It looks like the blogger BizzyBlog has filed a complaint against FORMER Congressman Bob McEwen about his use of the term Congressman in his campaign lit. At first, we thought it was a petty complaint…why bother…but then we realized he might run again and is considered on Blackwell’s short list for Lt. Gov. and we don’t want that, so good luck!

Related links….
Bizzy Blog
Viking Spirit
Project Logic
Nix Guy

From WKSU.

From the Blade…

“Petitions advocating one of the nation’s strictest indoor smoking bans in public places is headed to the Ohio General Assembly, despite court challenges.
Secretary of State Ken Blackwell yesterday certified the petitions, a move that, after the first of the year, would trigger a four-month clock for legislators to act.
“The secretary of state was presented with a sufficient number of signatures based on the judgment of county boards of election,” Blackwell spokesman Carlo LoParo said. “Based on that number and our interpretation of Ohio law, that completes the certification procedure, and we must forward the petitions to the General Assembly for consideration.” The ban, which would supersede Toledo’s weaker ban, would prohibit smoking in virtually all enclosed places where the public congregates.
As of yesterday, challenges to petitions and signatures had been filed in at least 10 counties, including Wood, Erie, Defiance, and Allen in northwest Ohio. More are expected.”

2006 is going to be a huge year in Ohio politics. Wonder how this will play and who will be helped and hurt by it. Also wonder if any of the statewide candidates will come out against the proposal.

Whoa!

“Then-candidate and now Cleveland mayor-elect Frank Jackson explained his 1992
proposal to quarantine people with HIV who expose others to the virus. ”�“It was like a sore thumb, but sometimes a sore thumb has to stick out for people to pay attention,”? Jackson said, arguing that until then, the matter was not discussed openly, and he brought it to a head.” Read the rest HERE.

Now that would have made for an interesting debate!

From Crain’s

“Cleveland City Councilman Joe Cimperman almost chose hours in the confessional
booth over late nights at committee meetings.
The Ward 13 councilman at one time considered becoming a Catholic priest, but he thought better of it and took his talents to City Hall instead, though his sister is a nun in San Antonio.
First elected to Council in 1997, the 35-year-old Mr. Cimperman recently won
a third term, garnering nearly 75% of the vote.
Mr. Cimperman likes to label his ward the city's ”�“most racially diverse.”? With Ward 13 encompassing a wide swath of land extending east to the St. Clair-Superior neighborhood through downtown and west to Ohio City, he might be right.”

Worth the read.

From the Cincinnati Black Blog…

“Petro picked Heimlich because he thought Heimlich would do four basic things: (1) help raise money, (2) bolster Petro’s conservative credentials with the GOP’s primary voting base, (3) help Petro cut into Blackwell’s Hamilton County base, and (4) have the energy to travel the State campaigning. Heimlich hasn’t delivered on any of the four.

Phil has been a huge disappointment to Petro. Heimlich’s wife just gave birth to their 2nd child and Phil hasn’t been traveling the State campaigning, raising money, or making new connections. Instead Phil has been engaged in fight after fight on the County Commission, many of which don’t engender conservatives to Petro/Heimlich…

Phil has been disappointed by Petro. First, Petro has been running ads since early November. Heimlich’s name and face are noticably absent from all of the ads! Heimlich’s people apparently thing Petro’s ads are a waste of money, a slap in the face to him, and show that he doesn’t understand what it takes to close the gap between the Petro/Heimlich ticket and the Blackwell ticket. Second, Heimlich never counted on the fact that Blackwell would be so far ahead of Petro at this stage in the race…”

Thoughts? Can’t disagree with any of this, but who knows?

I love the title of this post at BuckeyeSenate…

“Brown Touts His Own Crappy Performance”

Nice rebuttal of Sherrod’s accomplishments.

“Seven Hills, Ohio - After nearly a year of campaigning, Pete Draganic has achieved a level of recognition and success that perhaps no previous gubernatorial candidate has, as an outsider.

Certainly attributable to his success is the fact that he has traveled most of the state in his quest for a better Ohio. Draganic's campaigning has taken him to 78 counties thus far. Along the way he has presented his ideas at dozens of county fairs and scores of dinners and events where he has met and spoken to thousands of Ohioans.

Pete has also triumphed over something that strikes fear into the hearts of many. That something is public speaking. Giving his first ever public speech at Nautica Stage, in downtown Cleveland in June of 2005, Pete has since spoken alongside his opponents and as keynote speaker at various events dozens of times. Pete's speeches often draw the greatest response and enthusiasm from those in attendance.

