Wow. The Enquirer really went there.

 

Sandra Oglesby, 30, of Kennedy Heights, didn’t vote. A mother of three who works with mentally disabled adults, she said her life is so hectic trying to make ends meet that she could not get up to speed on the issues. But she was wholly against the streetcar.

 

“Let’s fix what’s wrong – like all these people with addiction problems – before we go about building up the city,” she said. "And who are we building it up for? Not for black people.”

 

And a city should not be built up for black people - it should be built up for those who live and work here, for those of all colors and background. And let's spend our capital dollars on those with "addiction" problems.

 

“A lot of blacks in the inner city see people getting theirs and wondering why they aren’t getting their piece of the pie.”

 

I wonder if the very low black turnout was because there was no black candidate or black president running? The turnout for the presidential race was much higher, and was higher when Mallory was being elected.

 

And the rest of those comments were just infuriating and disappointing.

LOL, just saw some guy, Freeman McNeal, on local access saying "black folk shouldn't vote for Roxanne Qualls because she's not even a Democrat"

So he supported the Tea Party candidate....

gotta love it

 

Clowns like that are the ones who show up to vote. I'm surprised half the people that show up to vote in this city can manage to tie their geriatric shoes in the morning, let alone fill out a ballot.

 

Freeman McNeal shows up to every Democratic meeting; he will work for whoever pays him.  He's no different than any party political consultant or hack, except that he probably charges less.  To be fair, a guy who shows up to every Democratic meeting has reason to complain about Qualls, because she just expects party support, doesn't work to build the party, and doesn't work to help the coalition.

 

I voted for Qualls because of the policies she supported, but the fact that Freeman McNeal was supporting Cranley is much more indicative of how cavalierly Qualls took this whole race.

The Enquirer talks to people who didn't vote and asks them why: http://cin.ci/190N7H9

 

Their responses are absolutely infuriating. So much ignorance and apathy.

 

Kind of makes you want to move into a log cabin somewhere far away from civilization.

this'n was kinda good - the guy had chance to change things, but noooo

“I was too busy with my business to get to read about the candidates and issues. ... “What’s going on in Cincinnati is horrible. We’re 20 to 30 years behind because of our government and the city structure itself.” Brian Bainum, Mt. Washington

I liked the Business Courier pointing out that the government does have an impact on business.

I just don't understand? Here this man says he will put a STOP to one of the biggest urban oriented projects in the City in decades. And I read very little in rebuff. Are you all asleep at the switch or just that turned off from reality? This man is committed to stop the streetcar. So where are you? If you think it is impossible, just go out there any try to sign up on an ObamaCare website.

Enjoy your time in Washington while it lasts, John Cranley's comin' for you:

 

The Enquirer talks to people who didn't vote and asks them why: http://cin.ci/190N7H9

 

Their responses are absolutely infuriating. So much ignorance and apathy.

 

Kind of makes you want to move into a log cabin somewhere far away from civilization.

 

You live in a city with a deep, painful divide. It's no Detroit, but it's only a step better, even with all the exciting things happening in the basin. Cincinnati is almost half black, and most of them are very poor or lower-middle class. If all the black leaders in your city were like Mallory and Young, progressive policies would crush the white, do-nothing Republicans in the far east and west sides. But for every Young, you have a Smitherman, who uses ignorance and anger to promote themselves.

I especially liked this tidbit from that Enquirer article:

 

"There are some practical reasons that prohibit black people from voting too. In Avondale, for example, an estimated 49 percent of people 20-24 are unemployed, and throughout the neighborhood 40 percent of the people do not have access to a vehicle, compared to a citywide rate of 22 percent."

 

So far down the rabbit hole they can't even recognize their own problems when they say them out loud.

I especially liked this tidbit from that Enquirer article:

 

"There are some practical reasons that prohibit black people from voting too. In Avondale, for example, an estimated 49 percent of people 20-24 are unemployed, and throughout the neighborhood 40 percent of the people do not have access to a vehicle, compared to a citywide rate of 22 percent."

 

So far down the rabbit hole they can't even recognize their own problems when they say them out loud.

 

I see what you're saying and appreciate the irony.  But then again, since when do people need a job -- or transit -- to vote?  Polling places are generally located well within walking distances, so I don't necessarily believe that people in Avondale were "prohibited" from voting.  So The Enquirer got it wrong (as usual) for more than one reason.

