The blog author of Glass City Jungle, Lisa Renee Ward, has produced another fine edition of the Carnival of Ohio Politics. Check out installment number 163 here. Along with links to some excellent reading material contained in Ohio’s political blogs, Lisa Renee also uses free word association to choose links to some “blast-from-the-past” musical selections.
Keeler takes a victory lap at Carnival of Ohio Politics
April 16, 2009 — buckeyerinoI have heard from several of my readers, via email, wondering when posting entries would resume here at Buckeye RINO. I didn’t intend to be on hiatus, or at least, didn’t intend to be away for this long. Sometimes real life gets in the way (and I’ll have more to say about that in a later blog entry).
In the meantime, in the absence of new posts, my readers are more than welcome to click on the links in the sidebar to the left. Not sure where to start with all those links? Well, Carnival of Ohio Politics is always a good starting point, because you’ll find a cross-section of recent blog entries about Ohio politics there. Since the last time I wrote something here at Buckeye RINO, there have been three Carnivals, complete with links to articles about Ohio Politics. There’s Carnival #160 edited by Jill at Writes Like She Talks. There’s Carnival #161 edited by McKee at The Boring Made Dull. And most recently, there’s Carnival #162 (featuring a road sign for a state route I’ve frequently driven on), edited by Ben Keeler of Keeler Political Report. This newest Carnival is a milestone, as it’s Ben’s farewell, so I’ve referred to it as his victory lap. I thank Ben for his service in editing Carnivals. I appreciate his work. Take care, and good luck, Ben.
Carnival of Ohio Politics–St. Patrick’s Day edition
March 18, 2009 — buckeyerinoI’d like to call your attention to the Carnival of Ohio Politics. There’s a wide range of topics covered by Ohio’s political bloggers in this week’s edition, the Saint Patrick’s Day edition, which was cobbled together by yours truly, Daniel Jack Williamson.
Jill Miller Zimon, of Writes Like She Talks, is on the schedule for compiling next week’s Carnival.
May you all be bestowed with the luck of the Irish.
Glenn Beck: “You are not alone”
March 17, 2009 — buckeyerinoI remember when Glenn Beck was a virtual nobody on the radio, and he didn’t always seem to have a message that was in focus. As time has passed, it seems that he’s really finding his voice, and there’s much more consistency in his views of the issues. If any program on the cable news networks sounded a cautionary note far in advance of the bursting of our nation’s housing bubble, it was Glenn Beck during his 7 pm and 9 pm time slots on CNN’s Headline News. I noticed that more and more people who I encountered in daily life were identifying themselves as Glenn Beck fans.
Then there was an announcement that Glenn Beck had reached an agreement with Fox News Channel that he’d be airing a program weeknights at 5 pm. Immediately, Glenn Beck disappeared from Headline News. There was a lull among Glenn Beck fans, with no TV show to watch, and with the radio broadcasts difficult to locate on radio dials (and perhaps at a time of day when one isn’t available to listen in) but it was a lull with baited breath, as Glenn Beck fans counted down the days anticipating Glenn Beck’s return to television.
I thought that a 5 pm air time would knock some wind out of Glenn Beck’s sails, since he no longer had air times that were considered prime time. That doesn’t seem to be the case. If anything, the audience interest is intensifying, and I’ve encountered even a greater percentage of people that I bump into are taking notice of Glenn Beck.
A case in point: Last Friday, I watched Glenn Beck’s show on Fox News. But I didn’t watch it at my house. Instead, I watched it amidst a small gathering of people who’d assembled together for the express purpose of watching Glenn Beck together. I wasn’t the ringleader behind the effort to gather for a Glenn Beck program, either. Usually, I’m the one who’s dragging others to political events, not the other way around. This time, others invited me, . . . and my dad, and my mom, and my brother, too. Others were taking the initiative.
