Let me stress at this time, that Ben Konop does not endorse my views. I just thought the public at-large would be interested in getting to know a candidate for the LCC race.
posted by junta330 at 01:18 A.M. EST on Thu Mar 02, 2006 #
(cough)
posted by BrianInFlorida at 03:39 A.M. EST on Thu Mar 02, 2006 #
Yeah, whatever, Junta. Mr Konop's views are right up your alley. The problem with both viewpoints is that they assume that someone is simply going to bankroll the yuppie-ization of downtown Toledo, and then some ill-defined economic magic will occur, and then Toledo will prosper. I call that bullshit.
Doing elite things like adding WiFi and condos to downtown is simply not dealing with:
» the loss of the factories and their support industries that produced all the common wealth and stable middle class in the first place
» lesser service jobs for replacing the factory culture -- lesser in numbers and overall compensation
» a government avoiding fiscal reality by not downsizing to a fraction of its size from prosperous times
Someone's got to tell Mr Konop (and YOU, Junta) that America's tech hubs have already been well established, so Toledo's NOT going to become some sort of tech center. Toledo cannot compete for such a thing since by now it would have happened on its own. In the 1990s, the tech monster was looking for places to nest, and if anything Toledo's low cost of living should have attracted it. But the tech monster much preferred to settle in high-education, high-cost areas like Boston (where I was at the time), various parts of the California coast, Seattle, Dallas, Denver, etc. In those places it became entrenched.
Sure, there has been notable movement from these high-cost areas to other places in America. Any fool can see that. But the movement is not enough to save Toledo. Toledo has already attracted what few high-tech companies that it could; they're here ALREADY. And further high-tech development is feeling enormous pressure to move operations overseas, which is happening at such a rate that it can only be foolhardy to expect Toledo to gather all of that.
Let's take a for-instance: Convergys. They left Toledo, Junta, didn't you hear? And they weren't "high-tech" by any stretch of the imagination -- they were just a lousy call center, and they established themselves in such a way that they could "bug out" quickly. In effect, it was a business designed to move to cheaper locales with only a few months' notice. It's foolish to try to fill your local economy with such businesses. Toledo is much better off with even a small factory of 120 workers over a place like Convergys employing over 500 ... since the factory will stay for a much longer time, generates other jobs by requiring support industry, and generally pays better than a sh*thole like Convergys.
Although people like you and Mr Konop are taking the tack that some sort of economic miracle will happen once you invest in the yuppie mode, the facts are markedly stacked against your so-called arguments. And this is doubly obvious since both of you are silent on the necessary thing for the Toledo area: downsizing the government. When economic activity collapses to such an extent, the government becomes a great financial burden upon the much-beleaguered middle class man, who finds himself with enough problems after his income is halved on average.
When you start advocating downsizing the government to meet sheer fiscal reality in the Toledo area, THEN I'll start taking your plans seriously. Converting the downtown into a yuppie lifestyle center is sensible with a much smaller Toledo city government. BUT OF COURSE ... smaller government means a lack of "economic development" budget, which is how I know that as far as that part of Mr Konop's plans go, he's full of shit.
posted by GuestZero at 06:26 A.M. EST on Thu Mar 02, 2006 #
I am not a supporter of Phillip Copeland but agree with his quote in the Blade today that voters care more about jobs than this. It seems to me that Konop is in the back pocket of the Blade. Was this really newsworthy enough to warrant an article in the Blade?
posted by moderatedemocrat at 09:06 A.M. EST on Thu Mar 02, 2006 #
In effect, it was a business designed to move to cheaper locales with only a few months' notice. It's foolish to try to fill your local economy with such businesses.
