition. According to Jon as quoted in the article that was what he meant by claiming to be an "Endorsed Republican Candidate" on the post cards he sent out.

Flashing back to the past, as I did as soon as I read the name Paula Pennypacker...Is she trying to once again shake things up in the Lucas County Republican Party? Supporting Jon Stainbrook over Dennis Lange who is the current interim chair. Isn't he the same Dennis Lange who was the volunteer coordinator for her mayoral run in 1989?

Keeping with that "flashback moment" Toledo Blade 1998:

Paula Pennypacker. The two-time mayoral candidate successfully led a rebellion within the Lucas County Republicans, leading a grass-roots drive for precinct leaders in the May election. The result: a wider activist base for the party and the resignation of party chairman James Brennan. Ms. Pennypacker then moved herself and her makeup business to Arizona.

"Who's being deceiving?" was the question asked by Mr. Stainbrook. Let's think about that for a moment. Getting 47 volunteers and appearing to promise them more than what the standard rate is for being an election inspector, who according to a source only 4 of the volunteers showed up for a special training session scheduled just for them. Then listing yourself as an endorsed candidate when you know one of your opponents is the person who was endorsed by the Ohio Republican Party...Compared to using a picture clearly identified with a woman you considered to be your mentor and as a a spokesman for the Log Cabin Republicans of Northwest Ohio, not being in support of a ban against gay marriages.

I've met and talked with many Republicans thru out the years that haven't agreed with every single platform of the Republican party. That doesn't make them unqualified for a position within the Party. It makes them...human...

David Schulz is running on an ethics-themed platform for the District 11 central committee position. You can read more about that here.

Jon Stainbrook may have very good intentions of wanting to help the Lucas County Republican Party, however after all of the problems in recent years whoever is selected as Chair should be beyond reproach when it comes to ethics.

I see Dead People Lucas County style...

I realize those of us who can be called "political junkies" are in small numbers...yet reading the above linked Toledo Blade article about the Zogby Poll they commissioned for the Lucas County Commissioner race was very disheartening.

When respondents who said they planned to vote for Mr. Copeland were asked why, 11 percent offered that they liked his uncle. Another 20 percent gave answers that suggested they could be confusing the two men, such as "he used to be a good county commissioner."

This doesn't bother Phil Copeland, as quoted in the Blade:

"If my uncle's name is helping me, I'm thanking him right now," Mr. Copeland said. "I'll take it any day. He had a good name, and I'm trying to keep it up. … If they think I'm Bill Copeland, that's fine with me."

That means that out of the 25% translated to approximately 100 people out of 402, that selected Phil Copeland as their candidate of choice, almost 40 of them liked Bill Copeland who retired in 2002 and died in 2004. Then the third that stated they liked Phil Copeland's stance on issues...What issues?

Then the choice of phrasing for this article...."Phil Copeland leads a wide-open Democratic primary" According to the article: Each set of results has an error margin of plus or minus five percentage points. Ben Konop at 20% is only 5% under Phil Copeland, Tim Wagener received 12.5%. Forty percent are still undecided.

Sixty-five percent had never heard of Pam Haynam, sixty percent had never heard of Ben Konop and fifty percent had never heard of Tim Wagener...So with that and the numbers who think that Phil Copeland is Bill Copeland...Where did they get these people? (Yes, I know look at the top vote getters for Toledo City Council.)

The idea that these people who claim to be "likely to cast ballots" scares the hell out of me. If they don't read the newspapers, don't watch tv news, don't listen to the radio and they obviously never use the internet to read news; how can they even pretend to be informed voters? How can they even proclaim to know if the county is on the right track or the wrong track if they aren't even aware of who's running or realize that Phil Copeland is not Bill Copeland?

I realize I'm preaching to the choir, but if you cannot be bothered to even learn the most basic information then you are making a total joke out of the whole process of voting and this ignorance hurts us all.

I also can't help wondering if this poll is related to yesterday's story about the negative phone polling. No one else has yet come forward and stated they were doing polling.

Association of Minor-League Umpires is on strike...

Jeremy, over at Nookular Option points out a story that should be getting more attention. Head on over to visit him to read his thoughts on this and join his call to blog about this. Make sure to visit the AMLU website where you can find out more information and be sure to read some of the personal stories these umpires are sharing.

This would also be a good time to remind people that our local Air Traffic Controllers need our support too. You can visit Fair FAA for more info on how you can help them too.

Prosecutor calls for a criminal investigation but

She says someone else should do it...

