Beginnings of the list of past and present Lucas County Democrats:
A-Team
Jack Ford
Frank Szollosi
Louis Escobar
Karyn McConnell-Hancock
Wilma Brown
Ellen Grachek
Mike Ashford
Wade Kapszukiewicz
Peter Silverman
David Welch
Deborah Barnett
Larry Sykes
Phil Copeland
Chris Champion
Karen Shanahan
Robert Vasquez
Steven Thomas
Steve Steel
Jim Vail
Paula Ross (I think)
Mark Austin
Jim Ruvolo
Peter Gerken
Teresa Fedor
Michael Ashford
Vallie Bowman-English
Tom Joseph
Francine Lawrence
Peter Ujvagi
Keith Wilkowski
B-Team
Jack Wilson who said, "Hate's a good thing."
Dennis Duffey
Ray Kest
Carty Finkbeiner
Linda Wilson
Corrections, additions? A little light on the B-Teamers. Still, it sort of helps explain things like Frank Szollosi's continual disdain for Ray Kest who lives in Florida. Such amateurish behavior. Let it go. Focus. Kest is long gone.
And from a Fritz column back in April: "Mr. Szollosi has been one of the most vocal Finkbeiner detractors, but Mr. Kapszukiewicz also criticized him during a council committee meeting."
posted by jr at 02:35 P.M. EST on Thu Jun 23, 2005 #
You've probably seen this jr...but for those who havent?
http://www.heartlandpolitics.com/A-B20Teams.htm
From fritz's blog....I commented on Frank's blog as I do read it on a semi-regular basis though last I looked he hadn't responded to my comments.
posted by psyche777 at 03:16 P.M. EST on Thu Jun 23, 2005 #
add Tina Skeldon Wozniak and Mike Beazley (county commissioner and county administrator) to the A-Team list.
Also, Sandy Isenberg was a b-teamer, until she quit as Dem Party Chair...she's recently been seen at the A-team headquarters...
posted by intrepid at 03:54 P.M. EST on Thu Jun 23, 2005 #
> in re "team" nomenclature ....
I suggest "F" and "U" might be better designators.
swd
posted by swd at 08:24 P.M. EST on Thu Jun 23, 2005 #
Well Frank did respond jr, and even mentioned here so he is either reading here or someone told him about it.
Despite the fact I don't agree with him on all issues I do give him credit for being more open as far as accessibility than most. How many other local politicians even have a blog let alone reply to comments?
So like I told him? He get's an "A" for effort, he's also the only one that has responded to email questions in my dealings with Ohio government.
posted by psyche777 at 11:29 P.M. EST on Thu Jun 23, 2005 #
It would be nice if more politicians and government officals and services would regularly maintain blogs or some kind of website. Look at ToledoWorks.org or LucasCountyDemocrats.org or ToledoArts.org. None of those sites are updated on a regular basis if at all. The second entry on the front page at ToledoArts.org is from November 2003. They have a calendar of events, and that's it. Why go to these sites if there isn't any new information posted at least weekly? The city is paying thousands of dollars per year to WGTE for the ToledoArts.org website.
An example of a good website is the one for Lucas County. Simple layout, easy-to-read design, updated regularly, links to people and services. They even offer an RSS newsfeed for their content.
So yeah, at least Frank is hip enough to maintain a blog with comments even. I bet most politicians are too scared to do what Frank does. Or maybe they really don't have anything else to say to the public. I wonder if Carty will have a blog? If Carty had a blog, what would it be called?
posted by jr at 01:05 P.M. EST on Fri Jun 24, 2005 #
I read Frank's comment, explaining "Carty and the Kest Gang." That name sounds like a rock band or a group of bank robbers from the old Wild West. Anyway, Frank's comment was good "inside baseball" info. This is where a blog is helpful. Maybe that info has been explained before in the paper. I don't know. I've lived in Toledo for about four years, so I don't know the finer details of Toledo's past political history. Before moving to Toledo, I lived in the burbs and I didn't pay any attention to Toledo.
Excerpts from Frank's comment:
"I understand Ray himself is in Florida, but a few of his operatives remain in the Treasurer's Office. They are linked to a select few past Kest supporters who snuck up on the former chair of the Lucas Co. Dem. Party and seized control via the central committee."
"There is only one reason we aren't unified going in to 2006, and thats a result of Carty Finkbeiner and a few Kest-hold outs - shame on them. Since then Carty's people have rigged the by-laws to endorse their friends and "banish" those not in line with Finkbeiner's mayoral aspirations."
" "Carty and the Kest Gang" boils down to this question: Do you reward the operatives who let Ray get away with everything with the Mayor's office? Carty is unalterably attached and dependent on the vestiges of the Kest operation. I'd don't want that for my Toledo. Its not that I dislike them personally, but they have screwed up the party, bad."
