Update on Sylvania Vision 2010

I promised I'd update with information, and for those of you who went back to the original post have probably seen Alex was kind enough to post a link to the pdf of notes from May 25th. Mark Bula also emailed me, so thank you to both of you.

I recommend downloading this pdf even if you are not a Sylvania, Ohio resident. Mark and Alex are both correct in stating that this type of vision quest for the future could be done other places locally. This was the meeting objective:

Provide a public forum for those interested in having early input on creating a vision for Sylvania’s future. Utilize visual metaphors and hands-on activities to collaboratively identify the strengths, opportunities, weaknesses and threats to our community.

As the saying goes, “be careful if you don’t know where you’re going ‘cause you might not get there.”

I wondered how this would be accomplished. As an example, taking a few results from the "Today We Look Like" segment where people were given a series of questions and the metaphor was the City of Sylvania as a Bus Trip:

Primary bus driver is Mayor with a King’s crown and assisted by City Council

People on the bus:
o Closest to front is “Shakers & Movers”
o School Board
o Flower Hospital
o Lourdes College
o Residents in the every back of the bus – not being informed by drivers to where and
what is going on. They are left to admiring the scenery and that’s it.

There were other visual metaphors as well as many more results listed, yet the meeting did not just revolve around visualizations. Those who attended were asked to list strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats for the City of Sylvania.

My immediate reaction was it appears there are many "Strengths" and that is something that Sylvania should be proud of, though I really must dispute the categorization of "Spiky haired councilman" being listed as a "Weakness", I would have thought he would have been a "Threat" (lol). The parts of the meeting related to the future of Sylvania also contained some great ideas. It's pretty obvious to me that Sylvania is heading in a very positive direction, and it's one I hope the rest of our area follows.

Great job Mark Bula and thank you for sharing this information with us and a great job is also extended to those who attended.

:-)

Blog it Toledo, Bob Frantz, Tom Noe and the Mudhens

Interesting combination in the title, yet all can be found in this week's edition of the Toledo Free Press. The cover story is about Tom Noe and his request to change the venue of his trial. I had a moment of envy when I discovered Michael Brooks had a chance to sit down and talk with Bob Frantz about leaving Toledo and his new gig in Cleveland. I still need to show Bob how to properly remove the paper from candy dots so that he doesn't eat wet soggy paper with his candy! :-)

Blog it Toledo is up and has some new blogs for you to check out.

Then, Michael Miller offers some interesting adult oriented themed advertising suggestions for the Mudhens to consider.

While not in the title, another article I found that was very well done was by Tom Richard, entitled, Trusting a bald barber.

That's just a taste of what you'll find in this week's edition...

:-)

Lucas County Democrats and the ODP

Back on May 23rd, Liberal_Dem wrote an open letter to Chris Redfern, which he posted on his blog Politics in Mudville.

Yesterday he had the opportunity to talk with Chris Redfern.

I recommend visiting his blog for the full post, and he provided the news that:

The Strickland and Brown Election Headquarters will not be housed at 1817 Madison Avenue. Rather, they are locating an alternate site in downtown Toledo, and are bringing in an independent staff for that new headquarters.

He also has a piece on Mike Craig and some questions regarding the certification date.

So if you missed this yesterday like I did? Head on over.

:-)

Underestimating Black Voters....

I've read several news pieces about Ken Blackwell automatically having some type of power to lure Black voters merely because of his race rather than his politics. In reading the above Cleveland Plain Dealer article, almost the same assumption is made when it comes to Ted Strickland:

Watch for Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones, Cleveland's powerful black Democrat, to endorse Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ted Strickland as early as this week.

Tubbs Jones was joined by the following black leaders, who thus far have also withheld formal endorsements: Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman, Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson, Dayton Mayor Rhine McLin, and Youngstown Mayor Jay Williams. Political consultant Arnold Pinkney also attended the meeting.

