Hundreds of Toledo residents want their neighborhood police station back, but a leader of the campaign to reopen it says the city administration staff is giving him and the petition signers “the cold shoulder.”
Retired city finance director John Bibish handed a petition to the mayor’s office Aug. 13 with 575 signatures to request that police activity return to the closed station at 2330 W. Sylvania Ave.
The Northwest District station closed in late June, following a few years of limited police work conducted in the building. The station opened in 1997 with 104 officers.
The city closed the station citing financial reasons, but Bibish pointed out at a news conference that the administration intended to add $1.9 million to the budget with money the city saved from projects that came under budget or originally allocated for matching grants that the city did not receive.
“If there’s an additional $2 million available, isn’t it reasonable to ask if some of that money could be used for the Northwest station, specifically for police protection in general?” Bibish asked.
Council voted on the amended budget Tuesday, with no allocations for the Northwest District station. Jen Sorgenfrei, spokesperson for the mayor’s office, said there are just no police officers to send. When the station opened, the entire force employed about 700 officers. Now there are 575.
“It is a sad day in the city of Toledo when citizens have to come with a petition asking to return a public safety delivery system that they have been accustomed to,” Councilman D. Michael Collins said.
Mayor Mike Bell’s administration attempted to sell the old station this summer, but Council members voted down the sale 10 to 2.
“It could have been an operating business generating income for the tax base and now its vacant and could be a nuisance,” Sorgenfrei said.
Waniewski said the Northwest District is not in a “tipping point” area, but that the neighborhood could deteriorate without a police station.
“If the police are not there, then we will become a tipping point,” Waniewski said. “Why can’t we become more proactive in making sure the neighborhoods don’t deteriorate?
Why do we have to wait until it’s gone too far before we start to funnel the dollars in?”
Sgt. Joe Heffernan said the Northwest District typically has some of the lowest crime rates in the city. He said the Toledo Police Department will still assign the same number of officers to that area. The only difference that residents will notice, he said, is that they won’t be able to go to that office and make a police report.
“That is a myth,” said former Capt. Jeff Hennessy.
He said that the area will not see as many police officers as it had when a station was present because the districts are so large and because a station guaranteed that officers would stay in the neighborhood.
“Historically, if you were short that day, the first officers you pulled would be the West End because you were hoping against hope that nothing would happen out there,” Hennessy said. “That was the beauty with the Northwest station: You had X number of officers assigned to the station, so if you had extra officers that day, they stayed there. They
didn’t go Downtown, they didn’t go to Scott Park. They stayed there.”
Hundreds sign petition to bring police back to Northwest station
Sports village planned for former mall site
If all goes as planned, the former Southwyck Mall property will transform into a 58-acre sports and shopping complex.
Mayor Mike Bell’s administration announced Aug. 16 that development company MJW, Inc. is in the preliminary stages of mapping out the recreational center.
Contracts have yet to be signed, but consultant Dan Pritt said that the majority owner of the Southwyck Mall area has agreed in principle to the change.
MJW, Inc. is looking to transform the area into “somewhat of a sports village,” with each venue employing its own management, Pritt said. The 58 acres might host indoor basketball, volleyball and hockey courts as well as outdoor stadiums and fields.
The development firm is looking to fill the space with hotels and restaurants as well, to attract traveling teams not only to play, but to stay in Toledo for a few days.
Pritt said a company interested in opening a water park has approached the firm.
The administration is asking Toledo City Council to approve a $50,000 loan for MJW, Inc. to conduct marketing, engineering and architectural research to develop the concept.
The money would come from FirstEnergy grant money designated to support economic development efforts within the city.
Council will read the ordinance Aug. 21.
Councilman Rob Ludeman said the project is worthy of the grant because the Southwyck Mall area is a priority.
“I can’t go anywhere without somebody asking me what’s going on at Southwyck,” Ludeman said.
Letter to the Editor, Aug. 19, 2012
McAvoy: Board of Elections doesn’t serve voters
On July 25th , Ohio Secretary of State, Jon Husted, sent a terse letter to the Lucas County Board of Elections reprimanding them for failing to execute fundamental responsibilities, and demanding they work together to resolve issues and complete job descriptions and functional diagrams. Advising that personnel changes would follow should the BOE continue to neglect their duties to the voters of Lucas county, Mr. Husted insisted on progress.