So you don't think that factories can be moved to regions with lower average wages? Six months is all it took for several hundred factory workers to lose their jobs when Philips moved it's plant down to Mexico.
posted by thenick at 09:11 A.M. EST on Thu Mar 02, 2006 #
I think it was newsworthy, and I think Joshua did a good job with the article and no I'm not just writing that since I had blogged about this earlier. Yes, I just complimented a Blade reporter on an article. See it does happen (lol)
Ben is getting media attention, he's meeting with voters one on one and hearing what they have to say.
posted by psyche777 at 10:27 A.M. EST on Thu Mar 02, 2006 #
So psyche777, I want to understand where you're coming from...if Phillip and Tim go bowling, the Blade will cover it. What if they play putt-putt in the spring. What about house parties in every area of the county? What about eating a frosty at every Wendy's? What about the republican candidates? All the candidates are meeting with voters one-on-one. This is just a publicity stunt and if the other four candidates were to do this, it would not be covered. Guaranteed.
posted by moderatedemocrat at 11:20 A.M. EST on Thu Mar 02, 2006 #
Wow GZ, you seriously are a very bitter person. Here I am, announcing an event people might like to attend, and you turn it into a personal attack on me and Ben Konop. Keep up the good work.
posted by junta330 at 11:21 A.M. EST on Thu Mar 02, 2006 #
If it generates public interest moddem and it is a slower news day and the Blade is going to write about Jon's dream of being the new chair of the Lucas County GOP?
Why not. The article also included Tim's website so he had some benefit as well.
Of course one of the reasons was to generate publicity. Why do candidates have press conferences and news releases? And look, it got people talking about the primary race.
:-)
posted by psyche777 at 11:46 A.M. EST on Thu Mar 02, 2006 #
The Blade is supporting Stainbrook as much as they are supporting Ben Konop. So what's the point?
posted by MemyselfandI at 12:14 P.M. EST on Thu Mar 02, 2006 #
Junta, if GZ is a bitter person it's probably due to some idiot trying to pass legislation that will confiscate all his money and spend it on government programs that will provide him with food, clothing, shelter, health care, drugs and television. After all, what more could a person need, right? Just sit back, relax and let older, wiser people provide for you. You'll be all right, you just need to grow up a little.
GZ, please report to local political reeducation center 21 in sector R before Firstday next.
posted by madjack at 12:18 P.M. EST on Thu Mar 02, 2006 #
Madjack, please don't respond to anything I say until you answer the question you've been avoiding for some time now. How tall are you?
posted by junta330 at 12:31 P.M. EST on Thu Mar 02, 2006 #
I'm all for politicians making themselves available to the public. Tell them what you think in person. Konop needs to do what he can to leap over Copeland and Wagner. What will be Pam Haynam's public schedule?
Are all of these bowling locations in Toledo? Konop is running for the Lucas County Commissioner's position, right? It's early, so I assume visits outside of Toledo are planned too. I hope all the candidates make public appearances in the other areas of Lucas County:
* Berkey
* Harbor View
* Holland
* Maumee
* Oregon
* Ottawa Hills
* Sylvania
* Waterville
* Whitehouse
Of course, with the Toledo vote, you don't need anything else in the county.
GZ said: "Doing elite things like adding WiFi and condos to downtown ..."
Has anyone visited Dayton yet to check out their free WiFi network in their downtown? Apparently, they did it without any expense to the taxpayers. Has it helped people in all demographics? What are the pros and cons of their project?
A one or two mile diameter free WiFi cloud in downtown Toledo wouldn't only benefit businesses and those living in expensive condos. What about the people living in north Toledo, on the east side, and in the Old West End?
Affordable Internet-only PCs could be made available for those households that don't have a computer now. Qualifying households could make monthly payments on machines that cost $250 to $300. How much money do people spend on a TV?
Connected household members wouldn't have to rely soley on going to the library for computer/Internet access. Make information easily available to as many people as possible. It can't hurt. It can only help. It's not an elite-only thing. How many lower-income households would be under a two mile diameter free WiFi cloud that was centered in downtown Toledo?
