My Toledo politics thoughts on Mar 2, 2015

Sat, Feb 28, 2015 Toledo Blade story that I assume people were partly discussing in this thread:

Candidate to fill council slot has checkered past - Harper’s records reveal conflicts

Mon, Mar 2, 2015 Toledo Blade op-ed titled No rubber stamp.

Toledo City Council members, as soon as Tuesday, will fill two critical vacancies on the legislative body.Council members must make their choices in the interest of all of their constituents, rather than respond to the dictates of political and union bosses. If they don’t, their allegiances will be clear to voters in an election year.

Choosing a new Toledo city council president

Council members must elect a new president to succeed Paula Hicks-Hudson. Insiders say that council incumbent Steven Steel is seeking support among his colleagues for the position, and has the backing of local private-sector unions that traditionally have exercised broad political influence on the council.

Councilman Steel also is chairman of the Lucas County Democratic Party; that position, which by definition is highly partisan, is incompatible with the presidency of the formally nonpartisan council. At the very least, if Mr. Steel wants to head the council, he should first give up his party office. If he refuses, that alone would give council members cause to look elsewhere for their next president.

A better choice might be to keep Councilman Jack Ford, [???] who now serves as council president pro tem, in the post on a more-permanent basis.

Filling the District 4 council seat vacancy

The county Democratic Party and its organized-labor allies are leaning on council members to appoint Yvonne Harper, the party’s executive director. But a review by The Blade of Ms. Harper’s record suggests that here too, council members can find better candidates.

Such a record suggests that the other eight candidates who have applied for the District 4 appointment deserve at least as much consideration as Ms. Harper. But if a majority of council members instead wield a special-interest rubber stamp in filling that vacancy and the council presidency, voters will want to show their appreciation the next time these alleged representatives appear on the ballot.

With a 15 to 25 percent voter turnout at primary and general elections, nothing will change. And why should it change?

The elected people who will perform the above actions against the wishes of the Blade editorial board were chosen by a majority of the voters and possibly endorsed by the Blade editorial board. The voters have already shown their appreciation. Anything that happens henceforth is acceptable.

For the 75 to 85 percent of Toledoans who don't vote but are interested in this drama, I say sit back and enjoy the freak show.

#toledo #politics #media #moronism