Cranley & this crew could send the city into fiscal emergency. The streetcar, even if finished & started, will likely get shut down as Cincinnati's fiscal woes get worse.

Cranley? Smitherman? Winburn?

The Cincinnati voters should have added Noble, Malone & Wegman just to hurry things up.

I'm pissed off at a lot of people right now, but I think my anger is mostly directed at the Enquirer right now.  I really, truly despise that publication. 

I'm also wondering how all of the streetcar construction workers are feeling right now. 

Roxanne said it best tonight: "Our job is to ensure the continued progress of the city."

I'm pissed off at a lot of people right now, but I think my anger is mostly directed at the Enquirer right now.  I really, truly despise that publication. 

I heard some descriptions of Issue 4 on the TV news today. Swear they could have been written by 8 year olds. Glad the Business Courier is going to take politics a bit more seriously - I mean it's them & an entertainment weekly.

hah, an entertainment weekly, something the Fishwarp couldn't even do.

I don't see Cranley canceling your first phase. He clearly just used the issue to get elected, and I predict that he will "review" the situation and decide that 1A can't be scuttled. Any educated person would understand the severity of canceling a federally funded project today. It's a win- win for him; if the system is successful, he presides over success. If it's not, he gets to say I-told-you-so.

 

For what it's worth, I don't think Qualls really wanted this. As an outsider this election reminded me a lot of the election to replace Ted Kennedy.

Cranley "We are going to get out of the streetcar"

 

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20131105/NEWS0106/311050179

 

He's not bluffing folks and he has the votes to kill it.  It sounds like the only way to even challenge it would be to give them a taste of their own medicine with a ballot initiative

 

 

^^I hope you're right, but this feels like Kasich and 3C all over again.

I think Qualls wanted it - it's just a personality thing. Qualls was kind of a Spock & Cranley was kind of a Kirk.

Pople like the more emotional crap.

I feel like I never post on here except for after an election, so I guess I am due for another..

 

I felt from the beginning that Cranley's hope was to be elected but still expected to have a pro-streetcar council, therefore he could campaign on the issue but would never have to follow through on the threat. Given the results, obviously the situation changes. He still has ability to spin the issue to save face while still allowing it to move forward: He can claim he brought more transparency to the project, maybe cut a bit of cost somewhere, get an operating budget put together, etc. All those things would allow him to say that he improved the project, and now it is ok, even if those are very minor items.

 

One question I have is, with all of the projects announced in the CBD recently (hotels, apartments), do you think those developers will be getting involved? Either threatening to scale back the projects or pressuring Cranley to reconsider?

 

I truly hate the fact that all these politicians who oppose the parking plan are going to reap the benefits of being able to direct where the proceeds go. Each one of them will take credit for having a balanced budget next year, and not mention it is using the funds they campaigned against receiving!

Can't balance the budget without cutting police and fire.

Phase 1A is not fine. 

Right . The system needs the uptown connection to bring the numbers way up.

Phase 1A is not fine. 

Right . The system needs the uptown connection to bring the numbers way up.

 

The 2.75-to-1 ROI was calculated based on just phase 1A and did not include phase 1B.

I've been saying this for years now and I truly hoped it would never come true because I really believe in the potential of this city, but if they cancel the streetcar I'm leaving and not coming back. I just can not accept living in a city thats going nowhere. I really believe rail transit is priority number one now and for generations to come. I hope they leave phase 1 alone, but I have a bad feeling they really are that stupid.

Re-read Orwell, folks. Nobody will remember in the 2017 mayoral race that Cranley opposed the streetcar, just like nobody remembered in this election that it was he who wrecked the city pension fund back in 2003. 

 

 

The margin of victory was so significant that neither the streetcar or parking lease can be cited as issues that enabled Cranley to win.  Cranley is a full-blast politician -- nothing whatsoever matters other than winning.  He knows that his endless lies will never be challenged.  He will control the media over the next 8 years just like he controlled them during this campaign.  He will be there smiling cutting that streetcar ribbon in 2015. 

 

 

I've been saying this for years now and I truly hoped it would never come true because I really believe in the potential of this city, but if they cancel the streetcar I'm leaving and not coming back. I just can not accept living in a city thats going nowhere. I really believe rail transit is priority number one now and for generations to come. I hope they leave phase 1 alone, but I have a bad feeling they really are that stupid.

 

I've been living in Europe for about the past 5 years and will be finishing my MA here next summer. It was very bittersweet when I left because as much as I loved Cincinnati, I didn't feel like it was a place that I could stand to live. Now, almost 5 years later and after having lived in Germany and Denmark (and soon to be Norway), I was getting pretty pumped with the idea of going back to Cincinnati - the city really had so many things going for it and although it was no Berlin with public transportation, there was a momentum that really made you want to be part of the city. Needless to say, I am extremely let down with the election turnout and will probably consider my options with whether I should move back or not. Yes, rail is that important to me.

