Wednesday, November 6, 2024

Voters' guide

It’s serious business. You’ve got the right to vote, and you should be proud of it — there’s nothing more fundamental to a democratic society. And this year’s election is big news — Ohio voters will play a key role in electing (or re-electing) a president, and we’ll also settle on a US Senator and every member of the House of Representatives. We’ve broken down who and what you need to know in order to make the most of your vote. Get the facts and make your choice!

Don’t Forget to Vote!
Polls are open 6:30AM-6:30PM on Tuesday, November 6.

Marcy Kaptur

 

Samuel Wurzelbach

How does the redrawn district change the responsibilities of the Congressperson of the 9th?
We have always had the longest share of the Ohio coast in our district, now with this map, we will have the second largest coastal district for the entire Great Lakes — second to the Upper Peninsula that has more moose than people. But we have people. We have big communities like Lakewood and Parma; we have many more municipalities and a fifth county added to the district.

How do you balance very different communities like Lakewood and inner-city Toledo that are two hours apart?
It requires a great deal more effort, because each community has its own needs and its own agenda. It’s very hard to deliver in the short term, because many projects take a number of years to really get under way. There are many challenges for education, many challenges for the development of infrastructures. Things that I call basics.

How do you meet those basic needs over the next few years?
It’s going to take great cooperation among all those involved.

Do you think we have that sort of cooperation right now?
I see the district having great potential to bring people together across the coast and talk about our common interests and common challenges, whether it’s financing core developments, whether it’s financing the development of new energy systems to make us more competitive, whether it’s the branding that we give our coast so that we are viewed as a four-season affordable Hilton Head.  We need to bring them together. I see a way of building on our strengths.

What’s the ninth district’s greatest environmental concern?
The future of Lake Erie, the health of Lake Erie, the sustainability of Lake Erie and all of its major tributaries.The Maumee River is the largest tributary. But we have other rivers — the Black River, the Cuyahoga River.

Has combating the Asian Carp problem become more collaborative since we talked about a year ago?
There’s more public awareness about how serious the challenge is. I actually have in my purse some buttons that were given to me yesterday: ‘Stop The Asian Carp Buttons’. The real answer lies in creating a separation at Chicago.

Has the political infighting about the ways to handle the problem gotten any better?
It’s huge.

 

What can you do for the district that your opponent can’t?
Actually serve the people as opposed to the party. I firmly believe that both parties serve themselves and not the constituents they claim to serve, so I wouldn’t serve one pac, one union, one corporation — it would be everybody.

What is the district’s biggest concern and how do you propose to fix it?
The biggest concern I get from people comes down to jobs, the economy. It’s amazing how many times I go to someone’s house and they tell me that their neighbors had to move to another state in order to find work, or their children, when they get done with high school or college, are going to have to leave the area to find work. That creates a lot of hardship for families. We have I-75, we have I-80/90, we have Lake Erie: Why don’t we have business in the area staying. It really just comes down to taxes and regulations.

What are the specific small business regulations you would want to take a look at?
There is actually quite a few, but getting into it doesn’t serve a purpose right now. Small businesses can’t compete with large businesses when it comes to regulations. Large businesses have cash on hand and they have lobbyists in Washington DC. They are able to adhere to the new EPA standards or they are able to lobby. Where small businesses aren’t able to do that, so they go out of business.

During the last election what was it like becoming an overnight symbolic focal point of the presidential debates?  
My privacy was gone. [laughs]. People who don’t really know me hated me, people who don’t really know me loved me. It was very surreal and weird — it still is. I’m still not used to it. I do think some of the stuff that I say represents people’s views and I take that very seriously.
I saw that you made a blog post about a month ago in which you say the media has treated you unfairly.

What issue about you have they blow out of proportion?
There’s four years of it, so it’s hard to pick one out. I talked about illegal immigration, and that was definitely taken out of context. I prefaced the whole illegal immigration thing in Phoenix with, ‘Here’s a joke, and the liberal media is going to go to town on it.’ That has always been left out.

 

 

Bob Latta

 

Angela Zimman

What would say is the district’s biggest concern over the next two years, and what do you propose to do about it?
The number one concern, not only for the district but for the state and the country, is jobs and the economy. Everything revolves around it. In the month of August, I conducted 80 tours of factories, businesses, hospitals, farms, and I heard the same thing over and over from the folks out there. There are four things really holding back this economy — I don’t care if it’s small business or large — and it’s federal regulations, it’s taxes, it’s healthcare, and it’s energy. What we’ve done as Republicans in the House is to pass multiple pieces of legislation and sent them to the Senate. One in particular, the REINS Act says that if an agency or department promulgates a rule that would cost more than 100 million dollars, that would have to be approved by Congress. It’s working with the people back home, especially in agriculture.

This year your district looks different, thanks to redistricting. How has that affected your job and your election.
I’m very fortunate that a lot of the area that is part of the new district, I represented in the State Senate. Western Lucas County, Western Ottawa County. I know the area very very well. I went to law school at UT; I practiced law in Toledo.

