And the Winner(?) Is...

All of Cincinnati waits with bated breath as the votes were counted. And now we know that the most despicable of the Parking Plotters is...

CHRIS SEELBACH

Let's remember that it was Chris Seelbach's treachery that got us into this situation in the first place. For weeks he claimed he would oppose the Parking Plot, but then in a last minute switch, he voted for the emergency ordinance to disenfranchise the voters of Cincinnati.

Teachers Union Seeks to Intervene in CPS Lawsuit

The Cincinnati Federation of Teachers has filed a motion in the latest COAST/Cincinnati Public Schools litigation seeking to establish a right in public employees to campaign while on the job and while on public property.  A 2002 Agreement between CPS and COAST prohibits that misuse of public resources.  The latest legal maneuver by the CFT seeks to have portions of that Agreement declared unconstitutional. CFT Motion to Intervene As COAST reported here, for the third time in a decade, COAST sued CPS in October for campaigning using tax dollars.  The most recent suit arose from the 2012 CPS tax levy campaign in which volunteers were recruited through the schools and donations were funneled through the Superintendent's office, all using taxpayer resources.

The latest suit seeks to enforce a 2002 settlement agreement arising from the use of schoolyards to post pro-levy signs.  In 2010, COAST sued under that same agreement when it learned CPS was busing Hughes High School Students to the Board of Elections for early voting (during the school day), instructing them to vote the Democrat Party ticket, and then rewarding them with Graeters ice cream afterwards. The 2012 suit was filed because, as a result of public records obtained by COAST; and other information provided to COAST, CPS was again caught red-handed using tax dollars for campaign purposes -- something that is both illegal and a violation of the 2002 Agreement.

Last week, the CFT filed its lengthy motion to intervene as a party in the in the COAST/CPS litigation seeking to have portions of the 2002 Agreement declared void because it allegedly violates the "right" of CPS employees to campaign either while on public time or on CPS property.  It is those two things that the 2002 Agreement expressly prohibits. COASTers may recall that in 2011, it sued Council member Luare Quinlivan for her illegal use of public employees and public property in her Council office to run her Cincinnati City Council campaign.  In that litigation, Quinlivan amazingly sued the City in an effort to establish a constitutional right for her to abuse public resources to advance her own campaign.  That suit is remarkably similar to the latest CFT motion.  Ultimately, she settled by accepting a permanent injunction against such illegal conduct, dismissing her action and reimbursing the City for her use of public resources. "We obviously have hit a nerve," said COAST Chairman Tom Brinkman.  "Demo-Labor establishment has a long history in misusing taxpayer resources to campaign for liberal democrats and higher taxes.  COAST has employed broad political, media and legal strategies to expose and stop this abuse of tax dollars.  The fact that CFT is fighting so hard to maintain this illegal privilege is testimony to the need of COAST to be vigilant on all fronts against this pernicious conduct." The COAST/CPS litigation is in front of Judge Steve Martin.  He also will hear the CFT Motion to intervene.

We knew this day would come. Council tries to overturn term limits

It ain't gonna happen

In 1991, Cincinnati voters enacted term limits on members of Cincinnati City Council, and that provision has served us well since that time.  This amended was authored by COAST's esteemed counsel, Chris Finney.

That year, David Mann tried to engineer an anti-term limits amendment, cynically designed to confuse the voters.  It didn't work!  And voters since then have had new blood injected every few years as a result. (Not always good blood, but new blood.)

Various Councils since that time have flirted with attempts to un-do term limits.  They have all floundered, knowing that upwards of 70% of the electorate supports limiting legislative terms.

Well, this year, Laure Quinlivan reports that she has the votes on a Charter Amendment to repeal Term Limits.  These are, of course, the same folks who have brought you the Streetcar, the Freedom Center, the $4.4 million Glass Atrium at City Hall, the Riverfront Transit Center, and on and on and on. 

COAST intends to fight it all the way.