Kids growing up in a home without a computer and without Internet access are going to be a step or two behind the rest. Even low-end tech PCs today are still powerful enough to run learning software. Maybe the child is struggling a bit in math or reading and using learning software at home could help. Some adults can also benefit from using learning software installed on the machine or by accessing websites that help the person learn something.
A connected PC in homes without one now may get the kids and adults away from the TV. Reading a bood would be good, but reading something online is better than watching TV.
Philadelphia, San Francisco, Chicago, somewhere in or near Detroit have implemented or are planning free WiFi initiatives. I don't know if any other city in Ohio besides Dayton has done this yet. I don't know if any other city in Ohio is planning such a project. But I'll make a prediction that Toledo will be the last urban center to implement free WiFi acess. And who does this hurt the most? It hurts the households that cannot afford a computer and broadband access.
And if free WiFi gets more people to move downtown and possibly gets more small businesses to open up shop downtown, how can that be a bad thing? Again, someone needs to check with Dayton to see if their free WiFi cloud has provided any positives to their downtown.
posted by jr at 12:51 P.M. EST on Thu Mar 02, 2006 #
thenick said: "So you don't think that factories can be moved to regions with lower average wages? Six months is all it took for several hundred factory workers to lose their jobs when Philips moved it's plant down to Mexico."
Hey, no problem. We'll just tariff the products when they enter America. Doh! Nations are almost absolutely forbidden to tariff to such a degree under NAFTA. So much for THAT plan.
Anyway, I thought that my complaint was rather clear and along other lines. Let's take an example closer to our lives. On one side of your house, there is a home, and on the other, there is an apartment building. The home is occupied by a guy and his wife who have lived there for years. The apartment building flips tenants each year.
So, which neighbor are YOU going to invest your time in? Which neighbor are YOU going to loan your drill to? Obviously the long-term neighbor is a better social investment.
In contrast -- and for some bizarre reason -- people don't consider such sustainability for things like supporting local business. Hence, a business with every indicator of short-term intentions is still given tax abatements, and spoken of as if it was going to be a long-term participant in the local economy. Note also that employees sign on to such a business and then go out and load up on personal debt, like a home mortgage, car loans, and the consumer orgy of credit card shopping. But it doesn't last, and people and municipalities end up bankrupt.
Convergys proved my point. Such businesses aren't even worth noticing. We may as well just equate them to Gypsies and pass by them on the street without a sideways glance. And more to the point: "business gypsies" are not worth the time of city hall. There's no point in granting them privileges since they will just leave the area as soon as they smell a percentage point of advantage somewhere else.
Let's put it more simply: Why be loyal to someone who's not loyal to you?
posted by GuestZero at 01:22 P.M. EST on Thu Mar 02, 2006 #
junta330 said: "Wow GZ, you seriously are a very bitter person. Here I am, announcing an event people might like to attend, and you turn it into a personal attack on me and Ben Konop. Keep up the good work."
Oh, boo hoo. Defend your ideas. Where are all these high-tech businesses going to come from? Mr Konop hasn't explained that, either. If demanding that he explain that, constitutes a personal attack, then you are once again demonstrating that you are unable to engage in public debate.
So defend your ideas. Show us the businesses that are planning on making Toledo a high-tech center, such that it's a worthwhile investment to load up on public debt in order to pave the way. I don't think you can do that, since said businesses are already here, and any chump can see that their numbers are small ... which reveals what I've said all along, that America's high-tech cannot possibly absorb all the laid-off blue collars. Toledo is in trouble, but you HappyTalkers can't admit that.
Because if you DID admit that Toledo is in deep doodie, you'd lose your PR advantage. Carty well understands this kind of thing, given all the HappyTalk that's he spouted over the years. Doesn't anyone remember Bob Frantz's column after Carty's major pre-election speech? Doesn't anyone understand that when Frantz was asking where Carty was going to get even a fraction of the money his visions demanded, he was actually being rhetorical?
