Early Childhood Candidate Forum

Sheesh. I dropped the ball on this one. The organizers were very helpful in getting me extra info about this event a month ago, but until it popped up on my calendar, I had completely forgotten to post about it.

groundWork is an organization that works on promoting early childhood care and school readiness issues. They are holding a series of candidate forums around Ohio where State House and Senate Candidates will take questions regarding "early care and education issues, including health, mental health, kindergarten, preschool, child care, and other issues important to young children."

The Columbus area forum is TONIGHT at 6:30 p.m. at the Vern A. Riffe Capitol Theater downtown.

Both candidates in the 20th district are on the RSVP list I was sent last month, so you'll be able to hear both Nancy Garland and her opponent discuss these issues. Both candidates in the 19th and 21st had also RSVP'd, as well.

The event is absolutely free, and early registration was strongly suggested. I blew that for y'all, but if you're interested in attending you should by all means get in touch and see if there is still space available:

phone: (216) 781-2944
email: info AT ohioearlycare DOT org

OH-12 profiled in Dispatch

Despite an atrocious headline (It would still be an accurate summary of the article if the headline began "Despite the Evidence,..."), Catherine Candisky's piece in today's CD is a pretty good summation of the race. When Tiberi says that he "goes his own way," the article points out two independent sources that have him as more conservative and partisan than the average Republican. When he tries to use his SCHIP votes as supporting evidence, the article notes that his support came during later votes (he was initially against the proposed renewal/expansion of SCHIP).

(Blue Bexley endorsed candidate) David Robinson's campaign platform of energy independence, renewed infrastructure, and change for the future is given a fair airing. All in all, I hope that this article gets lots of attention from voters in the 12th just now getting ready to pay attention to politics.

On a side note... It's amazing what an article in the Dispatch about Tiberi looks like when his bff isn't writing it...

More Shenanigans at the Franklin County Board of Elections

In the Dispatch this weekend:

Barbara Carmen reports that the Franklin County BOE had quietly allowed top managers to cash out banked compensatory time to the tune of a couple hundred thousand dollars, something which surprised and distressed the county commission. The article states that Matthew Damschroder, former Director and current Deputy Director said that there were no better options, and notes that the board voted in April to pay Damschroder $22,767 for 437 hours of banked time at time-and-a-half.

Oddly enough, Barbara Carmen does not reference her own article from March of this year:

A deal is in the works to change leaders at the Franklin County Board of Elections, just days before the presidential primary draws scrutiny to Ohio.

The board will meet at 1 p.m. Sunday to swap its director and deputy director and name a new chairman.

The move follows rumors that Director Matthew Damschroder would be booted, both because he is bloodied by battles with Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner and because he is a Republican and political control has shifted to Democrats.
...

William A. Anthony Jr. confirmed Friday that he will step down as chairman of the board, clearing the way for fellow Democrat Dennis L. White to be voted in as director at the board's organizational meeting.

Damschroder, a Republican, will move to deputy director. Doug Preisse, chairman of the Franklin County Republican Party, is expected to be voted in as chairman of the elections board, which he joined just last week.

...

Damschroder, 32, joined the board of elections in 2003. He said he is now "actively seeking other employment'' and is considering law school.

Of course, that deal didn't work out, and Damschroder was instead given a consultant contract worth $11,250 a month through the "end of the year." All was not lost, however. Three months later, with very little fanfare (media stories about the pick of Michael Stinziano as Director made no mention of it), Damschroder took on the job of Deputy Director that he was denied in March. I'm assuming that that coincided with the end-of-year referred to regarding the consulting contract.

So, the "big shake-up" turned out to be that Damschroder went from being official director to unofficial director with a director's salary to Deputy Director after his employment search apparently became less active. I wonder if it became less active before or after he got a $23K bonus?

At Least McGregor's Got a Sense of Humor

Earlier this week, I came home and there was a piece of Jim McGregor campaign lit on my porch. I had previously noted (mocked, actually) the lack of campaign activity coming from the McGregor camp, and although some disputed my take, concurring opinions from folks with more mainstream cred than me also followed. So, when I found the McGregor campaign had been through South Bexley I thought to myself "So, I guess they were waiting for Labor Day."

Two days later I came home and there was a different piece of McGregor campaign lit on my porch. I thought to myself A) they're trying to make up for lost time, and B) It's making them sloppy because double-dropping the same turf is not the most efficient use of their resources.

Today, I came home and there was a piece of campaign lit on my porch. It was yet a third distinct piece of literature from the McGregor campaign. I did a quick jog up and down my block. I didn't see any lit on any of my neighbor's porches.



Very funny, guys. I get the message.



BTW, McGregor's opponent Nancy Garland is holding a rally with special guest Senator Sherrod Brown next Sunday. The rally is in McGregor's home base of Gahanna. Coincidence? Probably.

Why Palin Matters to Me

In 2000, George W. Bush ran as a "Compassionate Conservative," a "Uniter, not a Divider," and as a Republican Governor who had worked with a Democratic Legislature in a spirit of bi-partisanship he would take with him to Washington.

The first member of his future administration he brought on board? Dick Cheney.

Tell me, looking back, which was more indicative of W's governing style, his rhetoric and reputation, or the people he chose to advise and assist him in governing?

Cheney was the first. Other appointments like John Ashcroft (PATRIOT 2, covered statues), Donald Rumsfeld ("...six days, six weeks. I doubt six months"), Rod Paige (Leave no Pundit Behind) followed soon after the counting stopped.

The Vice President doesn't necessarily have to do anything at all. The country survived Dan Quayle with no visible scars. The Secretaries of Defense, State, etc., however, have important jobs. Having seen the right-wing ideologue McCain has picked for the VP slot, who do you think he'll appoint to those positions?