Why Can't Chris Seelbach Keep His Hands Out of Cincinnati's Cookie Jar

Once again, Chris Seelbach proves the rule that Cincinnati's Democrat establishment is, by and large, self-serving and corrupt.

Tuesday: COASTers to sue City again over Parking Plot

Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?  Hell no.

When is a ten-year lease really a 30-year lease?

Just over one week ago, the Cincinnati Port Authority announced that it had determined -- after a 75-day due diligence period -- to ink the Parking Plot with the City of Cincinnati.  But they assured us that they had purged the worst parts of the further agreements with Xerox and Guggenheim to make the deal palatable to the voters.

WCPO reports on Seelbach misuse of funds

Read this thorough, well-written, well-researched piece on Chris Seelbach's misuse of funds for his -- and two staffers' -  travel to Washington D.C this Spring.

COAST demands Seelbach repay to City $1,218 for White House visit

After Cincinnati City Council member Chris Seelbach traveled to Washington, D.C. to visit the White House to receive the Harvey Milk "Champion of Change" Award from President Obama this Spring, he and two members of his staff decided to submit the expenses to City Council for reimbursement.

City Solicitor rejects COAST's Parking Plot taxpayer demand letter

When Cincinnati City Manager Milton Dohoney signed the Parking Lease, the form of the lease was materially different than that approved by Council in several respects.  First, the Lease gave Council the right to terminate it if the bonds were not issued by June 30, 2013.  Second, the Port Authority demanded a 75-day right to terminate the Lease in the document.  Neither of those provisions were in the version approved by the Council.  Thus, before the Manager has the authority to sign the lease, the version that was in fact signed would have to be approved by the Council.

Smitherman: S&P Set to Review Cincinnati Credit Rating in September

From Christopher Smitherman:

The S+P will review the credit rating of the City of Cincinnati in September. Moody's recently downgraded the City of Cincinnati and warned the city by extending a negative outlook going forward. Most likely, the S+P in September will follow with a second downgrade in less than 90 days. "The City of Cincinnati cannot afford a streetcar. However, a majority of City Council members move forward, ignoring costs. We must elect a Mayor and City Council that will make more responsible financial decisions," Smitherman said.

Time for Big Changes at City Hall

Year after year, without fail, Cincinnati’s budget comes in “Structurally Unbalanced.”  Even when we get unexpected windfalls like the Convergy’s funds or the Blue Ash Airport sale, City Council cannot balance the budget without more and more one time money.  The Parking Plot is only the latest in a long line of shortsighted bad decisions by Roxanne Qualls and her cronies on Council.

We’re beginning to wonder: maybe it’s not just the budget that is unbalanced.  

Maybe it’s Roxanne Qualls and the Council.

Maybe it’s time to make wholesale changes at City Hall.

Click here to print out your absentee ballot request for the September 10th Mayoral Primary

Some timely accountability for the City of Cincinnati

COAST learned today that the S&P Bond rating for the City of Cincinnati for 2013 bonds will be released in Late September or early October.  We anxiously await the reckoning.

New Ad from Cranley

We are excited to see that the Mayor's race is a real race. Qualls has to answer to the voters for her actions on council.

IRS abuse investigation cloaked in maze of confidentiality and illogical rules

National Review Online has a fascinating report on how a bizarre series of IRS rules and contorted interpretations of the law and regulations shield the information of wrongdoers from the wronged, keeping bottled up the evidence of abuse.  Read it here.

It really reads like something from the old Soviet Union.  It's such a sad devolution of our fine nation.

Obama Administration Has Missed Half of Obamacare Deadlines

Forbes reports here that according to a recently discovered memo from the Congressional Research Service, the Obama administration has missed 41 of 82 deadlines established as part of the Obamacare law. The Congressional Research Service is a non-partisan group that acts as an in-house think tank for Congress.

Read the Congressional Research Service here. 

Port and Qualls re-doing Parking Plot again - you're still taking it on the chin

The Enquirer reports that the Port Authority is pushing a plan to allow neighborhood parking meter enforcement hours to remain unchanged in exchange for pushing through their sweetheart deal to act as the middle man for Xerox and the Wall Street Bankers preparing to fleece Cincinnati.