Carty has talked up Toledo while thousands of jobs and residents fled. HappyTalk is a vast disservice to the populace since it shields them even longer from fiscal and political reality. It only puts off the day of reckoning. After more time avoiding the problem, reality tends to assert itself through the mechanisms of catastrophe. And of course, by then, the elite (like Carty, Mr Konop, and perhaps you) skip town or live very comfortably in the disconnected 'burbs, having always been cushioned from the blows of poverty ... hence leaving the (gullible) populace to absorb terrible times even more heavily.
So ... defend your ideas. Or be branded a fool.
posted by GuestZero at 01:27 P.M. EST on Thu Mar 02, 2006 #
Defend my ideas? Look at the original post. Where did I ever submit any ideas? No where. You're assuming my ideas are the same as Konop's. They are not. But if you want me to defend my ideas I will. If you go to the bowling alley at the time and place listed above, you will find Ben Konop there. How's that for defending my ideas, seeing as how that's the only idea I submitted. Troll.
posted by junta330 at 01:44 P.M. EST on Thu Mar 02, 2006 #
I'm a Republican and businessman here in Toledo. I've never posted on this site (although I am a regular visitor), but wanted to weigh in after reading the comments here.
Although I certainly don't agree with him on every issue, I have to say that I think Ben Konop would be a big improvement over what we have had recently as far as County Commissioners go. I've had the opportunity to meet Ben and he is a very bright guy. No offense to our previous Commissioners or the current set of candidates, but they are just not at that same level.
We can all disagree regarding the best means by which to reinvigerate Toledo's economy, but there is no question that something needs to be done. Simply downsizing our local government, while it sounds good, isn't going to do much (now the federal and state governments are another issue altogether).
The good thing about Ben is that he has energy and intelligence. He will aggressively pursue ideas to make a change. My business is doing well, but I think (and I think most businessmen here would agree) that Toledo's future will depend on that type of dynamic thinking.
So this is one conservative that will vote for Ben. I encourage others to meet him if they get the chance. Challenge him on issues. I think you'll be surprised at the kind of reasoned approach that he brings to the table. One that we are obviously sorely in need of in our local government.
While I can understand the attacks from my fellow Republicans here regarding expanding government, etc. As far as that goes, let's keep our focus on the Senate. The last thing we need is Sherrod Brown in Congress passing every tax increase that comes before him. Federal taxes are much more of an issue than local anyway.
Fellow Republicans and conservatives, look into the Commissioners race a bit more. Unforutnaty, the fact is that there is no great candidate. At least Ben will provide us with something more than the dimwitted power players we are currently stuck with.
posted by toltod at 01:46 P.M. EST on Thu Mar 02, 2006 #
I wonder if Aunt Sandy is giving Ben private lessons for learning what a LCC does!
posted by Judy at 04:33 P.M. EST on Thu Mar 02, 2006 #
Hey, no problem. We'll just tariff the products when they enter America. Doh! Nations are almost absolutely forbidden to tariff to such a degree under NAFTA. So much for THAT plan.
Forget about NAFTA for a second and assume that tariffs are legal. Tariffs have been shown to protect jobs, but the companies protected by tariffs become inefficient and unable to compete in the world market. In addition, instituting tariffs almost always results in retaliatory tariffs, impeding our ability to sell American-made products in foreign markets and hurting American manufacturers.
Anyway, I thought that my complaint was rather clear and along other lines. Let's take an example closer to our lives. On one side of your house, there is a home, and on the other, there is an apartment building. The home is occupied by a guy and his wife who have lived there for years. The apartment building flips tenants each year.
So, which neighbor are YOU going to invest your time in? Which neighbor are YOU going to loan your drill to? Obviously the long-term neighbor is a better social investment.
