Smitherman Liberation Front

I am waiting for the Liberation Front for Smitherman to issue a contrary press release the counter the revolutionary action the Smitherman campaign has undertaken. Smitherman now has put himself into such a small box, he will be lucky to break 15th place in the race. He has alienated 3/4ths of his potential constituency, and I do see that 1/4th with much drive to come out and vote.

Winburn Stunt Backfires: Streetcar Support Shines!

Cincinnati City Council Member Charlie Winburn's stunt backfired Wednesday night when Cincy Streetcar supports turned out in great numbers to politely voice their support for the Streetcar and for the city as special council session called by Winburn and other Council Republicans. Social media reports indicated that 40 out of 45 citizen speakers were in favor of the Streetcar project. Several attendees reported on Twitter that many of the the small number of Streetcar opponents were disruptive and all anti-streetcar speakers yelled into the microphone and spoke longer than the two minutes alloted.

Another report indicated that alleged candidate for Cincinnati City Council and local NAACP president Chris Smitherman had a confrontation of some type, possibly with security in council chambers.  If the political reporters are not paying attention and don't report on his antics, then they are propping up his candidacy just to attract readers or viewers.

The clear message was the Streetcar has strong support from Cincinnati and the handful of people who are against it couldn't muster up enough suburbanites to drive downtown at 6PM on a Wednesday. We also saw Charlie Winburn comes across like a fool, playing a game instead of doing his job. All that's left to see how the mainstream media butchers the story in favor of the nut cases (like COAST and Smitherman) or of the Republican Council members who played more for contributions and Westside votes than they did actually constructively discussing the issue.

UPDATE:  Here's the Enquirer Story with more on Smitherman's apparent angry reaction to getting his picture taken.  Other than covering the Smitherman outburst, the article gives the usual bias against the Streetcar by given the opposition to the Streetcar more ink than to view of supporters the overwhelming number in attendance.  It isn't balanced when you report the number of supporters, but quote a small percentage of them, while giving 2 of 5 of the anti-streetcar speakers opinions in the article, adding to it the anti-streetcar Republicans comments and you get a biased story.  What we have come to expect from the Enquirer on this topic.

Smitherman Elected to Head Local NAACP

Former councilman Chris Smitherman was elected president of the Cincinnati chapter of the NAACP. Smitherman is known as a prolific grandstander, creating confrontation where there is none. Will Smitherman seek to make Cincinnati a better place for everyone or will he play racial politics?

Also, does this mean he's not running for city council?

Luken and Miller Sitting in a Tree

Greg Korte writes today about Mayor Charlie Luken sitting next to Dennis Miller at the SOTU. A coup for Korte for getting this scoop on "hot" topic, at least on my blog. I could take this as a joke on me, but with Dean being the Blog candidate it still makes perfect sense beyond my myopic view of the world:

But when the speech started, Miller cheered like a blogger at a Howard Dean rally. "He must have stood up 70 or 80 times," said Luken, who said he himself only stood up half as often.

Greg also showed Councilman Chris Smitherman continuing his rookie mistakes. I think Smitherman has a bit of an ego and over worked sense of self-importance. Pointing out Smitherman's lack of explanation regarding why he needed to know what High School each police officer attended is something that I wish more local media would pick up. It would be very interesting to learn why Smitherman needed to know that less than 60% went to Cincinnati area schools. The line referenced Chris's father being the principal of the #2 school was classic and I think the Whistleblower had it first too.

Smitherman, Not Councilman

NAACP President Chris Smitherman did not file for City Council today:

Chris Smitherman, the head of the Cincinnati NAACP chapter and a former city councilman, did not file to run for city council.

The Enquirer had that as a sidebar to the additional announcement that Jim Tarbell did file his petitions to run for Cincinnati School Board. That had been rumored previously and seems a little bit strange. I guess I dont' see Jim having the drive from schools that he did for the City. I'll be interested in his platform.

Also, in yesterday's Enquirer Politics blog post about who had or was going to file to run for council there was one name they did not mention: Child Beater and Republican endorsed candidate Sam Malone. Did he file his petitions?