Strickland is eager to claim their support because his Republican rival, Ken Blackwell, is black and is trying to woo black voters.

This made me think back to 2004 when supporters of Theresa M. Gabriel tried the "blood is thicker than politics" line to convince Black Democrats to vote Republican.

Granted there are uniformed Black voters just as there are uniformed voters of every race and Ken Blackwell would be the first Black governor of Ohio if he were to win but there's more to an election than just pride in one's heritage, race or sex. Personally I think that's an insult to the majority of Black voters whether it's by Blackwell or Strickland. I don't vote for a candidate because of his race or sex nor do I believe the majority of them do.

We've seen the same thing here in Toledo where it's assumed the inner city voters will turn out in large numbers to support a Black candidate. Maybe race was a small part of the times it has happened but it is much more likely it was the message not just the color of the skin that gained their support.

Prof. David Harris on Nookular Option tomorrow

Tomorrow not only will Nookular Option be live streamed thru the the internet but they will be live on your radio dial for those of you within range of WXUT. The show will also be podcast for those of you who miss it.

I'm looking forward to hearing what Professor Harris has to say as well hearing from my favorite catman. There's more information on the above link.

:-)

I remember summers on the Lake...

The Cleveland Plain Dealer has an article linked above on the topic of people who spend their summers on the shores of Lake Erie. It reminded me of summers spent at my great-grandmother's cottage on the Maumee River, summers spent visiting relatives at Lake James and other visits to a friend's cottage near Sandusky.

My father owned a boat so we would also cruise out to Put in Bay as well as taking camping/boating trips in the Ohio/Michigan/Indiana area.

Taking this article with the below one on Toledo becoming a port of call for Great Lakes cruise lines points out how important not only our Lake is but the vacation/recreation aspect of this area that we are very lucky to have.

:-)

Why Glass City Jungle exists...

First of all thank you to all of you who read and comment here. Glass City Jungle has gone beyond my expectations for the short time it has existed and continues to grow because of you.

Everyone is welcome here, no matter your political affiliation, and so far we have been able to keep the comments open to those who want to remain anonymous. The level of discussion has been fantastic which I greatly appreciate and even more important it has been I think a great resource for all of us. Things are going to get heated at times, politics at times does become emotional rather than fact based. The most important thing to remember is that we do care about this area enough to debate it, at times with passion, but if we didn't care? We certainly would not be here.

I've made it a point to try to reach out to many candidates and all political parties as far as requesting information. Some have utilized this, others have not. Yet if I find something of interest even on those who have not? I'll still post about it. If I missed covering a candidate that you think is important, email me or post it in a comment.

This blog is written by me, but it's not all about me. I'm going to provide information at times on candidates some of you don't support. I'll provide information on candidates I don't think I would support but some of you might. The same with issues on the ballot as well as news items I think might be of interest to discuss. My goal is not to have you all agree with me, because frankly that would be very boring, but I don't know everything, each of you brings to the discussion here your own personal experiences. My goal was to create a place where we not only agreed/disagreed but hopefully learned something along the way. So far that has happened for me and I hope it has you as well.

That's why Glass City Jungle is here and thanks again for being a part of making it happen.

Mark Dansack for Ohio House District 46

Thanks to a commentor here on Glass City Jungle, I became aware that Mark Dansack is running against Republican Mark Wagoner for District 46. I had the opportunity to speak with Mark tonight and he is in the process of creating a web presence so more information on that will follow. Some important information from his press release:

Dansack says his campaign will concentrate on ethical concerns spawned by 12 years of one party rule in Ohio; educational funding reform; job creation and retention; and the retraining of displaced workers.

Many issues inspired Dansack to join this race. For example, in his current position aiding injured workers, Dansack speaks daily with clients who are incensed that their benefits will be cut before there is resolution regarding the failed investments and scandal within the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation. Additionally, the lack of action on part of the state legislature to reform the education funding process, declared unconstitutional a decade ago, fueled his candidacy. Dansack feels passionately about the need to shift the brunt of the funding burden away from property owners who are increasingly asked to bear responsibility . Finally, Dansack knows from experience of the need for effective programming to retrain workers, as he was one of five-hundred employees displaced when a major manufacturer left the Toledo area.