Burn, Strawman, Burn! Ok, let's correct this a bit: Let's say the neighbors in the house next door force their gardener and maid to work for lower and lower wages each year. Then let's say that the neighbors completely neglect their property and dump their trash in the yard. Then, after a few years of this, they decide they can lower their monthly bills considerably if they move to rural Arkansas and abandon their home in Toledo. So I'm left with an eternally empty house next door that will never sell, potential ground water contamination on my property, and no one to hold responsible because my neighbors have declared bankruptcy and have started their lives over in Arkansas under a different name.
Meanwhile, the apartment next door's facade remains unchanged and a few tenants have moved into houses a street over. They pay their maids and gardeners about the same wages as my next door neighbors did and don't leave the same mess when they leave.
Convergys proved my point. Such businesses aren't even worth noticing.
Do you consider Convergys a high tech firm? Think First Solar or The Andersons' Ethanol refineries. Just because Toledo missed the tech boom of the 90s doesn't mean Toledo has to miss out on the tech boom of the Aughts.
posted by thenick at 04:58 P.M. EST on Thu Mar 02, 2006 #
You know, GZ, I think she's got you. I've been reading the board for a while now, and I've yet to see junta actually post an idea.
posted by madjack at 05:26 P.M. EST on Thu Mar 02, 2006 #
On the advice of toltod, I'm going to go over and see the elephant. About the only valid argument I've heard for him so far is that he's better than what's in office now, but that's not saying a whole lot.
Nick, you can't just forget NAFTA exists. Moreover, companies who are protected by tariffs do not always become inefficient. The US of A took a massive hit once Clinton signed NAFTA, and I don't think we're going to recover anytime soon. Certainly not with this war debt facing us, and with the government becomming larger and harder to support each day.
posted by madjack at 05:31 P.M. EST on Thu Mar 02, 2006 #
Judging by your lack of answer madjack, I will take your silence as an affirmation that you are very short. Napoleon lives ladies and gentlemen.
posted by junta330 at 06:07 P.M. EST on Thu Mar 02, 2006 #
Nick, you can't just forget NAFTA exists.
If I can forget an entire semester of COBOL classes fifteen minutes after an exam, I can forget that NAFTA exists.
Moreover, companies who are protected by tariffs do not always become inefficient.
Actually, they inherently do become more inefficient. Instead of trying to increase productivity to make their products competitive against imports produced with lower wages, companies selling products in tariff restricted markets only have to beat the artificially inflated prices of the imports. Corporations aren't stupid, so if you think they wouldn't lobby for higher tariffs instead of modernizing production or investing in their supply chains to increase profits, you're crazy.
The US of A took a massive hit once Clinton signed NAFTA, and I don't think we're going to recover anytime soon. Certainly not with this war debt facing us, and with the government becomming larger and harder to support each day.
Actually, after Clinton signed NAFTA, the US went on an unprecedented streak of economic growth with minimal inflation. IIRC, since the signing of NAFTA, the US hasn't had a single quarter of negative growth.
posted by thenick at 12:03 A.M. EST on Fri Mar 03, 2006 #
the US went on an unprecedented streak of economic growth with minimal inflation
Until the tech bubble burst.
posted by junta330 at 01:28 A.M. EST on Fri Mar 03, 2006 #
"If I can forget an entire semester of COBOL classes fifteen minutes after an exam, I can forget that NAFTA exists."
Warn me before you do that! I about choked to death on my coffee. Man that's funny!
Those of us who manage to eek out a living in the tech sector really felt NAFTA. Jobs became non-existent, and many people had to relocate to find work. Yes, there was a spike in prosperity, but whose bank account are you measuring?
You're quite right when you say that corporations aren't stupid, as a corporation is an entity by legal definition only. Now the door stops, fat heads and stooges who run the place are something else. Although you’re probably right about capital investment, most corporations will continue to work for a more efficient operation because of the amount of greed in upper management. Given that management doesn’t have to do the work but derives benefit from productivity, the management will continue to cut cost and improve production.
posted by madjack at 09:48 A.M. EST on Fri Mar 03, 2006 #
(laughing at the COBOL reference)
I remember slogging through COBOL in the 1980s. I absolutely hated it, but at least I can fake some tech-speak to the point where I don't look like a blithering idiot when conversing with a true techno-geek.