What would you say is the biggest environmental issue facing Ohio?
For businesses or individuals or anybody else, there’s no one out there who would say that we don’t want clean air or we don’t want clean water. But at the same time, the EPA has to look at their regulations — (ensure) that they don’t put businesses out of business because they’ve made them to the point that people just can’t comply.

This is a big area for the auto industry. How do you feel looking back at your vote against the auto industry bailout?
Again, there’s no one in this country that doesn’t want to have a vibrant American auto industry. What we had back in 2007 with the Troubled Asset Relief Program, where some of this money came from, we were dealing with the banks at that time. I read the bill. It gave very wide-ranging latitude to the Secretary of the Treasury (Secretary Paulsen at the time) to use funds the way they wanted. We’re looking at a massive federal debt right now; what are the controls over that? Again, you don’t want to pick winners and losers.

 

What would you say is the biggest concern facing the district, and what do you propose to do about it?
Absolutely the biggest concern facing the district has to do with jobs and the economy. Number one, my opponent has been absolutely the worst on the issue. Northwest Ohio has the highest unemployment rate in the state, and he voted against the auto loan. It’s really very clear that he is not the person for this. There are three ways I specifically propose to help Northwest Ohio reclaim its position as a premier location for jobs. The first is by strengthening the infrastructure. There’s no reason why Northwest Ohio shouldn’t be the manufacturing hub of the entire country, with our access to water and to rail and the proximity to cities within an 8 hour drive. The second is making sure that we have a fully educated workforce for the jobs that already exist. I see that from both ends of the spectrum. For example, I was just down at Vantage Career Center in Van Wert, and the man who teaches welding said that they have more employers with welding jobs — good jobs, with full benefits — he said that we have more employers than we have trained welders to fill those jobs. The third piece is closing the corporate tax loopholes, so that our businesses and manufacturers don’t have any incentive to send the jobs overseas.

The district looks a lot different, due to redistricting. What changes or challenges does that create?
Well, speaking mathematically and statistically, it’s a swing district now. In fact, it has several thousand more registered Democrats than Republicans. It’s absolutely not the district it was; about 50 percent of the voters are new. It’s a mix of rural, urban, suburban and exurban, each of which presents its own challenges. It’s much more friendly to a Democrat, particularly a moderate, pragmatic Democrat.

What do you feel is the most important environmental issue facing the district or the state?
I would say water issues. With the Great Lakes right here, we have to make sure that we keep them pure — this ties into the economy, too. When you look at the issues with the Asian carp, and the damage they could do. One of my campaign staffers lives down in Putnam County, and the drinking water in her home is not potable. She has to boil it in her home to drink. The better the water is in our area, the more likely we are to have manufacturers who want to locate here.

 

Sherrod Brown

With the exception of the president, the most Super-Pac dollars have been spent to slam your campaign. Why do you think you’re so heavily targeted?
It’s no surprise when you look at who’s lined up on the other side — Karl Rove, The Koch Brothers: the people who want to see people like me lose. I stood up against Wall Street interests with my legislation to break up the six largest banks, I stood up against the Chinese and corporates that outsource jobs to level the playing field and I’ve stood up, obviously, to the oil industry with my legislation on eliminating their tax breaks. It’s no surprise they put this kind of money in. I think people start asking themselves: Why do people put this much money in? Who are these people? And you figure it’s those special interest groups that want me defeated..

Has this been the most intense race you have ever been a part of?
There’s way more money. They spent $19.5 million now and by the time you write this it will be close to $20 million. They spend about a million and a half a week — and that’s just television, that doesn’t count radio, the billboards and all that. And, more importantly, many of the claims they have made in these ads aren’t true and have been proven not to be true. Even the Columbus Dispatch, which is maybe the most conservative paper in the state, has called my opponents campaign ‘The Big Lie’. And even papers that haven’t endorsed me before are saying, ‘how low can Mandel go.’

What do you think is the most ridiculous accusation your opponent has thrown at you?
The most ridiculous one is that I have been absent; my voting record is 99 percent. I have never missed, except when my mom was dying and when my daughter graduated. Those kinds of things. And he’s just trying to distract from the fact that he hasn’t done his job as State Treasurer. It’s sort of a Karl Rove way of looking at it: You take your biggest weakness and try to turn it into a positive — Lie about the other guy. And that’s really what he has done with this.

If reelected, how can you contribute to economic growth in Ohio?
In your community, what we have done with the auto industry has turned around that community. There are thousands of jobs now at the Jeep plant and the GM transmission plant in Toledo, all these auto supply companies, auto parts makers, the auto assembly plants. They’re doing well now and have been hiring because of our actions and we are going to continue those efforts to step up and fight for jobs. Really, the difference in many ways is that their view of the world is, the Romney/Bush way, is to cut taxes for the rich and hope it trickles down. What we are doing, The Obama way, is to focus on the middle class and grow the middle class. That’s the fundamental difference between us.

I saw your wife [Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist Connie Schultz] posted on Facebook a conversation with a misinformed journalist accusing her of being too cozy with the politicians she is covering. Even though she stepped down from the Cleveland Plain dealer, do you guys still get a lot of flak?
The people that don’t like us are finding all kinds of reasons — yeah, sure. Not that it really matters. Mandel gets his pants on fire more from the Plain Dealer than almost anyone in the country, except for what’s her face…from Minnesota, that crazy Congresswoman…what’s her name…

Michele Bachmann.
Yeah, yeah. My wife doesn’t even work for The Plain Dealer anymore and they didn’t even endorse me in 2006, so it’s not like I’m in their pockets or anything.

