Blade Slices

McNamara sets up web site to press ethics claim

UPDATING

Democratic mayoral candidate Joe McNamara is taking his criticism of opponent Anita Lopez over her use of staffers in her campaign to a new level.

McNamara's campaign has created a Web site,  www.notaxdollarsforcampaignstaff.com, "where members of the public can sign a petition to tell Anita Lopez they don’t want their tax dollars going to her campaign staff. "

Lopez is Lucas County Auditor and is following the time-honored tradition of elected county officials in using some of their taxpayer-paid staff to also staff their campaign organizations - on their own time, of course, and to help fill out their campaign warchests.

McNamara - who, as a Toledo city councilman, has no staff to boss around - criticized this practice by both Lopez and Mayor Mike Bell a couple of weeks ago with his proposed ethics pledge.

Under the pledge, the candidate agrees not to accept contributions from anyone who can be hired and fired by him or her under the theory that employees would feel pressured to make campaign contributions, and to dispel the appearance that people are hired for these jobs for political considerations.

Secondly, candidates would not allow their supporters who are government employees to campaign for them during regular business hours, even if they take vacation time to do so.

Lopez refused to sign, saying that her employees have a right to contribute to her under the First Amendment.

UPDATE: Lopez said today that she sent out a memo on April 15, the day before she announced for mayor, that any politically-related phone calls to the auditor's office should be referred to the campaign phone number, which is 567-343-1340.

She said: "This is yet another example of Joe McNamara trying to create attention for an otherwise struggling campaign."

(A corollary pledge suggested to McNamara was that no candidates would accept contributions or volunteer help from any union that negotiates with the mayor and city council, on the theory that council or mayoral candidates might have an incentive to promise favorable wage and benefits contracts in return for campaign help. McNamara declined.)

(Lopez recently signed a pay raise contract with her office unions, including Teamsters Local 20, and then held a fund-raiser at the the Teamsters hall. To be fair to Lopez, her contract includes a portion of raises that will be based on "merit", a first in county government in Lucas County and perhaps in the whole state, according to the Lopez campaign.)

Andrew Grunwald, McNamara's campaign manager, told me that just because using one's paid county staff to do political work has always been done in Lucas County is no reason for it to continue.

"Ethics is going to be a cornerstone of our campaign," Grunwald said.

Here's his news release:

Lopez is using her taxpayer-funded staff in the Auditor’s office to run her campaign for Mayor.  Her campaign manager is also a government-funded employee in the Auditor’s office.  And now we are learning that she wants to give her staff raises on the taxpayer’s dime. 

The petition is for members of the public who want to tell Lopez that they don’t think the people running her political campaign should be receiving their tax dollars.

Andrew Grunwald, the McNamara Campaign Manager said, “It seems that Anita Lopez views the people’s tax dollars as part of her own political piggy bank.   Lopez needs to stop giving the taxpayer’s money to the people running her political campaign.”

McNamara has signed an ethics pledge, which both Anita Lopez and Mayor Mike Bell are refusing to sign.  The people of Toledo deserve better than the Bell-Lopez ethical problems. 

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New candidates for mayor

Seven candidates for mayor of Toledo is not enough.

Just ask Don Gozdowski.

Gozdowski had his moment of fame during the 2005 mayoral campaign when he lightened (lowered, some would say)  the tenor of a live mayoral debate by donning fake nose and eyeglasses to sing "I've Gotta Be Me."

Now he tells us he's planning to file as a write-in candidate.

Unlike my previous attempts when I took the traditional campaign approach of shaking hands and kissing babies, I have decided to simply throw my hat into the ring as a write in candidate.  If elected Mayor I would call the city to service and sacrifice, which, when translated, means I haven’t got a snowballs chance in hell of being elected Mayor. That’s the reality I face.  I’ve taken this political journey twice before; therefore see no reason to waste my time collecting signatures from people who don’t want a leader, but rather a clone to do their bidding.  So why then do I even try? Because I walk with God.

Under Ohio and Toledo city law, a write-in candidate does not have to collect the minimum 750 signatures to appear on the ballot. The write-in candidate's deadline is July 1. The deadline for candidates who want their names to appear on the Sept. 10 primary ballot is July 12.

The only way for a write-in-candidate's write-in votes to count is if they declared their intent to be a write-in candidate.

There are several other people who have taken out petitions to run for mayor, but who have received (and solicited) no publicity.

Here is the list of mayoral candidates on file at the Lucas County Board of Elections so far. A candidate doesn't have to sign this list to start collecting petitions, and obviously some don't (Anita Lopez, Joe McNamara, Alan Cox, Michael Konwinski, and D. Michael Collins don't appear on this list). Download Candidatenames.

