This will certainly lower taxes and spending.

another Cranley campaign promise, I presume.

I never know what to make of Livingston but he's claiming Finney is being unethical in defending Ishton Morton in his shoving scandal since Finney was there and, essentially, a witness.

http://blackcincinnati.blogspot.com/2014/03/finney-flagrantly-violating-ohio.html

I think you have to take anything Livingston says with a grain of salt.

I never know what to make of Livingston but he's claiming Finney is being unethical in defending Ishton Morton in his shoving scandal since Finney was there and, essentially, a witness.

http://blackcincinnati.blogspot.com/2014/03/finney-flagrantly-violating-ohio.html

 

Being a witness doesn't automatically DQ an attorney from working the case.  But if he anticipates being called to testify about a disputed issue of fact, then it would DQ him.

Dairy Queen?

Looks like Finney and friends raked in $10,000 from their latest settlement with the city:

 

Quinlivan repays city $1,500 for computer use

 

Written by

Dan Horn

 

Cincinnati City Council Member Laure Quinlivan will reimburse the city $1,500 for using her office computers for campaign purposes.

 

The voluntary payment is part of a deal to end a court battle between Quinlivan and an anti-tax group that accused her of using city computers and resources to raise money and support for her re-election campaign.

 

The city initially tried to resolve the matter by charging Quinlivan 13 cents for the cost of the bandwith she used when accessing her website with her City Hall computer.

 

But the Coalition Opposed to Additional Spending & Taxes says it found evidence that she and her staff spent at least 30 hours of city time accessing and modifying the website during the past year. The website, www.lqreportingtoyou.com, had included information about campaign events and a contribution button that allowed users to donate to her campaign.

 

I wonder if COAST would object to Hamilton County Auditor Dust Rhodes' use of county web servers and county letterhead in distributing this political message. In it, Rhodes claims "the exodus of the middle class from our County is advancing" and compares us to "a Potemkin village" and Detroit.

 

Nah, of course they don't care. It's okay to distribute conservative political messages using government resources.

I wonder if COAST would object to Hamilton County Auditor Dust Rhodes' use of county web servers and county letterhead in distributing this political message. In it, Rhodes claims "the exodus of the middle class from our County is advancing" and compares us to "a Potemkin village" and Detroit.

 

Nah, of course they don't care. It's okay to distribute conservative political messages using government resources.

 

The difference is that, while Rhodes was editorializing on public issues through a politicized lens, LQ was allegedly updating her campaign website using public resources. I would think that elected officials can advocate for policy using their office resources, but cannot solicit donations or advocate for specific votes in an election.

 

Yes, Rhodes's message seems blatantly political, and the Auditor's office really shouldn't be a political office. It annoys me when public officials use their office to advocate for their political agenda, especially when it is not directly related to the work they do in that office. I just don't think it is illegal.

Looks like Finney and friends raked in $10,000 from their latest settlement with the city:

 

Quinlivan repays city $1,500 for computer use

 

Written by

Dan Horn

 

Cincinnati City Council Member Laure Quinlivan will reimburse the city $1,500 for using her office computers for campaign purposes.

 

The voluntary payment is part of a deal to end a court battle between Quinlivan and an anti-tax group that accused her of using city computers and resources to raise money and support for her re-election campaign.

 

The city initially tried to resolve the matter by charging Quinlivan 13 cents for the cost of the bandwith she used when accessing her website with her City Hall computer.

 

But the Coalition Opposed to Additional Spending & Taxes says it found evidence that she and her staff spent at least 30 hours of city time accessing and modifying the website during the past year. The website, www.lqreportingtoyou.com, had included information about campaign events and a contribution button that allowed users to donate to her campaign.

 

I wonder if COAST would object to Hamilton County Auditor Dust Rhodes' use of county web servers and county letterhead in distributing this political message. In it, Rhodes claims "the exodus of the middle class from our County is advancing" and compares us to "a Potemkin village" and Detroit.