We will keep you informed.

COASTer acts to stop Quinlivan abuse of tax dollars to fund her campaign

Systematic, pervasive and continuing use of tax dollars challenged

Since she was sworn into office two years ago, Council member Laure Quinlivan started her re-election campaign, using tax dollars and City staff to support it.

When she printed her official City letterhead and business cards, she included a reference on each of www.LQReportingtoYou.com, which is a site paid for by "Quinlivan for Council," and contains campaign materials encouraging the election of Ms. Quinlivan to City Council.

Last November, COASTer Mark Miller wrote to the City Solicitor demanding that he act to stop Quinlivan's abuse of tax dollars to fund her campaign. Upon investigation, the Solicitor reached agreement with Quinlivan to stop using City resources to fund her campaigns and arranged for her to repay the City $644 for this illegal use of tax dollars.

This year, COAST received another tip, that campaign e-mails were originating from her Council offices, and again demanded that the Solicitor act to enjoin this illegal use of City tax dollars to fund her campaigns. The City Solicitor refused, instead marginalizing the misuse of City resources, arranging for Ms. Quinlivan to re-pay the City an insulting 13 cents of misspent City funds.

Interestingly, the Quinlivan e-mails and Quinlivan web site are built on a platform from www.BlueUtopia.Com. As you can see by clicking on Blue Utopia link, the site is "A Powerful and Affordable Campaign System," "Helping Democrats and Progressives at Every Level." In short it is a website devoted to assisting political campaigns, and has no other purpose.

So, COAST did a public records request demanding documentation of the use of the website by City personnel. What he found was astounding. Quinlivan's official City Council office and personnel, paid with City tax dollars, had accessed the site a total of 111,825 KB of data. You can read the report here yourself. Further, we learned that her official City office had accessed www.BlueUtopia.Com more than 2,300 times over a six month period of time (and that's from fewer than 10% of the data that COAST requested.

In short, Quinlivan is running an active City Council campaign, or at least the electronic portions thereof, from her Council offices, costing the taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars in the process.

"This is a systemic, pervasive and continuing misuse of tax dollars that is illegal," said COAST Chairman Jason Gloyd. "It involves not just City computers, City servers, City internet services and City offices, but the misdirection of City staff on City time from their official duties. This is a fundamental breach of the trust that City voters have placed in Quinlivan."

It also happens that the actions of Quinlvan in this regard are illegal. In 2002, COAST conducted a petition drive to insert into the City Charter a provision making the spending of City tax dollars to fund political campaigns illegal. The voters approved that provision and Ms. Quinlivan's actions, even after having been warned against this type of conduct last year, flouts this express Charter provision.

COAST notes that just this week, State Auditor David Yost and Secretary of State Jon Husted proposed making the knowing misuse of tax dollars for campaign purposes a criminal offense.

COASTer Mark Miller sued Quinlivan in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court on Thursday. You can read the entire complaint here. The hearing on the Motion for Temporary Restraining Order is before Judge Steven E. Martin on Monday (today) at 8:30 AM.    

Cincinnati Residents Avoid Trash Tax (for now)

New Council member Laure Quinlivan
wants trash tax on City residents

Four Council members, the Mayor and City manager are committed to imposing a $20 per month trash tax on Cincinnati residents, the same residents who are being driven from their homes in record foreclosures due to already-high property taxes. 

Thanks to COAST members who called and wrote their Council members, and Council members Leslie Ghiz, Chris Monzel, Charlie Winburn, Jeff Berding and Chris Bortz, that trash tax was not included in the 2010 budget.

COASTers should be aware that new Council member Laure Quinlivin, and Council veterans Cecil Thomas, Laketa Cole, and Roxanne Qualls all supported raising the trash tax.  Because Council closed its budget gap by spending down its reserves rather than cutting spending and because big government advocates never go away, COAST confidently predicts that the trash tax proposal will be back again.