Lucas County Prosecutor Julia Bates said a criminal investigation of Mayor Carty Finkbeiner would be appropriate to determine if he violated a state law by trying to raise funds to supplement the salary of Toledo Public Schools Superintendent Eugene Sanders.

But she said it would be a misdemeanor offense, and a job for the city law director.

"It is something that needs to be looked at, but it should be looked at by the city," she said.

"We are not going to be getting involved in what could be a problematic misdemeanor investigation," the prosecutor added.

Worth pointing out is that if the Mayor were to be convicted, he would have to step down as Mayor and the current Council President who is currently Rob Ludeman would take his place.

Rob Ludeman as quoted by the Blade:

"It appears to me that it's clearly wrong, if in fact there was an attempt to increase the compensation of another public official above and beyond what their contractual wages and benefits package is," Mr. Ludeman said.

He said he was "not specifi-cally aware" of whatever efforts the mayor may have undertaken to raise money for the superintendent's compensation.

"I think the prosecutor has an obligation to the public to look into any alleged improprieties, and it sounds like that course has been initiated," Mr. Ludeman said.

Evidently Mr. Ludeman was not aware that the Prosecutor was not going to look into this.

Bob Reinbolt, Carty's Chief of Staff maintains that no money was collected that it was only a brainstorming session and they would have verified it was allowed under Ohio Law before they did anything. Yet, you would think before you would decide to try to get funding and offer it to Mr. Sanders it would have been appropriate to make sure it was legal. Let's say he would have accepted the concept of being offered more money or a car to stay here. Then what? Sorry Sanders, we'd love to give it to you but it's not legal...

Bob McCloskey video taped?

According to sources at the Toledo Blade:

Toledo City Councilman Bob McCloskey was videotaped in a federal sting last week accepting cash in exchange for helping a businessman develop an amusement park in East Toledo, The Blade has learned.

Considering he is already facing civil and criminal charges for another incident this if true was not a smart move.

According to sources, Mr. McCloskey took $3,000 to assist a person seeking help with obtaining land and permits from the city for an amusement park project.

Asked to comment, Mr. McCloskey said, "I can't talk about it." Asked if he intends to resign from City Council, he said, "I don't know what I'm going to do."
My advice? Bob resign now....

UPDATE: Blade has City Council reaction.

Jon Stainbrook's creative campaigning?

After my earlier post on the State Central District Committee Seat elections, I received an email that included this image that I've uploaded to my photobucket account.

Jon Stainbrook card

What immediatly caught my attention was "Endorsed Republican Candidate". That surprise me as it gives the impression that Jon Stainbrook was endorsed by the Republican Party. So I called to verify this information, I thought perhaps I missed the local Lucas County Republican Party making an endorsement and I wondered why they would endorse Jon Stainbrook over David Schulz.

I have verified that there was no endorsement for the District 11 State Central Committee Chair candidates from the Lucas County Republican Party. It's possible Jon is using the lower listed "Grass Roots Republican Party Coalition" Endorsement as his claim but the card is very misleading.

It also states which campaigns he has worked on. According to this Toledo Blade article:

Mr. Stainbrook, who has written free-lance entertainment stories for The Blade, worked on campaigns for Bob Dole, Bob Taft, Mike DeWine, George Voinovich, and Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry. He ran three times for Toledo City Council, all unsuccessfully. In 1998, while working as a deputy auditor, he challenged Mr. Kaczala in a Republican primary and lost.

The Kerry campaign statement was later retracted but neither Bush campaign was mentioned in the article, they are however listed on the postcard Jon is sending out to potential voters.

I was unable to find any contact information or a website on the Grass Roots Republican Party Coalition, to be able to verify who they were and if they did endorse Jon Stainbrook. So I can not confirm if that is true or not true or even how that selection process was done.

As disclaimer, if I were voting as a Republican in the primary I would vote for David Shulz. Yet the way this information is being presented is misleading and given the lack of information out there on the State Central Committee Candidates felt it important to express my concern over the way the information on this card is being presented.

State Central Committee Seats

In each Ohio Senate district, a man and a woman will be elected to seats on the state central committee of each major political party.

What are the responsibilities? From the Ohio Democratic Party:

The controlling committee of the Ohio Democratic Party shall be the Central Committee consisting of such membership as shall be elected according to the laws of the State of Ohio. The Central Committee shall elect an Executive Committee, which shall have such powers as are granted it by the Central Committee, as are provided by law, by this Constitution, and by the Ohio Democratic Party By-Laws.

The Ohio Republican Party does not list their by-laws on their website, they do however have a list of current State Central Committee members and this introductory paragraph:

Members of the Republican State Central & Executive Committee are elected every two years from each state senate district. By law, each district must be represented by one male and one female member.

