How is Seelbach doing in this race? 

 

I would expect Seelbach to be re-elected. I really only expect 1 of the current council members (out of the ones running with "re-elect" or "keep" on their signs) to get ousted, perhaps 2 if there is a massive shakeup.

This vid from Simpson is fine except for the horrible lighting.

This is by no means scientific but it seems to me that not seeing smitherman in the endorsement groupings where I'd expect to see his name. Too busy on 700 or has he alienated that many people?

I am less confident that all of the incumbents (except Pam Thomas) will make it back in office than I was earlier. I think Mann, Dillingham, and Landsman all have serious chances and Moroski and Murray aren't far behind. Not sure who would be off council if more than two challengers make it on Tuesday. I think there might be a surprise. I really hope Yvette stays on council.

 

I also think it's pretty unfortunate that Cecil Thomas left office. Incumbancy hasn't really helped Pam's campaign enough to be worth him leaving. Cecil was much more qualified in my opinion.

Some funny Smitherman ads going around

 

 

There's also a commercial on the Buzz they are playing where they take the audio from him singing here

(Where he rambled about the streetcar), and then the speaker calls him a sellout and asks voters to vote for anyone but him

^We're not going to tell where we'll be because of security issues.

yeah, because the streetcar supporters are such a violent pack of thugs...

Anti-Christopher Smitherman ad playing on the buzz

 

 

Pretty funny

*EDIT: The video shown on channel 4 tonight was from 8/21/13. I dont know why Smitherman tweeted tonight as if it were live*

 

Holy Sh*t.  Please tell me someone else just saw that Christopher Smitherman hour long rant on Mediabridges channel 4?

 

http://230704.myvideotalkstudio.com/streaming/pages

 

He poorly imitated Chris Seelbach

 

He called council 'crackheads'

 

He said people are 'accusing smitherman of being a communist or tea partier'

 

He said democrats are trying to defund media bridges to 'silence smitherman'

 

and on and on and on.  That was only the last 30 minutes!  I missed the first half!

 

This is John Cranley's guy!  "Christopher Smitherman will serve an important role in my administration"

Media bridges got screwed by Republicans in Columbus

I wish more people saw his guano on cable - they certainly wouldn't be sayig he was the voice of reason on clowncil

well, maybe they would...

His media bridges show shows that he is INSANE. Literally nuts. Makes Winburn look like a reasonable person. Scary.

More anger directed towards Christopher Smitherman. This time from Janaya Trotter Bratton about her encounter with Christopher Smitherman

 

https://www.facebook.com/nathaniel.livingston.50/posts/10202560942728861 …

 

"I will speak for my own situation so that you can be informed. Smitherman asked me to sit down with him so he could "help" me with my campaign against Deters. I met with him and he told me Deters was going to give the NAACP $25,000 and that he wanted me to know because I should use this to show Deters is trying to buy the black vote. He basically told me what to say. Because he was the NAACP president, a skilled politician, and had a bad history with Deters, I trusted his advice. Then when I did what he advised, he turned around and did a joint article in the Enquirer with Deters bashing me. He and Deters lied about when the money was given out to make it seem like I was making a political accusation to spin him giving the money right before the election and Smitherman then went in on me to the black community and said I was trying to attack the NAACP - because - I said Deters is trying to buy the black vote. He essentially split the black vote in my race. He was for Deters all along, Deters later did an article where he called Smitherman his good friend and said there will be more of where that came from (talking about the money). So I will never support Smitherman, not because he supported Deters because he had every right to do so - BUT - because he used his position as NAACP president to suck me in to believing he was looking out for me and that he wanted to help me fight against the injustice in the system AND when I did trust him and took his advice, it was a ploy to help Deters' campaign."

 

Meanwhile, John Cranley is saying:

 

"Christopher Smitherman will have an important role in my administration"

 

Another Weird Smitherman rant...In one part of a recent Smitherman video on media bridges, he says he wants to "pull down the pants" of Council members & "spank their little fannies"

^Speaking of Cranley and Smitherman... it's not too late to make a small contribution that will help buy air time in last hours of the campaign.  If you're a procrastinator like me, now is the time!  Contributing money takes less than 2 minutes via these links.  If you care about the streetcar project (and about not having the city's momentum in general reversed), put your money where your mouth is:

 

      http://www.roxannequalls.com/home/contribution.html

 

      https://secure.pledgeconnect.com/donation.aspx?cincinnatiansforprogress

 

I would say that Chris Smitherman's campaign is not a given. If he picked up too many enemies he could lose reelection. He could lose out if some combination of Landsman, Dillingham, Moroski and Mann do well in the election. There has also been some very well done lit that lists 8 Democratic council candidates and Roxanne Qualls. I think these mailers will be very influential. These were the results from the 2011 City Council race.