Josh Mandel

After five emails, two phone conversations and over a month of contact with Josh Mandel’s publicist, he declined to do the interview by phone. So we used his space to run Sherrod Brown’s interview in its entirety.




Slaying the Lake Erie Monster

 

Issue 2 takes on process of drawing Ohio’s congressional districts

Where is one half equal to three fourths?  In current Ohio politics, where a state with roughly equal parts Republican and Democratic voters could be represented by a three to one Republican majority in the US House of Representatives next year.

Here’s how such a mathematical paradox came to be. The US Constitution mandates a population census every decade. The resulting numbers determine each state’s representation in Congress, which in turn determines the number of congressional districts. Ohio currently has 18 districts, which will be reduced to 16 after this year’s elections given the census numbers from 2010.

Who gets to redraw the district boundaries, and how are they determined? The directives for the latter come from the Ohio Constitution , Art. XI Sec. 7(A), which states that “[e]very house of representatives district shall be compact and composed of contiguous territory,” and Sec. 7(C), which says that whole political units should be preserved within single districts where feasible. In other words, municipalities shouldn’t be split between districts unless it’s unavoidable.

The problem is in who sets the boundaries. Current state law forms a 5-member commission composed of the Governor, State Auditor, Secretary of State, a member chosen by the Speaker of the House (currently all four are Republicans), and a fifth member designated by the minority House leader (a Democrat).  An advisory committee is appointed by leaders of the majority party in each state house, currently both Republicans.  

The results of their recommendations are as you might expect. Lines have been drawn corralling Democratic voters by any means necessary, isolating them by splitting up major cities like Toledo and snaking lines along the Lake Erie coast. Indeed, District 9, currently represented by Toledo’s Marcy Kaptur, has been dubbed the “Lake Erie Monster” as it winds along the coast from Toledo all the way to Cleveland, jumping Sandusky Bay as it goes, and not-so- coincidentally ending just far enough to the east and west to force sitting Representatives Kaptur and Dennis Kucinich, both Democrats, to face each other in last March’s primary, ensuring that one would be eliminated from Congress. Isolating Democratic voters in oddly drawn districts allows maximizing the number of districts that are majority Republican.  The result is a likely representation in Congress that will include 12 Republicans and only 4 Democrats next year.

Indeed, District 9, currently represented by Toledo’s Marcy Kaptur, has been dubbed the “Lake Erie Monster”

District 9 is the poster child for the fact that redistricting is broken. The redrawing of District 9 clearly violates the spirit of the law. It is certainly not compact, is only contiguous if the fish in the Sandusky Bay can vote, and splits Toledo between Districts 9 and 5. Issue 2 on the November ballot, an amendment to the Ohio Constitution Article XI, attempts to take politicians out of the redistricting process in the hope that a sane alternative might be found, ensuring truly compact, contiguous districts which represent the fact that Ohio is split evenly between the major parties.

Here are its major changes to the current process:
Creates the 12-member Ohio Citizens Independent Redistricting Commission to establish the boundaries for Ohio’s state legislative and congressional districts.
Provides for the process whereby the commission is appointed and who is ineligible to serve.  The Commission is chosen by a panel of judges. Those ineligible include those who have been state or federal elected officials and their families, employees of state or federal offices, or lobbyists within the past ten years; candidates for said offices or political party officials and employees within the past five years; major party donors within the past two years; and those who haven’t voted in two of the last three general state and federal elections.

Charges the commission with drawing districts using four criteria: community preservation; competitiveness, meaning no district has a massive swing toward any one party; representational fairness, balancing all districts statewide; and compactness.

For full text of the ballot language, go to votersfirstohio.com/ballot-language/; for full text of the proposed constitutional amendment go to www.votersfirstohio.com/fullamendmenttext.pdf.



 

We've got issues

Your guide to the Issues on this November’s ballot

Statewide Issues: Issue 1, Issue 2

NO  Issue 1 asks the question, “Shall there be a convention to revise, alter, or amend the Ohio constitution?”  The question of a new constitutional convention is automatically placed on the ballot every twenty years per Ohio Constitution Art. XVI Sec. 3.  It has never passed.  It shouldn’t now.
Hildo sez: “No” on Issue 1.

YES   Issue 2 is an attempt to amend the Ohio Constitution to fix a broken redistricting system (see “Slaying the Lake Erie Monster” in this issue).  It is endorsed by such nonpartisan, respected groups as the League of Women Voters.  Will it work perfectly?  Maybe not.  But let’s not sacrifice better in search of perfect.  It’s clear the current system doesn’t work.  Issue 2 can only help.  
Hildo sez: “Yes” on Issue 2.