By the way, I am very willing to fight tooth and nail to keep this project alive (protesting, testifying in front of council). I have a lot of personal finances invested here in the home we are working on renovating in Pendleton. The last thing I want is to have to pack up and leave. I'd likely lose a lot. So, I really hope we can convince these people that backing out is bad for the city.

^^I hope you're right, but this feels like Kasich and 3C all over again.

 

It's eerily similar, right down to Cranley telling the city to stop the project before he was elected, just as Kasich told Strickland to stop the 3C project before his election.

 

You all will have to see how this plays out and organize behind the scenes to put an initiative on the ballot should Cranley and council vote to kill the streetcar. Likewise, contractors and the federal governemnt should be alerted to the possibility that the contracts might be cancelled.

I'm pissed off at a lot of people right now, but I think my anger is mostly directed at the Enquirer right now.  I really, truly despise that publication. 

 

I said a while back that a boycott of the Enquirer should have been organized. That paper is a major reason for Cincinnati's lack of progress.

 

^^I hope you're right, but this feels like Kasich and 3C all over again.

 

It's eerily similar, right down to Cranley telling the city to stop the project before he was elected, just as Kasich told Strickland to stop the 3C project before his election.

 

You all will have to see how this plays out and organize behind the scenes to put an initiative on the ballot should Cranley and council vote to kill the streetcar. Likewise, contractors and the federal governemnt should be alerted to the possibility that the contracts might be cancelled.

 

Exactly.  I'm disappointed in a lot of things.  Really hoping for a John Schneider post right about now because things are not looking good by any means.

 

"I dont know one republican in Hamilton County that wasn't supporting John Cranley" - Alex Triantifilou (Via Tim Burke)

A REAL BUMMER. My opinion of the Cincinnati population's intelligence just dropped several rungs down the ladder of success.

Good quote from the Business Courier:  "The election presented a clear choice. Those who hoped Cincinnati was in the process of transforming into a city with much bigger ambitions, that it would become something other than America’s biggest small town, lost. "

 

Time to welcome back the do-nothing 'Old Guard' in Cincinnati... Ugh... This is disastrous. I really thought this city had turned a corner.

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2013/11/05/cranley-cruised-to-victory-because.html?page=2

 

"I dont know one republican in Hamilton County that wasn't supporting John Cranley" - Alex Triantifilou (Via Tim Burke)

 

...was Cranley running as a D but was really an R?

 

 

Those who hoped Cincinnati was in the process of transforming into a city with much bigger ambitions, that it would become something other than America’s biggest small town, lost. "

 

I think this is a bit of hyperbole.  THere's a lot of progress in Cincy that has been happening without that streetcar.  Sure the streetcar would have upped the game a lot, but things were moving forward in Cincy anyway.

 

 

A REAL BUMMER. My opinion of the Cincinnati population's intelligence just dropped several rungs down the ladder of success.

 

Come on.  Cranley won by getting 16% of potential votes.  Qualls, Mallory, etc. have been around since 2005.  At a certain point, if you want people to have a reason to vote for you, you've got to do the work.

 

I certainly agree that I can't understand why anyone would vote for a guy who's stance is to be against everything.  But we've known for a long time that there is a small, incredibly vocal group of voters out there (not just in Cincinnati, but in every constituency) who hold fast to the principle of hating.  This was a "known known".

 

John had a plan, which was to align himself with the cranks who always show up.  Qualls had a plan, which was to assume that because she consistently comes up on top in a best of nine race, she would do so in a head to head race.  One was right.

"It's the poor craftsman who blames his tools."

I'm pissed off at a lot of people right now, but I think my anger is mostly directed at the Enquirer right now.  I really, truly despise that publication. 

 

I said a while back that a boycott of the Enquirer should have been organized. That paper is a major reason for Cincinnati's lack of progress.

 

City Beat reported their circulation has dropped again. I'd say the thing is pretty much boycotted as is.

Sign the petition to save the streetcar:

http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/cincinnati-streetcar?source=s.icn.tw&r_by=8126325

"I dont know one republican in Hamilton County that wasn't supporting John Cranley" - Alex Triantifilou (Via Tim Burke)

 

...was Cranley running as a D but was really an R?

Cranley appears to be the first Republican mayor since 1971

He's holding a press conference at 230 to discuss, in part, killing the streetcar

There had better be lots of developers and those who have already invested along the route adding up some numbers of built and threatened projects attributable to the Streetcar, and pronto.

