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.

Ben says "Buy Local" and you know I agree

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

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

Ben is doing both with his Buy Local Tour

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Phil Copeland states:

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

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

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

:-)

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

Some Political Funding Trivia...

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

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

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

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

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

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

:-)

WAKE UP Lucas County!

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

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

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

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

Student Community Service is listed in the Ohio Revised Code:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

An FYI Candidate Website addition

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

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

:-)

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

pamhaynamcommissioner.blogspot.com

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

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

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

:-)

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

This week's Toledo Free Press

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

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

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

:-)

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

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

:-)

After the debate

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

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

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

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

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

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

Here's Jim's lead in paragraph:

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

Hypothetical Pro-George:

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

Hypothetical Attack mode:

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

Hypothetical Pro-Pam:

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

Hypothetical Pro-Ben:

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

Hypothetical Pro-Tim:

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

Hypothetical Pro-Phil:

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

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

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

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

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

:-)

Okay my impressions of the debate and live blogging

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

:-)

More questions

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Closing statements:

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

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

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

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

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

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

Questions continue

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Questions begin

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ben asked again if George supported Taft and George Bush.

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

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

The Debate part one

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

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

The ground rules of the debate are being announced.

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

Phil Copeland is up first.

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

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

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

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

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

Let the Live Blogging Begin!

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

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

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

:-)

Bill Peirce Press Release on Proposed Gambling Amendment

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jennifer Brunner coming to UT this Saturday

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

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

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

http://www.jenniferbrunner.com/

Blog it, Toledo and the Toledo Free Press

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

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

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

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

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

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

:-)

University of Toledo gets Third Frontier Funds

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

NW Ohio's Political make up.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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