As of today none has turned in his or her signatures.

 

Portman wants Tea Party testimony for Senate IRS inquiry

U.S. Sen. Rob Portman (R., Ohio) is asking Ohio nonprofit organizations who had their tax-exemption applications held up by the Internal Revenue to send him examples to use in a hearing set for next week.

Here's Portman's letter:

May 17, 2013

 

To all affected Ohio 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) organizations:

 

I am deeply troubled by the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) abusive targeting of dozens of grassroots organizations for no cause other than their conservative political leanings. Chief Justice John Marshall once wrote that the power to tax is the power to destroy.  It is shocking that this power was used to burden our Constitutional right of free speech.

 

It was because of concerns I heard from many of you in Ohio that I first got involved in this issue back in March 2012 by leading the first Senate letter to the IRS.  Since then, the Administration has failed to be forthcoming and truthful with Congress. 

 

Next week, at a Senate Finance Committee investigative hearing, I will have an important opportunity to hold the IRS accountable for its unprecedented and damaging actions.  To ensure this inquiry is thorough and exhaustive, we need your input.  If you believe your organization has been unfairly targeted by the IRS, I would encourage you to send evidence of that targeting to my office via email to Constituent_Feedback@portman.senate.gov, and I will then submit it to the Finance Committee.  Please be sure not to include confidential data about your organization; instead, your submissions should consist only of a cover letter with your story and copies of any inquiries from the IRS that you believe were abusive or politically motivated.

 

In the coming days and weeks, I will continue to demand answers from the Administration on how these abuses occurred – unreported and unpunished – for over two years.  With your help, we will hold those who violated the public trust accountable.

 

Sincerely,

 

Rob Portman
U.S. Senator

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Candidates for mayor announce new Web sites

Alan Cox, independent candidate for mayor of Toledo announced the following Web site for his campaign: www.cox4mayor.org.

And Joe McNamara, Democratic candidate for mayor, announced his new Web site: www.joefortoledo.com.

Independent D. Michael Collins's Web site: www.dmichaelcollins.com.

Democrat Anita Lopez's Web site: www.anitalopezformayor.com.

Mayor Mike Bell's Web site is created, but seems to be still in development because the only way I could get in was to give my personal information apparently for the purpose of getting on the supporter's mailing list, which I didn't want to do:   http://mikebellfortoledo.com

 

 

Lopez erroneously says she's lifelong Toledoan

The first half of the first sentence on the "Welcome" page of Anita Lopez's mayoral campaign Web site  is not a true statement:

"I've lived in Toledo my whole life and I'm proud to call it home."

I’ve lived in Toledo my whole life and am proud to call it home. But over the past several years I’ve seen this city I love fall behind other Ohio cities, and some of our City leaders have lost touch with the citizens. - See more at: http://www.anitalopezformayor.com/index.php/homepage#sthash.YXtbT23E.dpuf

I'll take her word for it on the second half.

The first half is disproved by records in the Lucas County Board of Elections which show that Ms. Lopez lived in Springfield Township from 2005 to 2009. At that time she was married to Roman Arce.

She changed her registration from 1603 Glenbrook Dr., Toledo, to 6847 Morningdew Blvd., Maumee, on Nov. 8, 2005.

Four years later, on July 29, 2009, she changed back from Maumee (in Springfield Township) to her current address, 2009 Belvedere Dr., in South Toledo.

Ms Lopez doesn't dispute these facts:

"I lived in Springfield Township four years. It should be 'the majority of my life since 1969.' Thirty-eight years I have lived in Toledo. It was an oversight. I was born here, educated here. There is no intent to misrepresent. I am a lifelong Toledoan. I am 42 and 38 years I have lived in Toledo."

The second sentence in Lopez's Web page welcome is "But over the past several years I've seen this city I love fall behind other Ohio cities, and some of our City leaders have lost touch with the citizens."

I wonder what Lopez means by "fall behind other Ohio cities." I wonder what her metric is: population? property values? school district performance? city tax revenue? crime? unemployment? Will she be able to substantiate that claim better than the one about where she lived all her life?

Those are the kinds of issues that will matter in the election for mayor this year.

Lopez doesn't approve of Bell at Democratic event

Mayor Mike Bell showed up at the Lucas County Democratic Party fund-raiser tonight (Monday) - or crashed the party, in the view of one mayoral rival.

The event ($50 a ticket) was held at the Beirut Restaurant on Monroe Avenue near Douglas.

Formerly a Democrat, Bell is now an independent, since his election in 2009. Two Democrats are vying for their party's backing - Lucas County Auditor Anita Lopez and City Councilman Joe McNamara - to run against him this year.