Local Issues: Levies and the future of TARTA

It’s a Presidential election year, as you might have noticed.  There is a Democratic incumbent who is also a gentleman of color.  The only way he keeps his seat is through a massive voter turnout of liberals and progressives in major urban centers like Toledo. These are the same voters who tend to favor public investment in things like schools, libraries, parks, and social service agencies. Which is why there are no less than five countywide property tax levy issues county-wide, plus one for Toledo Public Schools and another to support parks in Toledo.  Here’s the list.

YES Issue 5 is only for voters within the City of Toledo.  It is a 1-mill levy for ten years to create a funding stream dedicated to improving and maintaining parks infrastructure and recreation programming.  Proponents say it will cost the average Toledo home owner about $18 per year.  They also say the levy is designed for ten years so that bonds can be floated, increasing the bang for the buck.  Improving options for kids during the summer can only be beneficial, activities for families and seniors are another plus that can retain population and build neighborhoods.  All suburban communities fund their parks through property taxes.  As a reminder, we note that, the Sylvania Joint Recreation District has a 0.4-mil additional continuing levy on the ballot as Issue 22. 
Hildo sez: “Yes” on Issue 5.

YES Issue 20 is for voters within the Toledo Public School District and would provide 4.9 additional mills for a ten-year period.  This would be the first major infusion of new cash into the schools for over a decade.  The current school funding system caps levy dollars as costs rise due to inflation, meaning existing levies eventually can’t keep up with expenditures.  The schools are a backbone of any rejuvenation of Toledo.  Current leadership is creatively rebuilding the academics of the district, and they promise further innovation if the levy passes, including specialty high school programming and a STEMM campus at the former Devilbiss High School.  As the schools go, so goes the City. 
Hildo sez: “Yes” on Issue 20.

YES  Issue 21 is a countywide levy for the Toledo Area Metroparks.  It is a 0.9-mill, ten year levy that replaces an expiring 0.3-mill levy for land acquisition.  The increase would pay for maintenance and programming and ongoing development at the Middlegrounds downtown, Keil farm in west Toledo, the Fallen Timbers Battleground in Maumee, and other projects across the county in addition to further land acquisition.   Proponents say it would cost the average county homeowner an additional $18 per year.  While City parks are for neighborhood recreation, the Metroparks provide regional habitat and historic interpretation and preservation.  They are vital to our quality of life. 
Hildo sez: “Yes” on Issue 21.

YES Issue 23 is a 2.9-mill, five year levy for the Toledo Lucas County Library system.  This includes a 2.0-mill renewal and an increase of 0.9-mills. The increase would cost the average county homeowner about $27 per year. The state has slashed library funding, saddling local jurisdictions with the burden of picking up the slack.  Without this increase to make up for the cuts from Columbus, the libraries will be forced to cut hours, close some neighborhood branches and reduce acquisitions.  Knowledge is power, and libraries are essential to our community’s health. 
Hildo sez: “Yes” on Issue 23.

YES Issue 25 is a new 1-mil, ten year levy for the Mental Health and Recovery Services Board that would cost the average county homeowner about $30 per year.  Mental health is an oft-forgotten imperative in these troubled times.  The Board distributes its funds to service providers across the county.  Proponents say current service needs can’t be met with existing resources, causing a fiscal deficit, and the levy will help prevent homelessness, promote public safety and stabilize
families. 
Hildo sez: “Yes” on Issue 24.

NO Issue 25 is levy for the Lucas County Children Services Board.  It is a 1-mil renewal, plus 0.85-mil additional levy, costing the average county homeowner an additional $26 per year.  Make no mistake, the Board provides vital services to our region.  But we question the timing and need of the request for additional money.  As recently as 2003 the agency projected a massive $29 million budget surplus, causing them to amend a levy request downward.  The 2011 annual report notes that reduced property valuation resulted in a decline in revenues, while escalating expenditures combined to cause a budget shortfall.  That still left a fund reserve of $13.8 million, which we are sure any of the other agencies would love to share.  The 1-mill levy doesn’t actually expire until 2013.  We think it is prudent to expect reining in expenditures while we wait and see what the reserve looks like then. 
Hildo cautiously sez: “No” on Issue 25.

YES Issue 26 is a renewal of the 0.17-mill, five year levy to support Imagination Station.  This levy also does not expire until 2013, but it asks for no new money.  It supports free admission to county residents on Saturdays and hosting traveling science exhibits.  Science and math education is key to the future vitality of our region, and Imagination Station has turned the corner from the bad old days of COSI.  The levy represents a minimal investment with great returns.
Hildo sez: vote “Yes” on Issue 26.

NO Issues 14 and 15 will help determine the fate of mass transit in our region.  They are ballot questions allowing Spencer and Sylvania Townships to opt out of participating in TARTA. Perrysburg has already done so. Dismantling TARTA will further reduce transportation options crucial to the economic activity of our region.  We agree that TARTA has problems that should be addressed, and reform is needed.  But we can’t save the patient by pulling the plug.  Reform, yes.  But in the meantime,
Hildo sez: vote “No” on Issues 14 and 15.