“Ohio continues to lag behind the rest of the country with respect to employment as thousands of good-paying manufacturing jobs have been lost in the past five years. After 12 years of Republican dominance, controlling the executive and legislative branches, we continue to fall behind and there seems to be no sense of urgency from the current leadership. Ohioans deserve better.”

I think we all agree Ohioans deserve better, if you'd like to help Mark accomplish this goal, you can email him at:

dansack4rep46 @ buckeye-express.com

More as it becomes available.

:-)

Crusing the Great Lakes

I found this in today's Toledo Blade:

It's been nine years in the making, but Toledo will start designing and building a Marina District passenger terminal this summer to receive Great Lakes cruise ships and passengers with money to spend.

The Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority board of directors approved spending $611,000 to match $2.45 million in federal money the port started receiving in 1997.

The city of Toledo has budgeted $1.5 million for the project.

The board also approved plans to hire Poggemeyer Design Group for $236,250 for design and construction management.

The port authority has to spend the federal money or risk losing it, said Jim Mettler, the port authority's vice president for new projects.

"There's a pretty healthy Great Lakes cruising industry, and there are several different companies that run full itineraries from the beginning of May to October.

"They are not well-known in this area because there is no port of call.

I admit I didn't know about it. I had heard of Delta Queen who does Steamboat cruises in Cinci, but I was not aware of cruises on the Great Lakes. So I set out to search.

At first it was not promising, the first link I found that advertised:

Information about cruise activity and ports on the Great Lakes, as well as ship photos, schedules, services and layouts.

Was a dead link, www.cruisingthegreatlakes.org.

Next was more positive, Great Lakes Cruising Coalition they list information on several cruises. Yet when I started to go into these links, very few of them went into Lake Erie.

The Blade article listed this company:

American Canadian Caribbean Line, based in Rhode Island, runs ships from Chicago through Mackinac Island to Cleveland. Detroit and Toledo do not have cruise ship ports, though Windsor, Ont., receives ships.

Yet their website as listed on the Great Lakes Cruising Coalition is not an updated one. Their new site can be found, here.

I did find one additional possible Itinerary. That's not to say if Toledo did add a Port of call that more might be added. Or that there could be other cruise lines out there that travel thru Lake Erie.

I always thought the Steamboat cruise would be a fantastic one. I've never been on a cruise either Lake or Ocean (unless you count days spent on My father's 18 foot Starcraft).

:-)

Poppies!

Don't forget to get a poppy today, I stopped by Krogers thanks to my wonderful oldest daughter playing "drive Mom on her errands day" and met a wonderful volunteer from the Holland American Legion.

:-)

Aunt Sandy and dear departed Uncle Bill don't matter...

Last night I was watching Toledo's WTVG and they had a clip of both Ben Konop and George Sarantou about the whole issue of ethics and Lucas County. Part of this is written about on this Toledo Blade article

What the article doesn't mention though is George's statement about Ben's Aunt, which he referred to if memory is correct, "Ben's Aunt Sandy, Sandy Isenberg" along with Ray Kest had been found guilty of ethics violations by the State. WTVG stated after the clip that neither had been but that's only a small part of this. Isenberg was not even indicted by the Ohio Ethics Commission.

Ben Konop is the one running for Lucas County Commissioner, George Sarantou is running for Lucas County Commmissioner. The concerns regarding George Sarantou and the now "famous" possible money in the envelope deal relate directly to...George Sarantou.

During the primary we saw first hand that Phil Copeland didn't have a problem with people thinking that he was his deceased Uncle Bill Copeland. He was proud of his uncle's record, (rightfully so) yet what kind of an elected official Bill Copeland was has nothing to do with Phil Copeland. Yes, we have a lot of families involved in Lucas County politics. They do use the name recognition to their benefit and at times that can also be attempted to be used as a jab at a candidate.