On Aug 13th, Mr. Husted issued another scathing letter placing them on administrative oversight, calling the culture at the BOE “dysfunctional”, “divisive and threatening”. Husted also offered a solution to the problems at the BOE stating, “Should any of you choose to resign, I will work with the former member’s respective political party to find a suitable, community-minded, public servant to appoint to the balance of your term”. Unfortunately, the actions at the most recent Lucas County Board of Elections meeting are just another example of why Mr. Husted needs to come to Lucas County and attend to the BOE personally and firmly.
On August 14th the BOE conducted a public meeting. At the opening of that meeting, Chairman Ron Rothenbuhler acknowledged the large number of attendees and indicated they would be given an opportunity to speak at the conclusion of the executive session. However, almost two hours later, at the completion of the Executive session and the final business, Mr. Rothenbuhler made an announcement that the BOE would not be taking public comments. Further, according to Mr. Rothenbuhler, the decision to not allow public input was made in the preceding Executive Session, without any regard to input from the public.
Public input and presentations have been made at past BOE meetings, and Mr. Rothenbuhler even referenced one such presentation in his opening remarks. Many of the attendees at the August 14th BOE meeting attended specifically to address the board with public comments regarding the Secretary of State’s letter.
The assumption must therefore be that the Lucas County Board of Elections is not interested in hearing from the voters they serve, is not interested in performing their duties as outlined by the Secretary of State, is not interested in achieving “long-term solutions for local problems”, and must be deemed incapable of assuring the voters of Lucas county that the upcoming election will be managed in a professional manner. Clearly, they do not respect each and every vote in the manner they should.
The sooner Secretary of State Jon Husted takes over complete control of this do-nothing board, the better it will be for the voters of Lucas county, and the state of Ohio.
John McAvoy
Toledo
Survey seeks information on local nonprofit organizations
The Center for Nonprofit Resources opened its annual Compensation and Benefits Survey this week for completion by Toledo-based organizations with at least one full-time paid employee.
Nonprofit organizations can take the survey online at www.c4npr.org/main/compensationbenefitssurvey until Aug. 24. The survey is divided into eight sections and inquires about staffing levels, average rate of pay of various staff positions, the details about group insurance, paid time-off policies, pool structures, retirement benefits, pension plans and management benefits.
Incentives include eligibility to win an iPad if organizations take the survey by Aug. 22. Every group that takes the survey will also be given a free copy of the final report and analysis of the survey, which will be released in October.
The Center for Nonprofit Resources is funded by the Toledo Community Foundation and United Way. The center conducts the survey to help keep nonprofit organizations in the loop about comparable executive director pay and employee benefits and salaries. This information also helps them report to the Internal Revenue Service, said Kate Smith, associate director of the center.
The center estimates that about 400 nonprofit organizations exist in the Greater Toledo Area. Ninety-seven of them completed the 2011 survey. However, some of the data reported was insufficient, according to last year’s report.
The report was able to find that the median operating budget of the 97 responding organizations was $727,000 and that base pay level for CEOs correlated positively with budget size. Seventy percent of the organizations reported that they provide health care coverage to full-time employees and 84 percent of them indicated that they shared premium costs with employees.
Twenty percent reported that they provide health care coverage for part-time employees and 37 percent reported providing retirement benefits.
This is the survey’s second year.
38 Special still rockin’ into the night
Armed with an arsenal of rock classics, 38 Special aims to please.
“We want to make sure people hear every song they came to hear, whether it was ‘Back to Paradise’ from ‘The Revenge of the Nerds’ movie — we’ve got it all in there,” Don Barnes said of their live shows.
The group named after the popular revolver cartridge is loaded with hits — “Hold on Loosely,” “Caught Up in You,” “Back Where You Belong,” “If I’d Been the One,” “Second Chance,” “Fantasy Girl,” “Like No Other Night.”
“We ran into our producer about six months ago — Rodney Mills, who produced the records back in the ’80s — and he said, ‘Can you believe those little songs we cobbled together back then are still played on the radio every day till this day?’ We hadn’t expected that; that was quite a pleasant gift we hadn’t anticipated,” said Barnes, the lead singer and guitarist.
“It was because we were hungry for it. And some of those early songs, we were actually desperate, like ‘Rockin’ Into the Night’ was 1979 and I can hear that now and still hear the hunger in my voice. We had swallowed a lot of failure up to that point.”
Barnes and singer and guitarist Donnie Van Zant co-founded the band in Jacksonville, Fla.
38 Special
“We learned a lot from [Donnie’s brother] Ronnie Van Zant, the singer from Lynyrd Skynyrd, was a big mentor for the band; he was about four years older than us,” Barnes recalled during a phone call from his Virginia home. “He said, ‘Don’t try to be a clone of somebody else because it’s already been done; try to put your own influences, your own truths, things that relate to your own lives [into your music].’