 

Nah, of course they don't care. It's okay to distribute conservative political messages using government resources.

 

Dude needs to learn how to use a comma...

 

He says all this, never mind the fact the county population is estimated to have grown. If he isn't up to the task of being the county auditor and administering the tax code, perhaps he should resign.

Looks like Finney and friends raked in $10,000 from their latest settlement with the city:

 

Quinlivan repays city $1,500 for computer use

 

Written by

Dan Horn

 

Cincinnati City Council Member Laure Quinlivan will reimburse the city $1,500 for using her office computers for campaign purposes.

 

The voluntary payment is part of a deal to end a court battle between Quinlivan and an anti-tax group that accused her of using city computers and resources to raise money and support for her re-election campaign.

 

The city initially tried to resolve the matter by charging Quinlivan 13 cents for the cost of the bandwith she used when accessing her website with her City Hall computer.

 

But the Coalition Opposed to Additional Spending & Taxes says it found evidence that she and her staff spent at least 30 hours of city time accessing and modifying the website during the past year. The website, www.lqreportingtoyou.com, had included information about campaign events and a contribution button that allowed users to donate to her campaign.

 

I wonder if COAST would object to Hamilton County Auditor Dust Rhodes' use of county web servers and county letterhead in distributing this political message. In it, Rhodes claims "the exodus of the middle class from our County is advancing" and compares us to "a Potemkin village" and Detroit.

 

Nah, of course they don't care. It's okay to distribute conservative political messages using government resources.

 

So just off of what Mr. Rhodes was saying, is this a new thing that governments are borrowing money?  Is it a bad thing that Over the Rhine is being revitalized?  Is it a poor investment to put money into your most important assets, or levy schools and zoos? 

 

I am just tired of people spouting out misinformation.  Please show us the analysis of each of these projects Mr. Rhodes and show us they are a failure.  Please explain why revitalizing and pouring money into the core is a bad thing. 

 

I can't wait for the streetcar to be a super success, crushing the daily ridership numbers and having everyone shut up about it.

^Just gotta be patient and hold these public figures accountable to some of these outrageous statements.

 

COAST, smitherman, 700wlw and the rest sounded off in the same way against fountain square renovation and Washington Park. Now their quotes look ridiculous

 

Soon the Streetcar will be added to that list

I can't wait for the streetcar to be a super success, crushing the daily ridership numbers and having everyone shut up about it.

 

Speaking of which, Rhodes claimed on Twitter that the streetcar would have only 500 riders per day. Then, he lowered that to 50 riders per day. All of these "estimates" were, of course, based on absolutely nothing and disregard the actual numbers from the streetcar study.

I can't wait for the streetcar to be a super success, crushing the daily ridership numbers and having everyone shut up about it.

 

Speaking of which, Rhodes claimed on Twitter that the streetcar would have only 500 riders per day. Then, he lowered that to 50 riders per day. All of these "estimates" were, of course, based on absolutely nothing and disregard the actual numbers from the streetcar study.

 

Still an improvement from his & the rest of the crew's earlier talking point that 'no one will ride the streetcar'...Not one person

^I looked at the power point from John Deatrick's streetcar committee meeting, and one of the maps showed all the vacant buildings directly on the route. It was quite amazing really. You think if those fill up in 5 years that would take care of the numbers alone, not even talking of some of the large surface parking lots downtown and also vacant parcels. Exciting time to be certain.

 

When the tax receipts start rolling in though I guarantee they won't recognize where it came from and opposition will still cry "operating costs aren't covered!".  Though to be certain I believe Mr. Deatrick has everything set up perfectly to account for the numbers.

But "OTR is doing just fine without the streetcar" is the latest argument from COAST, Cranley, and WLW. So all of those vacant lots would have developed anyway. Riiiiiight.

Right.  I think any half way educated person who does the research knows that there is an agenda behind everything they do.  Of course it is about the money, listen to radio advertisements, crime prevention, car industry, etc.  It isn't that hard to follow the circle.