Sandy Isenberg is not the one running, not to mention after years of being in office that focusing on the roof deal as some major indication of her years in office is not a fair representation, but that's beside the point.

WTVG does not have the clip up of George making this statement, claiming that both Sandy and Ray Kest were found guilty of ethics violations, yet it concerns me that George made such an incorrect statement because chances are if he said it on camera he is saying it off camera. Even if it was correct, which in this case it wasn't, that has no bearing on this election.

It's another, "Don't look at what I did, look at THIS instead" that has nothing to do with the real issues at hand right now in this moment in time.

The whole roof deal was a part of another campaign for Lucas County Commissioner and while I realize in this never ending game of tit for tat has been used often, yet George? I know Ben Konop and that sir, was not his roof.

:-)

Why you should watch Ohio's Congress

and why you might not want to

Ohio Channel which is linked above, is a fantastic feature in many ways. It gives us a chance to watch not only live but also has video archives of legislation in action (or inaction) on the floor of the Ohio House and the Ohio Senate.

Even if you are not a political junkie like me, watching this even infrequently and letting your elected represenative know you are watching is important.

However, there are some downsides to watching these sessions. You'll notice that the media and the political parties at times report on something being "heated" or create an impression that a member was treated unfairly which does not always appear that way when the full context of the event is looked at rather than just a selected statement here or there. Granted sometimes it is correct but most times I've discovered the best way to sum up some of it is "much ado about nothing".

You'll also see how much time is wasted on partisan jabs rather than work, as well as at times seeing how much time is spent on resolutions that really don't have a huge impact on the lives of Ohioans. I'd never be able to be the President of the House or the Senate, I'd end up sending members of both political parties into some type of "time out" corner at times.

If you watch these you could view speeches where you feel inspired by members of both parties, while at the opposite moment at times you may shake your head wondering how that particular person was elected to represent us. Which of course leads to the most important reason why from time to time I encourage you to stop by and watch some of these online videos, so that you will have as much information as possible so that you have the tools to decide for yourself.

It's not easy to get information as to what our Ohio legislators are doing, anyone who has spent hours looking thru the daily journals to get more information on a vote or a bill knows that. Most times the media doesn't give you a bill number, which makes it even harder to search out where and when something you might be interested in was really acted on. It takes time to sit and watch the videos, or listen which is what I do most times. It is however worth it, especially if they know we are watching.

:-)

Sylvania Vision 2010

If you are a Sylvania resident, hopefully you've marked your calendars for tonight:

Acting as a citizen, not a council member, Mr. (Mark) Bula has scheduled a public forum at 7 p.m. tonight at Wingate Inn & Suites in downtown Sylvania to discuss strategic visioning for the city. Participants in Sylvania Vision 2010 will be actively engaged in hands-on activities and should be prepared to discuss the strengths, opportunities, weaknesses, and threats to the community, he said.

In addition to the above linked Toledo Blade article, more information can be found on Mark's website

I hope there is a fantastic turnout for tonight, this is a wonderful way for residents of Sylvania to become even more involved in the future of their City.

Hamilton County Ohio Sheriff and the ACLU

The above linked La Prensa story is not about Lucas County, however with the recent focus and discussion on immigration, I felt it was an article that might be of interest.

No matter which side of the immigration issue you are on, this article clearly points out part of the problem which started with a phone call:

“I’m working out here on a construction site and there’s about 20, 30 Mexicans and about five or six [U.S.] Americans and we’re about ready to all fight because they’re all illegal aliens out here and we’re Americans and they’re out here taking our jobs,” the man said in the call to the sheriff's office.

When deputies asked the men for identification, some of them said they had none and others offered papers that Capt. Norm Lewis said were “obviously bogus.” The men were detained and interviewed by investigators. They were released by 11:00 p.m. without being charged.