A PR campaign needs to begin immediately, and have ACTUAL numbers to back it up.  People clearly are not making the connection between the Streetcar and its ROI which eventually leads to being able to purchase all the things Cranley said he could just outright buy with the Streetcar money.  This campaign MUST SHOW how not one single firefighter or police officer will be employed, or one single pothole filled or road paved.  It must show the HUGE FINANCIAL loss if it is cancelled.

As All Aboard Ohio Chairman Ron Sheck said this morning "Ohio is such a challenge . . . totally unaware of what is going on elsewhere in our country or the rest of the world.  Keep it up and we will become farther behind in the competitive race for new jobs and business."

 

My response to yesterday's vote and the campaign which preceded it: I don't understand the lack of curiosity by many Ohioans -- especially the media -- of wanting to learn without prejudice the best practices Ohio can use to improve our cities which are the engines of innovation and economic growth. Our cities must become a greater draw for young people, jobs and residents for Ohio to remain relevant. Instead Ohio is looking more like an old man who has donated too much blood to others more vivacious and dynamic than he is. Perhaps the anti-progressive Ohioan feels that the growing places in this country are mistaken. Such a belief is astonishing as Ohio's population has inched forward only 2 percent each decade since 1970, yet the nation's population has grown 50 percent over the same period. Sadly, Ohio seems interested in only building a geopolitical wall of ignorance around the state, and digging a deeper hole for itself in the process.

There had better be lots of developers and those who have already invested along the route adding up some numbers of built and threatened projects attributable to the Streetcar, and pronto.

A PR campaign needs to begin immediately, and have ACTUAL numbers to back it up.  People clearly are not making the connection between the Streetcar and its ROI which eventually leads to being able to purchase all the things Cranley said he could just outright buy with the Streetcar money.  This campaign MUST SHOW how not one single firefighter or police officer will be employed, or one single pothole filled or road paved.  It must show the HUGE FINANCIAL loss if it is cancelled.

and that some of the financial costs are coming directly out of the operating budget. 

 

PR teams get going now... 700wlw and Enquirer are already blasting propaganda stories about killing it

Cranley said hell 'deal with litigation from streetcar supporters if it comes'

Ok John Schneider, time to pull a rabbit out of your hat if you've got one. 

OK fiscal conservatives, this is your choice: a streetcar that's proven to be a city builder in every city where it operates. Or the black hole of more highways. Consider: Each new lane-mile of urban freeway costs $10 million to $15 million per mile to build, yet generates only $60,000 per year in gas tax revenues. Thus it will take that lane-mile anywhere from 167 years to 250 years to generate enough gas tax revenue to equal its original construction cost.

 

SOURCE: http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/fhwahop08039/cp_prim1_02.htm

^You're confusing the issue with facts.  Fiscal conservative is simply a label these people give each other so they know who is hating the right things.  It doesn't have anything to do with arithmetic.

"I dont know one republican in Hamilton County that wasn't supporting John Cranley" - Alex Triantifilou (Via Tim Burke)

 

...was Cranley running as a D but was really an R?

 

 

 

The local Democratic party refused to endorse a candidate and the Republicans did not have a candidate.  The result?  Two Dems fighting with each other over the 1% of the issues they don't agree on.  Who wins?  Of course it's the one that is more conservative, because he gets all of the Republican votes and some of the split Democratic vote, whereas Qualls only received the remainder of the Democratic vote. 

 

Where does that leave us?  With a very anti-transit Democratic mayor, who is unlikely to even have a realistic challenger in 4 years (outside of a possible Republican) unless the next 4 years are a true disaster (which no one wants).  So unless something truly unexpected happens, rail transit in this town seems to be pretty much dead for the next decade or two (since these projects take a decade to plan and build).

^^^ Yeah but they just print money.

Everyone needs to take a deep breath. So many people are assuming that the streetcar is dead. But the facts remain that in order to cancel the streetcar, Cranley would need to break contracts with the USDOT, HUD, and Messer-Delta-Prus. In order to even delay the project for "review", there would probably need to be a change order costing the city millions of dollars. Don't forget that if it is cancelled, these costs can't come out of the city's capital budget -- they would have to come out of the operating budget, which means that there would likely be cuts across the board to every city department and potential layoffs for police and firefighters.

 

Everyone needs to hang tight, stay hopeful, and spread the facts that it would be a disaster to cancel the streetcar. Over the next few months, we'll find out how Mayor Cranley differs from Candidate Cranley, who was willing to say just about anything in order to gain the Tea Party vote.

Everyone needs to take a deep breath. So many people are assuming that the streetcar is dead. But the facts remain that in order to cancel the streetcar, Cranley would need to break contracts with the USDOT, HUD, and Messer-Delta-Prus. In order to even delay the project for "review", there would probably need to be a change order costing the city millions of dollars. Don't forget that if it is cancelled, these costs can't come out of the city's capital budget -- they would have to come out of the operating budget, which means that there would likely be cuts across the board to every city department and potential layoffs for police and firefighters.