Make no mistake, this is little more than a spoonful of sugar to make the medicine go down. And there is little doubt left that, one way or another, Roxanne Qualls and the backstabbers on Council are going to make sure that you take your medicine.

KASICH CALLS FOR FEDERAL BALANCED BUDGET AMENDMENT

Ohio’s Fiscal Health, Other States’ Balanced Budget Requirements Are Models for Washington

COLUMBUS – Frustrated by the increasing inability of Washington to responsibly manage the nation’s finances, today Ohio Gov. John R. Kasich called on states to lead the effort to enact a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution.  He also called for the Ohio General Assembly to help jump start the effort by passing a resolution calling for a constitutional convention that would approve a balanced budget amendment.

Kasich issued the following statement:

Cincinnati media at work -- sowing Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt on pension reform

We will write more on this shortly, but we are watching Cincinnati at work -- a City unable to reform itself.

Within days of the Cincinnati Pension Reform Charter Amendment being filed with the Clerk of Council for placement on the ballot, Cincinnati's news media was furiously propounding a message of fear, uncertainty and doubt about the measure, Chris Wetterich of the Cincinnati Business Courier being the prime purveyor of doom.

Our supposedly "objective" media -- that has largely ignored the yawning $865 million hole in the City's pension -- has gleefully piled on against the only plan presented to solve Cincinnati's pension problems.

And once the drumbeat started against the Charter Amendment, we watched as like lemmings, the entire news media lined up to parrot the misstatements about the initiative emanating from the supposedly objective City Solicitor's office, the official mouthpiece of the Mallory/Qualls regime in Cincinnati.

We are sure that things worked in Detroit much like this for decades as well.

Think outside the box, boys.  Your old ways are getting tiresome.  

Brinkman asks Port to consider deep concerns of 19,803 petition signers on Parking Plot

COAST Chairman has written a heartfelt plea on behalf of the 19,803 petition signers against the Parking Plot.  Read it below.

With less than a month to go, it is worth reminding wealthy, powerful people how we got to where we are and why there is and was an uprising in Cincinnati against this bad, bad plan.

Even though the "fix is definitely in" for the Parking Plot, the people of Cincinnati will be heard.

  Port Authority Letter

Wenstrup Talks NoSpecialPass.com on Fox News

Proving that the Army really does get more done before 9 am, Congressman Brad Wenstrup spoke with Bill Hemmer at 6 am pacific time (Brad's completing his Army Reserve duty in Tacoma, WA).

Brad and Bill talked about Brad's online petition NoSpecialPass.com. Sign the petition here.

Great work by Congressman Wenstrup to hold Washington accountable and insist on the rule of law.

City pension reform makes the ballot

When all the establishment is squirming, you know progress is at hand.

The Cincinnati Pension Reform initiative will be on the ballot according to the Cincinnati Enquirer today.

The plan which will turn the plan from a defined benefit plan (a pension plan) to a defined contribution plan (like a 401 K plan) for new employees only will bring Cincinnati's overly-generous pension plan in line with that of almost all private employers.

Those who have bankrupted the City with the current pension, its under-funding and over-promising are predictably squealing like stuck pigs.

It's music to our ears!

The truth comes out about the cost of transportation projects

Former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown let the truth slip out about how democrats and bureaucrats view government-funded capital projects.  In a comment in today's San Fransisco Chronicle about the massively over-budget Transbay-Terminal project, Brown said this:

News that the Transbay Terminal is something like $300 million over budget should not come as a shock to anyone. We always knew the initial estimate was way under the real cost. Just like we never had a real cost for the Central Subway or the Bay Bridge or any other massive construction project. So get off it. In the world of civic projects, the first budget is really just a down payment. If people knew the real cost from the start, nothing would ever be approved. The idea is to get going. Start digging a hole and make it so big, there's no alternative to coming up with the money to fill it in.

You can read more about this here.

In thinking akin with Brown's Mayor Mark Mallory and Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls have recklessly plunged forward with the Streetcar project.

