Pay to Play Alive and Well in Cuyahoga County
From the PD
Cuyahoga County Commissioners Chairman Tim Hagan - known by his detractors as Taxin’ Tim - has no qualms about putting the screws to county vendors in his quest to raise money for a campaign to pass a tax for health and human services next year. “They’re not contributing to me, pal. I’m asking for a corporate contribution for a levy to help kids in this town,” said Hagan. “These people all get contracts; contribute to the damn campaign. I’m not shaking them down for me.”
Hagan said there has been some grumbling from vendors who’ve said he’s putting the arm on them for contributions. But he is shocked by anyone who doesn’t give.
“Who should we ask? The poor?” he said.
Hagan said the campaign needs to raise $600,000 and has commitments for about $400,000. But some vendors lag. Hagan was careful to say he’s not making a threat, not vowing to blackball those who don’t give. Just calling them out.
I laugh because since he is a Democrat in a heavily Democrat city, this story will have zero effect on Tim’s career… and he knows that.
UH… didn’t they ask the poor for an increase in the sales tax for the Med-Mart? Oh no wait, they FORCED that sales tax increase on the poor!
They operate with impunity up here. They know the Kuyahoga County Junior Democrats (aka - RPCC / Republican Party of Cuyahoga County) will fall step and fetch with what ever they are told to do by the dems.
Go Sutherland!
How about we defeat THIS new tax? They will say it’s for the poor, but in reality all it does is free up general fund money for the Commissioners to spend that’s now being used for health and human services. There’s a LOT of fat in our County budget…let’s make them take some cuts.
Exactly Hammertime. But who to lead it? The county Republican Party has entrenched powers(Mayors Akers & Sutherland, etc.) who are basically Democrats who are outside the power circle of that party so they come in the GOP to get done what they want to get done. Thus the RPCC will go along with this tax increase or at least the party leadership will. The rank and file will have to fight the leadership and will probably prevail but that only means the party itself will be opposed to the tax increase. No one will make this known as we don’t seem to have any conservatives with money in the county.
Imagine if Peter Lewis were a conservative Republican what we could get done.
You guys forgot about that county south of Cuyahoga county called Summit. Seems the chairs of both parties are in bed together, literally and figuratively.