Mayor Mallory Violates Ethics Rules

Complaint addresses unreported travel, tickets and expense reimbursements

When the going gets tough, the tough get going. And while the rest of the city was dealing with the greatest economic crisis since the great depression, our feckless leader was GONE! A regular Carmen Sandiego, he popped up in Munich, Japan, Toronto, and even Portland, of all places. While everybody else had their travel restricted, the mayor found "outside sources" to avoid using city funds. Each of those is a gift that must be disclosed under state ethics rules. Apparently Mayor Mallory was too busy to do that.

Today, Mark Miller, COAST's treasurer filed a Complaint with the Ohio Ethcis Commisison over the failure of Mayor Mark Mallory to file required disclosures with the Ohio Ethics Commission. The undisclosed items included travel, tickets to the Macy's Music Festical, tickets to the Reds Opening Day and cell phone reimbursement.

"As we see it, Governor Bob Taft was charged and convicted for much less," said COAST Chairman Jason Gloyd. "These pernicious and unethical practices must be fully and properly disclosed for the voters to decide who should lead the City for the coming four years. The failure to complete the disclosure forms property fails to disclose those seeking favor with the Mayor."

A copy of the Complaint form and attachments are here.

2009-10-17 Updated.

Volunteers turn in Toledo Red Light Camera Petitions

Press Conference at 2:30 PM at City Hall Clerk of Council's office


Today at 2:30 PM, volunteers from WeDemandAVote.Com/Toledo turn in petitions at Toledo City Hall for a Charter Amendment to ban the use of Red Light and Speeding Cameras in the City of Toledo. WeDemandAVote.Com/Toledo will turn in more than 8,400 signatures to the Toledo Clerk of Council. This is nearly twice the 4.625 signatures required to attain ballot access for the proposal.

COAST is proud a member of the WeDemandAVote.Com/Toledo coalition and proud partner of the many Toledoans who have together forced this issue to a vote this November.

In November of 2008, Cincinnati voters became the first in the nation to ban the use of Red Light and Speeding Cameras within City limits. Because Toledo City Council will not repeal these oppressive devices on their own, COAST came to Toledo in January to launch this drive, which has culminated in this accomplishment.

If Toledo City Council does as the Ohio Constitution requires, they will check the sufficiency of the petitions through the Lucas County Board of Elections and vote before September 3 to place the issue on this November's ballot. If they refuse, COAST's attorneys promptly will litigate to force them to do as they are required by the Constitution.

COAST's Toledo coordinator, Scott Ross said: "More than 8,400 Toledoans have demanded that the pernicious and confiscatory policies of Mayor Carty Finkbeiner and this City Council be put to a vote this November. Thanks to these volunteer circulators and signers, voters will have the chance to seize back a small part of their liberties taken by these invasive devices.

"COAST's seven reasons to oppose Red Light and Speeding Cameras may be read here.

COAST & Brinkman Win Injunction Against Ohio

Today, United States District Court Judge Susan Dlott issued a Preliminary Injunction against the State of Ohio, temporarily preventing it from enforcing restrictions preventing former State Representative Thomas E. Brinkman, Jr. from representing COAST before the Ohio legislature on legislative matters.

Under the present law, Brinkman's volunteer activities in lobbying for COAST were made a crime. In contrast, former state representatives who went to work for state agencies for pay were permitted to lobby for greater government spending legally. The federal district court ruled that the free nature of the services provided by Brinkman undermined the state's argument that the regulation "protected the integrity of state government," and further that the unequal treatment of private organizations such as COAST, as compared to state agencies, was unconstitutional.

The decision may be accessed here. Enquirer article here.

"COAST is pleased that this egregious abuse of power by the State of Ohio was enjoined by Judge Dlott," said COAST Chairman Jason Gloyd. "Now taxpayers are on a fair footing when approaching their legislators to reduce the size and scope of government."

Auditor Dusty Rhodes Blasts Commission Mis-spending

So often, basic governmental services are not funded properly, and we are told that only a massive tax increase will allow their continuation. Well County Auditor Dusty Rhodes has had enough and now he is speaking forcefully about the issue. Read the Rhodes statement and the Enquirer blog about it here. See Rhodes official Auditor's web site here.