Monthly streetcar reports apparently don't mean "monthly"

As COAST reported here, on June 26 -- some 45 days ago -- Council voted to fund the Streetcar cost overruns to the tune of $26.5 million.  To lessen the political blowback from that decision, they also voted to require the City Administration to report monthly on the progress on the Streetcar, presumably against benchmarks for budget and timeline.  There have also been some vague promises that, after eight years of planning for the Streetcar they would finally present an operating budget.

Wenstrup Aims to Stop Obamacare's Lawless Waivers

Read more about Congressman Wenstrup's efforts to stop the illegal special exemption for Congress and their staff below.

Sign the petition here.

Wenstrup Begins National Petition Drive Against An Obamacare "Special Pass" for Congress

Cincinnati, OH 8/9/13 -- Conservative Republican Congressman Brad Wenstrup (OH-2) today began a national petition drive to call on President Obama, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi to live under the laws they wrote and passed.  

Insolvency has consequences

The events leading up to municipal insolvency are entirely predictable.  The consequences ultimately are swift, devastating and difficult to reverse.

Like college kid with student loans and a credit card, it's easy to incur debt and live the high life with new electronics, wild parties, and spring break in the Caribbean.  And while you are incurring that debt, you are surrounded by friends gleefully accepting your largess.

Charter Committee Endorses Amy Murray

Cincinnati's Charter Committee today announced that they have endorsed Amy Murray for Council. We cannot be more excited at the news.

Chris Seelbach political maneuvers to please unions shut down MSD work

In a remarkably selfish move, Council member Chris Seelbach has remained intransigent in negotiations with the County over the policy Seelbach muscled through Council a few months ago changing the rules for MSD contractors.

The failure of Seelbach and his fellow Council members intent on doing the bidding of the Laborers' Union to budge in the negotiations has resulted in a stalemate that has shut down MSD construction.

Read more here.

Delmer "Del" Landis Jr., July 19, 1943 - August 6, 2013

COAST lost a great friend yesterday, Delmer "Del" Landis.  Del was co-founder of North COAST, Board member of COAST, and a personal mentor and friend to many of us.  From his obituary:

He inspired all of who know him well with zest for life and determination to live it well for as long as he could. He was an aerospace engineer at GE in Evendale from the time he left Southern Illinois University with a Masters Degree until his retirement 15 years ago.

Pension reform petitions turned in

The Enquirer has it.  Petitions for a Charter Amendment to force reform of Cincinnati's massively over-generous and insolvent pension plan have been turned in to the Clerk of Council.  The proposal will shift new employees into a "defined contribution" plan from the current "defined benefit" plan.

It is similar to the plans that passed into law in San Jose and San Diego in 2011.

If it makes the ballot, it will make for an interesting debate this fall.

Tuesday Morning Radio Roundup - Chabot and Hartkemeyer

This morning Congressman Steve Chabot joined Brian Thomas and discussed Obamacare and the individual mandate.

Conversation with Congressman Chabot starts at 11 minutes.




Brian Thomas also spoke with Fairfield Township Trustee Candidate Shannon Hartkemeyer about her race and the goings on in Fairfield Township.


Learn more about Hartkemeyer at www.FairfieldTownshipFlare.com

Early voting starts...now!

After eight years under the thumb of Mayor Mark Mallory and his sycophantic six (Qualls, Quinlivan, Seelbach, Simpson, Thomas, and Young), voting starts tomorrow in the primary election for Cincinnati Mayor.  It is critical that we turn out to vote against Qualls and the direction she has taken Cincinnati.

Wenstrup on the REINS Act

Today the House passed the REINS Act aimed at taking back power from administrative agencies.

This is one step toward limited government. We applaud Congressman Wenstrup for his efforts in support of this bill and delight in his speech on the House Floor.

Port Authority blow out!

COASTers jam the Port offices

COASTers and other coalition members opposed to the Parking Plot jammed the offices of the Port Authority tonight so much so that they had to break the crowd into two groups in two rooms to avoid violating fire code.

To a man, all attendees were opposed to the Parking Plot.

Maybe they ought to kill the deal and start over.  Wadayathink?

PORT AUTHORITY PUBLIC MEETING TONIGHT!

Tonight at 6:15 pm the Port Authority will be holding their second "public meeting" at their headquarters located at 299 E. Sixth Street in Downtown.

This is the public meeting that they don't want you to find out about.