Is it just my imagination? Or is Glenn Beck really motivating people at the grassroots to engage each other in discourse about our communities, our states, and our nation? OK, maybe the numbers are still small . . . maybe I’m making a mountain out of a molehill, but there’s one thing I did get a sense of while watching Glenn Beck: I’m not alone. For Glenn Beck, that was a primary purpose behind the desire for people to view Friday’s program at gatherings rather than staying home to watch. His message of “You are not alone” was designed to demonstrate that I’m not the only person up in arms over the erosion of the maxim that government in our nation is “OF the people, BY the people, and FOR the people.” I sometimes wonder at the loneliness of my soap box perch at Buckeye RINO, with its modest traffic count of perhaps one page view per month, wondering if my disdain for bailouts and for socialist takeovers registers with anyone. Well, others may not be reading Buckeye RINO, but I did find myself gathered among like-minded individuals who share my concern that the people need to reassert their sovereignty over the government . . . thanks to Glenn Beck.
Besides assuring me that I’m not alone, there were a couple of other things Glenn Beck wanted to achieve. One of those was to remember the way we all felt on September 12, 2001. To that end, Glenn Beck invited all to check out a website titled THE912PROJECT.COM. I don’t want to have to explain what it is, so just click on the link and see. OK?
One other thing that we could achieve by gathering was to make plans for what we, individually and collectively, could do along a civic vein in the spirit of September 12th. After watching Glenn Beck, our gathering took a short break, drove over to a local restaurant, and reconvened for supper where we discussed being involved in local campaigns and local politics. I thought I would be the one most eager to get revved up for local political advocacy, but not so. Others seemed quite eager to take the bull by the horns.
One more thought: For those who think this recent smattering of “Tea Parties” in various cities around the country are just a hiccup, that’s not the vibe I’m picking up. I think it’s the tip of the iceberg. I think there is more fervor among the right-of-center grassroots now than there was a year ago, and the fervor seems to be growing, not waning.
Carnival #158 has sprung
March 12, 2009 — buckeyerinoLisa Renee, of Glass City Jungle is anticipating the advent of spring. Spring hasn’t sprung yet, but installment number 158 of the Carnival of Ohio Politics has sprung, thanks to Lisa Renee’s hard work.
By the way, if you feel like you need to put a face with a name, Lisa Renee made a television appearance in Toledo on March 3rd, and she posted about it at GCJ. Check it out.
I’m slated as the editor charged with compiling next week’s Carnival, and the submission deadline will be next Tuesday night (Saint Patrick’s Day) at 11 pm.
Smackdown on women in Sandusky
March 10, 2009 — buckeyerinoOkay, let’s start with a basic fact: I’m male.
Therefore, when it comes to sexism, more specifically, misogyny, I am not always able to perceive subtleties. For example, when Jill Miller Zimon, of Writes Like She Talks, complained how a photograph of Hillary Rodham Clinton was used on a magazine cover, I just didn’t get it. I think Scott Piepho correctly assessed the situation at Pho’s Norka Pages. If I was perplexed about what JMZ was driving at, when referring to Hillary Rodham Clinton, I was further perplexed at what was in-bounds and what was in foul territory after JMZ ridiculed Sarah Palin mercilessly in the run-up to the November elections.
But here’s one more basic fact to consider: I was born in Sandusky, Ohio.
In Sandusky, Ohio, one doesn’t have to sift through nuance and subltety to find instances of sexism. No. In Sandusky, the Good Old Boys’ tastes in misogyny trend more toward sexism that’s blatant and overt. Perhaps that’s why I couldn’t discern the nuances that JMZ expounded upon, because I was raised in an environment of stark contrasts.
Carnival #157
March 5, 2009 — buckeyerinoAre RINO’s more conservative than the rest of the Republican party these days, when they used to be more liberal than the rest of the party? It might be a topic for further conversation at The Boring Made Dull, but don’t hold your breath for that blog entry, even though the blog author of TBMD hinted about it in Issue #157 of the essential weekly digest of Ohio’s political blogs known as Carnival of Ohio Politics.