Since he began campaigning, Pete has stayed true to his original message and plan for Ohio's recovery while his opponents have quite frankly moved more toward the concepts originally put forth by Pete Draganic. There is no stronger testament to the power and popularity of Pete's message than this.

Every major newspaper in Ohio, countless small-town papers and the Washington AP (Associated Press) have covered Pete in his quest for the Governor's office. Through his travels, Pete has also been covered by many of Ohio's television and radio stations.

Pete's campaign has been fueled by endless ambition, dedication and passion for his home state. For a first-time office seeker, he has likely accomplished more than any comparable predecessor. He has certainly exceeded the expectations of most Ohio politicos.

Pete's endeavor to make a difference in Ohio is inspirational to many. He has reminded us that seemingly ordinary men and women can do great things. He teaches us that it is still possible to make a difference if you believe in the cause. These are the concepts that this great nation was built upon and although we may sometimes forget, these are the ideals that help us to find the light at the end of the darkest tunnels. We find this spirit in his own words when he said, ”�“I refuse to accept that there are limitations to what we can accomplish”?.

Where’s the mention that he won our internet poll!

Can’t stop laughing after reading this…

“The outgoing mayor of East Cleveland is in charge again, following a temporary
takeover by her eager successor.
Mayor-elect Eric Brewer seized power on Monday while Mayor Saratha Goggins was in Alabama, spending the holidays with family. Goggins hurried back to East Cleveland yesterday, and she and Brewer made a truce allowing Goggins to keep the office through Saturday, as scheduled.
Brewer says he took over early because he felt there should be someone at City
Hall functioning as mayor. He was allowed into the mayor’s office by a police
officer, who scaled an eight-foot partition to open the door.”

Mabye Blackwell doesn’t want the endorsement of this guy…

From WHIOtv.com

“Taft said, ”�“I'm governor, and it happened under my watch. It happened under the
director that I appointed, who I trusted and from whom I got glowing reports.”? That director at the Bureau of Workers' Compensation has since resigned. He did not report problems until it was too late. The state inspector general and a long list of agencies are investigating, including the FBI and prosecutors in Columbus and Toldeo.
Taft said that while the investigation is under way, he is moving forward. ”�“We have a new administrator of the bureau who is taking charge and cleaning house. We've got a new, more aggressive investment policy.”?
Much of the focus has been on Noe.
Taft said, ”�“Noe was a friend of mine, but I really don't know if any of us really knew who Tom Noe was.”?

Sigh.

Found this interesting…. (from the Parry Sound Northstar)

“Parry Sound Mayor Ted Knight witnessed what he described as a historic event in
mid-December when American representatives signed their Great Lakes Regional
Collaboration resolution.
The signing of the resolution was historic because it brought the many different organizations working independently towards the protection of the Great Lakes together as one organization. This new status will also allow the group to apply for government funding. ”

Without the Great Lakes this region has next to nothing when it unique resources….

It seems to us that Sherrod Brown will have a hard time converting Bush voters over to his side, especially in Southern Ohio. On the other hand, Paul Hackett has proven he can deliver swing votes…this uncertainty is why we think Hackett would have a better shot against DeWine.

Many Republicans are very unhappy with DeWine now, but we have a hard time believing they would pull the lever for Sherrod, but can see some of them voting for Hackett out of protest. Just our opinion….

With that being said, we hope Sherrod Brown destroys Hackett and puts an end to his political career.

Came across this on ONN

Communities across Ohio that restrict public smoking:
Bexley
Bowling Green
Centerville
Columbus
Dublin
Fairfield
Gahanna
Grandview Heights
Granville
Grove City
Heath
Hilliard
Marble Cliff
New Albany
Newark
Powell
Toledo
Upper Arlington
Wauseon
Westerville
Worthington
SOURCE: SmokeFreeOhio

More reasons why we are worried more about Paul Hackett than Sherrod Brown. (Thanks to Buckeyepolitics.net)

From the Beacon Journal…

“what’s going on in the gerrymandered 13th U.S. House District in Northeast Ohio should erase any confusion about who is in charge of the Democratic Party in Ohio. It’s organized labor. Rather than force adherence to religious orthodoxy, union leaders embrace an economic orthodoxy that permits no deviance on the issue of free trade. Just look at what’s happening to Tom Sawyer.