Does He Need This Much Attention?

I understand that Chris Smitherman, President of the local NAACP, need attention. I understand that he will say and do a lot to get the press to write about him. Does anyone else think that camping out to vote just goes over the line?

Also, I hope Joe Deter is there to Check Smitherman's ID and then sends an investigator to validate Smitherman lives where he claims. We need to make sure he's not faking it. We had plenty of money last year to spend from the county budget, so I am sure we can afford it this year. (Cough, Cough)

A Reminder How John Cranley Worked Against His Fellow Democrats

Lest we Forget: In 2013 Democrat John Cranley after winning the Mayor's office was granted the authority to pick the chair persons of City Council committees. In that same election the Democratic Party endorsed candidates won five of nine seats. Living up to his reputation, Cranley made the choice to punish his fellow Democrats by appointing Republicans and non-Democrats to more Council Committee chairs, including the most important Finance and Public Safety Chairs:

• Budget and Finance Chair: Charlie Winburn (R) 
• Economic Growth & Infrastructure Chair: Christopher Smitherman (R)
• Education & Entrepreneurship Chair: P.G. Sittenfeld (D)
• Human Services, Youth & Arts Chair: Yvette Simpson (D)
• Law & Public Safety Chair: Christopher Smitherman (R)
• Major Transportation & Regional Cooperation Chair: Amy Murray (R)
• Neighborhoods Chair: David Mann (D)
• Rules & Audit Chair: Kevin Flynn (C)

So spiteful is Cranley that he excluded two Democrats from any committee chair positions at all, and gave a Republican, Christ Smitherman, two committee chairs.  Why did he punish them, one asks, well most of the Democrats on Council openly supported Cranley's opponent for Mayor.  It wasn't a surprise that he would snub them, but then it makes Tim Burke's comments praising Cranley for support Democratic candidates all the more bullshit.  Cranley only supports Democrats that either support him or don't oppose him. The rest of his term has been filled with opposing the five Democrats on  a large number of issues and turning those battles into public fights that he especially make petty and vicious.  Those issues he's broken with the Party have not shockingly been ones he found allies in Republicans on council and in the community.

John is not a good mayor is his first and most important consideration he makes before any choice is how will it effect him and his future.

If Chiquita Moves, Blame COAST, Winburn, and Smitherman

An Enquirer article reports that Chiquita Brands International, headquartered in Downtown Cincinnati, is being courted by other cities, mainly Charlotte, to move the company.  In the article, Council member Charlie Winburn is quoted in the article:

Added Winburn: “Anytime 400 jobs are at stake, I take that serious. If the city loses this company, then we need to call for an evaluation of city administration.”

No, Council Member Winburn, don't shirk your duty and point to the Administration. Point to yourself. If you want to keep Chiquita then you need to do several things to keep them here.  It starts with voting on a budget that would free up money to add to an incentive.  Then go to the Governor and get him of his ass and do something for Cincinnati.  Finally, start acting like you want to make this city into a progressive community that will attract news people and new businesses here.  Work to build the Urban Core of the city and agree it must be a vibrant success if the rest of the City and metro area are going to have sustained growth and prosperity. The article goes on about the air service.  Well, that's quiet frankly a tough thing for a city or even the metro area to transform.  It will take years to attract more direct flights. A more simple and immediate way to improve the city is to support rail projects, like the streetcar or light-right or the East Side commuter-rail.  None of these will happen if COAST and Smitherman's anti-rail charter amendment passes. So, if nothing else, don't support the anti-rail forces.

Why does rail matter? Well, ask Charlotte, they have rail transportation and they stand poised to take a major headquarters from our city.  Destroying the city may be COAST's and Smitherman's goal, but surely Winburn doesn't want this to happen.  If he wants to get "serious," then  he should rethink his stance on the streetcar and stop pointing fingers at others and get on board with those try to make this city a better place.