The mayor said he bought a ticket at $50 for himself and one for his father, Norman Bell, and was treated politely. He has also bought fund-raising tickets - and attended - Republican events.

"Most of the people were very cordial to me. To be a true independent you have to understand both sides. I'm trying to be equally supportive of the good issues of both sides," Bell said.

Lopez didn't think much of Bell being there. The two spoke and Lopez was overheard telling Bell, "I would just like some consistency."

Later, she elaborated, saying, "I think the city is moving in the wrong direction under our current mayor and our current mayor is definitely worried. He was not extended an invitation. I think he knows the city is moving in the wrong direction and the public is probably communicating that to him."

Asked what she meant by "consistency," she said, "I am a consistent candidate. I am a Democrat. I think it's important for citizens to know where you stand. I will not be seen with John Kasich, especially when I was not invited."

The event was to raise money for the Ohio Democratic Party. The main guest of honor was state Party Chairman Chris Redfern of Catawba Island. Redfern has said that Bell is the party's No. 1 target this year - because of his high-profile support of anti-labor Issue 2 in 2011.

Other guests included McNamara, U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D., Toledo), state Rep. Teresa Fedor (D., Toledo), state Sen. Edna Brown (D., Toledo), party Chairman Ron Rothenbuhler, and past party Chairman John Irish.

Bell raised $50,000 in recent event

The fundraising season is well under way in Toledo for the 2013 mayoral race.

We are told that independent incumbent Mayor Mike Bell raised about $50,000 in an event held March 18 at the headquarters of Health Care REIT on Dorr Street (the former Dana Corp. offices).

To put that in perspective, it’s about one-sixth of all the money Bell raised in his 2009 campaign for mayor.

The sponsors of Bell’s event were: George Chapman, chief executive officer of Health Care REIT, and a 2010 supporter of Republican John Kasich with a check of $2,500; Rick Salem, owner of Rick’s City Diner on West Bancroft Street, and past Bell supporter; and Don Harbaugh, a businessman who in 2010 won a Jefferson Award for his support of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Toledo, and also past Bell supporter.

Others are raising money as well. Democrat Anita Lopez has a kick-off fund-raising event set for Thursday night at the Teamsters Local 20 hall.

And independent Alan Cox's fund-raiser is set for May 17. Speaking of Cox, he wants it to be known that his Website is on-line:  http://cox4mayor.org.

Collins commissions poll; Gabriel to make announcement

D. Michael Collins, Toledo city councilman from District 2 (South Toledo), is coming closer to jumping in for mayor - and so is Theresa M. Gabriel, former city assistant chief operating officer.

Collins told potential supporters in a letter obtained by The Blade that he paid for a poll.

"I recently commissioned a survey of registered Toledo voters. I am pleased to tell you that the responses indicated a strong preferance in a change in leadership at City Hall."

Collins goes on to say this:

"I have been approached by many residents encouraging me to consider running for Mayor. "Run, Mike, Run," they say. Based on these comments and because I care so much about Toledo's future, I am considering running for Mayor of the City of Toledo.

And this:

"I am worried that without a change in leadership, we could actually lose our city. I think the time is right for an Independent such as me to be elected to lead the City out of its present troubled economic situation. I know that the City's residents are tired of backwards thinking, rampant crime, questionable use of taxpayer funds, high unemployment, neglected neighborhoods, lack of accountability and failed economic development strategies."

Collins was a career Toledo police officer and president of the police officers' union for 10 years.

He ran for mayor in 2009, coming in fourth with 5,399 votes, after Democrat Keith Wilkowski with 11,392 votes, independent Mike Bell with 10,779 votes, and Republican Jim Moody with 5,682.

Democrat Ben Konop had 3,503, and independent Opal Covey got 254.

The race shaping up this year is with Bell, Democrat Joe McNamara, Democrat Anita Lopez, independent Alan Cox, Libertarian Michael Konwinski, and Covey, this time running as a Republican.

There could be one final major candidate in the mayoral contest - Gabriel told us she plans to make an announcement regarding the race for mayor in a week.

 

Bell unloads on opponents, gang series, former mayor

Mayor Mike Bell is still ticked off about The Blade’s gang series, and he’s not too thrilled about the campaign fodder of his two main opponents, either.

The mayor let it all hang out in a nearly hour-long interview in his office on the 22^nd floor of Government Center today.

The occasion was the mayor taking out petitions to run for re-election in the third-floor office of the Lucas County Board of Elections.

He said his opponents are engaging in a bunch of “jawboning” and aren’t saying what they would have done in the same difficult circumstances he was in.

“I haven’t heard any of them say what they would have done in this most adverse time in the city’s history,” Bell said. “They’re attempting to be political so they can stay in the neutral zone.”