I have gone from a couple blocks to a mile to my polling station. No drivers license so I just vote absentee. Piece of cake.

nate Livingston connecting more dots

kinda

Will Cranley turn over city prosecuting to the county?

http://blackcincinnati.blogspot.com/2013/11/has-deters-bought-citys-law-department.html

^I would take Nate Livingston with a titanic-size grain of salt. If folding the city prosecutor's office in with the county's saves the city money and doesn't slow down the legal system in a significant way, I don't have a problem with it.

Cover article in the November/December edition of The American Conservative, "Why the Tea Party Can't Govern".

A lot of it is about being more negative than positive and recreating an era that's gone by.

Reading it, I kept thinking of Cranley's campaign & supporters.

It's only online for subscribers now, dunno if it will eventually make it to the free part.

http://www.theamericanconservative.com/

I know a lot of democrats who supported Cranley because they just did not like the way things were going structurally with the long term budget issues that were developing in the city. It went much beyond the street car issue. That was collateral damage in their view. Ultimately, they felt that some of the deals selling off long term assets to balance the budget were not in the sound long term interest of the city. Cranley promised to structurally balance the budget, that was a key selling point to a lot of democrats too.

 

It is a myth that the Tea Party got Cranley elected. There is not enough of a Tea Party presence in the city to do so. They all live in Butler County, etc. 

 

Cranley got elected because he catered to moderates and Roxanne ran a crappy campaign.

I agree.  I do not like painting Cranley as a Republican, much less a Tea Party member.  He is a long time democrat who voted with Roxanne 98% of the time while on council together.  He seems to be more cynical (ie politically smart, say whatever it takes etc..) person than Roxanne.  He had to get support from the right side of Qualls to win, that is all.  I guess the question now is, how much does he owe those on the right, and those with the cynical perspective like Laketa Cole.

 

In retrospect Qualls should have built support among more diverse dems and should NOT have pushed the parking and garbage deal right before an election.

There is not enough of a Tea Party presence in the city to do so. They all live in Butler County, etc.

 

And yet they joined me at my polling location most of Election Day. Erik Nebergall (College Hill), who ran as a Republican in the 2010 OH 32 House District race, currently runs the group SaveCincinnati.com. They had people throughout the city passing out sample ballots, which they called "stop the streetcar platform", with Cranley's picture front and center.

 

What I witnessed began with a woman from Maderia (Mrs. Lexus) who was later relieved by a woman from Indian Hill (Mrs. BMW) who was resupplied by a woman from Loveland (Mrs. Escalade). Plus there were the three students from Wyoming H.S. who were fulfilling a goverment class assignment by working a polling location for a candidate. They were assigned Amy Murray and Mrs. BMW was nice enough to supply them with her sample ballots which included a picture of Murray.

 

Note Erik Nebergall was endorsed by Alex Triantafilou, COAST founder Tom Brinkman, and Cincinnati Tea Party Mike Wilson. The Tea Party definitely was in the city Tuesday.

Don't forget that Cranley LIED THROUGH HIS TEETH when yo tout his superior campaigning skills.

Don't forget that Cranley LIED THROUGH HIS TEETH when yo tout his superior campaigning skills.

 

He definitely lied.  But Qualls refused to go after him during the debates.  He just said outrageous things and she didn't respond

 

For example, when he said it would cost $250billion for the streetcar to go to uptown

Cygnus, you are the second person to say that Amy Murray had Wyoming High School students working the polls. 

I know a lot of democrats who supported Cranley because they just did not like the way things were going structurally with the long term budget issues that were developing in the city. It went much beyond the street car issue. That was collateral damage in their view. Ultimately, they felt that some of the deals selling off long term assets to balance the budget were not in the sound long term interest of the city. Cranley promised to structurally balance the budget, that was a key selling point to a lot of democrats too.

 

It is a myth that the Tea Party got Cranley elected. There is not enough of a Tea Party presence in the city to do so. They all live in Butler County, etc. 

 

Cranley got elected because he catered to moderates and Roxanne ran a crappy campaign.

 

 

In 2009 a COAST backed Republican, Brad Wenstrup got over 40% of the vote against Mallory.  We can't pretend only democrats and moderates live in Cincinnati. If conservatives are given a reason to show up they will.  I volunteered at a polling location as well. Lots of wealthy white conservative women handing out Save Cincinnati ballots at my spot too.  Cranley won with Blacks and wealthy republicans and benefitted because most moderates and progressives didn't show up to vote. 