“And after he was gone tragically, we took all of his words of wisdom and tried to turn things around. We realized we were more not so much Southern rock, we were more Beatles fans, we liked a lot of that British Invasion stuff. And we put a little style together that we like to call ‘melody and muscle’ — you have the snarl of the guitars in your face kind of attitude, but a good story, a good melody over it.”
The band released “Live From Texas” last summer.
“We’ve honed ourselves all these years to be kind of a premier live act across the country, bringing the party,” Barnes said. “Everybody knows 38 Special brings 110 percent, always a good time, so we wanted to put that [disc] out to have available for the fans leaving, so they can take the party home with them.”
38 Special — Barnes, Van Zant, guitarist Danny Chauncey, bassist Larry Junstrom, drummer Gary Moffatt and keyboardist Bobby Capps — will headline the Monroe County Jam at 9:30 p.m. Aug. 25. Gates open at 6 p.m. at the Monroe County Fairgrounds, 3775 S. Custer Road, when Thunderfunk will take the stage, followed by Don’t Hold Back at 7 p.m. and the Hunter Brucks Band at 8 p.m. Tickets are $25.
“We realize it’s an escape from [fans’] normal, everyday lives. They can come out and shout, holler and sing along and clap their hands, and party a little bit, have a beer or two. We’re there for that release,” Barnes said.
“You see the reactions on the faces, you see the high-fives, the clapping and singing along, sometimes tears in their eyes — a song might remind them of someone they may have lost in the past — just seeing all that makes us want to play with as much conviction and passion as [when] we first recorded them.”
Toledo to start collecting taxes on winnings of nonresident gamblers
Toledo City Council voted unanimously Aug. 14 to start collecting taxes on the gambling winnings of nonresidents as it does with residents.
The tax is effective immediately. Nonresidents will be taxed at 2.25 percent, the same rate as residents. The revenue will go into the city’s general fund.
Taxable gambling winnings include more than just Hollywood Casino jackpots. Lotteries and raffles as well as the fair market value of bonds, cars, houses and other noncash prizes won or earned within Toledo city limits would also be taxable.
Councilman George Sarantou, chairman of the finance committee, said the legislation was mandated by the State of Ohio.
“This proposed legislation is the result of House Bill 386 that passed in June. The Ohio Senate and House of Representatives mandated that where there are casinos, the city has to collect income tax not just from residents but from nonresidents,” Sarantou said. “This legislation is simply to codify what the State of Ohio passed on a bipartisan basis. We’re bringing our regulation in line with state regulation, so there’s no gap, so there’s consistency in the law.”
Sarantou
House Bill 386 requires casinos in Ohio to withhold local tax on all winnings of $1,200 or more and enables municipalities to enact legislation to collect that local tax.
Sarantou also noted that nonresidents make up a large percentage of casino gambling winners.
“We did get our first check from the state, representing Hollywood Casino Toledo, and 84 percent of the people who paid that tax were nonresidents of the City of Toledo,” Sarantou told City Council.
‘Fair thing to do’
City of Toledo Law Director Adam Loukx said the legislation makes Toledo’s tax fairer.
“A lot of people are coming to Toledo from Oregon, Maumee, Perrysburg, let alone people coming from out of state,” Loukx said. “People who live across the street [from Hollywood Casino] in Rossford are not residents. I think it’s a fair thing to do.”
Columbus recently passed legislation enabling the city to tax the gambling winnings of both residents and nonresidents at 2.5 percent. Cincinnati taxes both residents and nonresidents 2.1 percent for gambling winnings. Cleveland taxes residents on gambling winnings at 2 percent, but does not tax nonresidents. Detroit taxes residents at 2.5 percent and nonresidents at 1.25 percent.
Positive for the city
It’s still too early to predict how much additional revenue the City of Toledo will collect from taxing nonresidents, said John Bibish IV, chief of collections for the City of Toledo.
“It’s a very positive piece of legislation for the city. It’s certainly great for the general fund,” Bibish said. “But I don’t think anyone can honestly predict a definite amount. We really don’t know and, until we close the books, we really won’t know. No one is able to do anything but speculate and, when it comes to revenue, it’s not wise to do that.”
Cleveland’s Horseshoe Casino became the first casino in the state when it opened May 14. Hollywood Casino Toledo opened May 29. Hollywood Casino Columbus is set to open this fall while the Horseshoe Casino Cincinnati is set to open spring 2013.
Penn National Gaming, which operates Hollywood Casino Toledo, did not respond to a request for comment.
