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Wednesday, March 08, 2006

Cranley swears off pay raises

Cincinnati City Councilman John Cranley, the Democrat who’s running against Republican Rep. Steve Chabot of Westwood in the 1st Congressional District, says members of Congress shouldn’t accept pay raises until they pay off the federal budget deficit, which the White House forecasts will be a record $423 billion this year.

To make his point, Cranley plans to sign a pledge at a news conference tomorrow that, if elected, he won't accept a congressional pay raise until the federal budget is balanced. That means that if Congress passes a pay raise – like it did last year – Cranley will return the amount of the raise to the U.S. Treasury.

Incidentally, that’s what Cranley did last year when the Cincinnati City Council got a pay raise that he didn’t vote for. Cranley’s salary increased to $60,645.75, but Cranley said he paid back the $1,421.11 raise in two installments. He was not alone – many council members also returned the raise. While former councilmen David Pepper and Christopher Smitherman wrote checks for the entire amount on the spot, Cranley reached for his credit card – only to learn that the city treasurer doesn’t accept them.

“They don’t take credit cards? Who’s got $1,800 in cash?” he said at the time.

If he’s elected to Congress, Cranley’s salary would nearly triple in size to $165,200. That’s the amount House members now make after a pay raise of $3,100 went into affect this year.

Chabot voted last year to either cancel that raise or force lawmakers to vote directly on it, but both efforts failed. He has been a longtime opponent to congressional pay raises, voting several times in the 1990s to cancel them, spokesman Gary Lindgren said.

Check back here at the Politics Extra blog or read the Enquirer on Friday for more details about Cranley's pledge and Chabot's longtime opposition to pay raises.

UPDATE: Read the story in Friday's Enquirer about Cranley's pledge on pay raises here.


23 Comments:

at 9:41 PM, March 08, 2006 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Not in cash, John. In your checking account. The others wrote checks, they didn't pay cash. That is not a lot to have in your checking account--you are a grown up and a lawyer. Excercise some fiscal responsibility and intelligence if you want people to support you!

 
at 10:07 PM, March 08, 2006 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Yeah I caught on that too. If someone drawing a lawyer's paycheck and earning $60,000 as a Councilman can't write an $1,800 check, they don't ever have to lecture me about fiscal responsibility again.

 
at 11:08 PM, March 08, 2006 Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'm a grown-up, and I sure don't have $1,800 lying around in my checking account; sounds like somebody's out of touch with hard-working middle-class Americans.

 
at 11:10 PM, March 08, 2006 Anonymous Anonymous said...

smells like a non-starting political stunt to me but I am sure Hugable Howard will eat it up and write a story for the team.

 
at 11:14 PM, March 08, 2006 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Yea, the kind of fiscal responsibility and intelligence the Repug's have shown over the last six years...

 
at 11:23 PM, March 08, 2006 Anonymous Anonymous said...

That's the dumbest slam I've ever heard. Boy...the ChaBOTS are really stretching.

 
at 11:41 PM, March 08, 2006 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Anon 9:41 PM

Use some intelligence. Only girly men carry check books.

You must belong to the wrong wing, closet check barer !

(If you and Bush are listening to my phone calls, I think you should have to pay for half of my phone sex bill - David Letterman )

#####

 
at 5:46 AM, March 09, 2006 Anonymous Anonymous said...

This comment is not about little John Cranley and his silly publicity stunt. It's about the Enquirer and this blog.

Many people feel that the Enquirer and the news media in general tend to be Democrats and tend to be liberal. I have honestly tried not to buy into this hype and have believed that the news media--including the Enquirer--attempt unbiased and fair news coverage without spin. Well, this blog over the last few weeks has deeply tested my belief that this paper is fair to Republicans. I want to make my case here.

Here is my take on the blog postings of the last few days:

1. Cranley is made to look good in the blog for promoting this idea of not accepting raises. Chabot has rejected that all along, but the blog posting shows Cranley (with photo) and clearly makes it look as if he is the one with a great idea. It's a "pro-Cranley" post--there's NO doubt about it. Chabot gets credit at the end, but the Post is about Cranley.

2. Jean Schmidt is routinely bashed on the blog and is made to look poorly TWICE over the last few days. First, she is called out on her misunderstanding with Chabot and made to look bad and second, she is bashed by COAST. The Schmidt-bashing is old hat on this BLOG and shows the obvious Republican bias of the bloggers. Sure, Jean Schmidt has "stepped in it" sometimes. But, she's also a scrappy fighter who pulled out a tough win in a 5 way primary and right now--odds are--stands to fend off a tough Republican challenge in a primary and will win another term in the Congress. Any blog postings about THAT? Nope. How 'bout a posting about her "comback" after the Murtha comments? Not on this blog. It's more fun to bash the Republican than to keep readers up-to-date on what's really happening with Jean Schmidt and her race.