 

Roxanne Qualls (C,D): 37,275

P.G. Sittenfeld (D): 30,474

Wendell Young (D): 29,067

Cecil Thomas (D): 28,892

Charlie Winburn ®: 28,829

Laure Qunlivan (D): 27,422

Yvette Simpson (C,D): 27,204

Christopher Smitherman (I): 23,760

Chris Seelbach (D): 23,484

^Totally agree.  I'd love to see him drop off of council this year.  Even though that would give him more time to grand stand, the only way he could be on 700 more often is if they gave him a show.

I would say that Chris Smitherman's campaign is not a given. If he picked up too many enemies he could lose reelection. He could lose out if some combination of Landsman, Dillingham, Moroski and Mann do well in the election. There has also been some very well done lit that lists 8 Democratic council candidates and Roxanne Qualls. I think these mailers will be very influential. These were the results from the 2011 City Council race.

 

Dillingham and Morowski have zero chance of getting on.  Smitherman may get knocked off, but the challengers with the potential to get on are Mann, Landsman, Murray, Flynn.

I hav not paid any attention to any polling but I would assume Dillingham would have to run again to get on.

I would say that Chris Smitherman's campaign is not a given. If he picked up too many enemies he could lose reelection. He could lose out if some combination of Landsman, Dillingham, Moroski and Mann do well in the election. There has also been some very well done lit that lists 8 Democratic council candidates and Roxanne Qualls. I think these mailers will be very influential. These were the results from the 2011 City Council race.

 

Dillingham and Morowski have zero chance of getting on.  Smitherman may get knocked off, but the challengers with the potential to get on are Mann, Landsman, Murray, Flynn.

 

I'm sure a lot of people said the same thing about Yvette Simpson and Chris Seelbach last election, though, thinking Bortz and Murray would be reelected.

I would say that Chris Smitherman's campaign is not a given. If he picked up too many enemies he could lose reelection. He could lose out if some combination of Landsman, Dillingham, Moroski and Mann do well in the election. There has also been some very well done lit that lists 8 Democratic council candidates and Roxanne Qualls. I think these mailers will be very influential. These were the results from the 2011 City Council race.

 

Dillingham and Morowski have zero chance of getting on.  Smitherman may get knocked off, but the challengers with the potential to get on are Mann, Landsman, Murray, Flynn.

 

I'm sure a lot of people said the same thing about Yvette Simpson and Chris Seelbach last election, though, thinking Bortz and Murray would be reelected.

 

To be honest, I was shocked when Ghiz and Bortz were not voted back in

I'm sure a lot of people said the same thing about Yvette Simpson and Chris Seelbach last election, though, thinking Bortz and Murray would be reelected.

 

Dillingham and Morowski don't have SB5 at the top of the ballot wave in on.  Morowski isn't an endorsed Dem so that effectively precludes him from getting on.  Dillingham has no name ID outside of union and party insiders.

OK, everybody! It's crunch time. I'm a Butler County resident who can't vote for this election, so I want all the Cincinnati residents here to vote for these candidates. Just a friendly reminder.

 

Mayor - Roxanne Qualls

 

Council -

 

Yvette Simpson

Chris Seelbach

Laure Quinlivan

Wendell Young

Greg Landsman

Michelle Dillingham

Mike Moroski

Shawn Butler

Kevin Johnson

 

All these people do not oppose the streetcar...and support generally progressive policies. This is the streetcar ticket, for better or for worse.

3rd Green Cincinnati Candidate Forum

Seelbach going off on an absent Smitherman is pretty good.

David Mann really needs to retire. He's doing better than Tom Luken, but...

Don't forget that the polls are open until 7:30 PM.  So if you're reading this at work, you can still vote on your way home.  Make sure you get to the polls today.  We can't stress enough how crucial every single vote is this time.

 

2 more hours.  If you haven't voted yet, GO NOW!!!

via Twitter: "Chris Wetterich ‏@ChrisCinciBiz 2m

Cranley says Smitherman has volunteered to help solve the city's pension problem."

 

Hilarious.

Cincinnati could really be on the way to detroit.

Quimbob: yep, I agree.

Well, at least no one has compared this to 9/11 yet.

Not sure if you'll see as much of me on these boards, Cincy is going back to the dark ages again :(.

Second unfinished project.

Curious, whose idea was it for 4 year terms?

Quinlivan

Do you live in Cincinnati? Do you follow politics?

How curious are you?

LOL, Sittenfeld got more raw votes than Cranley.

This town is insane.

Qualls narrowly edged out Slitherman behind Winburn, Mann, Simpson & Seelbach

LOL, Sittenfeld got more raw votes than Cranley.