Willard & Kelsey: ‘Our intent is to repay the state’
The Aug. 9 news that the Ohio Department of Development (ODOD) was calling in its loan did not take Willard & Kelsey executives by surprise.
“I don’t think this was a real big shock for anybody,” said Mossie Murphy, the solar group’s vice president of sales, marketing, planning and development. “We’ve been communicating with the state on this issue for four months now. Clearly, our intent is to repay the state. I cannot comment as of yet whether we’re able to do that or not. But it’s clearly our intent.”
In a letter sent to Murphy, dated Aug. 6, Diane M. Lease, ODOD’s chief legal counsel and ethics officer, formally notified the Perrysburg solar firm that since “the department has not consistently received your regularly scheduled installment payments since September, 2011,” the state agency was demanding payment in full in the amount of $4,135,855.12 with a per diem interest rate of $204.73.
Cicak
If Willard & Kelsey fails to make full payment by the ODOD’s deadline, Daryl Hennessy, assistant chief of ODOD’s business services division, said the state agency will certify the debt to the Ohio Attorney General’s office, which will then begin the legal process of trying to collect the debt.
Legal consequences
Dan Tierney, spokesman for the attorney general’s office, said once his office gets involved in collecting money, Willard & Kelsey’s interest rate on the loan will increase from 2 percent to 14 percent. The attorney general’s office has a standing policy of establishing a 10-percent-of-loan collection fee plus interest, which generally rounds out to about 14 percent, Tierney said. The fee attempts to cover the state’s man-hour and litigation costs while ensuring the state agency owned money receives full repayment of its loan, Tierney said.
“We’d like to think it won’t get to that point,” Murphy said. “But we will continue to make every effort to work toward an equitable arrangement so that we can repay the state money, because we certainly acknowledge we owe them that money.
“I think we’ve made it clear to [ODOD] and we’ve tried to be very up-front with the fact that, as we sit here today, we don’t have the resources to pay the full [$4.1] million, but we clearly want to pay the full [$4.1] million, and we’re trying to work to that end.”
Hennessy said the Ohio DOD works with companies “to make adjustments when we think it’s appropriate and necessary. We know Willard & Kelsey struggled with job creation, but at the end of the day, this is about a loan and it’s not making payments back to the State of Ohio. That’s primarily driving the request for the repayment. We wouldn’t have done a $5 million loan to them if they had not committed to creating 400 jobs.”
Willard & Kelsey was one of three companies that received ODOD demands of full loan repayment during the past two weeks, Hennessy said. The other two firms are located in Columbus and the Greater Cincinnati area.
Collateral damage
Collecting on ODOD’s loan is, “in a conceptual way,” similar to a bank repossessing an automobile when the holder of the auto loan does not make payments in accordance with the loan agreement, Hennessy said.
Willard & Kelsey’s equipment is collateral for the loan, and the state has a lien on that equipment, Hennessy said.
Failure to make full payment could eventually result is the ODOD taking possession of some of Willard & Kelsey’s machinery, including what Michael Cicak, chairman and CEO, said is a $12 million piece of robotic equipment that currently produces 140 solar panels an hour with the potential of producing as many as 240 panels an hour.
“At the end of that day, that could happen,” Hennessy said. “That will all play itself out in terms of whether it gets to the court system or not. But we don’t want the equipment. We want the loan to be repaid.”
Hennessy emphasized that ODOD has worked with Willard & Kelsey for at least two years to develop strategies to succeed.
“It’s not as if one day, we suddenly sent them a letter for failure to pay over the prior four-month period,” Hennessy said. “This loan has been out there for several years now. We’ve had 10 modifications of some sort to their existing loan agreement. We’ve deferred interest payments for them. We’ve tried in many, many ways to help the company succeed because, at the end of the day, we want the company to succeed and we want the jobs to be created.
“Despite all of these efforts over the past few years, the company has not been able to create a viable repayment model or stream of revenue, and we’ve gotten to the point where we just need to call the loan due. Ultimately, we’re responsible to the taxpayers of the State of Ohio,” Hennessy said.
‘Irrelevant to the industry’
Paul Toth acknowledged that media reports on how Willard & Kelsey invests, spends and repays taxpayer money are necessary, but expressed concern with some local coverage of the solar industry. He said coverage is focusing almost exclusively “on one company [Willard & Kelsey] that’s currently irrelevant to the solar industry because they’re still trying to develop their processes. If that’s the only thing you pick up and read about, then there’s a big challenge [for Toledo’s solar industry].”