Now, the American Civil Liberties Union and federal officials are questioning whether the deputies had the right to detain the men in the first place.

Butler County Sheriff Rick Jones has insisted his office acted appropriately, saying the men were detained because they could not be identified and because of a communications barrier. Jones said the case has been referred to immigration officials and the sheriff’s office plans to continue an investigation to find the men’s employer.

But Richard Wilkens, resident agent in charge of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Cincinnati office, said that, generally, local authorities can only take undocumented individuals into custody if they are being charged with violating state law.

There's more at the title link, and it appears despite Sheriff Jones statement that the case has been referred to immigration officials, it also appears immigration officials did not do anything after they were notified that the Sheriff's department were holding these men. If you refuse to give identification to a police officer in certain situations you can be detained, that was established by the Supreme Court in 1968 here in Ohio with Terry V Ohio. In 2004 in the case Hiibel V Nevada the Supreme Court took this further stating that "stop and identify" laws were constitutional.

While I personally question the personal freedom aspect of these "stop and identify" statutes, if they are being used on legal citizens, and have been held as consitutional it's going to come down to why were the illegal immigrants questioned in the first place. Which at first glance given it was the result of a phone call on a possible physical altercation? What was the Sheriff supposed to do? Be told "We are illegal immigrants" then just let them go? If that's the case than anyone who doesn't want to identify themselves under that scenario might want to consider that...

I realize there are some underlying issues in Hamilton County but on the basis of this one situation alone, as is reported, I'm not sure what the alternative could have been.

This week's Blog it Toledo and...

Blog it, Toledo is online and has some interesting blogs this week. Traci Curth has another great article this week that I recommend. (And she didn't make me cry this week :-)

However this week's favorite would have to go to Michael Miller, I won't ruin it by even hinting what it's about.

There's of course much more, a cover story about Dr. Sanders, Michael Brooks has an article about a bacterium we should take note of and several other good pieces that you will discover online and in the print edition.

:-)

Dave Schulz makes it official...

Just received this Press Release:

Dave Schulz Comments On Today’s City Council Meeting

Today City Council appointed Lourdes Santiago to fill the vacancy created by jail-bound Bob McCloskey.

Schulz, who chose not to apply for the vacancy because the process became so undignified and dirty, took out petitions Monday to run for the unexpired term in November.

Schulz stated, “Obviously this process wasn’t about selecting the best person. It came down to who the mayor could control. The people are growing tired of the Democratic party in-fighting. They are ready for someone who has convictions and is willing to speak truth to power.”

Schulz, who ran unsuccessfully for council in 2005 garnering nearly 21,000 votes, uncovered some of the corrupt and deceptive actions of McCloskey and others and fought to defend the city’s term limits provision is ready for the campaign.

“I wish Lourdes good luck on council but I will see her in November.”, Schulz declared.

Craig trying to stop Council Vote

Toledo Blade as linked above has this as breaking news:

Mike Craig, the apparent victor in the council District 3 primary race, is seeking a ruling from the Ohio Secretary of State declaring him the apparent victor in the council District 3 race over incumbent Taylor Balderas.

Mr. Craig unofficially won the May 2 election by five votes, but the change of representation has been held up by a mandatory automatic recount that won't be done until next Tuesday.

UPDATE:

Word has it that Lourdes Santiago was voted in - no specific break down as to the vote count yet.

UPDATE TWO:

If you haven't read Dan's post on Progressive Toledo about tonight's vote? Please do so, Domenic Montaldo's comments were in my opinion totally unacceptable.

UPDATE THREE:

An excellent open letter to Chris Redfern is posted at Politics in Mudville

Toledo Television news scores awards

Congratulations to all of our local stations who won awards this past Sunday:

WTVG, Channel 13, received five first-place awards while WTOL, Channel 11, and WNWO, Channel 24, won three apiece at the annual Ohio Associated Press Broadcasters luncheon. WUPW, Channel 36, received one first-place award.