The one-and-only Nick Amrhein of 3BYONE Media lent his photography skills to our City Politics issue. Not even the walking dead can keep Nick down — he corralled our horde of zombies into a cooperative army of the undead. We hope he wasn’t infected, but we’re confident he can keep doing great work from beyond the grave!
3BYONE Media
310.991.2105
www.3byone.com

It’s serious business. You’ve got the right to vote, and you should be proud of it — there’s nothing more fundamental to a democratic society. And this year’s election is big news — Ohio voters will play a key role in electing (or re-electing) a president, and we’ll also settle on a US Senator and every member of the House of Representatives. We’ve broken down who and what you need to know in order to make the most of your vote. Get the facts and make your choice!

Don’t Forget to Vote!
Polls are open 6:30AM-6:30PM on Tuesday, November 6.

Marcy Kaptur

 

Samuel Wurzelbach

How does the redrawn district change the responsibilities of the Congressperson of the 9th?
We have always had the longest share of the Ohio coast in our district, now with this map, we will have the second largest coastal district for the entire Great Lakes — second to the Upper Peninsula that has more moose than people. But we have people. We have big communities like Lakewood and Parma; we have many more municipalities and a fifth county added to the district.

How do you balance very different communities like Lakewood and inner-city Toledo that are two hours apart?
It requires a great deal more effort, because each community has its own needs and its own agenda. It’s very hard to deliver in the short term, because many projects take a number of years to really get under way. There are many challenges for education, many challenges for the development of infrastructures. Things that I call basics.

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How do you meet those basic needs over the next few years?
It’s going to take great cooperation among all those involved.

Do you think we have that sort of cooperation right now?
I see the district having great potential to bring people together across the coast and talk about our common interests and common challenges, whether it’s financing core developments, whether it’s financing the development of new energy systems to make us more competitive, whether it’s the branding that we give our coast so that we are viewed as a four-season affordable Hilton Head.  We need to bring them together. I see a way of building on our strengths.

What’s the ninth district’s greatest environmental concern?
The future of Lake Erie, the health of Lake Erie, the sustainability of Lake Erie and all of its major tributaries.The Maumee River is the largest tributary. But we have other rivers — the Black River, the Cuyahoga River.

Has combating the Asian Carp problem become more collaborative since we talked about a year ago?
There’s more public awareness about how serious the challenge is. I actually have in my purse some buttons that were given to me yesterday: ‘Stop The Asian Carp Buttons’. The real answer lies in creating a separation at Chicago.

Has the political infighting about the ways to handle the problem gotten any better?
It’s huge.

 

What can you do for the district that your opponent can’t?
Actually serve the people as opposed to the party. I firmly believe that both parties serve themselves and not the constituents they claim to serve, so I wouldn’t serve one pac, one union, one corporation — it would be everybody.

What is the district’s biggest concern and how do you propose to fix it?
The biggest concern I get from people comes down to jobs, the economy. It’s amazing how many times I go to someone’s house and they tell me that their neighbors had to move to another state in order to find work, or their children, when they get done with high school or college, are going to have to leave the area to find work. That creates a lot of hardship for families. We have I-75, we have I-80/90, we have Lake Erie: Why don’t we have business in the area staying. It really just comes down to taxes and regulations.

What are the specific small business regulations you would want to take a look at?
There is actually quite a few, but getting into it doesn’t serve a purpose right now. Small businesses can’t compete with large businesses when it comes to regulations. Large businesses have cash on hand and they have lobbyists in Washington DC. They are able to adhere to the new EPA standards or they are able to lobby. Where small businesses aren’t able to do that, so they go out of business.

During the last election what was it like becoming an overnight symbolic focal point of the presidential debates?  
My privacy was gone. [laughs]. People who don’t really know me hated me, people who don’t really know me loved me. It was very surreal and weird — it still is. I’m still not used to it. I do think some of the stuff that I say represents people’s views and I take that very seriously.
I saw that you made a blog post about a month ago in which you say the media has treated you unfairly.

What issue about you have they blow out of proportion?
There’s four years of it, so it’s hard to pick one out. I talked about illegal immigration, and that was definitely taken out of context. I prefaced the whole illegal immigration thing in Phoenix with, ‘Here’s a joke, and the liberal media is going to go to town on it.’ That has always been left out.

 

 

Bob Latta

 

Angela Zimman

What would say is the district’s biggest concern over the next two years, and what do you propose to do about it?
The number one concern, not only for the district but for the state and the country, is jobs and the economy. Everything revolves around it. In the month of August, I conducted 80 tours of factories, businesses, hospitals, farms, and I heard the same thing over and over from the folks out there. There are four things really holding back this economy — I don’t care if it’s small business or large — and it’s federal regulations, it’s taxes, it’s healthcare, and it’s energy. What we’ve done as Republicans in the House is to pass multiple pieces of legislation and sent them to the Senate. One in particular, the REINS Act says that if an agency or department promulgates a rule that would cost more than 100 million dollars, that would have to be approved by Congress. It’s working with the people back home, especially in agriculture.

This year your district looks different, thanks to redistricting. How has that affected your job and your election.
I’m very fortunate that a lot of the area that is part of the new district, I represented in the State Senate. Western Lucas County, Western Ottawa County. I know the area very very well. I went to law school at UT; I practiced law in Toledo.

