The Observation Deck

Happy Fourth of July to Senator Mike Skindell!

Senator Skindell has displayed great courage, strength and integrity.

He had stood up for truth and justice for Lakewood and the underserved.

He continues to do so as he stands virtually alone while other local elected leaders cowered and succumbed to powerful corporate and political interests.

His courage makes him a hero and true patriot.

(And he is also Mr. Clean-- because he is a truly honest person.)

Well said Brian.

Thank you Senator Mike Skindell for consistently supporting the side of goodness & righteousness.

I agree, Mike truly cares about Lakewood and its people.

If only the people cared enough for Senator Skindell! Remember how the PD loved him-until they hated him? Good grief! Tells you something about how the PD's endorsements work.

Back to the people of Lakewood though, I guess they'd rather have someone as shifty as Mike Summers as mayor...! Good grief again!

I honestly don't know what Skindell has done. The only thing I know is that he did not want the Lakewood Hospital to close. I definitely should be more involved in local politics but can anyone give a quick bullet point list of what Skindell has done to make him a hero?

I seriously am not trying to be a jerk. I just don't know exactly what he has done that would make him a patriot or hero. Apologies if I am missing something obvious. Thanks!

Here it is again for those who missed it.

Senator Skindell has displayed great courage, strength and integrity.

He had stood up for truth and justice for Lakewood and the underserved.

He continues to do so as he stands virtually alone while other local elected leaders cowered and succumbed to powerful corporate and political interests.

His courage makes him a hero and true patriot.

(And he is also Mr. Clean-- because he is a truly honest person.)

He is also smart.

He is everything that Summers and Bullock aren't.

Mr. Essi I didn't miss it, I just felt it was yours to bump.
If you're looking for more counterpoints to Mr. Summers you could throw in a respect for truth and transparency and I feel safe in saying, a better hiring record.

In these politically polarized times, it should be noted that Essi is a Republican praising the very liberal Mike Skindell.

I've known Mike since working with him on the Citizens Advisory Committee in the 1990s...he has always been the guy who "does the homework" and "reads the fine print" of any proposed ideas. That is very rare these days.

As for his accomplishments, there are many.
His work in the Ohio Legislature is especially impressive given the fact that it is controlled by extremely conservative Republicans.

In council, he worked with us to build the Lakewood Dog Park, which continues to win awards to this day.
In Columbus, he's gotten $400K in state capital funds for the Beck Center
He worked to establish Ohio's Earned Income Tax Credit
He got legislation to allow courts to include pets in domestic violence protection orders
He is currently working to improve health care via safe staffing ratios at hospitals and nursing homes.

He's done all this while maintaining his integrity and sticking to his values.

Brian Essi wrote:Here it is again for those who missed it.

Senator Skindell has displayed great courage, strength and integrity.

He had stood up for truth and justice for Lakewood and the underserved.

He continues to do so as he stands virtually alone while other local elected leaders cowered and succumbed to powerful corporate and political interests.

His courage makes him a hero and true patriot.

(And he is also Mr. Clean-- because he is a truly honest person.)

He is also smart.

He is everything that Summers and Bullock aren't.

Great insight and substance. Thank you for your thoughtful post.

Michael Deneen wrote:In these politically polarized times, it should be noted that Essi is a Republican praising the very liberal Mike Skindell.

I've known Mike since working with him on the Citizens Advisory Committee in the 1990s...he has always been the guy who "does the homework" and "reads the fine print" of any proposed ideas. That is very rare these days.

As for his accomplishments, there are many.
His work in the Ohio Legislature is especially impressive given the fact that it is controlled by extremely conservative Republicans.

In council, he worked with us to build the Lakewood Dog Park, which continues to win awards to this day.
In Columbus, he's gotten $400K in state capital funds for the Beck Center
He worked to establish Ohio's Earned Income Tax Credit
He got legislation to allow courts to include pets in domestic violence protection orders
He is currently working to improve health care via safe staffing ratios at hospitals and nursing homes.

He's done all this while maintaining his integrity and sticking to his values.

Hey Essi,

This is what substance looks like. Good job, Deneen.

Michael Deneen wrote:In these politically polarized times, it should be noted that Essi is a Republican praising the very liberal Mike Skindell.

It should be noted that Mr. Essi is a Republican advocating against the GOP/Republican/Corporatist game plan to feed public assets to the 1%.

Honesty and integrity should trump party. Should. With Mr. Essi it does.

Thank you Mr. Skindell for showing us that there is still a decent politician out there who REALLY cares about people. Thanks to Summers and Company, including Armond and Antonio, it appears Lakewood is well on its way to becoming the next declining inner-ring city. As I have stated before: cowardly and a failure!