 

I really don't believe Cranley and COAST, 700 WLW is that stupid, they know exactly what they are doing.  So many times I wanted to pull my hair out and still do when I hear them talk about the streetcar or downtown / OTR development.  They stand to lose money if progress continues in the city and core as is.

The thing that concerns me is that COAST/700wlw/Smitherman/Enquirer have hammered this issue for so long that they could scare away potential riders.

 

They are doing the same thing to Mahoganys

 

They did the same thing to the freedom center.

 

They tried to do it to washington park, Fountain Square, & others.

 

 

CO fights schools, libraries, museums & now they are fighting for the right to lie.

hmm...

Age of Ignorance

Widespread ignorance bordering on idiocy is our new national goal. It’s no use pretending otherwise and telling us, as Thomas Friedman did in the Times a few days ago, that educated people are the nation’s most valuable resources. Sure, they are, but do we still want them? It doesn’t look to me as if we do. The ideal citizen of a politically corrupt state, such as the one we now have, is a gullible dolt unable to tell truth from bullshit.

http://www.nybooks.com/blogs/nyrblog/2012/mar/20/age-of-ignorance/

I wonder if COAST would object to Hamilton County Auditor Dust Rhodes' use of county web servers and county letterhead in distributing this political message. In it, Rhodes claims "the exodus of the middle class from our County is advancing" and compares us to "a Potemkin village" and Detroit.

 

Nah, of course they don't care. It's okay to distribute conservative political messages using government resources.

 

The difference is that, while Rhodes was editorializing on public issues through a politicized lens, LQ was allegedly updating her campaign website using public resources. I would think that elected officials can advocate for policy using their office resources, but cannot solicit donations or advocate for specific votes in an election.

 

Yes, Rhodes's message seems blatantly political, and the Auditor's office really shouldn't be a political office. It annoys me when public officials use their office to advocate for their political agenda, especially when it is not directly related to the work they do in that office. I just don't think it is illegal.

 

It's been awhile since I've reviewed the details of the COAST-Quinlivan case, but I don't believe she was "campaigning" from her city computer, per se. She was accessing and updating her personal website and mailing list, which likely was owned or paid for by her campaign. Most council members maintain their own mailing list that they use to send out press releases linking back to their own personal/campaign websites.

 

So, basically, Quinlivan got in trouble for using the city's bandwidth to send out political messages via her own website and mailing list. Meanwhile, Rhodes used the county seal, letterhead, and web servers to send out political messages. Which is worse? I would say that Rhodes' actions are way worse because he is presenting his commentary as the official view of the Department of the County Auditor. Whereas Quinlivan was clearly sending out messages that only reflected her own views, not the official views of the City of Cincinnati.

There was something about a 'donate button' she failed to remove after the election.

The crazy people said it was a campaign site & not a personal site.

Or something like that...

It's been awhile since I've reviewed the details of the COAST-Quinlivan case, but I don't believe she was "campaigning" from her city computer, per se. She was accessing and updating her personal website and mailing list, which likely was owned or paid for by her campaign. Most council members maintain their own mailing list that they use to send out press releases linking back to their own personal/campaign websites.

 

So, basically, Quinlivan got in trouble for using the city's bandwidth to send out political messages via her own website and mailing list. Meanwhile, Rhodes used the county seal, letterhead, and web servers to send out political messages. Which is worse? I would say that Rhodes' actions are way worse because he is presenting his commentary as the official view of the Department of the County Auditor. Whereas Quinlivan was clearly sending out messages that only reflected her own views, not the official views of the City of Cincinnati.

 

It really isn't about which is "worse," it's about which is illegal. Elected officials are permitted to disseminate their own views through their office. Again, I agree that it is problematic when you have an office like Auditor, which in many ways should function as civil service, not a bully pulpit.