3. The Republican controlled commission gets bashed for their pay raise to a staffer and Pat Thompson, the newly Republican selected Administrator, is made to look bad for giving a raise and new position to this staffer. Can anyone read that post with its sarcastic tone and not see DeWine & Heimlich in a bad light? I know it was PORTUNE's staffer, but the underlying bashing is of the Republican controlled commission being two-faced on spending issues. Kimball Perry's sarcastic tone is evident in his postings and oftentimes in his stories.

5. The Republicans get bashed (legitimately) for being late to start meetings. This is fair criticism, but it's another example of a pattern of anti-Republicanism. Why not bash some of the lavish spending done by Mark Mallory and the liberals in the Mayor's office? Has anyone noticed the money being spent by Mallory down there? Well, Mallory has not been frugal with the taxpayers' money.

6. The Blackwell v. Petro race is covered on the BLOG and the negativity of their attacks is always the subject. There has never been a positive posting about either candidate. How about the amazing story of an African American conservative running as the leader in the Republican primary? That's a "feel good" story for the Republican party. Nope. This blog focuses on the negative Republican stuff.

7. Finally, Sheriff Leis and Senator DeWine's perceived fight gets great coverage on the Blog. This clearly makes a Republican--Senator DeWine--look bad. It also makes Si Leis look a little nutty with that silly picture of him with his arms held up. Is there any doubt that the person posting that blog entry loves that two Republicans are disagreeing? No doubt.

Now, how are the Democrats covered on the blog? Let's look over the last few days during the time all of the above stuff was written:

1. The Democrat Secretary of State candidate--who NOBODY has ever heard of--gets GREAT coverage in the Blog. She's made to look good because of her stance against Blackwell and the public records internet dispute. Does the Enquirer and this Blog know that the Republicans are running a LOCAL CANDIDATE--Greg Hartmann--for Secretary of State? Isn't there a story there? Guess not. Greg Hartmann is one of only a few elected officials to have the courage and experience to effectively deal with the issue of public records on the internet and has studied the issue long before it became a media firestorm. Instead, this Democrat candidate gets a nice Blog entry from the Enquirer bashing a Republican. Sorry, the bias is very clear on that one.

2. Another post on the blog: "Parker impresses Democrats." Let's read that one again. VERY positive for Parker & the Democrats.

3. There is a VERY long post about the Democrats and their "Night of Endorsement." Read that post again. It's very positive, straight news reporting, about the "good" things happening in the Democratic party.

Come on, Enquirer, how about some more balanced coverage? How about a post about something positive happening on the Republican side, too? Phil Heimlich is clearly leading on the Banks issue. He has cooperated daily with Democrat Mark Mallory. Doesn't Phil get any credit for leading on this?

How about the two local candidates (Blackwell & Hartmann) making serious runs for statewide office? I know "Parker impressed the Democrats", but Ken Blackwell impresses Republicans all across this state with his strong oratory and personal story.

I know Cranely proposed to return any congressional pay raise, but an unbiased look at Chabot reveals that he is TRULY fiscally conservative and opposes pork and outrageous (mostly Republican) spending.

I know we all love Paul Hackett, but can't we love Senator DeWine, too? DeWine has been a moderate and intelligent Senator that has skillfully helped place two highly qualified jurists on the Supreme Court and has been a voice of reason and common sense on many issues. DeWine is in trouble because he's moderate. Isn't there a story or blog posting about his good work? Nope. Paul Hackett is a war vet and a good glib quote--he gets the coverage.

I am disappointed. I'll keep reading the blog. I just wish it were more balanced.

 
at 7:18 AM, March 09, 2006 Anonymous Anonymous said...

So Chabot says he's against pay raised while depositing a few extra grand each year in his bank account? How many years has be been getting away with this?

 
at 8:23 AM, March 09, 2006 Anonymous Anonymous said...

to the guy who wrote all the bullet points; I think you need ot start your own blog

Do the Cranbots have a blog?

 
at 9:34 PM, March 09, 2006 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Yes the Cranbots do have a blog - you are reading it.

 
at 9:43 PM, March 09, 2006 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Anon 5:46 AM

You are so out of touch !

Provide me an analysis on the Enquirer endorsements in the last 3 election periods !

Use this Space:

Republican Endorsements
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>

Democrat Endorsements:
>
>
>

Get the picture, wing nut !

