Poll: Driehaus Leads Chabot

In a poll from Research 2000 has Steve Driehaus leading Steve Chabot 46% to 44%. There is a 5% margin of error, so this is clearly an even race, but one that has been safe in the past for the Republicans. Obama is doing well in the 1st District and his coat tails along with a Conservative Democrat that can push the right button on the abortion issue for the Westside voter stands an even chance of winning this race right now.

Grammer's to Reopen, But Rathskeller Lost

WLWT reports the great news that the fine folks at Buycincy.com first reported: Grammer's will reopen after the fire, but the Rathskeller was lost. There is no report on their website when they will reopen, but when it does, be sure to show some support with your patronage.

Time to Rethink Trees

Everyone always seems so concerned about having enough "green space" in the city. I've decided that we have too much. Or, at least, too much vertical green space.

I know, trees are supposed to be good things. But with trees come bad, bad things: birds. Birds, in and of themselves, aren't necessarily bad. But the stuff that comes out of their bird-butts certainly is.

I was going to post a picture of my car, after I made the mistake of parking it under a tree (downtown, mind you!) overnight. I decided it might nauseate our readers. The sidewalk outside of my office (across from Piatt Park) has to be hosed down every day because of the foul mess left by our fowl friends.

So maybe, we should replace the trees in the city with something else. We still want shade and the appearance of greenery. How about planting some large versions of these trees?

I'm off to find a car wash.

Wynton: Wow, wow, wow

If you were able to see me tonight between 7:00 and 9:00, you probably observed me with the biggest smile that's crossed my face in a long, long time.

A couple months ago, I saw posters for tonight's concert at the Aronoff Center by Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra.  I quickly bought tickets, put them in a safe place when they arrived by mail, and promptly forgot about them.  Then, sometime around Tuesday or Wednesday this week, I remembered the concert.

I spent the rest of the week tingling with excitement.

I grew up a band geek--in particular, a trumpet player.  I idolized Wynton Marsalis.  I've listened to Wynton's recordings so often, I can actually tell, within a few seconds of the beginning of a song, when it's him on the trumpet.  During high school, during those interminable, boring classes when other guys would tune out the teacher and daydream about the opposite sex, I would . . . well, okay, I would daydream about the opposite sex, too.  But while I was doing it, I would try to perfect the technique of circular breathing, which Wynton had mastered and then discussed during an interview I read.  I never quite got it.

I've only been privileged to see Wynton play live once before (at a free concert at Battery Park on Independence Day, 2002).  Getting to see him tonight was phenomenal.  I don't think there is a bad seat at the Aronoff, but mine was particularly good:  center orchestra, row N.  Wynton and the Orchestra played a variety of songs, reachinig back for tunes by Ellington and Coltrane and forward to songs Wynton composed himself.  I'm sure the Enquirer or CityBeat or both will print a review.  I'm not a critic and won't pretend to be; I'm just a fan, and I wasn't disappointed.  But the concert will be something to tell my putative kids about.  Wynton Marsalis is, perhaps, the single most signficant living American musician.

There were an awful lot of "who's who" types at the Aronoff.  Lots of local politicians and judges.  The one who caught my eye--the one that will always catch my eye when I'm fortunate enough to be in the same room--was retired Sixth Circuit Judge Nathaniel R. Jones.  As much as Wynton was a hero to me in my childhood, Judge Jones is one now that I'm an adult.  I was saddened when he left the bench at the same time I graduated law school.  It's been my honor to actually meet him and shake his hand a couple times at various lawyer-filled gatherings (though not tonight).  I'm not sure that enough people realize that we have a hero of the Civil Rights movement living in our midst.

What a great night.

Election Deadlines

With the election nearing, a review of important deadlines seems in order:

Deadline to register: Monday, October 6, 2008.
Deadline to change registration address: Monday, October 6, 2008.

Absentee ballot request deadline: If by mail, must be recieved by BOE by noon on November 1, 2008. If in person, must by the end of BOE hours on November 3, 2008.

Deadline to return an absentee ballot: Must be postmarked by November 3, 2008 (and received by BOE by November 14, 2008), or delivered to BOE in person by close of the polls on November 4, 2008.

I've posted these dates because (unbelievably), I just got off the phone with someone from a local campaign who thought that the registration and absentee deadlines were the same. They are not. Monday, October 6, 2008, is your last day to register. But you can vote early in-person at the board of elections any time prior to Election Day, as long as you're a registered voter.

Things that can force you to vote with a provisional ballot: If your address has changed and you fail to report it by October 6, you will have to go to the Board of Elections on Election Day and cast a provisional ballot. Also, if you request an absentee ballot and then change your mind and show up at your polling place on Election Day, you will be required to cast an absentee ballot. Remember, provisional ballots are eventually counted, but not on Election Day.

Also, the HamCo Board of Elections has announced extended hours. On Monday, October 6, it will be open from 8 am until 8 pm. From Monday, October 13 through Friday, October 31, the BOE will be from 8 until 8 (though there's a rumor you'll have to come dressed as either Tim Burke or Alex Triantafilou if you come on the 31st). On Monday, November 3, however, it will close at 4.

The HamCo BOE's phone number is 632-7000. It's website is here.

Whether you're a Democrat, a Republican, or something else, please make sure you protect your right to vote.

McCain Absentee Ballot Apps Must Be Accepted

Earlier this week, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that Secretary of State Brunner must direct Ohio's county boards of elections that the McCain-Palin distributed absentee ballot request forms, which included a checkbox next to an affirmation that the applicant is a qualified elector, must be accepted regardless of whether the box is checked.

Brunner had been taking the position that those who failed to check the box were indicating that they weren't qualified electors, and therefore not entitled to receive an absentee ballot. The Supreme Court rejected that argument (rightly, in my opinion), holding:

[Ohio election law] does not expressly require that the statement be located a certain distance from the applicant’s signature. Because the statute also does not strictly require that the box next to the qualified-elector statement bemarked, we cannot require it. . . . Moreover, we “must avoid unduly technical interpretations that impede the public policy favoring free, competitive elections.” No vital public purpose or public interest is served by rejecting electors’ applications for absentee ballots because of an unmarked check box next to a qualified-elector statement. There is also no evidence of fraud. As relators persuasively assert, the “only reason to complete the form was to obtain an absentee ballot for the November 4, 2008 election,” and signing it necessarily indicated that the applicant represented, “I am a qualified elector and would like to receive an Absentee Ballot for the November 4, 2008 General Election,” regardless of whether the box next to the statement was marked.

(Slip op., paras. 21-23) (citations omitted). So I'll say it: the Republicans were right, and Jennifer Brunner was wrong.

I'll admit: it was fun watching Brunner stick it to the Ohio GOP. After all, the McCain campaign had created an unnecessarily encumbersome form, so it was the GOP's own fault that not everyone filled it out as intended. Moreover, it's been the GOP that has, over the past eight years, strived to create additional barriers to access to the ballot box. And Brunner's position wasn't going to deny anyone the right to vote: all voters had to do was submit a new absentee ballot request. If they didn't, they'd still be able to vote on Election Day. (These weren't, after all, registration forms.)

But the principles enunciated by the Ohio Supreme Court were exactly right, and I'm glad they reached the decision they did. Our public policy should be geared towards making it easier to vote, not harder. And the GOP (some of whose members believe the Seventeenth Amendment should be repealed) should bear this in mind when open access doesn't necessarily favor their candidates.

D'Oh: "Maybe in Ohio, but not in America"

I thought this was funny.