As for the RINO terminology applied to me, detractors call me a RINO in an effort to paint me as a liberal. Some call me a RINO just because I’ve leveled criticisms at a few other Republicans. Others call me a RINO because they feel I have heretical (liberal) views on public education, diversity, mental health parity, labor unions, tort reform, the environment, and so forth. But, as I say in my right-hand sidebar, liberals don’t think I’m liberal. They think I’m way too conservative. I don’t try to be conservative, and I don’t try to be liberal, and I don’t try to be middle-of-the-road. I just try to be myself.
If you’re an Ohio political blogger who’d like to have your entries included in a future Carnival, there’s a new opportunity to participate nearly every week. Next up in the Carnival editorial rotation: Lisa Renee of Glass City Jungle.
MSM frames California Prop 8 debate incorrectly
March 2, 2009 — buckeyerinoLook back over the centuries at any culture you care to single out. Was there ever a taboo against cohabitation of unrelated adults of the same gender? Whether it’s military barracks, or university dorms, or monasteries, or convents, or private dwellings, I can think of no instance in which unrelated adult persons of the same gender were forbidden by culture to cohabitate. Feel free to inform me if I’ve overlooked any such cultures that believed otherwise.
Undoubtedly, a study of history might reveal that there may have been occurrences of homosexual activity within such environs, yet unrelated adults of the same gender still required no permission from society to cohabitate.
There have been taboos, though, against cohabitation of unrelated adult persons of opposite genders. Hmm . . . I wonder why. Could it be that cohabitation of unrelated adults of opposite genders is much more consequential to society? After all, might such cohabitation lead to offspring? And what are society’s responsibilities in regards to children? Does it seem at all strange that society decided to regulate cohabitation among unrelated adults of opposite genders, considering what it might lead to? So, to regulate cohabitation, an instrument that we commonly call “marriage” was devised by society. Marriage regulated the cohabitation of unrelated adults of opposite genders, and it also served as a structure for the nurture of children. Bastard children not born to such married couples were often stigmatized. Even the word “bastard” has negative connotations. Society has much more difficulty in defining its responsibilities for nurturing bastard children. Thus, society devised taboos against cohabitation of unrelated adults of opposite genders and against occurrences of heterosexual activity outside the construct of marriage. Marriage requires society’s permission.
Now we have activists who want government to peer into our bedrooms to determine whether we are heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, or transsexual so that we can inject more regulation into our households. For some strange reason, we are now asked to regulate cohabitation of unrelated adults of the same sex by applying the construct of marriage to them, too. These people never needed permission before. Why do they seek such societal intervention now? And if society intervenes to regulate such cohabitation by means of marriage, society must also intervene to regulate the breakup of such cohabitation by means of divorce. Sounds like lawyers are the ones who stand to benefit the most.
But this is not how the MSM portrays the debate surrounding same-sex marriage. This Associated Press article, written by Lisa Leff, is typical of how the debate is portrayed.
According to the MSM, opposition to same-sex marriage stems from religion. Religion is portrayed as the boogeyman. The MSM is apparently trying to stir up antipathy toward religion. Did I mention religion in any of the foregoing paragraphs? The MSM apparently doesn’t want an honest debate on the matter, because they are setting religion up to be a straw man.
Also, according to the MSM, denying same-sex marriage is a form of discrimination. How so? Marriage laws apply equally to all. An adult may marry an adult of the opposite gender. No adult may marry an adult of the same gender. No exceptions are carved out for rich or poor. No exceptions are carved out according to skin color. No exceptions are carved out according to religious creed. No exceptions are carved out according to sexual orientation. Thus, the cry of “discrimination” has a hollow ring to it.