 

There are a million factors to blame, poor campaign, mallory is incredibly unpopular outside of downtown and OTR, parking deal, etc.  Cranley will agree on most things.  He has close ties to 3CDC and loves the Banks.  But there will likely be less deal making for major downtown projects. However, his attitude is very negative quite often, which is certainly about 80% of what the Mayor can actually do. He's more of a fighter(for good causes as well) but less of a statesmen, which is what Mayor is.

Cover article in the November/December edition of The American Conservative, "Why the Tea Party Can't Govern".

A lot of it is about being more negative than positive and recreating an era that's gone by.

Reading it, I kept thinking of Cranley's campaign & supporters.

It's only online for subscribers now, dunno if it will eventually make it to the free part.

http://www.theamericanconservative.com/

ok, it's up

http://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/why-the-tea-party-cant-govern/

The city manager was asked to resign.

If Cranley wants to win reelection in 4 years his best strategy is to allow the streetcar to go forward.  He can save face with his supporters by saying it is too far along to stop.  Lawsuits, etc.  I don't think he will be damaged by that. 

 

But if he cancels the streetcar he will face heavy criticism, especially if OTR stagnates in the next 4 years.  He will be to blame.  The Enquirer is already changing its tune toward Cranley and the streetcar.  Opposing the streetcar might have helped win the election, but it could be political suicide to actually cancel it. 

OTR might stagnate if urban minded people who value transit options move away from Cincinnati. Or if the people who, regardless of their feelings about the streetcar, don't want to live in a city controlled by an unstable idealogue mayor with a MAJOR Napploen complex move away. I'm seriously considering moving back out of Cincinnati. I just hate living in a place that is always 1 step forward, 3 steps back.

 

You know, every time I go to a Bengals game or Riverfest or some other large event in Cinncinnati, I always find myself asking where did these people come from? The hicks come out of the woodwork at every large event, so I guess I must admit they are part of the region, despite being polar opposite from my experience of Cincinnati. I always assumed that these people were the outliers, not representative of the true Cincinnati. But the more time I spend back here after living in LA and DC, I realize that there are just a lot of ass backwards people that live here. Racism is blatent in much of the region. The tea party was essentially founded here. John Boehner, Steve Chabot and Kasich- all strongly supported in the region.

 

Maybe progressive politics is just not a reality given the severe minority that progressives are in. The county looks "purple" mostly due to the African American democratic vote, which is not necessarily progressive.

I agree, I go to a Bengals game or Riverfest and I have zero idea where these people come from.  I see zero people like that in the city itself, either downtown or around UC, on a typical day.   

^^ I feel you. I haven't lived in Cincy for a long time, but I'd been fantasizing about it and obviously following the city's progress. Those fantasies are fading, and perhaps having a final hurrah with this final phase of the streetcar battle. There are many other options where positive change is much more of a given. As much as I love my native city, there is only so much dysfunction and "self-sabotage" that I can handle.

 

As for the black vote comment, there are many places where, if you take out the black (or Latino) Democratic vote, suddenly deep-blue jurisdictions would turn red. White Democrats often aren't progressive, either. There frankly aren't many places where progressive control is the rule. The Pacific Northwest is probably the only region with a legitimate claim to that. Progressives, like the Tea Party with Republicans, have successes primarily through coalitions with other liberals. In short, the American left is pathetic. If you want legitimate progressivism, you should move to Europe. I'm considering it.

Not surprising....

 

EXCLUSIVE: Cranley to Dohoney: Resign or be fired

Cincinnati City Manager MIlton Dohoney talks at an event with former city councilwoman Laure Quinlivan.

Chris Wetterich Staff reporter- Cincinnati Business Courier

 

 

Mayor-elect John Cranley has indicated to City Manager Milton Dohoney that he wants him to resign or face dismissal once Cranley and the new city council take office, according to sources familiar with the situation.

 

Cranley met with Dohoney on Saturday morning and delivered the message. Cranley and the new city council will be sworn in on Dec. 1.

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2013/11/13/exclusive-cranley-to-dohoney-resign.html

 

 

 

 

Cincinnati City Manager Dohoney will resign

Chris Wetterich Staff reporter- Cincinnati Business Courier

 

 

Mayor-elect John Cranley announced Tuesday night that City Manager Milton Dohoney will resign and receive one year of severance pay.

 

Cranley made the announcement at a hastily arranged news conference on Fountain Square just hours after the Business Courier was the first to report that Cranley had indicated to Dohoney that he could resign or face dismissal when Cranley and the new city council take office Dec. 1.

