Watch the $17.4 Million Vote here

CIty Council's Budget Committee will be voting on an additional $17.4 Million for the Streetcar Boondoggle Project this afternoon. Beginning at 1 pm you can watch the kabuki theatre committee meeting and the vote below.

All sorts of Development going on without Parking Plot or Emergency Ordinances

As if we needed any more proof that City Manager Dohoney, Mayor Mallory and their Gang of Six (Qualls, Quinlivan, Seelbach, Simpson, Thomas and Young) were bluffing, a quick rundown of some of the developments happening in Cincinnati without either the Parking Plot money or Emergency Ordinances.

Watch the Mayor's Presser Here

Clocking in at just under 40 minutes, the Parking Plotters' Presser is, as Mayor Mallory himself noted several times, the longest press conference of Mallory's public life.

Huh, in seven years of structurally unbalanced budgets, year after year of crisis to crisis management, and only today does he find it necessary to spend half an hour with the press.

Mallory, surrounded by five of the gang of six members (Seelbach was there in spirit though), engaged in the same old tired scare tactics and bullying, hectoring, strategy. Proving that they are afraid.

Let us clarify a point for the Mayor and his sycophants. Judge Winkler ruled that the people of Cincinnati, speaking through the City Charter, retain the right to referendum on all actions of City Council. Judge Winkler did not give any power or take away any power. That is not the role of a judge. He read the Charter and he applied it.

Watch the full press conference below

COAST Year in Review 2012

Wenstrup Defeats Schmidt

A review of COAST's efforts in 2012 must begin with Brad Wenstrup's historic victory over Jean Schmidt in the Republican Primary. Chris Finney delivered a devastating series of talks detailing Schmidt's ethics problems and Brian Shrive managed Wenstrup's primary campaign like a master.

While "wiser heads" were preparing Wenstrup's political obituary, COASTers went diligently about the business of making Jean Schmidt's political obituary a reality.

Possibly our favorite moment of the campaign was this editorial from the Highland County Press just days before the Primary. Some other highlights from the campaign can be found here, here, here, here and here. Of course to get the full flavor, review our online archives from the Summer of 2011 through through March 2012.

Read the Standard & Poor’s Report on Cincinnati

At the end of November Standard & Poor’s provided the below report on Cincinnati’s creditworthiness.  Note this line:

The outlook revision reflects our view of the city's revenue losses, which are contributing to a forecasted structurally-imbalanced budget for 2013

The budget Council is passing today does nothing to address the issues raised by S&P and only serves to hasten the city's decline.

In short, Cincinnati is screwed. Mallory and Qualls have proven themselves unserious and the rubber stamp crew: Quinlivan; Seelbach; Young; Thomas; and Simpson allow them to destroy a once great city with impunity.

SP Report - Cincinnati OH - Nov 2012

Streetcar Bond Offering

As Cincinnati prepares to borrow countless Millions of Dollars to fund the Mallory-Qualls-Quinlivan Streetcar to NoWhere we thought you'd like to read the City's Preliminary Official Statement regarding the Streetcar Bonds.  We note the delicious irony of the acronym for Preliminary Official Statement.

One Question:

Why do they insist on Bankrupting Cincinnati?

Pos

Issue 4 -- extending Council terms -- is a disaster for Cincinnati

Power grab by Council must be defeated

Last year, COAST's crack legal team nailed Laure Quinlivan for using her office, office equipment and office staff to run her reelection campaign.  She now holds the distinction of being the only member of City Council permanently enjoined by Court order from that illegal activity.

Thus, it is a bit more than slightly ironic that it is Quinlivan who is the prime sponsor of Issue 4, a power grab by members of City Council to extend their terms for four years, and even extend term limits for some.

This Council has nefarious business planned over the coming few years -- extending the Streetcar, increasing taxes, laying off police and firemen, and continuing their refusal to address the City's acute and chronic pension problems.  But the only way they can continue their odious conduct unchecked is if they eliminate the ability of the voters to remove them from office.  That is the cynical and megalomaniacal plot behind Issue 4.

Fortunately, a broad coalition of community leadershas joined in opposition to Issue 4, including COAST and its Chairman Tom Brinkman, former members of Council Amy Murray (Republican), Jeff Berding (Democrat), former Council member Chris Bortz (Charterite/Republican), and former Mayor Charlie Luken (Democrat).  In almost unprecedented unity, the Republican Party and Charter Committee oppose Issue 4.  Former Council candidate Kevin Flynn (who serves as Charter Committee Chair) has shown impressive leadership on the issue.  The amendment is opposed by the NAACP and the Black Baptist Ministers, and African American leaders Christopher Smitherman, Dock Foster and Charlie Winburn.

Indeed, COAST sees in the Issue 4 opposition a potential coalition to bring sanity to City hall, black and white, east, central and west, and Republican, Democrat and Charterite.

Very simply, COAST believes that Cincinnati's voters rightly should reject this power grab by incumbent Council members on election day.  They should preserve the voters' veto of the policies of this or any Council.

Vote NO on Issue 4.  Request a Yard Sign Here.