News and Notes: Ohio UPDATED
Submitted by Jeff on Wed, 11/14/2007 - 10:27am.
What's shakin' and bakin' in the state whose elegant traditional abbreviation "O." was changed by the U.S. Postal Service to the quizzical or comprehending (depending on your intonation) "OH," but the USPS will still deliver your mail if you use "O." they just don't like it:
Casino Ballot Issue Petition Rejected - So reports Eric at Plunderbund; it was the summary language, not the signatures, that AG Dann found deficient.
Ohio Among 3Q Foreclosure Leaders - A report out yesterday puts Ohio fifth in third quarter foreclosures and Cleveland seventh among cities (1 out of every 57 households filed during the quarter). Ohio has five other cities in the top 30: Akron (11th), Dayton (17th), Toledo (20th), Columbus (23rd), Cincinnati (30th).
Big Data Company Chooses Ohio - The "global leader in enterprise data warehousing and analytic solutions," Teradata Corporation, which spun off recently from NCR, has chosen Ohio as the site for its "business growth and expansion plans."
Sandusky Lawyer Considers Ohio Senate Run - Daniel McGookey (D-Sandusky) is considering a run for the 2nd District seat of term-limited State Sen. Randy Gardner (R-Bowling Green). State Rep. Mark Wagoner (R-Ottawa Hills) is running on the GOP side.
Brunner Imposes Oversight on Putnam County BOE - Unbelievable. The Board of Elections used borrowed machines because their own had been damaged in the big flood, but they didn't report problems they were having using the machines on election day to the Secretary of State - they just told voters to come back later. A court ordered the polls held open until 9:30 p.m. Putnam County must get its act together to hold the Congressional special election on December 11th.
Akron City Council President Tried to Board Plane with Loaded Pistol - Read about it on newsman Eric Mansfield's personal blog, then the AP story. The blog is better, isn't it? Definitely more interesting.
UPDATED: Clout of Ohio GOP on Capitol Hill Waning - An interesting piece at CQ Politics, noting that the decline "mirrors the national change in partisan fortunes and the challenges faced by moderates within an increasingly conservative Republican caucus," as "it is getting tougher for Republicans to hold swing districts, and less attractive to try." Having House Leader John Boehner (R-West Chester) helps the Ohio GOP delegation retain some of its clout, however.
GOP and Ohio Christian Alliance Raise Fuss Over Dann Email - They are calling for a public apology for an interoffice email uncovered in an open records request, in which AG Marc Dann (D) kidded close aide Leo Jennings about negative comments on a newspaper web site by saying "Jesus had it better on good friday." They compare the private email to public racist comments that have brought down comedians and talk show hosts. Give me a break. Are these guys grasping at straws, or what?
Ohio Prison Population Tops 50,000 - Mostly due to nonviolent offenders, particularly for drug violations. The Lorain Correctional Institution is at 263% of capacity. There has got to be a better way.
Good for Brunner to step in.
Good for Brunner to step in. I couldn't believe that in 2007 a county had to keep polls open late due to something like this.
And I have to admit my disappointment with Teresa Fedor. If they couldn't get their first choice for District 2, Gordy Heminger, why put out a release announcing they are digging pretty deep with McGookey since Gordy isn't running? Why not just wait and make the announcement, Gordy-free?
A Ploy?
I'll put money on McGookey not running. 1) I've lived in the district 40+ years and have never heard of him. 2) Candidates with no prior elected office and little name recognition fare best running for local office or House seats, not Quixotic quests for the Senate. 3) There's now an article saying he was, at best, the second choice for this seat.
I'll also wager this article is a ploy to make the Republicans think they'll cruise to easy victory over some unknown candidate, then in a week the Democratic Caucus will pound the R's with an actually credible candidate like Perkins, Heminger (with a dramatic change of mind), or even Redfern himself. It's too odd for this article to come out otherwise.