Politics Extra: Ad watch: Bortz's 'Springboard'

Thursday, October 20, 2005

Ad watch: Bortz's 'Springboard'

AD: "Springboard," a 30-second television commercial for Chris Bortz for City Council. Produced by Reggie Groff, it started running Monday.

SCRIPT: Bortz: "“Hi. I'm Chris Bortz. Cincinnati City Council is too important to be treated as a springboard for the advancement of personal agendas, special interests, or political careers. I know if council is run the right way, focused on the big picture, we can have a safe, strong and economically vital city. City Council is a team sport, not an individual event. I ask for your vote on Nov. 8, to help make it a winning team."

VISUALS: As Bortz speaks directly to the camera, unidentifiable politician-gymnasts use a springboard labeled "Cincinnati" to perform high jumps and flips. Bortz removes the springboard, causing a politician to trip and fall on his face.

FACT CHECK: It's no secret that a Cincinnati City Council seat is one of the best resume-builders in Ohio politics. Every first district congressman for the last 100 years has been a former member of City Council. The late Justice Potter Stewart served on City Council. Previous city council members include former Ohio Gov. Jack Gilligan, Ohio Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell, U.S. Rep. Steve Chabot, state Rep. Tyrone K. Yates and Hamilton County County Commissioners Todd Portune, Phil Heimlich and Pat DeWine. And Jerry Springer ultimately used his City Council career to become internationally famous. But Charterites like Bortz aren't immune to catching the political bug; Gilligan, Blackwell and Yates are all one-time Charterites who went on to win higher office on a national party slate. Bortz promises not to be among them. "I can say unequivocally that I will not use City Council as a springboard to a political career. Career politician? I'm sure there are worse fates, but not many," he said.

STRATEGY: The 33-year-old first-time candidate is the nephew of the city's last Charterite mayor, Arn Bortz, and has cast himself as an old-style Charterite who will respect the council-manager form of government. Like mayoral candidates Mark Mallory and David Pepper, who are running on platforms promising to end "the chaos at City Hall" and "the bickering on City Council," Bortz taps into voter discontent about City Council.

16 Comments:

at 4:30 PM, October 20, 2005

Anonymous said...

Thursday, October 20, 2005
Pepper Won't Denounce Gwen's Racist Rant

Westwood Concern's Klan-like rally

In normal times, a Mayoral candidate wouldn't be expected to denounce the comments of one of their endorsers. We all know these aren't normal times.

David Pepper is a hypocrite. He established a standard for dealing with offensive and/or racist comments made by a candidate's supporters. Now that one of his supporters, Melva Gwen, has lost control and made offensive and racists statements, David won't live up to the standard.

Remember, David, working with his biased supporters in the media (most notably the Cincinnati Enquirer's Greg KKKorte), decided to make statements made by Mark Mallory's supporters and endorsers -- real or imagined -- an issue in the campaign. Pepper said alleged racist and anti-Semitic statements by Black Fist Generals Nikki X and Kabaka Oba should have generated a rebuke from Mallory and rejection of the Black Fist's endorsement. Before David's attack on the Black Fist, David and his supporters spent about a month crying and whining about my accurate comparison of David's dictatorial traits to those of Adolph Hitler on www.davidpepper.org.

Earlier this week, Pepper endorser Melva Gwen, of Westwood Concern and POWR PAC, attended a Council committee meeting and launched into an undeniably racist rant. (Ms. Gwen's comments were so offensive even one of Pepper's most vocal supporters, Peter Deane, felt compelled to denounce them.) Did David stand up and rebuke, denounce, or distance himself from his endorser's words? Nope. David stood up and ran from the room!

I'm working to obtain the video (or at least the audio) and put it up on this blog. (Don't hold your breath waiting for KKKorte or Howard Wilkinson to report on white racism.) Until then, let's take a few portions as provided by Pepper's supporter Peter Deane.

Um, I think this goes to the heart of the problem of graffiti ... of hate ... of all the things we got in our neighborhoods right now. Pouring more money into more programs in a city awash with social programs is a waste of time and resources. Drugs and drug money is the problem. We need to get out of Never-Never-Land where we have been living in since the sixties aglow and special to escape the fact that life is hard for everyone and there are no guarantees. Perhaps, after four decades, it is impossible to grow up and realistically face what we have lost or are losing to clearly see the hell we are embracing for the greed and political ambitions of the few if you are to shiver under not God but the dictatorial mandates of the replaced deity -- the ACLU.