The solution is rather simple: don't shill for the FOP and don't think making the city into another suburb will solve any problems.  All of the endorsed Republicans running might gain some respect and maybe even some votes if they took that to heart and lived it.  That action would lose many Conservative votes and Suburban contributions, however, which leads me back to my cynical default stance, where Winburn's opportunism lives and keeps progress back, as long as he and other Republicans are in power.

Council Race Heats Up

Only just over a week to go before the election and my mailbox is starting to fill up. I am disappointed seeing the State Democratic party dumping money into the Mayor's race with multiple mailers for Cranley. Even under new leadership they continue to make mistakes. Instead of trying to build a party to win in the upcoming elections, they handpicked candidates they think could have won prior elections they hope repeat in the future.

We are closer to start making some more predictions about the race. Haha! What I really mean is that I am getting closer to making some wild guesses based on conventional wisdom.  Council races are a mix of predictable and surprising.  It should be easy to predict 4 to 6 candidates.  The 4 Democratic incumbents are heavy CW favorites and the 2 Republicans (including Smitherman) have clear advantages.  What holds the 2 Republicans back is the most unpredictable element, voter turnout.  One of the most common CW tropes about Cincinnati elections is that the GOP votes more consistently in off year elections than the Dems.  Therefore the higher the turnout, the better Democratic candidates do.

I have updated my list below creating some new groups and shifting a few candidates around.  Those whom I am giving advantage is based on the campaign and a repeat turnout from 2013.  If turnout rises, look for candidates like Smitherman and Murray to fall and potentially be out of the top 9.

Lock
P.G. Sittenfeld* (D, FOP, PWR endorsed)

Likely
David Mann* (D,C, FOP, PWR endorsed)
Chris Seelbach* (D endorsed)

Some advantage:
Wendell Young* (D endorsed)
Amy Murray* (R,C, FOP, PWR endorsed)
Christopher Smitherman* (R but pretending to be I, FOP, PWR and for some reason G endorsed)
Derek Bauman (C endorsed) (D)
Tamaya Dennard (D,C, PWR endorsed)
Greg Landsman (D, FOP, PWR endorsed)

In the Mix:
Ozie Davis III (D, FOP, PWRendorsed)
Michelle Dillingham (D endorsed)
Leslie Jones (D endorsed)
Jeff Pastor (R, FOP endorsed)
Laure Quinlivan (D)

Outside Chance
Henry Frondorf (C, PWR endorsed) (D)
Seth Maney (R, FOP, PWR endorsed)
Tamie Sullivan (G, FOP endorsed) (R)

Chances Dropping
Tonya Dumas (D)
Manuel Foggie

Also Ran
Erica Black-Johnson (I)
Cristina Burcica (I)
Brian Garry (G endorsed) (D)
Kelli Prather (D)
Dadrien Washington (Write-In)


Candidate Twitter List: I have created a list of candidates on Twitter. Here is the actual list Twitter handles for the candidates.

Key
* = Incumbent
D= Democratic Party
R= Republican Party
C= Charter Committee (aka Charter Party)
G= Green Party
I= Independent
FOP= Cincinnati Fraternal Order of Police (Union) Endorsement
PWR = Partnership of Westside Residence PAC Endorsement

Is the Enquirer Biased or Looking for Controversy?

I know, most are going to answer the title's question "Is Enquirer Biased or Looking for Controversy?" with a "Both" answer. The Provost at of The Phony Coney questions the timing of the Enquirer's coverage of the Bortz-Streecar Voting "controversy" as being, shall we say, ill-timed.

Yes, it is rather obvious that someone has been pushing the story to the Enquirer and the rest of the media around town. I don't know if I believe there is a full borne effort to disrupt the Streetcar project in the newsroom of the Enquirer. There may be individuals who oppose it, but the reporters are getting marching orders.

I do believe without a doubt that there is a desire for scandal, something media outlets nearly universally are guilty of doing, and doing without care in appearances or importance.  I believe that desire isn't just in the editors' minds, it in this case is in the reporter's mind.