But proponents of same-sex marriage DO want exceptions carved out according to sexual orientation. Proponents want special rights granted to those who aren’t heterosexual. Beyond providing a marriage structure so that society can nurture the offspring produced through sexual relations between an adult male and an adult female, should government be prying into our bedrooms to categorize us as either being heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, or transsexual for the purpose of determining who gets special rights? I think not, but the LGBT community would like to differ. In past fights against anti-sodomy laws, the LGBT community told the government to stop prying into the bedroom, but these days, it seems the LGBT community has done an about-face, and frequently endeavors to parade their bedroom behavior in front of us while encouraging the government to categorize us according to our boudoir preferences.
The MSM also postulates that if same-sex marriage is not permitted, that laws against mixed-race marriage may emerge or resurface. This unreasonable hypothesis is advanced by an MSM that views the African-American struggle for civil rights as a parallel to the LGBT crusade for special rights. As I mentioned in the foregoing paragraphs, society didn’t have taboos against cohabitation of unrelated adults of the same gender. No government permission was necessary for persons of the same gender to cavort together within their domiciles. How does that equate with an antebellum tyranny that didn’t even acknowledge that slaves of African descent were even human? Has government ever designated that homosexuals are merely beasts or property? The parallel does not exist. At any rate, I am a Caucasian male who has been married (and divorced) twice. My first marriage was to a woman who was a citizen of Japan. My second marriage was to an African-American woman. I am not at all fearful that such marriages will become illegal in the future if same-sex marriage is denied. As I said before, as things currently stand, marriage laws are equally applied.
If the MSM were brutally honest, concerns over property and inheritance might be at the heart of the crusade to create same-sex marriages, in which case, I suggest that instead of beating around the bush, let’s have the legislatures address concerns over property and inheritance instead of trying to apply a marriage construct to a situation that it doesn’t fit.
In California, the people have spoken. The future actions of California’s Supreme Court will illustrate whether we have a government of the people, by the people, and for the people, or whether the people will be overruled by a tyranny of elites determined to grant special rights to a population that can only be quantified by an invasion of our bedrooms.
Rove (and Mandel) and the RPCC (and Mandel)
February 25, 2009 — buckeyerinoOn Tuesday, February 24th, the Republican Party of Cuyahoga County held their Lincoln Day Dinner in downtown Cleveland in the Grand Ballroom of the Renaissance Hotel. The featured speaker was Karl Rove.
The cost of an individual ticket to the dinner was $85. In the hinterlands of Ohio, I’m accustomed to a Lincoln Day Dinner price tag of $25. If it were $25 in Cuyahoga County, though, I imagine 3 or 4 thousand people would show up for dinner. What facility is large enough to seat 3 or 4 thousand people for dinner all at the same time and serve them all a formal dinner? The Grand Ballroom at the Renaissance Hotel was as big a venue as I’ve seen for such occasions, and it was packed. I’m guessing there were 800 guests, since there were about 80 tables, with 10 persons to a table.
In one sense, Cuyahoga County Republicans may seem a bit dysfunctional. After all, the Democrats have a virtual lock on elected offices throughout the county and especially in Cleveland. Furthermore, the Republican base in southwest Ohio may be of the opinion that at least half of all Cleveland-area Republicans are RINO’s. But, RPCC chair Robert Frost and featured speaker Karl Rove both underscored the importance of turning out the Republican vote in Cuyahoga County. Which Ohio county gave more votes to John McCain for president than any other Ohio county last November? Cuyahoga County did.
So, if you are looking to win a statewide office, and you forecast that you need a specific number of votes to win a statewide majority, where are you going to look for votes first? Podunkville? Heck, no! You’re going to get as many votes out of Cuyahoga County that you can get your hands on. From my conversation with Kevin DeWine in Sandusky last Friday, I’d say that the ORP would agree with that assessment.
Having said that, not all statewide hopefuls were in attendance in Cleveland on Tuesday night. I hope they were doing something very meaningful, like attending a family member’s ballet recital, because if they were doing something of a political nature, and they weren’t in Cleveland, they weren’t being as productive as they could have been.