This town is insane.

Qualls narrowly edged out Slitherman behind Winburn, Mann, Simpson & Seelbach

 

It just shows how different running in a best of nine race is compared to running in a head to head race.

 

I admit, I'm surprised how poorly Qualls did.  Cranley didn't do very well, when you consider that only 28% of voters voted, but Qualls has been on the ballot so many times getting only 42% of 28% is really pathetic.

 

How many progressives on this board voted for the 4 year council terms last cycle?  Any regrets?  I wonder if Laure Quinlivan has any regrets about that move now.

^Sorry, but the four year terms was a dumb idea for any liberal/progressive to support.  Anyone could see that elections which come immediately after the presidential cycle are going to be worse for the liberal/progressive side.  It never made any sense, and now we are stuck with this absurd collection of ambitious pukes and old men.

Most cities have four year terms.

Cincinnati just kicked sand in its own face again. Even if Cranley is not successful in stopping Phase 1A of the streetcar he has sure put a dent in the prospects of the uptown connection being built. Without it the overall success of the streetcar is seriously compromised. I see the results of this election, including a streetcar opponent being reelected to council, and feel all those talking about the future of light rail in Cincinnati must be talking to themselves.

LOL, Sittenfeld got more raw votes than Cranley.

This town is insane.

Qualls narrowly edged out Slitherman behind Winburn, Mann, Simpson & Seelbach

 

It just shows how different running in a best of nine race is compared to running in a head to head race.

 

I admit, I'm surprised how poorly Qualls did.  Cranley didn't do very well, when you consider that only 28% of voters voted, but Qualls has been on the ballot so many times getting only 42% of 28% is really pathetic.

 

How many progressives on this board voted for the 4 year council terms last cycle?  Any regrets?  I wonder if Laure Quinlivan has any regrets about that move now.

 

Yeah, I was always against the 4 year terms and I'm not sure why they were so popular. Councilpeople have a lot less responsibility to the people now that they’re safe for four years.  The things they do their first and even second years will be completely forgotten by the time the next election comes around.

A 28% voter turnout - how pathetic. Cincinnati you got exactly what you deserve. I consider it an example of complete voter apathy. No wonder we end up with government we can't explain.

Porktowners really seem to like their theatrics, too. Cranley, Smitherman & Winburn, all top vote getters, are all bombastic & theatrical.

PG's just a cutie.

Most cities have four year terms.

That sounds scientific.  Given that the Ohio Revised Code defines a city as any municpality over 5,000 people, I suspect that most cities in Ohio actually only have 2 year council terms.

 

But of course I wasn't making any sort of comparative argument.  I said that because all municipal elections fall on non presidential years, and that off year elections have a much smaller liberal/progressive voter turnout, it was obviously stupid for liberal/progressive voters & politicians support, much less promote, four year terms.

 

Cincinnati just kicked sand in its own face again. Even if Cranley is not successful in stopping Phase 1A of the streetcar he has sure put a dent in the prospects of the uptown connection being built. Without it the overall success of the streetcar is seriously compromised. I see the results of this election, including a streetcar opponent being reelected to council, and feel all those talking about the future of light rail in Cincinnati must be talking to themselves.

 

I don't think the streetcar needs to go to Clifton in order to be successful.  Let's not forget that Phase 1b was only going to University Plaza on Short Vine, not University Hospital.  I am curious though, how much more of Phase 1a would have been completed had Qualls not insisted on including the Phase 1b portion.

4 year terms are a good idea to get away from the constant cycle of elections. Just because the folks I like lost, it doesn't mean I want more elections. Nothing gets done when everyone is campaigning.

I live in a city that has 4 year terms, but they're staggered; four seats this year, the other three seats in two years.  This helps prevent "mood swings" where a single hot issue can affect the entire council.  Works pretty well.

4 year terms are a good idea to get away from the constant cycle of elections. Just because the folks I like lost, it doesn't mean I want more elections. Nothing gets done when everyone is campaigning.

 

I'm sorry, but I simply don't understand this.  Are you saying that you prefer something being done to what you actually want to have done?  Are you saying that your input is something that doesn't need to have any real world effect but every four years?  It is absolutely incoherent to say that campaigning for an office, basically saying once you would do when you are in office, is a worse occurence than not getting your desired political outcome.  If you value your preferred political outcome less than you value a lack of campaigns, as an individual voter, why pay attention to campaigns, or vote at all?

 

Also, why four?  Why not three?  If campaigning is the problem, why not five years? Why not seven years, like the original term for the president of France's Fifth Republic?  Or hell, why not simply assign the political offices by lot, as we do with juries?  Why not simply have party list elections, like in Italy, where you vote for the party and the party chooses the officeholder?

