Friday, March 29, 2013

John Cranley is Lying About His 'Plan'

I am not shocking anyone when I call mayoral candidate John Cranley a liar. When I say John Cranley is lying about his budget 'plan' I think anyone knowledgeable about Cranley's shady city financial management past would be chiding me stating the obvious.

Yesterday I think he crossed into charlatan territory with what he billed as a 'Structurally Balanced Budget.'

There is nothing Structurally balanced about his budget and anyone saying there is lying.

His plan takes money from other city budgets to plug holes, something that is not valid and got us into the trouble we are in now when he did the same thing when Charlie Luken was mayor.

His plan uses money from the Casino that is uncertain, at best.  Why not just use a rosy project that tax revenue will rise and call that structural?

He takes already dedicated Parking revenue and yanks it from another city budget to plug a hole in another (The good Catholic boy knows how to Rob Peter to pay Paul).

He then just cuts most everyone else by 10%.  Well, not everyone.  He doesn't touch the Police and Fire budgets.  The biggest parts of the budget.  Yep, that's a world class act of pandering.  He also carries the tool of fear along and drives it through the West Side.

He also doesn't say what gets cut in those departments with that 10 %.  Is he just mimicking Charlie Winburn's salary cut plan? Does he want a 10% staff cut in everyone else?  What other programs will he gut?  Where's his courage to name what he would reduce?  Is he willing to layoff other works but not cops or fire fighters because that means it would cost him votes?

So, Cranley creates the most insane budget plan I've ever read (actually worse than Winburn's). No one in the media will likely question much about it, least not at the Enquirer.  He and his surrogates will run around lying about this plan and few will call them out on their lies.

Well, I'm here to ask you to call them out.  Ask John Cranley why he is lying about his budget plan.  Ask him to explain how his plan will not destroy the city.

While you are at it, ask him to explain how his plan differs ideologically from the budget plan of the House Republicans? I mean they want to cut everything in the Federal budget, except for Defense.  The comparison to Cranley is either eerie or intentional.

Ask Cranley if he plans on getting the Republican endorsement?  He so far is running the same campaign Brad Wenstrup ran 4 years ago.  Brad was suburbanite Republican.  Does that make Cranley a suburbanite Republican?  I'm going to say yes, yes it does.

Saturday, March 23, 2013

Blogging Isn't Cool: Cranley On the Issues 'Bad to Bizzare'

Quimbob sums up the core of Mayoral Candidate and former Councilman John Cranly's horrid stances on public safety issues as 'Bad to Bizzare.'

Simply put: Quimbob is correct.

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Some Funny Hyperbole...Hehe...Can't Hurt!

Quimbob may be on to something for the secessionist residents of Westwood. We're talking about a dozen people, maybe, so after Melva Gweyn and Mary Kuhl finally seek asylum in Cheviot, we'd really would not be talking about that many people.  All it all, it would take maybe 10 minutes.  What judge can spare the time to administer the oath?

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Smitherman Lies to NAACP Membership

The Enquirer's political blog documents the lie sent to local NAACP by their local chapter President and member of City Council Chris Smitherman. His lie was simple and blatant:
“Our right to vote is the issue,” Smitherman said in an email to members and others.
No, the effort to defeat the Parking Plan is all about Republicans trying to defeat Democrats, because they only have two solid votes on Council and want more.  They see the Parking Plan, which really would normally be welcomed ideologically by businesses focused Republicans, as a way to get to the uninformed voter and exploiting their ignorance.  How better to get people mad than by making them think the price for something is going up.  It works if you use donuts  beer, McDonald's, or even guns.

Smitherman is supporting the Republicans.  I would not be surprised if he is courting the GOP for an endorsement and trying to factor in how many votes that would cost him in Bond Hill and Roselawn.

John Cranely is doing the same thing, but seems to be backing off the spotlight.  He knows the GOP endorsement would kill his chances to win the Mayor's race, but he'll walk the line even more blatantly than Smitherman, one of his supporters.  Dishonesty in being two faced is not either politician shys away from.

Monday, March 11, 2013

Who is Running For City Council?