#########

 
at 10:12 PM, March 09, 2006 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Mr. bullet points. This is a Republican rag that hasn't even written one word about the most qualified candidate for County Commissioner. Stephanie Dumas has three times the amount of experience as her republibrat opponent Pepper. She's apperantly not corporate owned enough for them to give her any ink though she's on the ballot.

As for Phil Hiemlich, he's blown the Banks time and again because he wants to be in control. He wants to reward his cronies like he did with Drake aginst the People's will. Go to the Cincinnatibeacon.com if you want to know more about Philthy Phil Hiemlich and his corporate cronies because you won't read it here.

 
at 11:28 PM, March 09, 2006 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Anon 5:46--

Have you ever stopped to consider maybe these Republicans are responsible for their own bad news? Chabot took money from Abramoff, Taft was convicted of crimes, Schmidt is a laughing-stock, the Republican primary for governor is getting bloody because of Blackwell and Petro attacking each other (not the media attacking either of them), and Phil Heimlich thinks he owns the county and acts like he must answer to nobody. You're like these people who complain that we get no "good news on the war." War's ugly, and republicans in Ohio and Cincinnati are ugly.

 
at 8:09 AM, March 10, 2006 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Well said T.B. !

Let them eat cake !

The headless kind !

They are all full of Schmidt !



#####

 
at 12:39 PM, March 10, 2006 Anonymous Anonymous said...

I guess the literal step-by-step coverage of Bush's fundraising trip by the blog is all liberal reporting.

3:13.3 PM- President Bush has taken his first breath of Ohio air.

3:13.7 PM- President Bush has exhaled. No word yet on whether another breath is coming...

3:14.5 PM- It's official- Bush has inhaled again!


Yep... damn liberal reporters...

 
at 6:16 PM, March 10, 2006 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Anon 5:46

You are so pathetically out of touch.

Perhaps you also should do the analysis on the democratic endorsements over the last 20 years and the number of wrong wing endorsements the fishwrap has made.

You will so see which party line they, show me the dough, toe !

If you are trying to sell the fishwrap as liberal you truly are a wrong wing nut !

 
at 8:37 PM, March 10, 2006 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Next Monday, February 13th, Citizens Opposed to Additional Spending and Taxes (COAST) is holding a fundraiser for Phil Heimlich at the Watson Bros. Brewhouse in Blue Ash (6:30pm, cost $75, guest speaker Steve Chabot, open to the public). Christopher Finney (pictured to your right) is listed as a leader of COAST (along with Tom Brinkman and James Urling)—which should raise some eyebrows due to Finney’s longstanding real estate associations with Phil Heimlich. This sounds like a conflict of interest at worst, or backroom cronyism and influence peddling at best.

Phil Heimlich, Chris Finney, and Jeff Eichorn (who works for Attorney General and Gubernatorial hopeful Jim Petro’s office) have been listed as principal partners in a Limited Liability Corporation known as “The Three Centurions.” That is, until they recently transferred ownership to each of their wives.

The Three Centurions seems to be a real estate investment business of some sort—the company holds several properties in the region. This business relationship should put a new spin on Finney’s relationship with an outfit like COAST. Is Finney really interested in saving the taxpayers of Hamilton County a few bucks, or does his own personal business ventures stand to make an exponentially larger profit due to the types of policy he pushes through people like Phil Heimlich?

This puts a radically different spin on stories like this recent column by Kimball Perry. Perry keeps circling the issue of these behind-the-scenes relationships, writing passages like this:


Even though he has never been elected, Chris Finney could have a big say over what Hamilton County residents pay in taxes.


Firing the Tax Levy Review Committee members (where only Chris Finney remained on the board), Portune said, proves the committees aren’t being used to further government. Instead, he said, they are being used to advance the political doctrines Heimlich and DeWine share.

“Now, (the committee) is populated with one point of view, to follow the dictates of the chair whose only agenda is to eliminate the levies. That mirrors the philosophy of Phil and Pat,” Portune said. (my italicized insertion)

Perry just never swoops down for the kill, choosing to dance around the issue of the back-scratching just beneath the surface here—clearly manifest when one examines an LLC like The Three Centurions.

Why does Cincinnati corporate news keep giving Heimlich a free pass?

And what, if anything, does Steve Chabot (the guest speaker for the COAST fundraiser) know about all of this?

I just sent him the following email:


Dear Congressman Steve Chabot:

I am writing about the upcoming COAST fundraiser where you will be a guest speaker for Phil Heimlich.