What would you say is the biggest environmental issue facing Ohio?
For businesses or individuals or anybody else, there’s no one out there who would say that we don’t want clean air or we don’t want clean water. But at the same time, the EPA has to look at their regulations — (ensure) that they don’t put businesses out of business because they’ve made them to the point that people just can’t comply.

This is a big area for the auto industry. How do you feel looking back at your vote against the auto industry bailout?
Again, there’s no one in this country that doesn’t want to have a vibrant American auto industry. What we had back in 2007 with the Troubled Asset Relief Program, where some of this money came from, we were dealing with the banks at that time. I read the bill. It gave very wide-ranging latitude to the Secretary of the Treasury (Secretary Paulsen at the time) to use funds the way they wanted. We’re looking at a massive federal debt right now; what are the controls over that? Again, you don’t want to pick winners and losers.

 

What would you say is the biggest concern facing the district, and what do you propose to do about it?
Absolutely the biggest concern facing the district has to do with jobs and the economy. Number one, my opponent has been absolutely the worst on the issue. Northwest Ohio has the highest unemployment rate in the state, and he voted against the auto loan. It’s really very clear that he is not the person for this. There are three ways I specifically propose to help Northwest Ohio reclaim its position as a premier location for jobs. The first is by strengthening the infrastructure. There’s no reason why Northwest Ohio shouldn’t be the manufacturing hub of the entire country, with our access to water and to rail and the proximity to cities within an 8 hour drive. The second is making sure that we have a fully educated workforce for the jobs that already exist. I see that from both ends of the spectrum. For example, I was just down at Vantage Career Center in Van Wert, and the man who teaches welding said that they have more employers with welding jobs — good jobs, with full benefits — he said that we have more employers than we have trained welders to fill those jobs. The third piece is closing the corporate tax loopholes, so that our businesses and manufacturers don’t have any incentive to send the jobs overseas.

The district looks a lot different, due to redistricting. What changes or challenges does that create?
Well, speaking mathematically and statistically, it’s a swing district now. In fact, it has several thousand more registered Democrats than Republicans. It’s absolutely not the district it was; about 50 percent of the voters are new. It’s a mix of rural, urban, suburban and exurban, each of which presents its own challenges. It’s much more friendly to a Democrat, particularly a moderate, pragmatic Democrat.

What do you feel is the most important environmental issue facing the district or the state?
I would say water issues. With the Great Lakes right here, we have to make sure that we keep them pure — this ties into the economy, too. When you look at the issues with the Asian carp, and the damage they could do. One of my campaign staffers lives down in Putnam County, and the drinking water in her home is not potable. She has to boil it in her home to drink. The better the water is in our area, the more likely we are to have manufacturers who want to locate here.

 

Sherrod Brown

With the exception of the president, the most Super-Pac dollars have been spent to slam your campaign. Why do you think you’re so heavily targeted?
It’s no surprise when you look at who’s lined up on the other side — Karl Rove, The Koch Brothers: the people who want to see people like me lose. I stood up against Wall Street interests with my legislation to break up the six largest banks, I stood up against the Chinese and corporates that outsource jobs to level the playing field and I’ve stood up, obviously, to the oil industry with my legislation on eliminating their tax breaks. It’s no surprise they put this kind of money in. I think people start asking themselves: Why do people put this much money in? Who are these people? And you figure it’s those special interest groups that want me defeated..

Has this been the most intense race you have ever been a part of?
There’s way more money. They spent $19.5 million now and by the time you write this it will be close to $20 million. They spend about a million and a half a week — and that’s just television, that doesn’t count radio, the billboards and all that. And, more importantly, many of the claims they have made in these ads aren’t true and have been proven not to be true. Even the Columbus Dispatch, which is maybe the most conservative paper in the state, has called my opponents campaign ‘The Big Lie’. And even papers that haven’t endorsed me before are saying, ‘how low can Mandel go.’

What do you think is the most ridiculous accusation your opponent has thrown at you?
The most ridiculous one is that I have been absent; my voting record is 99 percent. I have never missed, except when my mom was dying and when my daughter graduated. Those kinds of things. And he’s just trying to distract from the fact that he hasn’t done his job as State Treasurer. It’s sort of a Karl Rove way of looking at it: You take your biggest weakness and try to turn it into a positive — Lie about the other guy. And that’s really what he has done with this.

If reelected, how can you contribute to economic growth in Ohio?
In your community, what we have done with the auto industry has turned around that community. There are thousands of jobs now at the Jeep plant and the GM transmission plant in Toledo, all these auto supply companies, auto parts makers, the auto assembly plants. They’re doing well now and have been hiring because of our actions and we are going to continue those efforts to step up and fight for jobs. Really, the difference in many ways is that their view of the world is, the Romney/Bush way, is to cut taxes for the rich and hope it trickles down. What we are doing, The Obama way, is to focus on the middle class and grow the middle class. That’s the fundamental difference between us.

I saw your wife [Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist Connie Schultz] posted on Facebook a conversation with a misinformed journalist accusing her of being too cozy with the politicians she is covering. Even though she stepped down from the Cleveland Plain dealer, do you guys still get a lot of flak?
The people that don’t like us are finding all kinds of reasons — yeah, sure. Not that it really matters. Mandel gets his pants on fire more from the Plain Dealer than almost anyone in the country, except for what’s her face…from Minnesota, that crazy Congresswoman…what’s her name…

Michele Bachmann.
Yeah, yeah. My wife doesn’t even work for The Plain Dealer anymore and they didn’t even endorse me in 2006, so it’s not like I’m in their pockets or anything.