Our harvest is stepping over bodies in our streets, running across drug deals, prostitutes, houses among us that are legal bombs, streets filled with the mentally ill criminals and unwanted children -- many in various states of undress, unable to string a sentence together, predatory in nature, and freely preyed upon. And this after four decades of woman capable of birth control.

They fleece the public education system that is gutted of the greatness of our history and thus the knowledge of the average person’s sacrifices. They bring to substitute prefixes before American and embrace empty meaningless words like diversity, inclusion, guilt reconciliation, art, -- blah, blah, blah. A tripe song sung primarily to white audiences to create road blocks and divert attention dwelling upon that which nothing can be done is insulting and a waste of time. We don’t need to forgive each other, we simply need to get on with it and grow up. Set standards and focus on what has destroyed our city -- drugs. And hold accountable the thugs who profit by them.

We can do nothing to save those who choose to immerse themselves in crime and the drug culture except to be strong examples for what is right. We can toughen our laws and penalties. We can set standards and respect law and order and human decency. We have a special gang unit and it is the Cincinnati police. Stop using them as scapegoats when complications of years demanded ignored criminal behavior reaches an admirable climax pile more and more on their plate -- support them.

If it becomes necessary, I'll be more than happy to explain to those of you who are slow why Gwen's comments are offensive and racists. Again, David was at City Hall when the comments were made. He was attending the committee Gwen spoke before. When David doesn't like something a Black speaker says at City Hall, he stops them. If the Black person won't stop, Pepper threatens to have them arrested. David could've, and should've stopped Gwen from engaging in the inflammatory and racist rhetoric printed above. But David didn't stop Gwen, and he hasn't denounced her comments.

You might remember David Pepper's spokesperson Anne Sesler saying this....

Anne Sesler, Pepper’s communication director remarked, "Mark Mallory boasts about being someone who will bring the city together, but he’s displayed a shameful lack of leadership over the past week by refusing to stand up to outrageous statements and tactics by a prominent supporter and boycotter. If Mallory is unwilling to rebuke one of his leading advocates for engaging in the worst kind of divisive politics, he’s clearly not a leader who can bring us together and move our City forward.”

Who is showing a shameful lack of leadership now by refusing to stand up to outrageous statements by one of his prominent supporters? And if Pepper is unwilling to rebuke one of his leading advocates for engaging in the worst kind of inflammatory, divisive, racist rhetoric we've ever seen in Cincinnati, how can anyone believe he is a leader who can bring Cincinnatians together?

at 4:39 PM, October 20, 2005

Anonymous said...

what does any of that have to do with the Bortz ad?

at 4:58 PM, October 20, 2005

Yossarian said...

I agree, people should stay more on post. I think that leslie ghiz is an idiot, but it has nothing to do with this this post and I would never it write down here. Damn - I hate it when that happens.

at 4:59 PM, October 20, 2005

Anonymous said...

Bortz is a anti-choice Republican who is only running as a Charterite because he knows it's very hard to get elected as a young, white, male Republican in this city.

at 9:02 PM, October 20, 2005

Anonymous said...

It's funny to see a child of priveledge who returned to Cincinnati to work for daddy's company to now represent himself as a breath of fresh air. He's raised a lot of money from the city's elite, and will do their bidding on Council.

Between Berding & Bortz, the corporations must be salivating.

at 10:55 AM, October 21, 2005

Anonymous said...

I am often surprised by the venom in some of the posts offered by blog visitors. Perhaps the shield of anonymity provides the freedom to assail character and integrity absent factual support with impunity.

I, and many others, entered the council race to make a positive difference in peoples' lives. Given the volume and consistency of personal attacks, I would think that that motive would be self-evident.

It seems that it would be more beneficial to the entire community if energy was directed at discussing those issues important to our city and relevant to city council’s role in finding solutions. Perhaps that is idealistically naïve. But it doesn’t hurt to ask.

Chris Bortz

at 2:01 PM, October 21, 2005

Anonymous said...

Thank you Chris. I hope other voters have noticed the dignified way in which you have handled yourself throughout this election. I have seen you respond to things (even hurtful and insulting things) with class and humor. I think it is refreshing and I hope that in a few months we can call you Councilman Bortz.

at 10:18 PM, October 21, 2005

Anonymous said...

In response to "Alicia doesn't live here anymore" [post 10/21/2005 6:42 AM] I agree that the "t" in the Bortz logo looks like a "t" or even a "T". Yes, a "t" looks like a cross so does a plus (+) sign.

That's pretty amazing insight. Shame on Chris Bortz for not changing his last name. Shame on you for stealing your rather courageous and original name from "Alicia ya no vive aquí" a Martin Scorcese film (1974) translated into spanish.