COAST agrees with this sentiment. The best example of this was the Super-Sized Jail tax. County government has been so enthusiastic about providing frills and headline grabbing functions (remember the Film Commission?), that it claimed (and continues to claim), it has no money for a basic, statutorily-mandated service such as incarcerating criminals.

Are we being set up for yet another jail tax increase plan?

Rhodes argues that Commissioners are spending money on entirely optional, expensive programs rather than incarcerating dangerous criminals, a function the Ohio Revised Code requires them to perform. His admonition is instructive to all government officials:

"The easiest way to cut costs is to stop doing the things you are not required to do."

Now there's an idea. Does this bring the $185 million trolley to mind for anyone?

Here are the specific things Rhodes complains Commissioners are doing (some currently) that are taking sorely needed funds from basic government operations:

• Government subsidy of private business at the The Banks project;
• Two sports stadiums;
• $12,879,783 in outside lawyers;
• Providing free police service to selected areas; and
• Purchasing emergency sirens for selected communities.

About the Banks project, Rhodes forcefully says, "The importance assigned to this City project [the Banks] is completely disproportionate to reality and to what the County can reasonably afford. It has become an expensive, editorial board driven obsession. It has become a desperate attempt to do what the market says should not be done."

Please write or call these four elected officials and let them know your support for Rhodes position. Thank you Dusty Rhodes!

Auditor Dusty Rhodes
Dusty.Rhodes@auditor.hamilton-co.org
(513) 946-4050 Phone
(513) 946-4043 Fax

Commission President David Pepper
david.pepper@hamilton-co.org
(513) 946-4409 Phone
(513) 946-4407 Fax

Commissioner Todd Portune
todd.portune@hamilton-co.org
(513) 946-4401 Phone
(513) 946-4446 Fax

Commissioner Greg Hartmann
greg.hartmann@hamilton-co.org
(513) 946-4405 Phone
(513) 946-4404 Fax

COAST General Counsel Appears at NTU Conference June 12

Christopher P. Finney heads panel on
"Using Issues & Referenda to Advance the Taxpayers' Cause"

COAST General Counsel Christopher P. Finney appears at this year's Bi-Annual Conference of the National Taxpayer's Union in Arlington, Virginia on June 12, 2009.

The National Taxpayers Conference, which is held from June 11 through the 13th, will also feature the following speakers: U.S. Senator Jim DeMint, U.S. Congressman Tom Price, Governor of Missouri Matt Blunt, former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, and Steve Moore renowned Wall Street Journal columnist.

Finney will moderate a panel discussion the first full day of the Conference, entitled "Using Issues & Referenda to Advance the Taxpayers Cause."

Finney is the author of several Amendments to the Cincinnati City Charter, including Council term limits, a limitation on the City's ticket tax, Cincinnati's ban on Red Light Cameras, a ban on using tax resources for political purposes, and this year's proposed Charter Amendment stopping the proposed $185 million Trolley.

In addition to his work for COAST, Finney recently was appointed to the Executive Committee of the Cincinnati Chapter of the NAACP and serves as the Chair of its Legal Redress Committee. Finney was a key organizer of the WeDemandAVote.Com coalition that toppled the Super-Sized Jail Tax in 2007 and won the prestigious national "Modern Day Sam Adams Award" from the Sam Adams Alliance in Chicago. Finney was named one of eight Ohio Lawyers of the Year in 1998.

Finney is a shareholder of Finney, Stagnaro, Saba & Patterson Co., L.P.A., with 18 attorneys in two offices in the Cincinnati area. He concentrates in real estate law, general litigation and constitutional law.

In addition to working on limited government initiatives in the Cincinnati area, the WeDemandAVote.Com coalition has continued to promote the Red Light Camera ban throughout Ohio and the nation.

This is Finney's second appearance before NTU conferences. He spoke at its national conference in 2007 just after the start of the petition drive to repeal the Super-Sized Jail Tax. COASTer Dan Regenold has spoken about same campaign before both the Sam Adams Alliance and at the national CPAC Conference in February 2008,where he discussed "The Power of Principle: Conservative Victories Across the Nation in 2007."