He has a record that he’s eager to contrast out in the political debates with Democrats Joe McNamara and Anita Lopez.

Bell says his record includes more police hired than his two predecessors combined, action to deal with a failing water system, building fire stations, overcoming a $48 million deficit while not raising taxes, not to mention roads paved and houses demolished.

“If you got something that’s going to make Toledo better, quit jawboning and bring it,” Bell said.

As to how he will campaign, Bell just plans to keep on being mayor, which puts him in front of groups he'd want to talk to as a candidate anyway.

One such situation was earlier today when he helped welcome back the 323rd Military Police Co. from a 10-month deployment in the Persian Gulf. When they left, Bell gave a coin that he had received from Admiral Mike Mullen, then the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to Capt. Andrew Hawkins, commander of the unit, for good luck.

Today, Hawkins, whose entire unit came back safe and sound, returned him the coin.

The mayor says he’s already moved on from The Blade’s gang series, which he dubbed “irresponsible.” The series hit the newspaper only four days ago.

“Deals that were going to happen aren’t going to happen,” Bell said, refusing to elaborate. 

“I’m not saying any of the damage will be permanent, but there was damage,” he said.

While I was there, the mayor showed me a photo clipped from The Blade that he likes. It shows a stressed-out-looking former Mayor Carty Finkbeiner behind stacks of paperwork on his desk in the same office where Bell works.

Bell points to his own desk, which is largely free of paperwork, and said he gets his work done during the daytime so he doesn’t have to do it at home at night – as Finkbeiner did - and also to avoid delaying passing the work along.

This isn’t the same picture but you get the idea:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bell has a description for all those documents that sat on the groaning desk of the former mayor: he says they were “props” to show how hard the job is.

Finkbeiner, for the record, is proud of his work habit of reading and commenting on paperwork for a couple hours at night at home, and then having it distributed first thing the following morning for action that day.

 

Stainbrook declares boxing champion

Jon Stainbrook, the Lucas County Republican Party chairman and member of the Lucas County Board of Elections, also has an appointment from Ohio Gov. John Kasich to the Ohio Athletic Commission.

Last Saturday, it was Stainbrook's job to declare the winner in a championship fight that took place in the Best Western Grand Plaza Hotel in downtown Toledo.

Lane "The Pain" Staal of Detroit won the Ohio super middleweight championship.

I talked to Bernie Profato, the executive director of the Ohio Athletic Commission, and he was very complimentary of Stainbrook's role with the commission.

He said it was only the second time that he knows of that a commissioner (one of five appointees on the governing board) came to the fight championship and presented the belt to the winner. Usually that job falls to the executive director or his inspector.

"He's very involved,  very active, and a lot of times you don’t have that from commissioners. Hopefully he’ll set a standard that our commissioners will be at one of these events," Profato said.

Stainbrook was appointed late last year and started attending meetings early this year. Commissioners attend one meeting a month in Cleveland and are paid a per diem for that meeting of about $240. They are appointed to three-year terms.

Profato takes the athletic commission very seriously and has high hopes of making Ohio more of a draw for what they call "unarmed combat."

He said he'd like to promote a Michigan-Ohio fight around the same time as the Michigan-Ohio State football game in Toledo because he thinks it would draw a crowd.

The name of the state Boxing Commission was changed in 1984 to recognize and cover other mano-a-mano fighting, such as karate and other marital arts, wrestling, Tough Man contests, and kickboxing.

He said the main scope of the commission is safety.

"Our goal is to ensure we put them in the safest environment, Make sure they are competitive so there are no mismatches," Profato said. He said the fight that happened in Toledo was part of a great Toledo tradition and that it featured a hometown fighter, Masedonio "Nune" Molina, of Wauseon, and Detroit fighter Staal.

"It had all the earmarks of a great title fight and shows that this commission works in fairness."

The state title is open to anyone who lives in Ohio or in a border state.

 

Central students tour Blade, meet Taylor Dungjen

Taylor Dungjen, Blade police reporter and author of the current series Battle Lines: Gangs of Toledo, spoke to Central Catholic H.S. journalism students in Blade conference room.

The students and their teacher took a tour of The Blade plant, and then I spoke to them. They were interested to meet Taylor and several students commented how the gang series prompted them to pick up and read the paper.

The teacher, Christine Sweitzer, told Taylor not to feel bad about not getting cooperation from Toledo police.  She said one of her students tried to interview Toledo police about gang activity in Toledo but police wouldn't talk.

We are told, by the way, that an email went out to Toledo police officers on Monday advising them not to comment to The Blade about its series.

Thanks Central for the opportunity to meet your journalism class.