The only scandal with Bortz is in appearance. He made a public relations error in how he responded to the ethics letter. He didn't tell everything. That's his sin. The local media feels like he lied to them. They are pissed. Furthermore, where there's a lie, there's a scandal, so no matter the circumstances. Bortz and the Streetcar in association are going to get punched by the Enquirer. They will punch with same sin Bortz committed, the sin of omission.

So, the Enquirer is trying to sell newspapers and isn't doing or at least isn't publishing that is has done it's homework. That is bad journalism. It is good business. It brings more eyes to paper.

More evidence that I think sums up the problem comes in their editorial:

The streetcar may be a real step forward for Cincinnati. We don't oppose it. But we object to the way it has - or hasn't - been planned, explained and justified. So far, city leaders have been asking Cincinnatians to support a pig in a poke.

Again: Where's the plan?

Saying you don't oppose something you do nothing to support is as much dancing on the head of a pin one editorial can offer. If the Enquirer supports the Streetcar, then why are they giving people like Tom Luken and Chris Smitherman credibility when they oppose it with no fact or substitute plan for the development it would spawn? Neither person has any credibility, yet they are driving the Story. They are the opposition to the project, so they get the same level, and often a much, much bigger level, of a voice in the debate than the supports of the Streetcar.

When other issues are pushed by Enquirer, I rarely see opponents getting the same credibility as Luken and Smitherman are getting.  Those other opponents never drive the story. Anti-war protesters didn't get the credibility. People commenting on the death of a Notre Dame football recruit are cut off, not allowed to do anything to drive the story. These groups have limited voice and limited chance to influence the story, but Luken and Smitherman get quoted at will and on topics they know nothing about.

We don't need a manufactured controversy. The Enquirer has been the primary maker of that controversy surrounding Bortz and it is a bias they have, a bias for profit.

Interesting Decisions in Upcoming Trespassing Trial

As you know, last month Chris Smitherman (the president of the Cincinnati branch of the NAACP) and Rev. Dock Foster were arrested for trespassing during a protest outside of a Cincinnati public school construction site. The two--with others--were protesting CPS's under-inclusion of minority contractors in construction bids. At the time, I remarked that Smitherman and Rev. Foster had acted "in the best tradition of the civil rights movement." Griff, as the blog's resident law-and-order conservative, was less enthusiastic.

I had assumed that the arrest was just part one of the pair's protest. I anticipated that the two would ask a jury to find that their actions were justified, much the same way the "Flannery Five" did after being arrested for trespassing at Steve Chabot's office a few years ago.

It looks like I was wrong.

Trials for the two men are now scheduled. Rev. Foster's case has been assigned to Judge Rucker, and is set for May 26. Smitherman's case, assigned to Judge Powers, is set for May 6. Both cases are set for bench trial--that is, trial to the judge. Neither man has filed a jury demand. (In Ohio, one waives the right to a jury trial in a misdemeanor case unless a jury demand is filed at least 10 days prior to trial.)

There's obviously a lot we don't know. Perhaps both have decided to enter a guilty or no-contest plea. Perhaps both have reached plea agreements with the City. Or perhaps both intend to seek a continuance on the trial date. But I'm surprised that neither has (thus far) signaled a desire to air their cause before a jury of their peers.

Cranley Continues His Deception, His Support Relies on the GOP, COAST

John Cranley can deny being a dues paying member of COAST until he turns purble, but his entire campaign is based on getting the support of COAST, the GOP, and the Smitherman vote. He gets what clearly is coordinated support from COAST via its Twitter feed, website and newsletter in the form of attacks on Cranley's opponent, nearly every day  This type of support is what Cranley wants and needs to win. He has to rely on the GOP and COAST to win and he can never deny that and be believed.

When I say rely upon, I mean that's 80 to 99 % of who he must have vote for him to win.

Cranley is trying to deceive Dems and Moderates into thinking that he is not doing the bidding of the GOP and COAST. He's trying to forget the amount of campaign money he is getting (and has historically gotten) from Republicans. He is trying to use the same type of deception that Chris Smitherman uses within part of the African American community, when Smitherman just out right lies about what his support from COAST means.