Toth said he agrees that it appears local media is reporting on the solar industry these past nine months with a focus on job creation, repayment of state loans and the “sexiness” of the idea that there’s something nefarious going on with taxpayer money.
“That’s a big challenge, because it is not sexy to talk about things like suppliers, and 20 jobs getting hired to manufacture a wire for First Solar. It’s much sexier to talk about three guys who [allegedly] stole money from the state loan. It becomes front page news on the daily newspaper. I think there’s a better story to tell out there than what the community really knows.”
‘It’s a travesty’
Richard B. Stansley Jr., a career entrepreneur who currently serves as chairman and director of strategic business development of Innovative Enterprises, located at the University of Toledo’s Clean & Alternative Energy Incubator, agrees with Toth that the local media coverage of the solar industry is too narrow.
“It’s a travesty,” Stansley said. “Here’s what it is: We’re scandal-driven.
“They’ve sensationalized it. Nobody likes scandal and nobody likes somebody talking about what they could or couldn’t do. There are allegations that really have not been proven. That’s the first thing.
“They’re focused on some allegation made by a dead ex-CEO’s girlfriend that comes out of West Virginia, that ended up at Willard & Kelsey because a damn coke plant didn’t go. That’s how that all happened.”
The “dead ex-CEO,” William R. Mitchell, was hired by Willard & Kelsey on the recommendation of then-West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin. In the beginning, Willard & Kelsey’s Cicak said Mitchell did an extraordinary job, but over time, that changed. Amid his departure from the firm, Mitchell alleged that the company had violated its loan agreement with the state by using the funds to pay company executives. He was fired in 2009 and died in 2011.
“Things changed,” Stansley said, “and what they did was, they moved to correct it, and as a result they’re living a consequence of allegations that were made.
“I don’t know anything about the allegations for a fact. I say, ‘Prove them.’ If, in fact, they’re true, and they did something wrong, people pay the price for that. But this is not everybody, and it isn’t representative of the solar industry.
“And what’s happening is, we’re passing judgment before we even have all the facts. And the second thing that ends up happening is we demonize an industry that has benefited Northwest Ohio. It makes absolutely no sense to me. I don’t see it. We just don’t need that kind of stuff.”
Reclaiming ownership
Stansley is adamant that Cicak has been, and continues to be, a valuable asset for Toledo.
“Mike Cicak is a man that is committed to this community,” Stansley said. “He has demonstrated it over and over again. I think he will do the right thing always. He has a lot of emotion involved in this, especially if people are making accusations.
“I’ve said to all of them, ‘If you did something wrong, you’re all big guys. Figure it out.’
“‘Own up to it. Get past it because it’s hurting all of us.’ That’s what I tell them. And I think they’re very conscious of it. I honestly don’t believe there’s anything behind what is being written.”
Navy Week to make first visit to Toledo
Five ships and more than 500 service men and women will visit Toledo as the city hosts Navy Week from Aug. 20-27.
The week will feature ship tours, musical performances by military bands and opportunities to interact with service members.
Navy leaders will engage with local community leaders and visiting military members, including members of the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Coast Guard and Royal Canadian Navy, will partner with local organizations on outreach and service projects.
This year is the first time Toledo has been chosen to host Navy Week, said Jen Sorgenfrei, public information officer for the City of Toledo.
“At this point, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Sorgenfrei said. “It’s something we hope will be a return engagement, but it’s certainly a big opportunity for us this year. I think it’s going to look really exciting to see those ships come down the river.”
The Navy Week program started in 2005 as an annual outreach effort into areas of the country without a significant Navy presence. This year’s 15-city tour started in Phoenix in March and will finish in Houston in October. Other cities hosting Navy Weeks are New Orleans; Nashville, Tenn.; Spokane, Wash.; Baltimore; Boston; Sacramento, Calif.; Sioux Falls, S.D.; Milwaukee; Chicago; Cleveland; Detroit; and Buffalo, N.Y.
The ceremonial procession of ships into Toledo Harbor is set for 3 p.m. Aug. 23.
The two biggest ships, the frigates USS De Wert and the Royal Canadian Navy’s HMCS Ville de Québec, will dock at Maritime Plaza while the patrol ship USS Hurricane, the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Mobile Bay and the historic U.S. Brig Niagara, a replica of the War of 1812 flagship, will dock at International Park near the SS Col. James M. Schoonmaker.
Niagara will lead the ships down the Maumee River and will exchange cannon fire with the cannon at Fort Meigs in Perrysburg. Niagara’s appearance was arranged through local private fundraising efforts, Sorgenfrei said.
Sorgenfrei recommended International Park as the best place to watch the ships come in.