Based upon your previous blog entries I would expect no less than for you to conjure up an issue where none exists. We should applaud Chris Bortz and the many other candidates who actually take time to read through your insecurities and poor self-image to really discuss issues that matter to intelligent bloggers.

I'm embarassed for you and hope that you get the therapy and/or medication you so desperately need to treat your personality disorder. Until then please do not clutter the Web with your senseless drivel. Instead visit: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/

at 12:01 PM, October 22, 2005

Anonymous said...

Chris:

What are your positions on gay rights and a women's right to choose?

at 7:57 PM, October 22, 2005

Anonymous said...

Chris,

Will it be difficult to represent the citizens of Cincinnati when your daddy wants a sweetheart deal or do you think a conflict of interest doesn't exist? How much campaign funding have you gotten from daddy's friends in the development community? Are you part of the screw the public from day one plan?

at 9:39 AM, October 23, 2005

Anonymous said...

The TV ad is lame. He doesn't say what else he stands for besides allegedly not using council as a springboard. The acrobatics behind him distract from his (minimal) message. Given the handsome living he makes with daddy's company, you have to wonder why he'd run for council-the obvious reason being to get the power to orchestrate things to help his daddy's company and others.

at 10:24 AM, October 23, 2005

Anonymous said...

just look where his yard signs are...all over daddy's properties.

at 11:32 AM, October 24, 2005

Anonymous said...

Or maybe he actually wants to help make this city better? You people are so cynical. No wonder Cincinnati is in the state it's in.

at 9:25 PM, October 24, 2005

Anonymous said...

Cincinnati is in the state it's in because of people like Chris. Pandering to special interests and doing backroom deals for the carpetbaggers. He has as many strings attached as David "screw them from day one" Pepper.

at 11:44 PM, October 24, 2005

Anonymous said...

As a rule I don't spend too much time listening to talk radio or reading blogs. I find that they are often a refuge for the lonely, frustrated, ineffectual and incapable.

Since this is my first and last message, I'll be direct:

As a minority in Cincinnati, I have realized that racism is real. It is stupid, annoying and it can hold you back, if you let it. But what I have truly noticed is that it is boring!

It is boring to talk about, it is boring to spend time explaining it and it's ramifications. My father told me a long time ago that "level playing fields don't exist, but everyone has to compete". So of us will play together, and some of us will split off into tight factions of resistance to progress.

David Pepper is not a racist. I know because I met him. Mark Mallory is not a (reverse, if that is possible) racist, I met him too. They are politicians, pick your poison...

Chris Bortz, although he is a man of priviledge, a young, white male, and inexperienced, he is honest and good man. I know because I took the time to meet him.

Tarbell is probably insane, a nice man, and really into Cincinnati,

Monzel and Cranley I'm not so sure about, but hey there are 9 seats...

Would it be possible, as a city, to just once have an election that doesn't play a "race card" or point out religion, but instead focuses on what is best for the people that live here?

White people listen up:

The black people want a fair shake, some justice and honesty. If you are unecessarily biased or in any way apprehensive about where you stand with minorities talk to us, be respectful, it'll all work out.

Black people, listen:

The White people want a fair shake, some justice and some honesty. If you are not sure where you stand with white people, be respectful and talk to 'em, they will probably be startled, don't make any fast movements ;-)

As for the "Jews for Jesus" thing...C'mon, seriously! Bill of rights, damn it!

There is a lot of hard wok that we have to do to make Cincinnati the jewel of a city that it should be. What if we did it together?

Let's have a "well trained police force" that is held accountable for it's actions. Let's do our jobs as citizens and communicate with the police, to make a neighborhoods safer.

Let's put money into social services, because the alternative is to leave a significant segment of our city poor, without services and desperate (see Detroit, for an example of how that works out).

But most of all, quit spittin' hate, you jack asses! It only amounts to the forest, and since we all have to move forward together, I would really like it if we could all see the trees!

at 12:06 AM, October 25, 2005

Anonymous said...

Oh Yeah, one more thing. Rosa Parks died tonight. I'm not sure if it matters much whether she was making a statement, or if she was just tired, and didn't feel like getting up. She did what she thought was right.

If, at the end of these elections, we all vote our conscience, for a better Cincinnati, we'll all have done our part towards starting a simple, bloodless revolution based on common sense and dignity.

I bet Ms. Parks would find that worthwhile.

Previous Posts

Thursday, October 20, 2005

Ad watch: Bortz's 'Springboard'

16 Comments: