The Observation Deck

For a long time one of the Lakewood "Slick Moves" is for an incumbent to run for an office spot he or she knows they have little intention of keeping. Or, secure the seat and run for office elsewhere so that you can keep the machine on track. No one did this better than the Ed FitzGerald machine that has proven even with a derailment at front of the train, it just keeps on moving on down the track. Perhaps in my own naivete, this is how it is down everywhere. Never mind up and down votes, use the incumbency and smoke and mirrors for one reason, keep the train on rolling.

It is with that I could not help but notice Councilman Tom Bullock's Press Release in the latest Observer. "Bullock Kicking Off Run For State Representative" the actual headline submitted was, "Bullock, Kicking Off Run for State Representative with Endorsements from Democratic Party, Mayor Summers, and Cleveland Leaders, Vows to Fight for City Agenda in Columbus" which is more like Tom's style to pontificate much, while delivering less, that others could do in a much more succinct way. So it was cut down for space. Anyway, I could not help but notice the trio in the photo, while also wondering why others were not in it.


(Child structure removed per current policy in using photo not submitted for this purpose)

Odd place for Ex-Councilwoman Cindy Marx to appear, on the platform at a Tom Bullock run for "Bullock, Kicking Off Run for State Representative with Endorsements from Democratic Party, Mayor Summers, and Cleveland Leaders, Vows to Fight for City Agenda in Columbus" unless there was possibly more in the works, one could surmise. Now no person with the possible exception of Nate Kelley has gotten more gifts from the Ed FitzGerald train than Mayor Michael P. Summers. Within hours of getting appointed to City Council, he was appointed to be on LHA, and the movement to get rid of the hospital was placed on full speed ahead. And once Tom Bullock at one time, a true progressive, was broken so they he could be properly ridden, and given the honor of introducing the Pit Bull Law, most concocted by Brian Powers to the public, he has also been a solid car on the FitzGerald train, even with the locomotive in a ditch behind an building.

So the Mayor who campaigned for Bullock on Council obviously knew Tom was looking to move on, did Councilwoman Marx? Was she already on the train, never once fighting for the residents and/or the transparency and honesty we deserved in the deal. Or was she standing at the station waiting for her chance to get on the FitzGerald locomotive, now hobbled. Or did she just get swept up in the turbulence as it blew by?

In Lakewood Community Meetings to decide things are nothing but charades to full the public, has our voting gone that way too?

Cindy when you get the appointment back to council, will you fight for transparency, honesty, full disclosure? I know you have it in you.



.

I can't believe that this still shocks me. You're right, Jim. Voters send an incumbent home but there is no political death in Lakewood. There are appointments and lateral moves.

How do we get these people out of office?

Jim O'Bryan wrote:For a long time one of the Lakewood "Slick Moves" is for an incumbent to run for an office spot he or she knows they have little intention of keeping. Or, secure the seat and run for office elsewhere so that you can keep the machine on track. No one did this better than the Ed FitzGerald machine that has proven even with a derailment at front of the train, it just keeps on moving on down the track. Perhaps in my own naivete, this is how it is down everywhere. Never mind up and down votes, use the incumbency and smoke and mirrors for one reason, keep the train on rolling.

It is with that I could not help but notice Councilman Tom Bullock's Press Release in the latest Observer. "Bullock Kicking Off Run For State Representative" the actual headline submitted was, "Bullock, Kicking Off Run for State Representative with Endorsements from Democratic Party, Mayor Summers, and Cleveland Leaders, Vows to Fight for City Agenda in Columbus" which is more like Tom's style to pontificate much, while delivering less, that others could do in a much more succinct way. So it was cut down for space. Anyway, I could not help but notice the trio in the photo, while also wondering why others were not in it.


(Child structure removed per current policy in using photo not submitted for this purpose)

Odd place for Ex-Councilwoman Cindy Marx to appear, on the platform at a Tom Bullock run for "Bullock, Kicking Off Run for State Representative with Endorsements from Democratic Party, Mayor Summers, and Cleveland Leaders, Vows to Fight for City Agenda in Columbus" unless there was possibly more in the works, one could surmise. Now no person with the possible exception of Nate Kelley has gotten more gifts from the Ed FitzGerald train than Mayor Michael P. Summers. Within hours of getting appointed to City Council, he was appointed to be on LHA, and the movement to get rid of the hospital was placed on full speed ahead. And once Tom Bullock at one time, a true progressive, was broken so they he could be properly ridden, and given the honor of introducing the Pit Bull Law, most concocted by Brian Powers to the public, he has also been a solid car on the FitzGerald train, even with the locomotive in a ditch behind an building.