“We want people to come out, tour the ships and be there to welcome them into Downtown,” Sorgenfrei said. “I think it’s going to be pretty cool.”
Free guided tours will be available noon to 7 p.m. Aug. 24-27.
There haven’t been Navy ships on the Great Lakes since 1999, said Lt. Cmdr. Ron Flesvig, who is helping coordinate Toledo’s events.
“To get all those ships together and be able to tour them and talk to the men and women who serve on them, I think that’s the most special part of this commemoration event,” Flesvig said.
Toledo is one of six Navy Week stops on the Great Lakes that will also include activities commemorating the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812.
“What makes this year special is it is the beginning of our commemoration of the bicentennial of the War of 1812,” Flesvig said. “1812 really was a watershed moment in American Naval history. The Battle of Lake Erie and ‘Don’t give up the ship’ — all those things came from the War of 1812. For the Navy, it’s very special. At that time, we became a maritime nation and we continue to do that today. Fast-forward 200 years and it’s still the same mission we had in 1812. We’re still maintaining coastlines, keeping steel lines open and keeping trade flowing between nations.”
Although the ships won’t arrive until Aug. 23, community events start Aug. 20. Sailors representing various Navy occupations will give presentations throughout the week at Imagination Station, said Anna Kolin, communications and public relations manager for Imagination Station.
“Everything from pilots to chefs to writers to photographers to medical personnel, we’ll have different sailors here talking to our visitors about the things they do and the wide range of occupations they can do in the Navy,” Kolin said. “We’ll also have activities for kids that exemplify the different occupations.”
Imagination Station visitors will also be able to try a flight simulator and watch the Navy’s silent drill team perform, Kolin said. Toledo police and firefighters will also be on hand with equipment for visitors to try on.
Sailors will also participate in interactive activities with families and children at the Toledo Museum of Art’s Family Center at 10 a.m. Aug. 21.
Among the free musical performances will be lunchtime concerts from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Aug. 22 at Levis Square in Downtown Toledo and at the Toledo Museum of Art, a 7 p.m. Aug. 23 performance at Commodore Square in Perrysburg and an 1812 Bicentennial Concert at 7 p.m. Aug. 24 at the University of Toledo Doermann Theatre.
A Coast Guard search and rescue helicopter demonstration is planned for Promenade Park at 1 p.m. Aug. 24.
The Mud Hens’ Veterans Appreciation Night on Aug. 25 will feature a ceremonial first pitch thrown by a sailor and a band performance.
Among the organizations partnering with the Navy for service projects are Cherry Street Mission, Ability Center of Greater Toledo, Maumee Valley Habitat for Humanity, St. Paul Community Center, Ronald McDonald House Charities, Toledo Children’s Hospital and Heroes in Action.
Sorgenfrei said she hopes area residents enjoy the week’s activities.
“First and foremost, we want to welcome them to Toledo and show our appreciation for what they do to help protect our country and to make them feel welcome in our community,” Sorgenfrei said. “It’s also an opportunity for people in Toledo to see Navy ships of this caliber.”
For more information and a full schedule of events, visit www.navyweek.org. For more information on the Navy’s commemoration of the bicentennial of the War of 1812, visit www.ourflagwasstillthere.org.
Pounds: Gallagher must resign
When it was announced Aug. 13 that Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted was intervening in the chaotic and dysfunctional situation at the Lucas County Board of Elections (BOE), a number of people on Facebook offered immediate “thank you” posts.
We join that applause and recognize the difficult decision that Husted was forced into making; now that some control is being established, the next imperative action is for BOE Director Meghan Gallagher to resign.
The Lucas County Board of Elections is a hotbed of inefficiency and unnecessary drama and stands as a clear obstacle to fair and efficient elections in Lucas County. Its inability to make personnel and policy decisions has brought negative attention and embarrassment to Lucas County.
As Husted wrote: “Since becoming Secretary of State, my office has devoted an inordinate amount of time to mediating the personal and political squabbles of the Lucas County Board of Elections. …
“In Lucas County, the internal board culture is dysfunctional. The underlying operational culture is divisive and threatening. Board members and staff refuse to communicate with others resulting in meetings and conversations that dissolve into worse than stalemate. It is clear after several attempts to work constructively with all parties, including my most recent request for cooperation; this board is unable to meet the minimum operational standards we expect as we prepare for a presidential election.
“The voters of Ohio, Lucas County, and I as Secretary of State, will tolerate this dysfunction no longer.”
So, that’s it, then.
By placing the BOE under administrative oversight, Husted can begin to rebuild the credibility and confidence so crucial to the elections process. There is no secret what is at the root of that problem, and Gallagher, as captain of this sinking ship, has a moral and professional obligation to step aside and allow that rebuilding process to begin. Husted has allowed Gallagher to retain her title but has relieved her of all assigned duties. There will never be a more clear invitation to resign.
This era of BOE operation will be remembered as an utter failure, a humiliation on a statewide level and an example of managerial incompetence that lowered an already pitiful standard in Lucas County.
Gallagher is collecting an annual salary in excess of $85,000; what are voters getting for that investment? What leadership or progress has been seen? Gallagher’s epic failure to control the BOE and its most basic functions has resulted in acrimony and an unimaginable situation for the Secretary of State. There is no logical future for her as BOE director and no clear path for true reform until she resigns or is removed from office.
There are other personnel issues for Husted to deal with at the BOE, but the first and clearest action should be to remove the director and fill the position with someone capable of working with Husted to earn the continuing confidence of Lucas County voters.
Thomas F. Pounds is president and publisher of Toledo Free Press and Toledo Free Press Star. Contact him at [email protected].
Protesters, former employees question validity of BOE
State-mandated rules have tightened at the Lucas County Board of Elections (BOE) as two “special masters” from the Secretary of State’s office move in to monitor daily operations. At the same time, protesters seeking to toss the whole board are assembling and former employees are starting to talk.
“What occurred (during the primaries) was a disastrous election and we’ve got a presidential election coming up and we’ve seen little to no improvement,” said Ed Feeny, who worked for the board for eight months. “I expect the next one will be worse.”
The primaries left at least 70 voters with the wrong ballots.
Husted
Secretary of State Jon Husted placed the board under administrative oversight this week. According to a letter sent to the board Aug. 13, Husted is assigning a “special master” outside election administrator for each party to oversee daily operations. The Special Masters will stay until the results of the November election are complete. Additionally, the director and deputy director must now clock in and out with Husted’s human resource director and forward all emails to or from the director and deputy director to the state office. Husted’s regional election Internet technical support liaison will also be on-site at least two days a week. Husted will task a bipartisan election administration with compiling a report analyzing the policies, procedures and recommendations of the BOE by Dec. 31.
Husted reprimanded the board for failing to work together to produce position descriptions and a bipartisan organizational chart. Dan DeAngelis, deputy director of the board, said that the Democrats’ proposed organizational chart had met a tie vote. Husted ordered that the board come to an agreement on the subject and define the director and deputy director roles.
This was one of many tie-votes that Husted has had to address. He has broken at least a dozen ties for the board this year.
“Since becoming Secretary of State, my office has devoted an inordinate amount of time to mediating the personal and political squabbles of the Lucas County Board of Elections,” Husted wrote.
‘Very disturbing’
Ignited by Husted’s words, about a dozen protesters outside One Government Center waved signs and shouted “Reform the board.” on Aug. 14. The group, led by the Northwest Ohio Conservative Coalition, attended the BOE meeting that immediately followed.
They were forced to leave.
John McAvoy, a board member of the coalition, planned to read a letter before the board thanking Husted for stepping in.
Ron Rothenbuhler, chair of the board, told McAvoy’s group at the beginning of the meeting to hold public comment until after the board members went into an executive session to discuss pending litigation. The group complied, sat through the public meeting and waited an hour and a half for the board to finish its executive session. But when McAvoy’s group re-entered the room at the end of the executive session, Rothenbuhler said the board could not accept public comments.
Rothenbuhler said he did not allow the public comment period after talking with legal counsel and learning that the board does not have a policy about public commenting.
“This is exactly why the Secretary of State needs to step in,” McAvoy said. “It’s a public entity — why isn’t the public being allowed to speak at a public meeting? It’s very disturbing.”
Protestors outside One Government Center on Aug. 14.
Among the attendees were Dennis Lange and Ida Hartfield, two employees fired by the board within the past year. Lange and Hartfield are suing the board for wrongful termination, joined by two others who have filed suit for wrongful termination within the past year.
“Husted should come up and walk into everyone’s office, advise them they have one hour to clear out their possessions and put them on administrative leave and appoint five new people to head up this organization,” McAvoy said.
A portion of the Ohio Revised Code enables the Secretary of State to remove or suspend any board member, director or deputy director for neglect of duty, malfeasance or any willful violation of election law.
Not the first time
The Lucas County Board of Elections is the only board in the state that Husted has placed under administrative oversight, said Matt McClellan, Husted’s spokesperson.
This is the board’s second time in that position in the past couple of years.
Rothenbuhler said Husted’s latest move was a necessary step to resolve problems that the board has been unable to fix internally.
“There’s so many issues, I have a hard time prioritizing those that are real problems,” he said.
He said the first step toward progress should be to secure an early vote center that is accessible to voters who do not have cars. Board members could not agree on a site during a meeting last week.
He said the next priority should be to find a building where all of the BOE offices can store records.
Voters can depend on fair elections in the fall, McClellan said.
“With everything going on up there, we’re confident that voters will have a good election come November,” McClellan said.
‘Hey, any interest in becoming a Republican?’
Within the past year, a director and two board members resigned, at least three full-time employees quit and four were fired. Since firing the information technology manager, the board has yet to find a replacement. Tim Ide, who worked for the board for almost a year, was not fired. He just stopped going in.
“I could do whatever I wanted,” Ide said. “They referred to me numerous times and to other people: ‘He’s a time bomb, he’s a time bomb. We can’t hire him, we can’t fire him, what do we do with him?’ I wish I had a dollar for every time Jon Stainbrook came to me and said, ‘Don’t f*** me, man.’”
Ide ended up telling his secret. In a letter he sent to the entire board and to media outlets, Ide wrote that Republican BOE member Stainbrook and BOE Director Gallagher took him to lunch at San Marcos Taqueria and asked him to set up a laptop computer in the director’s office to recruit his Facebook friends to join the Stainbrook faction of the Lucas County Republican Party, on county time.
Ide said he said no.
Tim Ide
“I said, ‘Oh my gosh, Jon — what are you doing? Why did you say that? That is a felony right there and now I’ve got to live with this.’ I have to walk around going, ‘I’ve got the goods on felony activity going on’,” Ide said. “Pay you to do Republican party business on the clock — that’s illegal. They wanted to set me up in their office and ask my Facebook friends, ‘Hey, any interest in becoming a Republican?’”
Rothenbuhler forwarded Ide’s letter to the Secretary of State’s office to seek advice on the matter. McClellan said staff from the office visited both former and current board employees, including Ide, to dicuss a gamut of problems. Ide’s letter was one piece of that.
Gallagher declined to comment. Stainbrook did not return several messages seeking comment.
Stainbrook stated at the Aug. 14 meeting that Ide was an employee of Toledo Free Press, but Ide and Toledo Free Press Editor in Chief Michael S. Miller both said Ide was never employed by Toledo Free Press nor did he ever contribute to the newspaper.
Election Administration Plan
During the course of the year that Ide worked at the BOE, he scrutinized documents and fact-checked data. He found discrepancies in the Election Administration Plan (EAP).
An EAP is a document that includes detailed descriptions of resource allocation, precinct election official recruitment, training and accountability, Election Day contingencies and security among other tasks.
The board must submit the EAP to the League of Women Voters as a result of a settlement in 2008 that dealt with a case in which the league alleged violations of election law.
Both Feeny and Ide said parts of the January EAP are copied and pasted from old ones and include false information. Toledo Free Press verified with DeAngelis that backup discs of data were not stored at a warehouse on Berdan Avenue in January, as the January EAP’s emergency preparedness plan documented. Ide provided the document.
This is a small detail that has been fixed and had no bearing on the primary election, DeAngelis said.
“It was a lot of our first EAP and I’m not saying that’s an excuse,” he said. “Why cry over spilled milk? We have a new EAP that doesn’t have that has been fixed.”
Toledo Free Press requested the latest revised version but had not received the document by press time.
“I would like to make sure that we have a building where all the records can be stored,” Rothenbuhler said. “A lot of our stuff is strung all over the place and it makes it difficult to secure the records, to obtain them when necessary.”
Tom Morgan, another employee who quit, said he couldn’t stand the “partisan atmosphere.” Morgan, Feeny and Ide all said the director told them they were forbidden to talk to DeAngelis. Morgan said he didn’t want to anyway, because he considered DeAngelis a contributor to the partisan attitude.
Ide also pointed out a couple of mis-numbered Ohio Revised Code references in an employee manual.
“I think it does matter if it’s wrong — this is the election,” Ide said. “If it’s wrong, fix it. Every mistake counts.”
Out of a job
Amid the controversy, the reality for Hartfield is constant job hunting.
Hartfield had worked as a clerk since 2008, but was officially fired in July. She was told it was because she didn’t have a high school diploma or a GED certificate.
“It’s hard, being my age that I am, it’s hard to get jobs,” Hartfield said. “Nobody’s trying to hire anybody over 50.”