 

What they can't do is "campaign" using public resources. Of course almost everything an elected official does could be construed as campaigning, so you have to use a narrow definition. What LQ allegedly did was use her city hall office computer and her city-paid staff to update her campaign website while on paid city time.

 

The best weapon to use against Dusty is to vote him out of office, not a COAST-style lawsuit.

This is the introduction to an article about Common Core by David Brooks. I don't care about Common Core, I just thought it described CO & Cincinnati politics in general really well.

 

"We are pretty familiar with this story: A perfectly sensible if slightly boring idea is walking down the street. Suddenly, the ideological circus descends, burying the sensible idea in hysterical claims and fevered accusations. The idea’s political backers beat a craven retreat. The idea dies."

 

FWIW - http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/18/opinion/brooks-when-the-circus-descends.html?smid=tw-share&_r=0

Fortunately, CO    's track record with killing ideas is pretty piss-poor.

 

Unfortunately, their track record with sucking off the state's teat via frivolous lawsuits and tax incentives is a lot better.

I'd say they are running about 50%

There was a segment on NPR's On The Media this week that referred to COAST's lawsuit (they did not mention COAST by name, as I don't think they're technically involved with the lawsuit, only some of their members). Unfortunately they seemed to be mostly in favor of the Ohio law being repealed, framing it as "government bureaucrats limiting free speech."

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2014/06/11/public-could-decide-on-sales-tax-increase-for.html?ana=e_cinci_bn_breakingnews&u=rBKE+NOdDo/OyZEQt5nc3JP0aD2&t=1402506570

 

Will be interesting to see of COAST comes out full-force against a sales tax increase.  After all, it was Chris Finney who advocated the stadium sales tax back in 1996 since it included a property tax rollback.  The current Union Terminal property tax is so miniscule that its potential elimination is a non-issue from an economic standpoint.   

CO    has won the right to challenge a law preventing lying.

Issue: (1) Whether, to challenge a speech-suppressive law, a party whose speech is arguably proscribed must prove that authorities would certainly and successfully prosecute him, as the Sixth Circuit holds, or should the court presume that a credible threat of prosecution exists absent desuetude or a firm commitment by prosecutors not to enforce the law, as seven other Circuits hold; and (2) whether the Sixth Circuit erred by holding, in direct conflict with the Eighth Circuit, that state laws proscribing “false” political speech are not subject to pre-enforcement First Amendment review so long as the speaker maintains that its speech is true, even if others who enforce the law manifestly disagree.

 

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/politics/2014/06/16/supreme-court-says-groups-can-challenge-ohio-false-claims-ban/10575179/

I agree that this is definitely a First Amendment issue, but I do find this statement amusing:

 

“In a unanimous decision, the high court ruled that the two groups -- the Coalition Opposed to Additional Spending and Taxes and the Susan B. Anthony List -- had been harmed by the law and therefore had the right to sue.”

 

In summary, COAST has been greatly harmed because they have had to tell the truth. Maybe that’s why we haven’t heard a peep from them in so long?

 

COAST has won their right to lie

 

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/politics/2014/10/27/ohio-elections-commission-cant-police-political-tweets-court-says/18028295/?utm_content=buffer2d23f&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer&from=global&sessionKey=&autologin=

 

 

Christopher Finney, a founder of COAST, said the decision is important because it shows how the "meddling" the law is, allowing the Ohio Elections Committee to "bother themselves with speech as irrelevant as a Tweet. That's how involved in our lives they were."

 

If tweets are so irrelevant, why do they bother... Tweeting?

COAST should be very happy that the streetcar project is moving forward. Now, they can blame everything that happens on the streetcar. Shooting in the city..."streetcar's fault." Proposed tax increase for parks..."it's a streetcar tax."

 

I'm not kidding. They just tweeted: "make no mistake the proposed 'park tax' is really another streetcar tax"

Will they organize opposition to the park tax? 

yes.

​New Cincinnati NAACP president: Alliance with COAST is over

 

...