:-)

Let's hope Joe wasn't driving...

Another Toledo City Councilperson makes the news, normally a guy who goes out and has a few too many and is locked out doesn't make the Toledo Blade. Yet, if you are an elected official you can pretty much count on it. What is troubling to me is this part:

Mrs. Birmingham locked him out and refused him entry, the report states. Police arrived and found Mr. Birmingham traveling southbound on Lewis.

It was not clear whether Mr. Birmingham was on foot or in a vehicle.

If he was driving, he was driving while under the influence of alcohol. Did he drive home from where ever he was drinking and did he drive away from the house after he was locked out and did he drive to his father's house?

Walking while intoxicated is not a good thing but driving while intoxicated? Endangers people...So which was it? And if he was driving why wasn't he cited.

UPDATE 4/24:

La Prensa has an article that was written from Sojourner’s Truth that asks some interesting questions concerning this incident with Joe Birmingham and his treatment by the media when compared to the media and the Karyn McConnell Hancock parking incident. While I think part of the situation with KMH had to do with her expecting/asking for preferential treatment, it is true that the media was much more all over that story.

Will local Republicans unite while Democrats divide?

Both the Lucas County Republican and Lucas County Democratic Parties are in the process of selecting new leadership.

On the Republican side, long time behind the scenes supporter Bob Reichert has been stated as the person selected by the Screening Committee. This selection appears to have met support, even from Jon Stainbrook, who actively campaigned for this position. I haven't had an opportunity to meet Mr. Reichert, but I do know he is a blog reader and he does support technology.

On the Democratic side, John Irish has been stated as the replacement for Jack Wilson. This has not met with cheers of glee . I don't really know John Irish, I didn't know Jack Wilson that well either, but in my few encounters with Jack he was brusque but nice. I'll give Mr. Irish the benefit of the doubt at this point but this most recent situation with what transpired within the Screening Committe for the appointment process doesn't make me hopeful. Will he be supportive of technology? That also remains to be seen.

Personally I'd like to see both local political parties be well run and unified. I think that creates a better outcome for all of us. I'd also like to see both parties have a better web presence as far as what information they provide. I think that is going to be increasingly important especially if both parties want to attract younger voters. They turn to the net for information, and the numbers of other local residents who are using the internet is growing.

While it's obvious in this area the traditional campaign methods continue to be a focus, an improved internet visibility has the potential to grow in importance.

What will Taylor Balderas do...

First, I have to say I find the way that this is being done wrong. There's no other way to view this than a purposeful attempt to create a different outcome for this appointment. It sends a very wrong message, it cries out "We can't win the right way". Secondly, if Taylor is going to vote, it should be based on who is the best candidate to be appointed to Toledo City Council. If she truly believes that is Lourdes Santiago then she should publicly state that, as well as she should have been the one to go on record that she was not going to waive the five day waiting period for an automatic recount. (More details are in the title linked Toledo Blade article.)

I wanted Taylor to win the District 3 seat, I liked her energy and felt she could bring some new insight into Toledo City Council. I supported her appointment and I believed she had the ability to be her own person and not just vote as she was told. I might have been wrong when it comes to that aspect of this, I hope not.

Taylor has not come out and stated she was going to vote for Lourdes Santiago, it's being assumed that she will vote for Lourdes rather than vote for Bob Vasquez. Mike Craig has gone on record as saying he would support Bob Vasquez.

Rob Ludeman has gone on record as saying he'll support who the Mayor wants.
Frank Szollosi has stated he will support Bob Vasquez.
Michael Ashford has stated he will support Bob Vasquez.

It's also assumed Mark Sobczak will vote for Lourdes Santiago.

No one else has gone on record or been listed as an "assumed" vote for either Bob or Lourdes that I've seen. If you've heard anything different, please advise.