After Carty announces his run for mayor next Thursday, I assume this kind of info will come out some more during the campaign to defeat Carty.
posted by jr at 05:38 P.M. EST on Fri Jun 24, 2005 #
From a political standpoint, Szollosi (who was once very aligned with Carty) has cast his lot with Ford. Ford's ratings are so low as to be non-existent. What you haven't heard is that poll numbers for those associated with Ford are also very low - Frank included.
The only hope they have is to try and link Carty with Kest - hoping that guilt by association will rub off and negatively impact Carty. Personally, I think it's pretty pitiful that the only bad thing they can say so far is that some of Kest's supporters are probably going to support Carty.
Most campaigns will take any willing worker - there's never enough help - regardless of who they've supported in the past. From a national level (look at Democrat Zell Miller who campaigned for Bush) down to the republicans and democrats who cross party lines to vote for their favorite local official. And Dems do cross party lines otherwise Republicans wouldn't be elected...look at Maggie Thurber and how she beat Sandy Isenberger...
Frank Szollisi is nothing but a political hack - never had a real job that he didn't get through political connections and never been responsible for making a payroll - yet he's one of the people we've supposedly trusted to lead our city. Pitiful!
posted by intrepid at 08:06 P.M. EST on Fri Jun 24, 2005 #
I like some things about Frank though the fact that he has the blog and has it open for comments and even responds to the comments says something to me. He responds to emails, so he is accessible. There has not been a time when I have had a question where he did not answer me. Is he perfect? No, but at least he's not afraid to try new things, personally I think all of them should have bloggs it lets us know what's going on on a more regular basis than waiting for news releases to be released.
Do I think he's making a mistake by being a Ford supporter? Yes, and I wonder how well he works with Wilkowski.
posted by psyche777 at 12:26 A.M. EST on Sat Jun 25, 2005 #
Hey Frank? There seems to be only 5 people in the "Kest-Carty" and 30 in "your" group.
These 5 people get your ire in a tizzy and you knuckleheads can't get your act together, yet claim you're the "good democrats"?
The really hilarious part is Ray is in Florida and gives two ***** about Toledo Politics anymore.
Frank's blog site isn't exactly credible, seeing he heavily censors his site. Say anything bad about Frank, Jack or JRB and your post is deleted. Nice.
Frank is afraid of the ghosts of the past.....
posted by BrianInFlorida at 04:48 A.M. EST on Sat Jun 25, 2005 #
Frank Szollisi is nothing but a political hack - never had a real job that he didn't get through political connections and never been responsible for making a payroll - yet he's one of the people we've supposedly trusted to lead our city. Pitiful!
posted by intrepid at 09:06 P.M. EST on Fri Jun 24, 2005 #
--------------------------------------------
All quite true, and sadly, equally true that Frank So-Lousy, Ellen Paycheck, Wade The Wonder Boy, and all the rest will win again by a landslide.
posted by Foolkiller at 06:33 A.M. EST on Sat Jun 25, 2005 #
I'm going to be a "Frank defender" again, and state as a person who does comment on his blog the only people that get deleted are the ones that go overboard -- I've disagreed with him and he's never deleted any of my comments. Not only that but he has visited my blog and linked mine when it's obvious I am not a democrat nor do I blindly support alot of what happens in Toledo.
How many other Toledo City Council persons have blogs? He could demand as some blogs do that you have to be registered to even make comments and he hasn't. When he did temporarily suspend comments I asked him about it and he did not only respond but has re-instated the comment feature.
If he were truly just a political hack he would not be doing what he is. He'd be like the rest of them and hide behind the rhetoric. Give him some credit for being more than what most of them are like, he deserves that much.
posted by psyche777 at 02:29 A.M. EST on Mon Jun 27, 2005 #
Psyche, Rob Ludeman has a blog site. He never visits his own site, but it's there.
It's crazy to place a vote of confidence towards someone because they have a blog site, let alone have it heavily censored. How can a concerned citizen publically voice his accolades or disappointments towards a "councilman's blog" if their concerns get deleted? How is someone going to be able to make a sincere decision based on a bunch of "feel good" rhetoric and not see how this person handles opposing views?
I've seen the attacks and altho I may be amused by them, some were posted by people with true concerns and Frank just shrugs them off. I know I don't want a politican practicing censorship in a forum where he maintains feedback from the community.
posted by BrianInFlorida at 04:26 A.M. EST on Mon Jun 27, 2005 #
I had a post on Frank's site commenting on the lack of space to respond as well as some other comment that I cannot even remember now but was anti-Ford I think. It was gone the next time I signed on.
Censored blog is an oxymoron. I will not vote for anyone who asks for input and then erases it when it doesn't agree.
Rob Ludeman's blog is a disgrace as well. What a waste of time and money that could be better spent on advertising...if he's really still running.
posted by thinkingwoman at 09:50 A.M. EST on Mon Jun 27, 2005 #
I guess http://www.lucasdems.org/ is the website for the "other" Democrats. Jack "Mr. Hate" Wilson maintains an interesting page about Fritz Wenzel called Weasel Watch.
posted by jr at 02:00 P.M. EST on Fri Jul 01, 2005 #
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