So who was there? State Auditor Mary Taylor was there. She led the Pledge of Allegiance. Supreme Court Justice Terrence O’Donnell was there. He gave a lengthy invocation after saying numerous words about Abraham Lincoln (I greatly appreciate Reverend Clyde Davis, who proceeded directly to the benediction prayer without speechifying, rather than following the example of Justice O’Donnell). Jim Petro was there. Sandy O’Brien was there. State Rep Nan Baker was there, as well as a number of suburban mayors and council members.
Most of all, Josh Mandel was there. State Rep Josh Mandel shared much the same message that he had when he appeared in Tiffin earlier this month. But it didn’t end there. Mr. Frost said a lot of nice things about Mr. Mandel. But it didn’t end there, either. Karl Rove, the keynote speaker, had some very nice things to say about Mr. Mandel, too.
They said Rob Portman had been in Cleveland to speak last year. The U.S. Senator-wannabe had postcards distributed to every seat at every table. Speakers urged us to fill out the form on the Portman postcards and send them in. It seemed empty, though, because Portman wasn’t there. He was a ghost, a shadow of the past. He wasn’t larger than life. Josh Mandel was there, and he was larger than life.
John Kasich was probably busy parsing President Obama’s speech so that he could appear as a pundit on Fox News with savvy commentary about the stimulus bill. I get the sense that a lot of Cleveland Republicans are too busy in the evenings to tune in to television, let alone Fox News. For whatever reason, John Kasich, who wants to be Ohio’s next governor, wasn’t there. Unlike Rob Portman, Kasich wasn’t even a ghost, wasn’t even a shadow, wasn’t even a whisper, because he didn’t even have anyone plugging his candidacy and there was no Kasich literature. Kasich wasn’t there, so he had no chance to be larger than life. Josh Mandel was there, and he was larger than life.
Karl Rove’s most stirring moments occurred while he described the service of those in the nation’s armed forces. He also talked about what it takes to keep the country safe. He talked about the economic crisis, even pointed a finger at the person who stood in the way of Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac reforms that would have prevented the housing bubble in the first place (the U.S. Senator from Connecticut, Christopher Dodd). Of course, he also talked about George W. Bush. And Josh Mandel.
Keeler with Carnival #156
February 25, 2009 — buckeyerinoBen Keeler, of Keeler Political Report and politics.ohio.com, was this week’s editor for the Carnival of Ohio Politics. Installment number 156 is up and ready for your reading pleasure. Besides posts from Keeler and from yours truly, this week’s edition included posts from Bizzy Blog, Just Blowing Smoke, Roland Hansen Commentary, Neocon Panic Attacks, Divided We Stand United We Fall, Conservative Culture, Writes Like She Talks, Buckeye Punditeers, and Free Market Politics.
If you have a blog that offers coverage of Ohio politics, wouldn’t you like to participate in the Carnival, too? Next week’s editor is scheduled to be McKee from The Boring Made Dull.
Seneca County Treasurers
February 24, 2009 — buckeyerinoI’ve noticed a lot of digging through some prior posts at Buckeye RINO related to last fall’s election contest between Seneca County Treasurer Marguerite Bernard and challenger Damon Alt.
Perhaps those of you who are digging through are puzzled about having Marguerite Bernard’s name on your property tax bills when you thought for sure that you had elected Damon Alt. If so, let me assure you that Damon Alt did indeed win the election in November, and is the Seneca County Treasurer-Elect. Damon Alt’s term in office is scheduled to start at the beginning of September, so we will be getting the treasurer that was elected, but Bernard is still the treasurer at this moment. I hope this clears up some questions.
Erie County Republicans meet Kevin DeWine
February 23, 2009 — buckeyerino
This is a photo of Matthew Old, Erie County GOP Chair, taken in downtown Sandusky’s Washington Park on the day that John McCain and the Straight Talk Express made a Presidential campaign tour stop in Sandusky.
