Broad and High Front

So as near as I can tell, nobody actually blogs Columbus politics, at least not from the left side. At best we get stories about the mayor's race (Coleman files to run again and it's somehow breaking statewide news, the Republicans have a villain from Common Sense Ohio to play foil). But a question was thrown out yesterday about Coleman as a potential candidate in the 12th, or failing that, the chances that a city council member might step up. So here's a quiz: do Michael and Frankie reside in the 7th, 12th, or 15th? As a matter of fact they do live in the 12th, but how many of y'all actually knew that? I had to check. Charleta Tavares, former Statehouse Rep. and 2002 candidate for LG is a current city council member who also lives in the 12th. They all live in Berwick, which actually makes them my neighbors. Who knew? Not me. So Ms. Tavares has some campaign experience beyond the CC. As does the council member who:

studied peace and conflict resolution at the University of Ulster and Queen’s College in Northern Ireland while teaching at public schools in Belfast and Derry. He served in consecutive internships at the Carter Presidential Center in Atlanta, Georgia, where he taught non-violence and dispute resolution to school children in the most violent parts of the city.

That'd be Andrew Ginther. He was just appointed to council after that application process last month. The media mentioned his credentials as an elected member of the Columbus Board of Education, but nothing about studying Peace and Conflict Resolution in Northern Ireland. I happen to find that sort of thing interesting, even if he does live in the 15th.

Now, it's possible that City Council members would be considered toxic because of the budget they passed this week. Or perhaps the members will all be tripping over themselves to take credit. I don't know. They're not dipping into the rainy day fund, which I guess is good, but does anybody have an opinion? Anybody?

OK. So why am I whining about nobody writing about this stuff instead of just writing about it? Because I'm clueless. Anyone can subscribe to the Dispatch's Metro/State RSS. I don't have time to do much more. Even if I did, I wouldn't catch stories as tasty as Wal-Mart thinking it's "too good" for Columbus. Anyway, does anybody want to start up a group blog with me on Franklin County politics, with an emphasis on County and City level government, and city/suburb relationships? Email me. Know somebody who might be interested? Email this to them. I don't have an ideological litmus test for this project, but anyone who gets involved should be able to play nice with Progressives.