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2013/11/13/cincinnati-city-manager-dohoney-will.html

Dohoney has, potentially, a good career still ahead of him as a city manager or chief administrator in some other city, since he did a good job in Cincy.  His dismissal/resignation is driven by politics, not his performance.

I always liked Dohoney. I though he was aggressive on improving the city. But it's now Cranleyville. Dark days ahead.

Media Bridges is counting on Cranley. Apparently he vowed to keep them 'properly funded'.

As usual, what Cranley says means nothing and I don't know where he will find the money, but I'm sure Smitherman would relish the free venue to vent his madness.

 

From Exec Director Bishop:

With the election of a new mayor and six new members of council, it looks like there may be some hope for the future of Media Bridges.  Mayor-elect John Cranley said in an interview which aired on Media Bridges Public Access Channel 4, "Media Bridges will have my support for being properly funded."  That's great news for all of you who have given so much of your efforts to inform, entertain and organize in our community.

We will be meeting with Mr. Cranley in the near future to see what next steps will be.  We may need YOUR help to make this happen so please do stay tuned.  We may need your efforts to show council that there is support for Media by the people here in the Queen City.

Well, of course Cranley will find a way to fund The Smitherman Channel.

Well, of course Cranley will find a way to fund The Smitherman Channel.

 

Smitherman said on his last Whiteboard Glenn Beck rant that

 

"Council was trying to silence Smitherman by withholding funding from Mediabridges"

 

He then went on to talk about Chris Seelbach being "The gay police"

I always wondered how much money Smitherman gave Media Bridges. Probably nothing since I would guess he would have brought it up for fundraisers & such, but maybe he is just modest.

I agree, I go to a Bengals game or Riverfest and I have zero idea where these people come from.  I see zero people like that in the city itself, either downtown or around UC, on a typical day.   

 

Up to 200 miles away. Culturally Cincinnati cuts a wide swath, all the way from Columbus IN to US 23 south of Chillicothe. Plus neatly a third of Kentucky. And don't forget Dayton, Hamilton, Xenia etc.

I agree, I go to a Bengals game or Riverfest and I have zero idea where these people come from.  I see zero people like that in the city itself, either downtown or around UC, on a typical day.   

 

Up to 200 miles away. Culturally Cincinnati cuts a wide swath, all the way from Columbus IN to US 23 south of Chillicothe. Plus neatly a third of Kentucky. And don't forget Dayton, Hamilton, Xenia etc.

 

GCrites80s ... You are correct. A lot of people just don't seem to realize there is more to the Cincinnati region than downtown and Clifton. And many of those people who come to Riverfest, the Reds and Bengals games, and spend their money in restaurants, etc. are responsible for most of the success of Cincinnati.

I agree, I go to a Bengals game or Riverfest and I have zero idea where these people come from.  I see zero people like that in the city itself, either downtown or around UC, on a typical day.   

 

Up to 200 miles away. Culturally Cincinnati cuts a wide swath, all the way from Columbus IN to US 23 south of Chillicothe. Plus neatly a third of Kentucky. And don't forget Dayton, Hamilton, Xenia etc.

 

GCrites80s ... You are correct. A lot of people just don't seem to realize there is more to the Cincinnati region than downtown and Clifton. And many of those people who come to Riverfest, the Reds and Bengals games, and spend their money in restaurants, etc. are responsible for most of the success of Cincinnati.

 

The people I'm talking about are most assuredly NOT responsible for the success of Cincinnati. They might account for a fair amount of the success that the Covington fast food district experiences, though.

I know a lot of democrats who supported Cranley because they just did not like the way things were going structurally with the long term budget issues that were developing in the city. It went much beyond the street car issue. That was collateral damage in their view. Ultimately, they felt that some of the deals selling off long term assets to balance the budget were not in the sound long term interest of the city. Cranley promised to structurally balance the budget, that was a key selling point to a lot of democrats too.

 

It is a myth that the Tea Party got Cranley elected. There is not enough of a Tea Party presence in the city to do so. They all live in Butler County, etc. 

 

Cranley got elected because he catered to moderates and Roxanne ran a crappy campaign.

