Lakewood Senior Health Center Hosts Council At-Large Forum

[Gary Rice]

On Wednesday, October 7th, 2009, all six candidates for Lakewood's Council-at-large positions were present at the Lakewood Senior Health Center. Three openings are to be filled as a result of the election in November.

The forum was moderated by Lakewood Senior Health Care Administrator, Jason Coe.

Present were Brian Powers, Jared K. Shapiro, Ryan Patrick Demro, Daniel E. Shields, Monique Smith, and Nickie J. Antonio.

Each was warmly received by an attentive audience.

Each candidate was allotted five minutes' presentation time; after which, a question and answer period was provided.

A photo of the event can be seen here on my photoblog:

http://lakewoodobserver.com/photoblogs/ ... date-forum

Memorable remarks from each candidate would include:

Brian Powers- "I want to stay in this city the rest of my life".Brian also emphasized a team approach to governing, and the willingness to work with, and listen to others. His love of Lakewood certainly appeared to be more than evident. He told me that he has lived in a number of Lakewood wards, and seemed to feel that this experience had served him well in understanding the dynamics of our city.

Jared K. Shapiro- Also emphasized his willingness to work with others, and expressed an appreciation to Ryan Demro for his assistance. He also emphasized his experience in the health care field. In his remarks at the library, he also mentioned a strong support for youth, and wanted a youth council to be created so that young people would feel more involved with the city.

Daniel Shields- Spoke of his family's involvement in Lakewood, and his own involvement in coaching and church work. Quote from Library meeting "Lakewood is well-positioned to be a great city". Mentioned strong support at the library of introducing point-of-sale legislation that would inspect homes to correct violations before they are sold as a means of improving housing stock.

Monique Smith- Spoke of her childhood in Cincinatti, and locating here in Lakewood with her husband. She mentioned her being a OSU Buckeye. Her quote- she wanted Lakewood to have "a high quality of life at all stages of life". Monique has also served on the Community Development Block Grant Advisory Committee.

Nickie J. Antonio- Spoke of her role in the city's generation of economic development and how, as an example, her role with the sidewalk dining legislation had helped with that development. She was concerned that Lakewood continue to build a brand to be proud of. She has also been chairperson of the Health and Human Services Committee. Her quote- that she wanted to "finish the job that we started".

Ryan Patrick Demro- Emphasized his prior experience on City Council, as well as his recently gained experience as a United States Army (reserve) officer, supervising 1025 soldiers from Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana. Demro also mentioned his involvement with the needs of Lakewood's youth in the construction of the Lakewood skate park. He also mentioned his authorship of Lakewood's sex offender law, as an illustration of his further interest in protecting Lakewood youth. He mentioned helping to clean up the parks and tighten up the curfew, as well as helping to get more streets paved.

Respectfully submitted,

Gary Rice

Back to the banjo...

[Rhonda loje]

Gary,
Thank you for the very thorough report on this Forum. I am out of town and was unable to attend.
Can you report on the questions asked? And how each candidate responded to their questions?
How many people attended?

[Karolyn Isenhart]

I think they had about 20/25 people plus 6 candidates.

One of the attendees asked several specific questions about Lakewood services to the elderly. I was impressed with the quick response and detailed information Monique Smith provided in her answer. Plus extra points for being the first candidate to field a question. No one ever wants to go first and she stepped right up and took the microphone.

Another interesting part of the Q&A was the discussion of the Water Department and why the City of Lakewood has a city controlled department. Nickie Antonio and Brian Powers had a lot of insight, background, facts, budget info, etc.

I look forward to hearing more about the point of sale legislation you mentioned in your article that Dan Shields is talking about. That would be an interesting and controversial debate in city council.

I enjoyed the forum... my first opportunity to hear all the candidates. I found it amusing that during the Q&A the Dems and Reps stood in two groups, divided by the moderator. Just an observation.

The best thing about the group of candidates is that 5 of the 6 chose Lakewood to be their home... It's illustrative of the fact that Lakewood is a great city... move here, live here, stay here.

Overall I give the event an "A". I am looking forward to the next candidate night to hear more from each.

[Gary Rice]

Hey Rhonda,

First, I'll try to distinguish fact from my opinion here with an F or an O.

F) I was unfortunately unable to stay for all of the questioning at the Senior Center, as I had to run down to the Beck to cover one of guitar master Brian Henke's fairly rare appearances in our city. I did stay for the questioning at the Library on the previous night. I therefore will not professionally comment on SOME commentary, if I can't comment on ALL of it.