 

“You will see a different Cincinnati NAACP,” Richardson said. “We won’t be in the news squawking as much. We won’t be out being negative in the paper and looking for publicity. We want to project a positive image for the organization.”

 

Under Smitherman, the NAACP and COAST frequently teamed up on ballot issues, including opposition to a sales tax to build a new jail and a city charter amendment to bar the city from selling Cincinnati Water Works without voter approval. It’s unlikely the NAACP will pursue such ballot issues in the future, Richardson said.

 

Cont

 

 

COAST responds via Twitter:

 

Feeling is mutual: New Cincinnati #NAACP president: Alliance with @GoCOAST is over

You mean COAST doesn't really care about the NAACP organization? Who would've guessed!

What an unholy alliance that was...

Chris Finney appears to be representing this 19 year-old UC student in a Title IX lawsuit:

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2016/07/05/suit-alleges-gender-bias-uc-physics-labs/86712532/

Finney just won a frivolous lawsuit against Kings Schools -- took a bigger cut for himself than was divided between the five families:

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/education/2016/06/30/kings-schools-pay-625k-abuse-case/86551548/

 

From all of our past experience with Finney, it's pretty obvious that he is a 100% scam artist and that to whatever extent anything happened to any of these students, he exaggerated the problem 100-fold, then keeps a majority of the settlement. 

Is COAST waiting in the weeds?

Jason Williams, [email protected] 10:18 a.m. EDT August 20, 2016

 

Politics Extra is a weekly column looking inside local politics

 

COAST has been mostly quiet since the 2013 Cincinnati election, but the anti-tax group might be on the verge of a comeback.

 

That probably will not be good news for those pushing to pass the preschool levy this fall.

 

“There’s been a lot of email conversation among board members that maybe this ought to be the thing that we go after this year,” said attorney Chris Finney, one of COAST's ringleaders. "COAST hasn’t really had much of a presence the last couple of years, but there’s a lot of energy" around opposing the levy.

 

Cont

I found COAST's theme song!

 

COAST has a new frontman.  I didn't catch his name but he was on 700WLW today railing against the CPS Issue 44 "preschool promise" tax. 

COAST must be all but gone at this point if they couldn't manage to mount a campaign against Issue 44, which is a pretty massive tax hike with all sorts of potential loopholes for people to take advantage of, not unlike the missteps of MSD and Parks recently.

Finney settles frivolous UC Title IX lawsuit:

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2016/12/21/uc-student-settle-sex-discrimination-lawsuit/95692962/

 

UC agrees to pay student's legal fees but doesn't mention a cash settlement.  So it appears that Finney may have played both the school and the student.  All that hassle and a black mark following her throughout the rest of her time at UC, but no $. 

The university agreed to pay $22,500 to the student, Casey Helmicki, and $85,000 to the law firm in attorney fees and expenses.

The university agreed to pay $22,500 to the student, Casey Helmicki, and $85,000 to the law firm in attorney fees and expenses.

 

That wasn't in the article when it was originally posted. 

 

What an absolute joke. 

 

Useful idiot Jason Williams shills for COAST:

https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/politics-extra/2018/01/24/px-why-has-anti-tax-group-coast-been-singled-out-school-board-application/1063186001/

 

Like every bully since the beginning of time, COAST pretends it's a victim. 

COASTer Jeff Cappel elected to Blue Ash City Council:

https://www.wcpo.com/news/insider/after-years-of-criticizing-government-stadium-foe-jeff-capell-joins-blue-ash-city-council

USS Cincinnati $100 million over-budget, not a peep from COAST:

http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=99922

Unlimited spending on military and police is acceptable and shall not be criticized. And also roads.

Mark Miller, who doesn't have a job, represented by Finney's lawyer in frivolous investigation of Cincinnati City Council:

https://www.wcpo.com/news/local-news/hamilton-county/cincinnati/city-council-gang-of-five-subpoenaed-monday-night