So the Mayor who campaigned for Bullock on Council obviously knew Tom was looking to move on, did Councilwoman Marx? Was she already on the train, never once fighting for the residents and/or the transparency and honesty we deserved in the deal. Or was she standing at the station waiting for her chance to get on the FitzGerald locomotive, now hobbled. Or did she just get swept up in the turbulence as it blew by?

In Lakewood Community Meetings to decide things are nothing but charades to full the public, has our voting gone that way too?

Cindy when you get the appointment back to council, will you fight for transparency, honesty, full disclosure? I know you have it in you.



.

I don’t understand the LO policy. Why did you need to remove Sam O’Leary’s face from the photo especially when he was caught trying to strangle Bullock?

The expression on Marx’ face is priceless!

I'm with Team Summers -- I have the same sport coat!

How on earth can Marx get back on council when SHE WAS SOUNDLY REJECTED BY LAKEWOOD VOTERS?

The city I love is truly f'd if that happens.

But I wouldn't be surprised.

This gang has done far worse things.

A small editorial:

Not long ago a relative--a life-long Democrat with a capital "D" whose husband had served as a Marine guard in FDR's White House during the last World War--asked me the following questions:

"What's happened to the Democratic Party? Where are the real Democrats?"

I look at the picture above and I ask myself the same questions. I simply do not recognize any of these folks as real Democrats.

I am a third-generation Ohio Democrat and former public official. My grandfather voted for FDR all four times and never stopped raving about Harry S. Truman. My father organized an appearance by JFK in September 1960. He also met Lyndon Johnson and Hubert Humphrey and worked for James Earl Carter. He worked closely with Howard Metzenbaum, John Glenn, Jack Gilligan and Dick Celeste. I remember the Celestes visiting our farm. The names Herbert Hoover and Richard Nixon were dirty words in our house. I watched my mother cry bitter tears on the days when she learned of the assassinations in 1963 and 1968.

What can we say about Marx, Summers, Bullock?

What kind of a Democrat not just supports, but leads, the loss of 1,662 jobs that are both high-paying and unionized? My grandfather would answer that question: "A Republican".

What kind of a Democrat closes an invaluable community hospital so that the real estate can be given to developers? My father would answer that question: "A Republican".

What kind of a Democrat would enact policies like the pit bull ban and the basketball court ban to the exclusion of persons-of-color? My mother would answer that question: "A Republican".

"Where are the real Democrats?" I can only shake my head sadly and say, I don't know. They aren't in this photo.

Thanks for clearing that up Mark.

Perfect.

Mark Kindt wrote:A small editorial:
Not long ago a relative--a life-long Democrat with a capital "D" whose husband had served as a Marine guard in FDR's White House during the last World War--asked me the following questions:

"What's happened to the Democratic Party? Where are the real Democrats?" I look at the picture above and I ask myself the same questions. I simply do not recognize any of these folks as real Democrats.

I am a third-generation Ohio Democrat and former public official. My grandfather voted for FDR all four times and never stopped raving about Harry S. Truman. My father organized an appearance by JFK in September 1960. He also met Lyndon Johnson and Hubert Humphrey and worked for James Earl Carter. He worked closely with Howard Metzenbaum, John Glenn, Jack Gilligan and Dick Celeste. I remember the Celestes visiting our farm. The names Herbert Hoover and Richard Nixon were dirty words in our house. I watched my mother cry bitter tears on the days when she learned of the assassinations in 1963 and 1968.

What can we say about Marx, Summers, Bullock?
What kind of a Democrat not just supports, but leads, the loss of 1,662 jobs that are both high-paying and unionized? My grandfather would answer that question: "A Republican".
What kind of a Democrat closes an invaluable community hospital so that the real estate can be given to developers? My father would answer that question: "A Republican".
What kind of a Democrat would enact policies like the pit bull ban and the basketball court ban to the exclusion of persons-of-color? My mother would answer that question: "A Republican".

"Where are the real Democrats?" I can only shake my head sadly and say, I don't know. They aren't in this photo.

Thank you Mr. Kindt for the clarity and truth of this observation. Thank you for getting it. I hope others get it, too.

Yet another so called Democrat plotting to replace him or herself with a hand-chosen successor - this time, his own daughter.