My favorite COBOL quote (don't remember who said it):
"There really only one original COBOL program, and it only has been copied, debugged, and modified billions of times."
posted by historymike at 10:18 A.M. EST on Fri Mar 03, 2006 #
Cast not you lot for man but unto the Lord. Beware the false god who would lead you astray.
Jesus is the reason for the season.
posted by toledo_angel at 02:37 P.M. EST on Fri Mar 03, 2006 #
Is God on the ballot in May? Is he running as an independent this year?
posted by historymike at 03:31 P.M. EST on Fri Mar 03, 2006 #
I think Buckeye Beer guy sobered up.
Sorry for posting somewhat off topic. Momma told me, "...if ya ain't got nothing nice to say about a person, keep your clam trap shut."
posted by BrianInFlorida at 05:03 P.M. EST on Fri Mar 03, 2006 #
"If I can forget an entire semester of COBOL classes fifteen minutes after an exam ..."
i_liked_cobol_for_its_wordy_variable_names_that_were_a_mile_long
posted by jr at 06:21 P.M. EST on Fri Mar 03, 2006 #
Back to Wi-Fi for a sec, story from this week about Philly's network, which may not be that great of a deal, but at least some help is being given to low-income households. It's not a 100% free Wi-Fi network.
"Philadelphia on Wednesday announced details of its deal with EarthLink Inc. for the construction of a high-speed wireless network that will span the city, including provisions for EarthLink to pay for computers, training, and subsidize Internet access for low-income households."
"The 135-square-mile network is expected to be completed next spring. The contracts call for EarthLink to rent space on 4,000 city light posts for its equipment, and pay the city $74 annually per light post — for a total of nearly $300,000 a year. EarthLink also agreed to give Wireless Philadelphia 5 percent of its access revenue."
"The money will be used to provide 10,000 computers and training to kids and low-income households. EarthLink will also provide Internet access for up to 25,000 low-income households at $9.95 a month, and give the city government free or discounted access. Moreover, EarthLink will operate free Wi-Fi hotspots at 22 locations."
"The Wi-Fi speed will be at least 1 Megabit per second, slower than some DSL or cable connections but much faster than dial-up. EarthLink will charge a wholesale rate of under $12 a month to other Internet service providers, which in turn will sell their services to the public. That rate is up from the original estimate of $9. The goal is still to keep retail prices under $20 a month."
"EarthLink and its partner ISPs could face stiff competition from the phone companies, which have been heavily discounting their high-speed Internet packages. Verizon Communications Inc., which serves Philadelphia, is offering DSL broadband for $14.95 a month."
"EarthLink and Google Inc. have joined forces and submitted a proposal to construct a similar network to cover San Francisco. That plan includes free, ad-financed access at lower speeds in addition to full-speed subscription access. Berryman said EarthLink is also interested in making a bid for Chicago's Wi-Fi plans, announced last month."
posted by jr at 07:54 P.M. EST on Fri Mar 03, 2006 #
What the hell does Jesus have to do with Ben Konop bowling?
posted by junta330 at 11:33 P.M. EST on Fri Mar 03, 2006 #
Based upon similar behaviour, buckeye_"piss"_beer, which is used as a cleaning agent when mopping the floors at the Guinness plant, and toledo_"felt up by an"_angel were probably accounts created by the same socially deprived individual.
You have to feel sorry for a person whose life is so obviously devoid of anything worth waking up for that he or she or it would spend time posting nothing comments in thread after thread. Wait a minute. That could describe anyone of us.
I must say that I though the beer ones were funny.
"Carty needs to have a fridge up there next to the $9996 shower stocked with Buckeye. If he pops a few each day, he might mellow out and actually be tolerable."
Mmm, how do we know Carty doesn't have a tap in the "exercise" room?