A few months later, at the Erie County Lincoln Day Dinner held last Friday, February 20th, Mr. Old remarked that local Republicans had been excited just to be able to host Senator McCain’s surrogates. They were suprised when Senator McCain, the candidate himself, made plans to stop in Sandusky.
Are Ohio Republicans demoralized from the election losses in 2006 and 2008? After seeing the turnout from Sandusky County, Seneca County, and Erie County at recent Lincoln Day Dinners, I’d be inclined to say that interest in participation in the party is on the INCREASE in early 2009.
2009 is an election “off-year,” when low profile local races such as city council, village council, township trustee, municipal court judge, and school board races are decided. I’ve seen turnout for party functions in other “off-years.” There may have been complacency on display during those other “off-years,” but this time is different. What I’ve witnessed so far this year is hunger, and I’m not talking about hunger for food.
Tomorrow night, Tuesday, February 24th, I plan to be at the Cuyahoga County Lincoln Day Dinner, and I’ll be curious to see if the same trend manifests itself there.
At any rate, Matthew Old acknowledged that people in Erie County are seeking out the GOP in greater numbers. One of the reasons I attended the function (held at the Sandusky Yacht Club, which, by the way, may very well have the most attentive and pampering waitstaff I’ve encountered anywhere) was that one of my mom’s friends, who lives in the city of Huron, was curious about getting involved in the Republican Party. We thought that accompanying her to the Lincoln Day Dinner would help tremendously in introducing her to like-minded Republicans. We weren’t disappointed. In addition to the official Erie County GOP organization, there is also a club for Erie County Republican Women. Apparently, my mom’s friend represented just the tip of the iceberg, because many new faces had emerged at recent party functions.
The keynote speaker for the evening was the chair of the Ohio Republican Party, Kevin DeWine. He acknowledged that Republican officeholders in high places had made grave errors of hypocrisy leading to the election defeats of 2006 and 2008. Our party platform includes principles of small government, balanced budgets, lower taxes, transparency, and ethics. Yet, we witnessed the biggest expansion of government on the Republicans’ watch, with unbalanced Federal budgets, and closed-door deals that led to ethics scandals. While Mr. DeWine acknowledged all of these errors, he said that the party must turn toward the future rather than wallow in the past. I think everyone in attendance was there because we were concerned about the future, not because we were still focused on the past.
Regarding the future, Mr. DeWine said that we need to multiply our party’s membership rather than purge our party’s membership. I’m inclined to agree. After all, the name of this blog, Buckeye RINO, is partly a response to those who bandy the “RINO” appellation too freely. Republicans are supposed to be the big tent party, not the groupthink party. To be the big tent party, we have to be tolerant of varying opinions on a wide array of topics, though there are some bedrock principles that we all subscribe to. The party of Lincoln is a party of liberty, not groupthink.
I think alarm over rampant socialism within our own nation is part of the motivation for the increased attendance at these functions. Another common concern is the feeling that, when it comes to foreign affairs, we need to be every bit as relentless as our adversaries, and, frankly, it appears that our nation may be caving in on many international fronts.
Mr. DeWine said that he fully expected a solid GOP ticket for 9 statewide offices up for grabs in 2010. While discussing some of the possible names that may appear on the 2010 ballot, he was careful to point out that only Rob Portman had made an official announcement so far. Portman is seeking the U.S. Senate seat held by Senator George Voinovich, who has announced his retirement.
In one-on-one conversation with Mr. DeWine, I inquired about the ORP’s commitment to campaigning all over the state, not just in southwest Ohio. Mr. DeWine gave his assurance that winning statewide races requires campaigning in northern Ohio. What caused me to make such an inquiry? It was the Secretary of State race in 2006, when Jim Trakas stepped aside to let Greg Hartmann carry the banner for the GOP. Greg Hartmann was invisible in northern Ohio. I don’t think we’ll see a repeat of that mistake in 2010.