Josh Mandel

After five emails, two phone conversations and over a month of contact with Josh Mandel’s publicist, he declined to do the interview by phone. So we used his space to run Sherrod Brown’s interview in its entirety.




Slaying the Lake Erie Monster

 

Issue 2 takes on process of drawing Ohio’s congressional districts

Where is one half equal to three fourths?  In current Ohio politics, where a state with roughly equal parts Republican and Democratic voters could be represented by a three to one Republican majority in the US House of Representatives next year.

Here’s how such a mathematical paradox came to be. The US Constitution mandates a population census every decade. The resulting numbers determine each state’s representation in Congress, which in turn determines the number of congressional districts. Ohio currently has 18 districts, which will be reduced to 16 after this year’s elections given the census numbers from 2010.

Who gets to redraw the district boundaries, and how are they determined? The directives for the latter come from the Ohio Constitution , Art. XI Sec. 7(A), which states that “[e]very house of representatives district shall be compact and composed of contiguous territory,” and Sec. 7(C), which says that whole political units should be preserved within single districts where feasible. In other words, municipalities shouldn’t be split between districts unless it’s unavoidable.

The problem is in who sets the boundaries. Current state law forms a 5-member commission composed of the Governor, State Auditor, Secretary of State, a member chosen by the Speaker of the House (currently all four are Republicans), and a fifth member designated by the minority House leader (a Democrat).  An advisory committee is appointed by leaders of the majority party in each state house, currently both Republicans.  

The results of their recommendations are as you might expect. Lines have been drawn corralling Democratic voters by any means necessary, isolating them by splitting up major cities like Toledo and snaking lines along the Lake Erie coast. Indeed, District 9, currently represented by Toledo’s Marcy Kaptur, has been dubbed the “Lake Erie Monster” as it winds along the coast from Toledo all the way to Cleveland, jumping Sandusky Bay as it goes, and not-so- coincidentally ending just far enough to the east and west to force sitting Representatives Kaptur and Dennis Kucinich, both Democrats, to face each other in last March’s primary, ensuring that one would be eliminated from Congress. Isolating Democratic voters in oddly drawn districts allows maximizing the number of districts that are majority Republican.  The result is a likely representation in Congress that will include 12 Republicans and only 4 Democrats next year.

Indeed, District 9, currently represented by Toledo’s Marcy Kaptur, has been dubbed the “Lake Erie Monster”

District 9 is the poster child for the fact that redistricting is broken. The redrawing of District 9 clearly violates the spirit of the law. It is certainly not compact, is only contiguous if the fish in the Sandusky Bay can vote, and splits Toledo between Districts 9 and 5. Issue 2 on the November ballot, an amendment to the Ohio Constitution Article XI, attempts to take politicians out of the redistricting process in the hope that a sane alternative might be found, ensuring truly compact, contiguous districts which represent the fact that Ohio is split evenly between the major parties.

Here are its major changes to the current process:
Creates the 12-member Ohio Citizens Independent Redistricting Commission to establish the boundaries for Ohio’s state legislative and congressional districts.
Provides for the process whereby the commission is appointed and who is ineligible to serve.  The Commission is chosen by a panel of judges. Those ineligible include those who have been state or federal elected officials and their families, employees of state or federal offices, or lobbyists within the past ten years; candidates for said offices or political party officials and employees within the past five years; major party donors within the past two years; and those who haven’t voted in two of the last three general state and federal elections.

Charges the commission with drawing districts using four criteria: community preservation; competitiveness, meaning no district has a massive swing toward any one party; representational fairness, balancing all districts statewide; and compactness.

For full text of the ballot language, go to votersfirstohio.com/ballot-language/; for full text of the proposed constitutional amendment go to www.votersfirstohio.com/fullamendmenttext.pdf.



 

We've got issues

Your guide to the Issues on this November’s ballot

Statewide Issues: Issue 1, Issue 2

NO  Issue 1 asks the question, “Shall there be a convention to revise, alter, or amend the Ohio constitution?”  The question of a new constitutional convention is automatically placed on the ballot every twenty years per Ohio Constitution Art. XVI Sec. 3.  It has never passed.  It shouldn’t now.
Hildo sez: “No” on Issue 1.

YES   Issue 2 is an attempt to amend the Ohio Constitution to fix a broken redistricting system (see “Slaying the Lake Erie Monster” in this issue).  It is endorsed by such nonpartisan, respected groups as the League of Women Voters.  Will it work perfectly?  Maybe not.  But let’s not sacrifice better in search of perfect.  It’s clear the current system doesn’t work.  Issue 2 can only help.  
Hildo sez: “Yes” on Issue 2.