The last time council Democrats voted against the party's endorsed candidate, they were denied the party's endorsement. Frank Szollosi is still not listed on the Lucas County Democrat's list of office holders. The blank space remains where his name used to be, maybe as a reminder of what happens if you don't do what you are told. Then again, Mark Sobczak is still not listed, and the list was updated to include Taylor, so it's obvious there is more than just Frank not being included and Mark is supposedly one of the chosen.

Will Frank and Michael be "punished" again? Will any other Toledo City Council person's support Bob Vasquez?

I'm flashing back to an earlier column by Roberta de Boer....


:-)

UPDATE 4/23: Mike Craig and Frank Szollosi hold a press conference to ask Rob Ludeman to delay the vote.

Should teacher residency matter?

I was trying to find out more information on the Springfield School levy since this morning's Toledo Blade states that the latest numbers shows it as not passing. The ever popular "invalid story key" blurb came up rather than the article.

So, in checking other categories to see if I could find the story I was looking for I came across this May 13th article.

I tried several times without success to get this information from the Toledo Public School Administration. After a week of phone tag being transfered to person to person and never having calls or emails returned it was nice to see that the information I had been looking for was finally out there:

According to district records, 1,388, or 58.6 percent of its 2,369 contract teachers, live outside the school system boundaries. Of the 341 Toledo Public Schools administrators, 202, or nearly 60 percent, live outside the district.

That means they can't vote in elections for the district's levies or choose school board members, and their property taxes don't return to their employer's general operating fund.

According to the article, Francine Lawrence stated this is a "bogus issue". While I am not questioning the dedication of the teachers who for various reasons do not live within the City of Toledo and I also realize for some where their spouses work is a factor. I can't help but believe that this does send a message whether intended or not that a majority of Toledo Public School Teachers and Administrators don't support the district enough to financially support it or select TPS as a location to educate their children.

Especially bothersome to me is the Administrators. Here we have a key group of people that do have some impact as to funding and they will propose/support new levies that they don't have to participate in.

So, does this matter to you or do you agree with Ms. Lawrence that it is a "bogus issue"?

I believe our car is a Republican...

Or not a fan of John Kerry/Ted Strickland.

I was planning on heading down for the rally tonight after my fourth youngest headed off for Prom yet the car had other ideas.

Granted it made it to the Walk for Wishes, hair appointments, nail appointments, the florist and other necessary errands before prom, however just as the last Erin type errand was completed...the alternator belt broke. Emily just arrived to take Miguel go get another belt but I don't think it's going to be done in time.

So if any of you who visit did go, your perspectives would be greatly appreciated.

If you want to see how wonderful Erin looked tonight?

Here and Here

:-)

Walking for Wishes

Miguel and I just got back from our first time participating in an event like this. Yes, I managed to walk the whole route and wasn't the last person to arrive back. (woohoo me moment) Though the rest of the Toledo Free Press Team could have probably ran circles around me, it was an awesome feeling being involved. More importantly seeing that many people turn out to support the Northwest Chapter of Make-a-Wish was an inspiring experience. Even Mayor Carty Finkbeiner was there to make a short statement and to thank people for supporting this great organization.

Seeing some of the houses in that area that are being fixed up was nice and me being the talkative type had quite a bit of fun on the route with those behind and in front of us. This is something Miguel and I would definitely do again and I have linked their website up above for anyone interested in seeing how huge of an impact this organization has on the lives of children in Northwestern Ohio.

Proposed ordinance to charge user fees for Police

I briefly heard this on Eye on Toledo two days ago but was not able to find any written media information. Yesterday I emailed the Toledo Chamber of Commerce because I knew they were not in support of this proposed ordinance. I just received a copy of the full proposed ordiance via email.

What is most bothersome is the attempt to pass this thru as an "Emergency" which most times realistically it's not really an "Emergency" it's a way to get something passed thru Council without going thru additional steps.