When will Dems get a clue?

And BTW, this is a bud of Bullock’s

https://www.google.com/amp/s/articles.c ... s_daug.amp

Mark Kindt wrote:A small editorial:

Not long ago a relative--a life-long Democrat with a capital "D" whose husband had served as a Marine guard in FDR's White House during the last World War--asked me the following questions:

"What's happened to the Democratic Party? Where are the real Democrats?"

I look at the picture above and I ask myself the same questions. I simply do not recognize any of these folks as real Democrats.

I am a third-generation Ohio Democrat and former public official. My grandfather voted for FDR all four times and never stopped raving about Harry S. Truman. My father organized an appearance by JFK in September 1960. He also met Lyndon Johnson and Hubert Humphrey and worked for James Earl Carter. He worked closely with Howard Metzenbaum, John Glenn, Jack Gilligan and Dick Celeste. I remember the Celestes visiting our farm. The names Herbert Hoover and Richard Nixon were dirty words in our house. I watched my mother cry bitter tears on the days when she learned of the assassinations in 1963 and 1968.

What can we say about Marx, Summers, Bullock?

What kind of a Democrat not just supports, but leads, the loss of 1,662 jobs that are both high-paying and unionized? My grandfather would answer that question: "A Republican".

What kind of a Democrat closes an invaluable community hospital so that the real estate can be given to developers? My father would answer that question: "A Republican".

What kind of a Democrat would enact policies like the pit bull ban and the basketball court ban to the exclusion of persons-of-color? My mother would answer that question: "A Republican".

"Where are the real Democrats?" I can only shake my head sadly and say, I don't know. They aren't in this photo.

Mr. Kindt a brilliant post. You could not be more correct: there are no real Democrats in that photo. Only imposters.

Having said that, I think it is important to remember that two of the strongest advocates for saving the hospital and for truthful and tranparent government, are Republicans, Brian Essi and Bill Call.

Mark Kindt wrote:"Where are the real Democrats?" I can only shake my head sadly and say, I don't know.

I believe they (or perhaps "we") are still present. I have some specific ideas, but I feel like it might be more productive to point out a little historical context.

My impression is that over the many generations of the Democratic Party's existence, heretics have always formed a substantial portion of the party. But only the judgment of history has settled which portion constituted the heretics, and which "the real Democrats."

In this I refer to a larger phenomenon than non-ideological corruption. Well into the era of those figures named by Mr. Kindt, e.g., the Democratic Party was home to a large number of predominantly southern "Dixiecrat" Democrats who firmly approved of the apartheid system of segregation and "Jim Crow" laws. Advocates for equality gained the upper hand in the party, the Dixiecrats largely ceased to be, and in general we now regard equality as the hallmark of "the real Democrats." But settling that issue took decades.

Who can say what judgment will emerge in another 50 years. Perhaps the Democrats who embraced privatization and deregulation in the 1990s—not simply as part of individual corrupt bargains but as a sincere policy judgment—will be seen as an obvious misfit caucus which was "naturally" sorted out of the party in time. Or perhaps some other schism which we don't yet even appreciate will turn out to be the more significant sorting.

I have a fairly good idea what kind of party I want to see emerge into that future, which is the main reason why I engage with it. It may be a tautology, but questions about who the Democrats really are and what they stand for will be decided by the Democrats. To my knowledge there is no intrinsic "charter" for the Democratic Party. Both formal platforms, and practical personnel selections, are shaped on an ongoing basis.

Much like "who are the real Americans," I believe that it's up to those of us who care, to answer "where are the real Democrats."

(As for the original subject of this thread… I believe there is a case to be made for appointing to council e.g. the fourth-place finisher in an at-large race if he or she has not previously held office. It may not be the best course, but there's a case to be made for it. I think the case is contrastingly very poor for reappointing someone who was already on council, gave voters the opportunity to retain him or her in office, and did not find enough takers.)

Brian Essi wrote: The expression on Marx’ face is priceless!

The expression of someone who has sold her soul.

Tom Bullock was a fiduciary for Lakewood's largest charity and spearheaded the immoral diversion of $100K charitable money to a PAC for political purposes to destroy that charity by spreading lies.
As will be shown in another thread later, some of the charitable money directly or indirectly ended up in Bullock's campaign coffers to fund his personal political campaign.

Marx and Summers gave financial support to the PAC of lies too.

The three bad actors in the photo above are neither Democrats nor Republicans.

What are they Brian?