As of now there is a growing cast of characters running for city council. The incumbents running are:

Laure Quinlivan (D)
Wendell Young (D)
Chris Seelbach (D)
Yvette Simpson (D/C)
P.G. Sittenfeld (D)
Charlie Winburn (R)
Chris Smitherman (I) (All I could find was a Facebook page. Seriously?)


Those either announced or close to it:
Amy Murray (R)
Greg Landsman (D)
Michelle Dillingham (D)
Kevin Johnson (?D)
Mike Moroski (?D)
Pam Thomas (D)
Vanessa White (D)

Other maybes or less solid indications of a yes:
Kevin Flynn (C)
David Mann (D)
Sam Malone (R)
Janaya Trotter (D)
Catherine Smith Mills (R) (She still has a website up so ?)

The question that arise from three sides are who will get the Party Endorsements?  There are two many running for the Democratic Party.  I list 13 possible Dems as running and I've heard there are 14, but don't know who else is running.  I don't know if it is possible for the GOP to field even fewer candidates than last year, but they might, with only 2 candidates announced.  Charter also is thin, as the group as there may be only one non-cross endorsed candidate from the third 'party.'

If anyone knows of anyone else running, or has more information on websites for the above listed possible candidates, please pass it along.

For More check out WVXU from a few weeks ago.

Friday, March 08, 2013

How Far is Cranley in Bed with COAST?

John Cranley's political stunt carried out by his Republican supporters has COAST wrapped up with the anti-city lawsuit. COAST's bigot in chief, Chris Finney is representing the Cranley scheme. It would appear Smiterman's support for Cranley is landing the Westside native further and further into the political fringe. I thought Craney had limits, but when you hire Chris Finney, your walk to extremist gets a lot shorter.

Thursday, March 07, 2013

Portune Can't Seem to Do Math

I think everyone, even fellow Democrats, would call Portune's call for cheaper parking in Downtown the bi-product of too many visits from Mary Jane.

The problem is that the City has no funding to cut the current prices of parking and then increase the funding to maintain the expenses behind those parking spaces.

The cities of Ohio are being punished for not support the GOP, mainly the governor, so their governments have had millions of State funded cut.

Hamilton County owns the nearly biggest parking garage in the damn world, I don't see Portune making efforts to cut the prices to 1 dollar there.

I don't know what Portune's angle is here.  It is the most impractical thing to consider at this point. I'd like to give my family all a new car for Christmas this year, but unless the PowerBall comes through, it wouldn't be a good idea to send an email telling them it would be a good idea if I did that.

I will at least give someone like Chris Seelbach credit for coming up with a plan that does not lease the parking spaces out and still has a theoretical way of balancing the budget.  Portune seems to not like to live in the theoretical world of basic math.  He wants some magic parking beans to make everything alright.

Cranley Supporting Republican Effort

In case you are wondering who John Cranley is focusing on getting to vote for him in the election, then look no further than his 'support' of the Republican effort to disrupt the city's ability to pass laws.

It should be presumed that Cranley did more than just support this effort. It is likely he is behind it. I mean, if he wants to pretend he his Frances J. Underwood, he might not want to actually go to the court hearing after he orchestrates it to appear he isn't involved.

BTW John, How much will this lawsuit cost the city?

Sunday, March 03, 2013

John Cranley is Soft on Crime

Somewhere along his educational path John Cranley, candidate for Cincinnati Mayor, must have just confused taxes with penalties for breaking the law.  If not, he seems to want to let people break the law without being held accountable.  That's not much of a law and order thing to do.

In an Enquirer article about the parking deal, Cranley was quick to call enforcement of parking ordinances (aka LAWS) as a "tax increase."
"Critics, however, say the numbers show the private operators will aggressively issue parking tickets to meet their revenue projections.

“We’re talking about a massive increase in tickets for decades,” John Cranley, who is running for mayor, said Saturday. “It’s a 100 percent hidden tax increase on the citizens of Cincinnati.”"
Every time John pays his income takes, does he really think he violated the law?

It is not a surprise John is talking like a Republican, where he plays word games with the truth. He'll have Westside Republicans thinking that it is their 'God' given right to park free where ever they want.  It's 'free' to park at Walmart, after all.  Those massive parking lots just grew out the ground naturally, waiting for a big box store to be built around it.