And about Noe not being handcuffed in court:
"Noe needed to have his hand free to hold his cold and refreshing bottle of [Wolverine]."
A little editor's correction in brackets.
The real question is, in what form will our favorite quip writer take next?
posted by jr at 12:20 A.M. EST on Sat Mar 04, 2006 #
Back on Feb 11, I said of the candidates running for Lucas County Commissioner:
"I'll be watching to see who is the most inclusive when it comes to discussing Lucas County."
With Ben Konop posting his recent public appearances on his website, I thought it would be a good idea to use Google maps to monitor the candidates' campaign appearances since March 1 and until the May 2 primary. This may not be possible to do, since every appearance probably won't make it into the media. And the candidates don't all have websites, at least not from what I can see.
In addition to his website, Konop maintains a blog where he's posting updates about his "bowling tour." Ben has also posted to his blog his idea about a Dorr Street Campus Village. Whether you agree or disagree with this idea, at least you can read it on his site and refer to it at a later date.
What about the other four candidates? Will they campaign in a vacuum? Do any of the other candidates have a website and/or a blog that's being regularly updated with ideas on how to improve the county? Does anyone know the campaign schedules thus far for Copeland, Haynam, Sarantou, and Wagner?
I realize 75% of Lucas County's population is in Toledo, and that's where the candidates will spend most of their time. But I wonder if Sarantou and Copeland will ever step foot outside of Toledo? I wonder if these two realize other communities exist in Lucas County besides Toledo?
Let me know if you detect any mistakes or missing info on the map.
posted by jr at 12:50 P.M. EST on Sat Mar 04, 2006 #
Jr,
You got way too many toys for one person.
I also can't help but notice that there are not many communities that could carry a candidate without Toledo's help.
But I did think of this. The county communities could make or break a candidate by being ignored. All you need is a small percentage to cause a recount.
posted by BrianInFlorida at 01:22 P.M. EST on Sat Mar 04, 2006 #
Tim Wagener has a website...timwagener.com. There are many elected officials in the suburbs, villages, and townships that have endorsed him. His four co-chairs are the Mayor of Waterville, Mayor of Oregon, Mayor of Whitehouse, and a Trustee in Monclova Township. It also looks like Tim has been endorsed by a Sylvania Township Trustee, Jereseleum Township Trustee, Holland Councilwoman, along with elected officials from Springfield, Ottawa Hills, and Berkey. Either he has earned a lot of respect from fellow elected officials outside of Toledo during his tenure as Mayor or he's been cammpaigning in those communities.
And again, the Blade is joined at the hip with Konop so anytime Konop makes a noise, the Blade will be there. He's their darling for taking on their arch enemy Oxley just two years ago for Congress....that's right, he ran out of Allen County just two years ago. And before he ran out of Allen County, he was a Washington lawyer. And before that he was down in school at Georgia, per his website. When is the last time before he moved to Lucas County to run for commissioner that he actually voted and lived in the County? Ben's been gone so long that he might not even know some parts of the County and we know that Copeland doesn't.
posted by moderatedemocrat at 02:35 P.M. EST on Sat Mar 04, 2006 #
One other thing...I hope Ben has been more responsive at the bowling alleys then he's been on his blog. I posed him a legitimate question on his blog when he released his ethics pledge...Will he call on indicted city councilman Bob McCloskey to resign? While Ben has taken the time to make other posts, he has never responded to that question. What good is a blog if you wont' interact with people that ask you a specific question. I was with Ben until he refused to answer the question. I'm with Tim Wagener now.
posted by moderatedemocrat at 04:53 P.M. EST on Sat Mar 04, 2006 #
From a February 7 Blade article:
"... said Mr. Wagener, who has challenged the other Democrats to a series of candidate forums across the county."
Any more word about these forums?
posted by jr at 02:34 A.M. EST on Sun Mar 05, 2006 #
Syndicate ToledoTalk