Sawyer, a former state legislator, was mayor of Akron before he was elected to the U.S. House in 1986. He was forced to confront the reality that Akron’s tire industry was dead and that the city had to move on, to adapt to a new economy.

In the old 14th U.S. House District in Summit and Portage counties, this worked reasonably well. After Sawyer decided (following the usual long and agonized soul-searching) to vote for the North American Free Trade Agreement in November 1993, he was able to win re-election. During a post-NAFTA press conference, Sawyer was all smiles as President Clinton just happened to call to say thanks.”

We can only hope labor continues to be in charge, they’ve done such a great job with the Democrats in Ohio. Speaking of labor look at this year’s Christmas season, it was great for the economy. Yet in the realm of organized labor, this year wasn’t so rosy. The future doesn’t look so bright for labor especially when you read this blog post.

For being mentioned best political blog in the Plain Dealer. The Cleveland MSM finally acknowledges that blogs exist!

From the Beacon Journal…

“Proponents of slot machines are expected to make another run at Ohio next year,
according to lobbyists for the industry.
Terry Casey, who represents Indian tribes that want to establish casinos in Ohio, said in an interview that he believes opposition is diminishing as other states open the door to slot machines.
Pennsylvania and Florida are among the most recent major additions, he said. Those two states would bring to 18 the number of states with casinos, according to the American Gaming Association. Casey said Pennsylvania alone could have 14 gambling locations, some that will draw gambling money from Ohio.
Indiana, West Virginia, Michigan and Ontario, Canada, already are nearby destinations for Ohio gamblers. Proponents suggest casinos could generate $500 million to $900 million in revenue for Ohio. It is possible, however, the casinos also would have a detrimental effect on the Ohio Lottery and on charitable bingo, which benefits such organizations as local fire departments, parochial schools and high school sports boosters.”

I wonder how this will play in the Governor’s Race? It’ll probably help the Republicans, since those are the voters who will be energize to stop this plan.

From the Blade… (boy they are rooting for this guy to succeed!)

“OHIO Democrats have elected state Rep. Chris Redfern, of Ottawa County, as
their new state chairman and, true to form, the choice did not come without a
requisite amount of internal strife. Because real Democrats don’t seem to do
much of anything without a good quarrel, the initial dustup should not be much
of an obstacle to party unity. And maybe it will even boost the party’s passion
quotient, which has been noticeably lacking on the state scene for most of the
last two decades. We believe that Mr. Redfern, a youthful 41-year-old veteran of seven years in the General Assembly, has the drive to succeed in the top party post. While we would have preferred that he devote full time to the job, he will at least relinquish his position as House Democratic leader, with all of its time-consuming duties..”

From the Dayton Daily News….

“For Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell
The handsome glass paperweights, suitable for the governor’s office, feature likenesses of Attorney General Jim Petro and Auditor Betty Montgomery, each
skipping off a cliff in the Hocking Hills in search of the Republican nomination
for governor. “I’m in this race to stay,” the inscription on each says. “That should help me win,” says Blackwell, also a Republican candidate for governor.
For Attorney General Jim Petro
His Betty Montgomery doll smiles, pours coffee and promises to get out of the race for governor and run for attorney general. “You’re the only one who can beat
Kenny,” Betty doll says when Petro pulls her string. “Amen,” says Petro.
For Auditor Betty Montgomery
Her family of warm and fuzzy Petro teddy bears includes papa, mama, son and daughter. “Family means everything to me,” papa Petro says when Montgomery pushes his belly button. “I’m running for re-election as attorney general.”
“You say the nicest things,” says Montgomery.”

Haha, thought this was quite funny.

“United Auto Workers Local 1714, out of Lordstown, stated its intention to
strongly “encourage” Cafaro to seek Brown’s seat.” (From Beacon Journal)

NEO Babble had this reply….

“But are they serious?I watched Cafaro run against LaTourette in my district in 2004. She ran a fairly vacuous campaign. The 2004 election was when LaTourette
was at his weakest point. He had come through a nasty divorce resulting from his
affair with a female lobbyist. He was breaking his original vow to not stay in office past 10 years. There was even some indicted, corrupt Republican donor. Cafaro could do nothing with it. Why? Because she has plenty of her own baggage as being a Cafaro, tied to the Mahoning Valley, and Jim Traficant.”

As they say in the Guiness commercials…Brilliant!