Cranley is a charlatan. He promises magic to everyone, but really he is only in this for himself and the few who help him. Just look how much his business partners give to his campaign to know the people John values.

The most interesting thing about the COAST Endorsement going public is that it scared Cranley into publicly trying to claim he doesn't want it. He is not even bothering to claim it wasn't an endorsement. He knows it was, but is pissed they made it public. He desperately needs to keep his reliance on the GOP and COAST the worst kept secret. Spread the word, believers! Cranley's is the COAST candidate! Say it loud and without hesitation.

June Update to the 2017 City of Cincinnati Council Candidates

The update this month brings one new candidate and some new endorsements from the Green Party of Southwest Ohio.  The Green Party locally is pretty flaky (or down right nuts) and their support for Smitherman shows they don't know what they are doing. The GOP finally put out their endorsements and have three and no Smitherman! My "Smither-man, Republi-can" T-Shirts are still on back order.


Lock
P.G. Sittenfeld* (D endorsed)

Likely
David Mann* (D,C endorsed)
Chris Seelbach* (D endorsed)
Wendell Young* (D endorsed)

In the Mix:
Laure Quinlivan (D)
Greg Landsman (D endorsed)
Michelle Dillingham (D endorsed)
Leslie Jones (D endorsed)
Ozie Davis III (D endorsed)
Tamaya Dennard (D,C endorsed)
Jeff Pastor (R endorsed)
Derek Bauman (C endorsed) (D)
Christopher Smitherman* (R but pretending to be I and for some reason G endorsed)
Amy Murray* (R,C endorsed)

Outside Chance
Tonya Dumas (D)
Henry Frondorf (C endorsed) (D)
Manuel Foggie
Beverly Odoms (D)
Matt Teaford (I)
Tamie Sullivan (R)
Seth Maney (R endorsed)

Also Ran
Theo Barnes
Orlando Welborn (D)
Dawud Mustafa
Brian Garry (D)
Kelli Prather (D)
Cristina Burcica (D)
Michael Rachford
Kit Earls (G endorsed)
Mary Hall
Damon Lynch IV
Edith Thrower

Candidate Twitter List: I have created a list of candidates on Twitter. Here is the actual list Twitter handles for the candidates.


If anyone has any other names please send them my way (cincyblog@aol.com) or if anyone named above wants to confirm they are not running, I'll remove them future postings of this list. Also, since I have added a party affiliation, if there are changes, let me know.

Key
* = Incumbent
D= Democratic Party
R= Republican Party
C= Charter Committee (aka Charter Party)
G= Green Party
I= Independent

Spread the World: It's An Anti-Rail Ballot Issue

The anti-city forces (COAST and Chris Smitherman) who are circulating a petition they say is to outlaw building a streetcar is really about preventing all passenger rail in the city, similar to issue 9's efforts.

So when Smitherman and COAST's minions are out over the next week desperately trying to collect signatures, be sure to ask the collector what the ballot issue means, correct them if they say it's about the streetcar, then politely decline to sign.

Be sure to spread the word about NOT signing to all Cincinnati residents. COAST and Smitherman are coming up short and only have another week to get a couple more thousand valid signatures.

Don't bother telling your friends who are residents of the suburbs or Northern Kentucky about this. If they are really anti-streetcar and want to sign a petition, you really can't stop them from doing so. No need to waste your time explaining it to them.

The New (Old) NAACP

This month's Streetvibes has an excellent article (written by Lew Moores) about the Cincinnati chapter of the NAACP (so give a buck to the next vendor you see and get a copy!). Moores argues that the NAACP has experienced a "renaissance" under the leadership of Chris Smitherman, much as it did under the leadership of Marian Spencer several years ago.

Certainly, Smitherman (with whom I sometimes disagree, but for whom I have a great deal of respect) has revitalized the local chapter of our nation's foremost civil rights organization. Its membership is up dramatically, and over the last couple years, it has helped to shape our local political discourse in ways that it did not during the first part of this decade.