 

Anyone who believes that a balanced budget is more balanced when you put the adjective "structurally" in front of it is not a rational voter, they are a voter who justifies his tribalism with caveats.  The law says the budget must be balanced.  If the budget goes forward, it meets the terms of "balanced budget".  In addition, the guy who used the term "structurally balanced budget" more than anyone was Jeff Berding, who repeatedly argued that no budget was structurally balanced since he joined council after 2005 except one that he and Chris Bortz put together in year x..., etc.  Well, who was the author of the budgets those other years that Jeff referred to as being unstructually balanced?  Finance committee chair, John Cranley, that's who.  So I'll politely suggest that John didn't win the election due to the rational and informed voter giving him support for "structurally balanced budgets".

 

While Roxanne certainly ran a crappy campaign, there's likely an easy way to determine if the premise that John received his support from hard-core conservative voters is true.  Cranley received 16% of the vote from eligible voters, Roxanne 11%.  Of all the voters who voted, start with the presumption that Roxanne got votes from the most liberal voters, and Cranley got votes from the most conservative voters, and that the most hard-core ideological voters are the voters who vote the most frequently.  I think that is a fair presumption.  Then compare this election to an election to a city election which is an explicitly partisan contest.  If there is a similar percentage of voters who voted for the explicitly conservative candidate to the percentage of voters who voted for Cranley, shouldn't it be safe to assume that he received his support from the same voters?

I posted this already in the streetcar thread, but it probably belongs here instead.  I believe the following may give us a way to recall Cranley, should he actually cancel the streetcar project despite being made aware of the tremendous negative impact on the city that such a move would have:

 

codes.ohio.gov/orc/705.92

 

705.92 Procedure for removal of elective officer by recall.

 

Any elective officer of a municipal corporation may be removed from office by the qualified voters of such municipal corporation. The procedure to effect such removal shall be:

 

(A) A petition signed by qualified electors equal in number to at least fifteen per cent of the total votes cast at the most recent regular municipal election, and demanding the election of a successor to the person sought to be removed, shall be filed with the board of elections. Such petition shall contain a general statement in not more than two hundred words of the grounds upon which the removal of such person is sought. The form, sufficiency, and regularity of any such petition shall be determined as provided in the general election laws.

 

 

Given the dismal turnout on 11/05, signatures totaling 15% of the votes cast should be attainable.  The numbers I'm seeing online show 56,391 votes in the mayor's race. That means we'd only need about 8,459 valid signatures.

 

 

 

It was pointed out in that thread that Cincinnati is a charter city, so above may not actually apply.  But... I to read the entire City Charter:

 

http://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/council/references-resources/

 

Section 3 of Article III (pages 15 and 16) has several paragraphs that begin with "In the event of the death, removal or resignation of the mayor", so clearly removal is a possibility, although no specific mechanism is defined for doing so.

 

I'm no lawyer, but this implies to me that the procedure specified by the State of Ohio is what is being referred to.  Can anyone with a legal background weigh in on this?  If this is true, we should start collecting signatures for a recall based on damage done to the city by the new mayor during his first week in office, so that we can hit the ground running.  If this is not true, we can start with a petition to update the charter to include a recall mechanism. 

 

Cancelling the parking lease is probably foolish because of the revenue stream it severs, but cancelling the streetcar is madness because of the actual losses such a move would stick the city with.  If that happens, I don't want to see what Cranley can do with 4 or 8 years. 

 

I can't start this myself, as I am not a resident of the city.  My hope is that someone reading this will take the ball and run with it.

 

natininja said the following in the Cincinnati Streetcar thread.  I couldn't have said it better myself, so:

 

I said before I didn't favor recall, but after thinking about it I think tearing up contracts signed by your predecessor (which is illegal!), for no pressing reason other than disliking them, should be grounds for recall. There needs to be some degree of continuity from one administration to the next, or democracy becomes dysfunctional. I believe honoring the city's contracts is reasonably part of the bare-minimum of such continuity.

 

As soon as the parking lease is breached, a recall petition should start. That will amp up pressure to continue the streetcar, since another breach of contracts would make the case for recall stronger.

John Cranley will announce his pick for Vice-Mayor at a press conference at 2pm today.

 

Also, the Business Courier has an excellent article up on their page about Cranley's unwillingness to cooperate with the streetcar supporters: http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/morning_call/2013/11/commentary-cranley-doubles-down-on.html?page=all

 

Asked why anyone should believe a politician over an engineer with decades of successful project management experience, a budget director with a Xavier MBA and 15 years experience at City Hall, and half the city legal staff, Cranley didn't answer the question.

 

"Well," he said, "The fact of the matter is it doesn’t take $40 million to say stop. And that's a scare tactic."

 

It reminded me of what Stephen Colbert once said about George W. Bush: "He believes the same thing Wednesday that he believed on Monday, no matter what happened on Tuesday. Events can change. This man's beliefs never will."

It's not just Streetcar Supporters.  There are many people who've been anti-streetcar the whole time who are recognizing that canceling it now is simply irresponsible.  He's blowing off anybody who is coming close to using logic.  It's really appalling.

Cranley is supposed to announce his Vice Mayor today. Word is it's not PG (who says he hasn't even spoken to Cranley about the possibility). And he said previously he won't pick Smitherman. My money is on Mann.

 

Edit: Annnd...looks like I was right. The press conference is being held at Mann's law office.

Cranley is supposed to announce his Vice Mayor today. Word is it's not PG (who says he hasn't even spoken to Cranley about the possibility). And he said previously he won't pick Smitherman. My money is on Mann.

 

Edit: Annnd...looks like I was right. The press conference is being held at Mann's law office.

 

If it's not PG, that holds out hope he can be shown the light on why NOT to cancel the streetcar. 

He looks downright scary and unapproachable now that his hair has gone white.

Cranley is supposed to announce his Vice Mayor today. Word is it's not PG (who says he hasn't even spoken to Cranley about the possibility). And he said previously he won't pick Smitherman. My money is on Mann.

 

Edit: Annnd...looks like I was right. The press conference is being held at Mann's law office.

 

Great, two old white men running the city for the next four years.

 

Cranley's not age-old like Mann, but he's cranky and tea-baggish enough to be an honorary member of that club.

Now that Christmas and its four most-beloved "Spirits" are almost upon us, any objection to our new mayor being introduced to a different kind of Xmas spirit altogether?  IE, that of Lt. Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, with attache-case in hand?  Oh, never mind...just a passing thought.  :roll: 

I think Krampus has his work cut out for him...

A few days before the November 5th election, I was walking to the Rhinegeist Brewery in Over-the-Rhine with some friends. We saw an older couple standing on Elm Street, in front of Rhinegeist's parking lot. They looked confused and lost.

 

The man asked us, "Do you know where you're going?"

 

"Yeah, I guess you're looking for Rhinegeist?"

 

"We'll just walk with you," he replied.

 

The man had his phone in his hand. He lifted it up to show us. He had already dialed 911 and was ready to hit the button "just in case" something bad happened.

 

"You'll be fine," my friend assured him.

 

As we got closer to Rhinegiest, the man asked out of nowhere, "Are you kids libertarians?"

 

At that moment, I looked at the man and realized that he was libertarian mayoral candidate Jim Berns.

You should have asked him for a tomato plant.

You should have asked him for a tomato plant.

 

I asked him if he had any tomato plants with him. He said, "No, but I've got some marijuana in my car."

I'm seriously considering moving back out of Cincinnati. I just hate living in a place that is always 1 step forward, 3 steps back.

 

You just described the state of Ohio for me. That's why I left. There is so much damn potential, but every time something good happens (a building saved for example), it seems like two or three bad things happen right afterwards. I heard a lot of good things out of Cincinnati from the last couple of years, and I was a big fan of Mark Mallory (the best mayor in Ohio during his tenure IMO, and he was desperately needed), but there is still this large voting block of people I like to call destructionists who don't get called out on self-destructive ideas. In short, Ohio is a formerly urban state that is too slow to realize that people today want their urbanity back!

 

I dream of a day when I have the means to invest in Michigan and Ohio properties and market them hard on the coasts for people to move there and occupy all the great historic buildings. Even with all the demolitions, the housing in core neighborhoods in states like Ohio and Michigan is still top notch in terms of bang for buck. And office space, art space, performance space, etc.? Top notch for a mere fraction of what it should be. You show these prices to people in San Francisco and Manhattan, and they start laughing. To use a tech term (which Ohio needs more of), the state needs more evangelists who go sing the praises of its abandoned properties around the country. Ohio cities have more assets than a lot of the bigger boomtowns right now, and the prices are lower. And though we don't talk about it, fresh water resources are going to become a big deal. Ohio has water. That's huge.

 

*And transit needs to be built yesterday. Cities putting in heavy rail and light rail are seeing TOD all over the place. That's how you get infill done. Fixed systems encourage private sector investment along those lines.

 

Build that Cincinnati streetcar, and watch development explode!