Local Issues: Levies and the future of TARTA

It’s a Presidential election year, as you might have noticed.  There is a Democratic incumbent who is also a gentleman of color.  The only way he keeps his seat is through a massive voter turnout of liberals and progressives in major urban centers like Toledo. These are the same voters who tend to favor public investment in things like schools, libraries, parks, and social service agencies. Which is why there are no less than five countywide property tax levy issues county-wide, plus one for Toledo Public Schools and another to support parks in Toledo.  Here’s the list.

YES Issue 5 is only for voters within the City of Toledo.  It is a 1-mill levy for ten years to create a funding stream dedicated to improving and maintaining parks infrastructure and recreation programming.  Proponents say it will cost the average Toledo home owner about $18 per year.  They also say the levy is designed for ten years so that bonds can be floated, increasing the bang for the buck.  Improving options for kids during the summer can only be beneficial, activities for families and seniors are another plus that can retain population and build neighborhoods.  All suburban communities fund their parks through property taxes.  As a reminder, we note that, the Sylvania Joint Recreation District has a 0.4-mil additional continuing levy on the ballot as Issue 22. 
Hildo sez: “Yes” on Issue 5.

YES Issue 20 is for voters within the Toledo Public School District and would provide 4.9 additional mills for a ten-year period.  This would be the first major infusion of new cash into the schools for over a decade.  The current school funding system caps levy dollars as costs rise due to inflation, meaning existing levies eventually can’t keep up with expenditures.  The schools are a backbone of any rejuvenation of Toledo.  Current leadership is creatively rebuilding the academics of the district, and they promise further innovation if the levy passes, including specialty high school programming and a STEMM campus at the former Devilbiss High School.  As the schools go, so goes the City. 
Hildo sez: “Yes” on Issue 20.

YES  Issue 21 is a countywide levy for the Toledo Area Metroparks.  It is a 0.9-mill, ten year levy that replaces an expiring 0.3-mill levy for land acquisition.  The increase would pay for maintenance and programming and ongoing development at the Middlegrounds downtown, Keil farm in west Toledo, the Fallen Timbers Battleground in Maumee, and other projects across the county in addition to further land acquisition.   Proponents say it would cost the average county homeowner an additional $18 per year.  While City parks are for neighborhood recreation, the Metroparks provide regional habitat and historic interpretation and preservation.  They are vital to our quality of life. 
Hildo sez: “Yes” on Issue 21.

YES Issue 23 is a 2.9-mill, five year levy for the Toledo Lucas County Library system.  This includes a 2.0-mill renewal and an increase of 0.9-mills. The increase would cost the average county homeowner about $27 per year. The state has slashed library funding, saddling local jurisdictions with the burden of picking up the slack.  Without this increase to make up for the cuts from Columbus, the libraries will be forced to cut hours, close some neighborhood branches and reduce acquisitions.  Knowledge is power, and libraries are essential to our community’s health. 
Hildo sez: “Yes” on Issue 23.

YES Issue 25 is a new 1-mil, ten year levy for the Mental Health and Recovery Services Board that would cost the average county homeowner about $30 per year.  Mental health is an oft-forgotten imperative in these troubled times.  The Board distributes its funds to service providers across the county.  Proponents say current service needs can’t be met with existing resources, causing a fiscal deficit, and the levy will help prevent homelessness, promote public safety and stabilize
families. 
Hildo sez: “Yes” on Issue 24.

NO Issue 25 is levy for the Lucas County Children Services Board.  It is a 1-mil renewal, plus 0.85-mil additional levy, costing the average county homeowner an additional $26 per year.  Make no mistake, the Board provides vital services to our region.  But we question the timing and need of the request for additional money.  As recently as 2003 the agency projected a massive $29 million budget surplus, causing them to amend a levy request downward.  The 2011 annual report notes that reduced property valuation resulted in a decline in revenues, while escalating expenditures combined to cause a budget shortfall.  That still left a fund reserve of $13.8 million, which we are sure any of the other agencies would love to share.  The 1-mill levy doesn’t actually expire until 2013.  We think it is prudent to expect reining in expenditures while we wait and see what the reserve looks like then. 
Hildo cautiously sez: “No” on Issue 25.

YES Issue 26 is a renewal of the 0.17-mill, five year levy to support Imagination Station.  This levy also does not expire until 2013, but it asks for no new money.  It supports free admission to county residents on Saturdays and hosting traveling science exhibits.  Science and math education is key to the future vitality of our region, and Imagination Station has turned the corner from the bad old days of COSI.  The levy represents a minimal investment with great returns.
Hildo sez: vote “Yes” on Issue 26.

NO Issues 14 and 15 will help determine the fate of mass transit in our region.  They are ballot questions allowing Spencer and Sylvania Townships to opt out of participating in TARTA. Perrysburg has already done so. Dismantling TARTA will further reduce transportation options crucial to the economic activity of our region.  We agree that TARTA has problems that should be addressed, and reform is needed.  But we can’t save the patient by pulling the plug.  Reform, yes.  But in the meantime,
Hildo sez: vote “No” on Issues 14 and 15.



The one-and-only Nick Amrhein of 3BYONE Media lent his photography skills to our City Politics issue. Not even the walking dead can keep Nick down — he corralled our horde of zombies into a cooperative army of the undead. We hope he wasn’t infected, but we’re confident he can keep doing great work from beyond the grave!
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