Our area contains two districts, District 2 and District 11. Complete list begins on page 5 of the pdf from the Lucas County Board of Elections.

On the Republican side, Dee Talmage and Paul Hoag are both currently the District two State Central Committee members. They are both running again this May 2nd and neither one is facing opposition. On the Democratic Side for District two, the Ohio Democratic Party does not list on their website who is the current State Central Committee Members, nor does the Lucas County Democratic website. Ralph A. Brumby, David E. Giese and James R. Patrick are running for the male category. Margaret Mary Murray is running unopposed for the female category. Which one of those running for the contested District two seat should you consider? I have no clue since it doesn't appear there is any interest in providing us with any information.

District 11 is similiar in that for both the Republican, Katherine L. Kuhlman and the Democrat, Teresa Fedor are running unopposed in the female category. Kuhlman is the current Republican which I know from their website, and Fedor is the current Democrat I have been told.

The Male category is one that is contested for both Republican and Democrats for District 11. Very contested. On the Republican side we have David Schulz who is the current member who by all reports has done an excellent job for the Republican Party. He is being challenged by Jon Stainbrook, John D. Birmingham and William Jennings. I don't have any background information on Birmingham or Jennings, Stainbrook of course is trying to become the chair of the Lucas County Republican Party as well as trying to increase his popularity by offering to arrange for friends to have in what is said to be his words:

Election Inspector Jobs
If you want to make $$$ working the primary election ???
Give me a call or email me now!!!
All my friends are doing it for easy money.
Make between $150- $250 dollars?for one day!

Personally that's higher than what I thought the rate of pay was for those positions. Perhaps someone who has taken Jon up on this offer can provide more details.

On the Democratic side of District 11, it's just as contested, with some interesting names. Currently Jack Ford (yes former Toledo Mayor Jack Ford) is the male committee member, from my understanding he has done this for quite some time even before he was Mayor. For some reason that no one has stated, Carty Finkbeiner has thrown his name into the hat and is joined by Frank Szollosi and Kollin Rice.

I'll admit prior to my becoming such a political junkie I didn't pay much attention to District State Central Committee Seats. In conversations with family members and others, most people really don't understand what the purpose is of these seats.

Nor does either party make it very easy for you to find out complete information as can be seen. So hopefully as I learn more? You can share in my journey on this one.

:-)

Blog it, Toledo and a new feature...

This week's Blog, it Toledo column focuses on creativity in our area. I hope you visit all of the blogs included, especially Two Toledos. Joining me as an exclusive online feature is the "Writers Workshop" a chance for those of you who have had dreams of seeing your work published to submit an article.

Melanie Dusseau has an article written about Earth Day and Isaiah St. John has an article about demolishing buildings with a historical background.

In addition to the many fantastic articles in this week's print version of the Toledo Free Press, this one by Barbara Goodman Shovers entitled "Poop and the Golden Rule", had me saying a very loud AMEN! Nothing irritates me more when I take my daily walks to have to navigate the mine fields left behind by irresponsible dog owners here in our apartment complex and neighborhood.

:-)

Did Carty violate the Ohio Revised Code?

The Toledo Free Press's Justin R. Kalmes has a breaking news story as linked above which in part states:

Finkbeiner's effort to retain Sanders through a compensation package may have been in violation of section 2921.43 of the Ohio Revised code. The law prohibits public servants from knowingly soliciting, accepting, promising or giving any compensation to another public servant "to perform the public servant's official duties, to perform any other act or service in the public servant's public capacity, for the general performance of the duties of the public servant's public office or public employment, or as a supplement to the public servant's public compensation."

The article also states that the Ohio Revised Code identifies someone in Sanders position as being a public official. Ohio's Ethic Publication confirms this.

This offense is a misdemeanor of the first degree and does carry the stipulation:

A public servant who is convicted of a violation of this section is disqualified from holding any public office, employment, or position of trust in this state for a period of seven years from the date of conviction.

Perhaps it was not a smart move for Carty to have the Toledo Law Director's office moved to a different floor. Sounds like he could have used their advice on this one before any action was taken if this allegation is proven to be true.

UPDATE: The Mayor responds to the question of a possible violation of the Ohio Revised Code:

"That is absolutely laughable," the mayor said. "I have no idea where someone came up with that."

However, this toledo blade article continues:

Julia Bates, Lucas County prosecutor, said she would look into whether the effort to organize a fund to supplement Mr. Sanders' salary was within the law.