Since it was founded 40 years ago, the National Taxpayers Union has been the Nation's leading organization advocating for limited government and lower taxes at the federal, state and local levels. The National Taxpayers Conference assembles activists from throughout the nation and world every two years to fight against the otherwise unchecked growth of government.

Cincinnati Requests $12.6 Million of Federal Stimulus Package For Trolley

Boondoggle railroaded on voters

Ignoring the WeDemandAVote.Com coalition’s petition drive to force a public vote on Council plan for a $400 million trolley system serving only three neighborhoods, Mayor Mark Mallory in January asked its Congressional delegation to support inclusion in the federal stimulus bill of $12.6 million for the nascent trolley plan. A copy of the City’s request is here.

The request is part of an overall request by the City of nearly $333 million in Stimulus funds. Read the entire request here. COAST supposes we should be happy there is no request for funds for the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in there.

Cincinnati City Council first approved the trolley plan in April of last year. The Council resolution called for raising $32 million of the costs for the plan from private sources and charged the City Manager with doing the private fundraising. The April resolution called for the City Manager to report to Council quarterly on his fundraising results. To date, the City Manager has never issued such a report and no private funds have been donated.

The City did, however, extract $3 million from Duke Energy as part of a complex kick-back deal in which the City consented to a higher rate increase than Duke requested, and sold them 20,000 city-owned streetlights for $200 a piece. Cincinnati previously maintained the lights themselves to save money under a recommendation by the Smale Commission. The city sellout abandons that strategy to raise some quick cash.

The WeDemandAVote.Com coalition, which has placed three issues on the ballot in the past two years, has committed in 2009 to placing an issue on the ballot preventing the expenditure of major funds by the City for passenger rail transportation without first receiving the approval of voters. Call Mark Miller at 513-617-2263 for your copy of the petition and instruction sheet, or e-mail Treasurer@GoCOAST.Org.

COAST, Americans for Prosperity take red light camera ban to Toledo

Organizing meeting is Monday, January 12 at 7 PM at Point Place Branch Library

COAST and Americans for Prosperity-Ohio, two partners in the coalition that enacted a ban on red light and speeding cameras in Cincinnati in 2008, are taking their campaign to Toledo this year. Their goal is to place on the November 2009 ballot a Charter Amendment banning red light and speeding cameras in that city.

The groups will be hosting an organizing meeting for the 2009 campaign on Monday, January 12, 2009 at the Point Place Branch Library, 2727 117th St. Toledo 43611 at 7:00 PM. Members of the public are invited to join the assemblage to help place the initiative on the ballot.

Throughout the spring and summer, volunteers in Toledo will be collecting the 7,000 valid signatures to place the issue before the voters. The total number of signatures needed, to account for bad and invalid signatures, will be approximately 14,000.

In 2008, volunteers from a broad-based coalition in Cincinnati collected more than 14,000 signatures to place the ban in the Cincinnati City Charter, and in November that ban was enacted into the Cincinnati City Charter. The Cincinnati coalition included representatives from the Cincinnati Chapter of the NAACP, the Southwest Ohio Green Party and the Ohio Libertarian Party. The group later was joined by the Hamilton County Republican Party, civic clubs and candidates from both political parties. The same groups will be invited to join the Toledo effort.

“COAST hopes to help start brushfires for liberty throughout Ohio,” said COAST Chairman Jason Gloyd. “Our experience is that, when given the chance to limit the encroachment of government interference in our lives, people grasp for liberty every time. The Toledo initiative brings hope for freedom to the oppressed citizens of northwest Ohio.”

All Toledo-area residents are invited to join COAST and AFP-Ohio at the organizing meeting.

COAST encourages a "Yes" on Issues 7 and 8

COASTers worked long and hard this year to collect signatures on petitions both banning Red Light Cameras and to enact Proportional Representation for City Council elections as part of our WeDemandAVote.Com coalition membership. Both are on the ballot as Issues 7 and 8, and COAST encourages a "YES" vote on each for City voters. Also, Red Light Camera signs are in. Call Chris Finney at 720-2996 to get your signs.