Also in one-on-one conversation with Mr. DeWine, I asked about the GOP’s competitive disadvantage in early absentee voting. Northern Ohio Republican candidates have fared much more poorly since absentee voting laws were changed to allow voters to vote early without having to specify a reason why they were choosing to do so. Mr. DeWine said that many other states have made similar changes, so this is a topic of discussion that’s been brought before Michael Steele and the rest of the RNC.
Two other featured guests at the Erie County Lincoln Day Dinner on Friday night were two state senators: Senator Karen Gillmor, and Senator Mark Wagoner. Erie County is located within Senator Wagoner’s state senate district, so he was granted a few minutes to speak from the podium. Senator Karen Gillmor didn’t speak from the podium, but she did work the room, meeting and greeting guests before dinner was served.
Carnival #155 is up
February 20, 2009 — buckeyerinoJill Miller Zimon, of Writes Like She Talks, has posted this week’s installment (number #155) of the Carnival of Ohio Politics. “Survival” is the theme she’s chosen for the week. 155 persons survived the crash landing of U.S. Airways flight #1549 that had to ditch in the Hudson River after Canadian geese took out the plane’s engines.
Speaking of survivors, I’m a huge fan of the music of Destiny’s Child. Now that I’m thinking of the topic of survival, the Destiny’s Child song titled “Survivor” is running through my head.
So, if you’ve survived another week and lived to tell the tale, head over to the Carnival of Ohio Politics to get the best that Ohio bloggers had to offer this week.
Carnival embarrassment
February 11, 2009 — buckeyerinoThis week it was my turn to edit the Carnival of Ohio Politics. Unfortunately, my cousin, Jack Daniels Williamson, and I had a little squabble, and, in the end, I conceded and let him write the Carnival. Big mistake. Big, big, big mistake. I don’t know the last time I’ve felt so insulted. If ever there was a Carnival that I wouldn’t want you to read, it’s the foul concoction that Installment # 154 turned out to be, no thanks to my cousin.
He won’t be writing the Carnival ever again.
Next week will be Jill Miller Zimon’s week to edit the Carnival, so redemption is right around the corner.
Have you received your property tax bill for 2009?
February 6, 2009 — buckeyerinoI’ve heard complaints from homeowners in both Erie County and Lorain County that tax appraisal valuations have kept increasing recently even though the bottom has been falling out of the northern Ohio housing market since 2000.
I think it’s worth noting that County Auditors will be up for election in 2010, and it’s not too early for challengers to launch campaigns and start raising money. Just fill out a Designation of Treasurer form for your campaign committee and submit it to the Board of Elections, as I’ve written about in this blog entry, and you’ll have the greenlight to start raising campaign funds. You won’t have to worry about circulating petitions until the beginning of next year. In my opinion, both Erie County Auditor Tom Paul and Lorain County Auditor Mark Stewart are tyrants that ought to be replaced by voters.
I understand that the property valuation should be a rolling average of at least the past three years, so perhaps there might be a little bit of a lag between what the market value drops to and what the tax valuation drops to, but I’m hearing complaints that tax valuations in the two counties keep creeping UP, not down. I’ve seen tax valuations for properties that are higher than the selling price ever was and higher than the marketplace could ever sustain. Such practices amount to nothing short of a money grab by county government, specifically, the County Auditors’ offices. Some politicians don’t respect the citizens enough to put tax increase proposals on the ballot, and some even ignore the citizens after they have voted down tax increases, and they use these ever-upward-creeping assessed property values to artificially inflate tax revenues. Meanwhile, it’s no secret that REAL market values for homes have been plummeting for eight or nine years now, and assessed values should have been dropping downward to reflect that dynamic.
So what should you do beyond vote out these tax-grabbing county auditors?
That Woman’s Weblog has an excellent article on this very topic. It is possible for you to request an appeal of your home’s tax appraisal valuation. Please check it out and follow up. Don’t let yourself be a victim of artificially inflated tax appraisal valuations.
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