 

Everyone needs to hang tight, stay hopeful, and spread the facts that it would be a disaster to cancel the streetcar. Over the next few months, we'll find out how Mayor Cranley differs from Candidate Cranley, who was willing to say just about anything in order to gain the Tea Party vote.

 

Well said. Thank you.

That's very true - And he can't really do anything until he officially takes over. So over the next few months as he gets up to speed, hopefully he'll have a 'change of heart'

 

Maybe but the momentum seem to have grinded to a halt. It will be interesting to see if more companies leave the area, because they can't recruit the young talent needed.

That's very true - And he can't really do anything until he officially takes over. So over the next few months as he gets up to speed, hopefully he'll have a 'change of heart'

doubt it, probably be a drumbeat of blame in the local media from the guy & his cronies.

Everyone needs to take a deep breath. So many people are assuming that the streetcar is dead. But the facts remain that in order to cancel the streetcar, Cranley would need to break contracts with the USDOT, HUD, and Messer-Delta-Prus. In order to even delay the project for "review", there would probably need to be a change order costing the city millions of dollars. Don't forget that if it is cancelled, these costs can't come out of the city's capital budget -- they would have to come out of the operating budget, which means that there would likely be cuts across the board to every city department and potential layoffs for police and firefighters.

 

Let's just hope the parking lease money won't make up for it.  Arguably, the best thing the remaining pro-streetcar group could do (Young, Seelbach, Simpson) is agitate to kill the parking lease so that he won't have the money to sink the streetcar without decimating the budget.  Of course, I could be wrong about that strategy.

Why is the Enquirer lowballing the amount spent on the project so far?????

Lobby the more level-headed council members who have the most likelihood to agree that canceling the project at this juncture is a bad idea. They are: PG Sittenfeld, Kevin Flynn, David Mann.

 

Write letters. Call. Show up to meetings.

 

While the hope of growing the system throughout the city may be on the back burner, completing phase 1a is still very much a possibility.

I was disappointed to hear about another setback for the streetcar project. Cincinnati has such a cosmopolitan look and beautiful setting. It's the last place you'd imagine would have a bus-only transit system.

 

I hope that the first phase of the streetcar will somehow survive and then, once it succeeds, lead to extensions. I remember how much opposition there was in Salt Lake City to the first light rail line, which opened just over a decade ago. Once it was up an running, though, it proved very popular, and the system has since grown into a full-blown network in a short amount of time.

>who is unlikely to even have a realistic challenger in 4 years

 

He is vulnerable to an assertive black candidate.  Cranley will be doing corrupt things from day 1 so there's some possibility that he could be forced to resign.  Also, David Mann is old enough that he might have medical problems and have to leave. 

 

 

>Let's just hope the parking lease money won't make up for it.

 

The Cranley slam dunk here would be using the parking lease revenue to pay the expenses for canceling the streetcar.

 

I've been living in Europe for about the past 5 years and will be finishing my MA here next summer. It was very bittersweet when I left because as much as I loved Cincinnati, I didn't feel like it was a place that I could stand to live. Now, almost 5 years later and after having lived in Germany and Denmark (and soon to be Norway), I was getting pretty pumped with the idea of going back to Cincinnati - the city really had so many things going for it and although it was no Berlin with public transportation, there was a momentum that really made you want to be part of the city. Needless to say, I am extremely let down with the election turnout and will probably consider my options with whether I should move back or not. Yes, rail is that important to me.

 

Even though I'm probably not moving back, this echos how exactly how I feel.

 

He is vulnerable to an assertive black candidate.

 

I think that's why Qualls lost, she didn't reach out enough to the working class AA community.  Mallory had that community by default due to his race.

>who is unlikely to even have a realistic challenger in 4 years

 

He is vulnerable to an assertive black candidate.  Cranley will be doing corrupt things from day 1 so there's some possibility that he could be forced to resign.

 

 

That's what I was thinking. He fits the type perfectly. Believe it or not, in Columbus in the late '80s and early '90s the local news followed Charlie and Tom Luken pretty closely as in, "Look at the kind of nuts they have running things down in Cincinnati." So even when little GCrites80s was 10 years old in the frozen tundra of Columbus he knew the name Luken. Of course, there wasn't any of that kind of material there with Qualls or Mallory. And this is when we had a flamboyant mayor of our own (believe it or not) who brought an auto race Downtown and tried demolishing the old Ohio Pen on his own with a bullzoder to get the Arena District started early amongst other things.

 

I'm sure we're going to start hearing the name Cranley on the news up here very soon.