For Smitherman and the NAACP to advance their agenda any further, however, they must develop and put into action a solid get-out-the-vote strategy. Yes, of the three ballot initiatives identified with the NAACP (the "jail tax" opposition, red-light camera opposition, and PR), two passed. But (without diminishing the effort it took to place these on the ballot), these were layups. It's not hard to convince people to vote against the increase of a fundamentally regressive tax or the onerous red-light cameras, which no one seems to like.

This year's election results bear out the NAACP's GOTV failures. In the City of Cincinnati, turnout was just 58%, lagging well behind county-wide turnout of 66%. What's more, of the 134,000 ballots cast, 20,000 (or 15%) recorded no vote (meaning no vote at all, not a "no" vote) on Issue 8, which would have brought a return to proportional representation in City Council elections. Local races and issues always receive a significant undervote, but Issue 8's undervote is extraordinarily high: Issue 7 had just under 13,000 undervotes (about 9 percent).

Of the two NAACP-backed initiatives on this year's ballot, certainly Issue 8 would have had a greater overall impact on Cincinnati than on Issue 7, making it the more important of the two. (In fairness: Issue 8's undervote is likely due in part to extremely poor ballot placement, as it was the only contest on the last page of a four-page ballot. Some voters may not have even realized it was there.) With Issue 8 failing by just 8,000 votes and 20,000 voters participating in the election but sitting out the Issue 8 contest, the NAACP failed to either a) educate the public about the issue, or b) get its supporters to the polls.

While the Cincinnati NAACP still has some work to do, it's terrific to see the re-emergence of this important voice in our community, and it will be exciting to see the continued growth of both the organization and its president.

(Current vote tallies available here.)

Smitherman to Lead Local NAACP?

The votes are in, but its not settled. I am not a fan of Chris Smitherman. I look for Smitherman to use the NAACP as a weapon for his own personal crusades.

Fangman Should Resign

What gives with Keith Fangman being, well, his usual prickley self? I am no Smitherman fan, and I too am baffled by Smitherman's support for Kabaka Oba, but Fangman thinks he should resign?

When the hell is Ketih Fangman going to call on Councilman Sam Malone to resign? Smitherman is not facing a criminal trial. Malone is facing a criminal trial.

It is so very hard to see a law and order Republican who represents, well, the union of law and order arm of the local government, ignoring a fellow Republican's troubles with the law.

This is Keith Fangman, so I expect this type of Cunningham charade of equity. I am disgusted still when the drivel is put forth in the local media.

Was Smitherman Scammed?

Based solely on this story from The Cincinnati Post it appears that Councilman Chris Smitherman's journey South to bring home Katrina victims actually netted a crack user and a two-some that may be out to scam people. It is sad that people take advantage of individuals who are there to help them. It is not surprising that Chris Smitherman did this, and made sure to bring along the press during an election season. I wonder if he would have done this if it were not an election year.

It is good he is doing something, I don't fault that, but he can do it and not worry about letting anyone know he is doing it. When you bring the press along, it is a campaign stunt.

Is Smitherman In?

Smitherman is in for the council race, but out for his bid for mayor. Will Charter put anyone up? Tarbell? Justin Jeffre?

Smitherman really wants to be mayor. He seems to be power hungry, with the green horned desire to win a lynch pin to his political mindset. He should win back his council seat easily, but will not be one of the top vote getters. He has pissed too many people off and have little to show for it other than making waves (treading water some might say).

Smitherman

Councilman Chris Smitherman has decided on whether he will enter the race for Cincinnati Mayor, but is not going to tell anyone until the end of March. Hmmm. Does this strike you as yet another amateur move by someone in way over his head? Smitherman has not a chance to win one of the top two spots if Mallory and/or Reece is in the race for Mayor. He should instead focus on being a force on council and maybe trying to get Ghiz to join the Charter Committee. Maybe in 4 years he could run for Mayor and lose then, instead.