Are you aware of some strange, behind-the-scenes relationships between Phil Heimlich and Chris Finney—one of the leaders of COAST?

They have been involved in a joint real estate venture known as The Three Centurions (along with Jeff Eichorn, from Jim Petro’s office). This LLC owns several properties throughout the region. Recently, they transferred ownership of this LLC to their wives.

Saving taxes is one thing, but it is something else when it looks like COAST is working to line the pockets of real estate investors like like Heimlich and Finney.

This smacks of a conflict of interest at worst, or backroom influence peddling at best.

Respectfully,

The Dean of Cincinnati

UPDATES:

So why the name Three Centurions? A clue may be found in the recent In These Times cover story “The Cult of Character” ( http://www.inthesetimes.com/site/main/print/2450/ ) which describes Phil Heimlich’s connections to cult evangelist Bill Gothard:


According to Gothard’s interpretation, first century Roman Centurions were admirable figures of authority who followed their orders without question....

Coincidence? Or are Chris Finney and Jeff Eichorn - a former Heimlich aide who now works as Jim Petro’s Public Affairs Director ( http://das.ohio.gov/phone/agency/ago.asp ) - also Gothardite “Centurions”?

Additionally, I have written to all of those involved in The Three Centurions, and I even called Rebecca Heimlich. None were willing to talk. The fact that they all refuse to talk about this real estate partnership speaks volumes. Are they trying to hide something?

COAST has its own agenda and its issues come before the County Commission. How can Phil act as anything but a Finney puppet when he has so much money invested in a partnership w/Finney? Don’t they have a duty to disclose their business relationship? They didn’t. This is a charade.

They also failed to disclose their relationship during the Drake negotiations during which Finney sat on the Drake Levy board.

http://www.cincinnatibeacon.com/index.php/magaddiction/comments/heimlichs_conflict_of_interest_in_fundraising/

 
at 9:50 AM, March 11, 2006 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Great Post Dean !

We certainly couldn't rely on the fishwrap to honestly cover the wrong wing nuts !

Without your reporting, I for one would not have known about these links. It certainly begs questions to be answered.

If the relationship were truly arms length transactions an open dialogue would be possible. That does not appear to be the case ?

So, the head covered wives are submissively silent on the truth !

Praise God that you could be the revealer of sheep in wolfs clothing !

There is nothing right (eous) in the wrong wing !


########

 
at 12:20 PM, March 12, 2006 Blogger Hyde Park Democrat said...

Certainly am exhausted after reading 20+ posts. What was the subject again?

Oh. Cranley and his totally, completely original idea about "giving back Congressional payraises" and "Balance the Budget"

These are themes we've seen dating back until at least the late 70's, when Mr Cranley's supposed mentor, the elder Luken, was the Congressman.

Too bad Mr Cranberry doesn't have anything to say about the current world situation, something that Congressmen have traditionally been interested in.

Apparently the war in Iraq doesn't really concern anyone running for Congress this year - its just one of those inconvenient facts to navigate around.

As for the Enquirer as fishwrap: its actually a better paper than it was years ago, however, for real news (like in depth coverage of the Jack Abramoff affair)....you have to read a real paper like the Cleveland Plain Dealer

 
at 1:37 PM, March 12, 2006 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hyde Park Non-Dem:

The subject changed because a wrong wing nut tried to bash the truth and get the fishwrap back to toeing the wrong party line. Certainly not where the rag needs assistance.

I'm happy there are individuals that will bring enlightenment to the discussion.

Including your comment about the Plain Dealer which, by the way, has nothing to do with congressional pay !

___

 
at 4:24 PM, March 14, 2006 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Three Centurians LLC does exist, and it owns 11 single-family homes in primarily Delhi/Oak Hills school district as well as Lockland, Price Hill and Norwood.

Each home seems to have been purchased at investor prices. Either the properties are being rented or occupied with land contracts.

 
at 11:10 AM, March 15, 2006 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Getting back to the subject, "Cranley Swears Off Pay Raises," and various reader comments:

1)There is no such thing as a "silly publicity stunt."
2)A well-known local Pol once famously remarked, "Publicity is the mother's milk of politicians." (that was his take on Jess Unruh's more
famous "Money is the mother's milk of politicians.")

Mr Cranlee's handlers, whoever they are, had better bring this boy up to speed, fast. Otherwise he doesn't stand a chance against Mr ChaBot.

He has demonstrated absolutely no knowledge of national political or economic issues (or even important long-standing regional issues, like Fernald.)

So wise up, you guys! Right now the best that can be said of young Mr Cranleigh is that "he's silly, but he's got guts."

 
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