O) From all that I heard, ALL of these candidates are great at thinking on their feet. ALL of them had answers far more similar than different, and ALL of them seem to be sincerely and constructively interested in all things Lakewood. In my opinion, we are fortunate to have each of these people step up to the plate and take their best shot at managing the pulse of this city.

O) Some (Brian, Ryan, and Nickie) have proven experience and a proven track record with our city. For that reason, they deserve your consideration. People also can look at their records and their conduct of council business, as that's a good indication of many things that you may either agree or disagree with, as well as the way things might go in the future with them.

O) The new hopefuls (Dan, Monique, and Jared) also deserve your consideration however, because of their sincerity, ability to communicate well, and their obvious love of Lakewood. Sometimes, the fresh air that comes from change can be a good thing.

0) Karolyn's right about that point-of-sale legislation business being controversial. I asked Dan directly about it at the library, as many of Lakewood's homes are approaching century status, and it would not be difficult to come up with $25,000 worth of work on many of them prior to a sale. Dan used a figure of closer to perhaps $5,000 and said that he had that experience of having to fix up a residence in Garfield Heights prior to a sale. Neither Demro nor Shapiro signed onto this without looking further into it. Let's face it. It may be a good way to improve local housing stock, but it might not be so good for someone trying to sell a home as-is in an already down economy. There are other ways that the situation is already covered with routine code updates, as the needs arise.

F) Did I have preconceived personal favorites going in? Probably. Are they going to get my vote now? Maybe not. Did some of their remarks change my mind? Perhaps.

F) I will NEVER reveal my personal choices as to my voting. As a teacher, (retired) and in my particular role here as "reporter", I'd like to have you all come to your own conclusions. I do think that each of you need to take a GOOD look here, because there's a lot of good to look at.

[Rhonda loje]

Gary,
Thank you for your thoughtful analysis. It was great and fair.
I will try to get to one of the forums...I really want to hear what each candidate has to say and how they handle questions. This is a very important election.
rhonda

[Jeni Matousek]

Gary,
A thousand thank yous for this report. I appreciate your non-inflammatory approach and dedication to sticking with the issues.
Jeni

[Gary Rice]

Thanks for the kind words posted above, and for many others privately voiced, about my wanting to look for the best in our community, and in the people who want to serve it.

Editorial-type commentary:

I would imagine that the day after the election, all six of these candidates would probably happily join me in a banjo sing-a-long together.

There's a higher vision here, and I truly believe that all of them have it.

Lakewood, do you realize what a really GREAT community you have?

They do.

I absolutely refuse to be drawn into local, regional or national black-hearted conspiracy theories that have no facts to support them. We are a nation and a community of laws, and if they're broken, that's when the action takes place, and not before; not with dishonest and black-hearted innuendo, harsh words, speculation, or with political extremism.

The presumption of innocence is a fundamental right of all Americans.

In this past summer of nationally inflamed discontent, coming from virtually all sides of the political spectrum, on every level of government, I think it more important than ever that people refuse and reject rabble-rousing and artificially induced negativity at every opportunity.

There are far more heroes than villians in our community, state and nation. This I do believe....

...and that's probably why I play the banjo....

Hmmm, better get off the pedestal and get back to playing music!

[Bob Mehosky]

Thanks for the kind words posted above, and for many others privately voiced, about my wanting to look for the best in our community, and in the people who want to serve it.

Editorial-type commentary:

I would imagine that the day after the election, all six of these candidates would probably happily join me in a banjo sing-a-long together.

There's a higher vision here, and I truly believe that all of them have it.

Lakewood, do you realize what a really GREAT community you have?

They do.

I absolutely refuse to be drawn into local, regional or national black-hearted conspiracy theories that have no facts to support them. We are a nation and a community of laws, and if they're broken, that's when the action takes place, and not before; not with dishonest and black-hearted innuendo, harsh words, speculation, or with political extremism.

The presumption of innocence is a fundamental right of all Americans.

In this past summer of nationally inflamed discontent, coming from virtually all sides of the political spectrum, on every level of government, I think it more important than ever that people refuse and reject rabble-rousing and artificially induced negativity at every opportunity.

There are far more heroes than villians in our community, state and nation. This I do believe....

...and that's probably why I play the banjo....

Hmmm, better get off the pedestal and get back to playing music!

Very well put. Too often, we're quick to look for what's wrong with a person and we end up stepping all over what's good about them.

Guess there's a reason why I'm planning on taking up the button box. Must be the happy music clouding my brain!

[Gary Rice]

Bob,

Great comment!

If (and I presume that) you are serious about taking up the button box, I would suggest that you check with Band Director Julie Tabaj at Garfield Middle School. She does a GREAT job with that button box of hers! Dad and I volunteer with her classes on a weekly basis.

Gary

[sharon kinsella]

Gary - There are some black hearted people here.

I was bashed, on the deck, by the executive director of a Lakewood non-profit for asking where their funding came from. I have every right to ask questions and when that happened to me, sorry if you don't like it, but I don't trust them and I do question Lakewood Alive.

That is my right. You play your banjo, I'll stand up for my rights no matter who bashes me. I'll also ask questions when I want answers. Sometimes the answer is in the fact that none is forthcoming.

[Ryan Patrick Demro]

So who is the candidate that did not choose to live here?

[Gary Rice]

Ryan,

Good point! (chuckle)

Perhaps the other person's point might have been phrased a bit differently.

(I'm still chuckling)

Sharon,

I truly believe that you, over just about anyone, would be helping to lead that not-so-hypothetical sing-a-long!

I do well remember the unfortunate on-'Deck interchange to which you refer. As a former member of the Community Development Block Grant Committee, I can tell you that there are some really good reasons for community groups like LakewoodAlive to exist. They help to find funding avenues for numerous civic activities that otherwise, might be lost.

At the same time, unfortunately, I do believe that quite a few things could have been handled better (especially greater communication of visions) than they have been in this town with SEVERAL different community groups at different times in our past history, and for a variety of reasons.

I do not share the views of some, that some of those those reasons were necessarily nefarious, because any community group is, by definition, a work in progress, and sometimes they might not have a vision fully developed or thought out. Their job is to develop visions and try to implement them for the community, and sometimes, those type of things do not work out as well as anticipated.

And yes, there are times that personalities and human interchange and weakness difficulties can enter in, to cloud those visions.

There does indeed need to be greater transparency and openness within our city, and indeed, with all cities. At the same time, I'll tell you flat out, and I suspect that you already know this- There are many people who like to commiserate after the fact, but so few willing to roll up their sleeves and get involved with the work that needs to be done.

It's always appropriate to ask questions, to get involved, and to try and find solutions.

I know of no one who has been more involved with Lakewood issues than you have!

Don't give up now!

It is my fondest hope that people will indeed start talking, getting together for coffee (as you so often have offered to do with others) and rather than look at the gaffes, seek out our greatness that we truly are right now.

We're all closer to that sing-a-long than many people might think.

Back to the banjo...

[sharon kinsella]

Gary - I do roll up my sleeves and get the work done. I just don't like the following -

1. People who refuse to answer questions.
2. People in power who like their wallets and forget their real mission in the public arena.
3. People who threaten or attempt to make others look foolish or into liars for speaking out.

Money should not be funneled basically, to one group and you know it. There are some projects that would be better performed by other groups.

Don't think that I don't know that Lakewood Alive has done some good things - but my experience has been that they are good at writing proposals.

The end doesn't always justify the means.

You seem to forget that I have nothing to gain by doing what I do. I do the same things all the time and I do the work as best I can with my limitations. I have not always been successful and many times I find out, in doing the work, that many people aren't who they say they are (surprise).

When Ed first decided to run for mayor, I did a lot of work for him. I also told him not lie to me and if I saw other things I didn't like, I'd be out of there. My working with him ended the night they attempted to oust Bob Seeley as president of council. There were many reasons to do that, there were other ways to handle it and I told him that.

I briefly worked for Tom Bullock's original campaign and I found out that he was too inexperienced in the world, to do that job. Frankly I found watching him operate on council to be painful.

Recently I lost my best friend of 20 years over some similar things. I was and am very angry at things I had let go over the years and just couldn't do it any more. It was about ego and political stance.

You and I have had words but I have never told you what you do is wrong or unfounded. Give me the same courtesy.

If a person in the public eye can't stand up to criticism they are not fully armed for the job.

[Gary Rice]

Sharon,

Believe me.

I would not EVER want to tell you that what you do is wrong or unfounded or anything else personally critical.

You are one special person in my eyes.

My remarks are generally intended comments, opinions, and observations only.

Keep up the good work!

Gary

[sharon kinsella]

Thank you my pretend boyfriend.