Round-up of Issue 3 posts to date

September 3, 2009 — buckeyerino

Collecting My Thoughts, a right-of-center blog appearing in my blogroll under the State of Ohio Blogger Alliance heading, has posted an excerpt of an email discussion about Issue 3, the casino issue that Ohioans will see on the November ballot.  The right-of-center bloggers of Ohio are not of one mind on the gambling issue, and the excerpt shown was an attempt, on my part, to advocate against this and other gambling issues.

Another fairly recent blog entry against Issue 3 appeared at Writes Like She Talks, wherein JMZ points out that this year’s Issue 3 contains many of the same shortfalls as the Issue 3 (Learn and Earn) of 2006.

Madrigal Maniac has also fairly recently posted an entry against Issue 3, highlighting friction between proposed casinos and charitable organizations that raise funds via bingo.

Glass City Jungle has posted multiple Issue 3 entries.  Blog author Lisa Renee Ward has made a conscious effort to report the issue fairly, and her posts are generally quite newsy.  The charitable bingo angle is covered at GCJ, too.  The pro-casino lobby likes to recycle FOP endorsements, but mixed in with that coverage is opposition from Catholics and opposition from a rival gambling organization that calls itself TruthPAC.  Among the GCJ entries that struck a nerve with readers was one that noted a former supporter of the issue is now an opponent.

Kyle Sisk’s blog has also contained entries that have attempted to allow both sides to have their say (three installments to date.)  Also making an appearance on the blog was a guest post by yours truly, pointing out that gambling is akin to piracy.

My own blog, has a history of opposing gambling, and my most-viewed blog entry of all time dates back to last year’s failed Issue 6 casino issue, examining the shortfalls in terms of the microeconomics principles of opportunity cost and multiplier effect.  Prior Buckeye RINO coverage of this year’s Issue 3 includes  a post consisting of my email communications with casino spokespersons, a post showing the Issue 3 proposal is far inferior to the principles that led to the founding of the famous Monte Carlo casino, a post that points out the special rights that would be granted by the Ohio Constitution to special people who are not Ohioans, a post containing a rebuttal from casino proponents with my reply, a repeat of the post that appeared on Kyle Sisk’s blog, and a post questioning the massive amount of fraudulent signatures appearing on the petitions that the casino proponents filed.

Posted in gambling, State Politics. Tags: , . 3 Comments »

Write-ins surface for Lorain’s November elections

September 3, 2009 — buckeyerino

Lorain City Treasurer Tom Urbanek will have opposition after all, though Karen Shawver’s name will not appear on the ballot.

Wednesday, Sept. 2, was the deadline for filing as a write-in candidate for November’s general election.

If you go to the polls intending to vote for a write-in, and you suffer a momentary loss of memory, not remembering the name, or perhaps unsure of the proper spelling of the name, of the write-in you intended to vote for, you can ask polling place workers for a list of write-in candidates prior to voting.  Upon request, poll workers can also instruct you how to cast a write-in vote if you are unfamiliar with the procedure.

Also filing as a write-in candidate was R.J. Budway for the Lorain City Law Director race.  Budway’s write-in candidacy is the local Democrat Party’s insurance policy.

Interim Law Director Patrick Riley’s name was placed on the November ballot by a vote of the county’s elections board when there were no paper documents establishing Riley’s candidacy.

Budway won’t be campaigning so long as Riley isn’t knocked off the ballot by legal challenges.  Republican candidate Mike Scherach, so far, has asked the elections board for a hearing which seems unlikely to be granted, and hasn’t committed yet to taking the matter to court.

Elyria’s Chronicle-Telegram has the coverage of the write-in candidacies.   Republican elections board member Bob Rousseau had something to say about the latest move by the Democrats:

“If they’re hedging their bets, doesn’t that tell you they’re not confident in their case?”

Indeed, documentation of Riley’s candidacy is entirely missing, and an unusual elections board vote is the only verifiable strand of evidence placing Riley’s name on the ballot.

As for Urbanek, the Lorain City Treasurer, he created a stir this summer when he did not join in the salary belt-tightening that other city employees endured in consequence of Lorain’s faltering finances.  Furthermore, it was revealed that Urbanek, from his work office during office hours, was posting self-serving comments on conversation forums at LorainCounty.com under a pseudonym.

Posted in Local Politics. Tags: . 4 Comments »

Batchelder press release: Bill introduced seeking to stop county officials from seeking campaign funds from their subordinates

September 3, 2009 — buckeyerino

Note:  The following is a press release from the office of State Rep. William Batchelder (R-69), minority leader in the Ohio House of Representatives.

Batchelder Announces Bill to Strengthen Campaign Finance Laws

COLUMBUS – Ohio House Republican Leader William G. Batchelder (R-Medina) today announced plans to introduce legislation to close an avenue for corruption in Ohio’s campaign finance law, in response to the ongoing investigation within Cuyahoga County. Batchelder’s proposal would prohibit contributions to be made from county employees to county official’s campaign committees.

“Allowing county officeholders to solicit and receive contributions from their employees opens the door for corruption in government,” Batchelder said. “It’s a mistrust of one’s obligation to the public.”

FBI officials have continued to investigate Cuyahoga County as it became clear that county officials received financial contributions from their employees. Cuyahoga County Treasurer Jim Rokakis, one of the few Cuyahoga County Democrat officials who have not been implicated by the ongoing scandal, has worked with Leader Batchelder to draft this legislation. Recently, Rokakis has observed thousands of dollars being raised by county officials from their employees.

“You have to get the money out of politics,” Rokakis said. “It is the only way to have real reform.”

“The ramifications of the Cuyahoga County government crisis are still uncertain,” Batchelder continued. “It is necessary for us to fix these shortfalls so that the people can have a more transparent and accountable government.”

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