 

If you don't think your opinion is important enough to be exercised more than once every four years, then by all means, don't vote.  Those who think like you have allowed the dead-enders in this town the oppotunity to wreck everything positive that has been built up since the riots.  Now I can't even try to throw these bums out in two years.

 

PAlexander, I'm not sure how much attention to Cincinnati city council, but the two-year terms caused a lot of problems. Council members spent one year actually leading, and then spent the second year campaigning for re-election. During that second year, they were unlikely to support anything that could even be somewhat controversial. Often times, they would step down and appoint a successor a few months before the election, in order to position their successor to be elected. (That's how Pam Thomas, Greg Harris, and I think Amy Murray got on council.)

 

I would support staggered terms. Maybe we can get it on the ballot and have it take effect next council election.

Cincinnati just kicked sand in its own face again. Even if Cranley is not successful in stopping Phase 1A of the streetcar he has sure put a dent in the prospects of the uptown connection being built. Without it the overall success of the streetcar is seriously compromised. I see the results of this election, including a streetcar opponent being reelected to council, and feel all those talking about the future of light rail in Cincinnati must be talking to themselves.

 

I don't think the streetcar needs to go to Clifton in order to be successful.  Let's not forget that Phase 1b was only going to University Plaza on Short Vine, not University Hospital. 

 

I agree.  The purpose of the streetcar is an economic development engine and to get the people of the region warmed up to rail.  As an urban calculator in downtown and OTR, it will have a profound affect on the Findlay Market area and it will really open up the whole basin to the lunchtime crowd and the tourists (which is a growing population here).  The uptown extension is not something I'm sold on.  From an economic development standpoint, there's not much room for growth on that hill.  As an avid transit user the streetcar would be my last choice if I'm standing at the corner of Vine and McMillan and I want to go to Government Square.  Metro*Plus is my first choice, followed by local buses that go straight down Walnut or Race, then the streetcar which winds through the neighborhood.

 

I almost think it's better to build the downtown loop, add more Metro*Plus routes along major corridors over the next 4 years, then focus on light rail through the tunnel and up 71 and 75.  I think if any addition to the current route is made, it should be down Ezzard Charles to Union Terminal.  There's a MUCH better return on investment there (especially if UT is open to building mixed use on it's parking lots.)

Porktowners really seem to like their theatrics, too. Cranley, Smitherman & Winburn, all top vote getters, are all bombastic & theatrical.

PG's just a cutie.

 

I think the geriatrics showed up in force. PG probably reminds them of their own dorky grandsons, and half probably thought Mann has been on council this entire time. Winburn and Smitherman always run away with the elderly black vote, as well.

 

PG is Cincinnati’s own version of the Manchurian Candidate. It’s insane how many votes he gets despite not standing for anything – really shows you what money can buy.

 

I think Flynn is the most shocking addition. I would have thought Landsman or Quinliven would have been ahead of him for sure, but again, I think it’s a product of the geriatric vote.

 

PAlexander, I'm not sure how much attention to Cincinnati city council, but the two-year terms caused a lot of problems. Council members spent one year actually leading, and then spent the second year campaigning for re-election. During that second year, they were unlikely to support anything that could even be somewhat controversial. Often times, they would step down and appoint a successor a few months before the election, in order to position their successor to be elected. (That's how Pam Thomas, Greg Harris, and I think Amy Murray got on council.)

 

I would support staggered terms. Maybe we can get it on the ballot and have it take effect next council election.

 

You forgot to cite Wendell Young as a recent appointee who has been relatively successful.

 

I'm sorry but the underlyng premise of all of these analyses is that there is something bad or negative about campaigning.  But that's how the candidate expresses their views to the constituents!  Now, perhaps you may say that there's something bad about how the campaigns play out, e.g. like the last one, because voter turnout is so low, one need merely to play to a very small an unrepresentative slice of the electorate for success.  Perhaps that's true, but because the size of the district (the whole city) & the type of race (best of nine) didn't change, there's no reason to suppose that the campaigns under a four year regime will play out any differently.  The only thing we know for sure is that they will occur less frequently.  And now we are stuck with this horrible council that will undo everything.

 

I don't see how liberal/progressives can hold the opinion that they are more enlightened than the average voter and still fall for all this anti-government, anti-voting, anti-democracy claptrap that gives us these silly local systems that we have with term-limits and huge districts that require vast amounts of fundraising for tv, and now we've handed the people who play in that world even longer terms.  Fantastic.

If you want an example of candidates who spend all their time campaigning, look at PG Sittenfeld. He has accomplished absolutely nothing during his time on council, and yet he has managed to convince people that he's "on the move" (whatever that means). He finished in first place, with 10,000 more votes than the next person.

he got more than Cranley...