Here are the basic points of the ordinance:

Section 1. The City of Toledo’s Police Department shall initiate user fees for the delivery of Police Department services, personnel, supplies and equipment to the scene of motor vehicle accidents. The rate of the user fees shall be costs that include any services, personnel, supplies and equipment and may fluctuate based on the needs of the accident.

Section 2. The user fees shall be billed to those persons identified as responsible for causing motor vehicle collisions as determined by the Police or other litigating entities.

SECTION 3. The Mayor of the City of Toledo and/or Finance Director may make rules or regulations, and from time-to-time may amend, revoke or add rules and regulations, not consistent with this Section as they may deem necessary or expedient in respect to billing for these fees or the collection thereof.

SECTION 4. The Mayor of the City of Toledo is hereby authorized to enter into one or more agreements with any person, firm or corporation to collect outstanding fees for the delivery of Police Department Services as provided for in this Ordinance.

SECTION 5. All amounts collected as a result of this Ordinance shall be placed into a fund as established by the Finance Director to be used exclusively for personnel, supplies and equipment for the Police Department.

SECTION 6. It is found and determined that all formal actions of this City Council concerning and relating to the passage of this Ordinance were passed in open meetings of this City Council, and that all deliberations of this City Council and any of its committees that resulted in such formal actions were in compliance with all legal requirements, the Ohio Revised Code and the Toledo Municipal Code.

SECTION 7. That this Ordinance hereby is declared to be an emergency measure and shall be in force and effect from and after its passage. The reason for the emergency lies in the fact that same is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, safety and property, and for the further reason that this Ordinance must be immediately effective in order to maintain a high level of quality emergency services by the Police Department.

I have mixed emotions on this, I don't believe this is an emergency, I believe if something like this is going to go thru it should be publicly discussed and I also think something like this should be something that the voters should decide. Especially since tax dollars already go to funding these services. It sounded like this was going to be coming up fairly soon, which means you might want to start calling your City Council person on Monday to tell them how you feel about these proposed user fees.

Rob Ludeman needs a copy of the City Charter...

It's possible that Rob would not be aware of any by-law requirements for the Lucas County Democratic Party. After all most of us have never seen a copy and Rob is of course a Republican. So we don't know much about the rules for the Screening process but I'd hazzard a guess it doesn't say "Whoever the Mayor wants is the selection".

Rob should be familiar though with the City Charter. The only way this becomes a decision for the Mayor to make is if City Council doesn't act within 30 days.

So this quote from the above linked Toledo Blade article was troubling:

"If the mayor feels comfortable with Lourdes, I think that might be the most consistent approach for the short term," Mr. Ludeman said.

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.

Carty recently said there is no A team or B team anymore. Actions speak louder than words, and with John Kerry, Ted Strickland and a whole host of other Democrats coming to Toledo tomorrow to promote this message of unity Toledo politics continues to fit this statement from the Cleveland Plain Dealer

"It just seems that this matter is all about egos and a lot of interests that go outside of partisan politics. "

Democrats interested in party unity would support Bob Vasquez. Republicans it appears are not even going to suggest a name, and it's not as if there are not Republicans interested. So if I were a Republican? I'd be just as disgusted with this process.

Is the A and B Team gone? The prentense as to that will end with the selection of who will replace Bob McCloskey on Tuesday.

Lourdes Santiago could very well be a nice person. However she didn't run for the seat. Toledo City Council should want someone who actively has tried for this seat. Someone who campaigned, who worked hours and hours to achieve that goal. Someone, who had a few of those City Council members done the right thing when it came to Bob McCloskey most likely would be on Toledo City Council right now.

That person is Bob Vasquez...not Lourdes Santiago.

So as those who attend the $250.00 hour long cocktail party, and those who pay $10.00 to attend the public rally all gather supposedly in the spirit of unity...Will those present from Toledo really mean it? Or will it be one big phony show put on for the out of town relatives and as soon as they pull out of the driveway? The family squabbling begins.

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?