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Wednesday, May 23, 2007

An Apology At City Hall?

Vice Mayor Jim Tarbell would like to hear someone say they're sorry. Well, sort of.

Chairman of council's arts committee and generally regarded as one of the biggest supporters of the arts in Cincinnati for decades, he's feeling a little stung by the weeks of debate over his plan to give $3.8 million to arts groups for capital projects.

He said he asked Chris Bortz, a fellow Charterite, for an apology, but said Wednesday he really was looking for more of an explanation from Bortz or any of the rest of the four (Jeff Berding, Leslie Ghiz, and Laketa Cole) who favored their own plan to spend $4 million. That plan did not include anything for smaller arts groups nor for parades and special events.

If you haven't been following the issue, Tarbell's plan originally gave $800,000 each to Music Hall, the Cincinnati Art Museum, Cincinnati History Museum and the Underground Railroad Freedom Center. It also proposed to create a new fund of $600,000 for smaller arts groups to share. That money also would pay for some parades and festivals.

Part of that plan passed Wednesday after a dizzying back-and-forth battle over whether it should have been voted on or not. Tarbell pushed; Mallory said no. Tarbell pushed again; Mallory said it was holding, again. Finally, after aides for Tarbell, Cranley and Crowley buzzed around council chambers consulting with Solicitor Rita McNeil, the vice mayor pulled out Article 54 of some such city rulebook, which allowed him to - and no one could remember this happening in years - appeal the mayor's decision to hold the item. With his vote and four others (from Chris Monzel, John Cranley, David Crowley and Cecil Thomas), the appeal passed. Then the plan passed too.

But back to the apology-type thing. Tarbell says what he really wanted - and still would be interested in hearing - is an explanation of the Bortz/Berding/Ghiz/Cole strategy.

"I'm looking for some kind of sign from them that they knew what they were doing and that they had a reason for it," the vice mayor said after the contentious meeting.

He said he pushed so hard for the vote Wednesday because he knew he had the five votes he needed to give $800,000 each to all but the freedom center and to create the $600,000 fund. Those two issues will be voted on separately. He went ahead for three of his five pieces, he said, because he was afraid minds would change again and then the arts groups would be without any of it.

Cole, who was out of town and missed the meeting, was surprised and disappointed when reached tonight. Last she heard, she said, there was a new deal that everyone planned to agree on.

Labels:


16 Comments:

at 10:15 PM, May 23, 2007 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Being Chris Bortz means never having to say your sorry.

 
at 10:20 PM, May 23, 2007 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Good for Jim !

It is about time Monzeal gained some sense and started dancing with the "RIGHT" party !

We 'WONDER" how many more 'white bread' politicians will continue to chain 'freedom' and slam the brakes on the slave railroad center ?

PATHETIC !

HAD ENOUGH, VOTE DEMOCRAT 2007 !

 
at 10:39 PM, May 23, 2007 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Tarbell and the other City Councilmen who want to spend $800k-$1 million on the Slave Center should apologize for wasting taxpayer funds. The city doesn't have this kind of money to waste.

Just pass the Tarbell plan, minus the $800,000 for the Slave Center. This gives everything else their funding and is fiscally responsible because it trims the total cost of arts to $3 million. But that would make too much sense.

 
at 10:49 PM, May 23, 2007 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Here we go again the html impersonator strikes !

We have you caller IP, thanks to that cookie following you around !

Does your family know your visiting that, sandra ali, whistle blower website ?

You need to look deep into your browsers, there is a cookie waiting !

Did you think we were from another planet ?

PATHETIC !

HAD ENOUGH, VOTE DEMOCRAT 2007 !

 
at 11:02 PM, May 23, 2007 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Will Leslie Ghiz and Chris Bortz make good on their promises to Daddy Pepper and find an additional $200,000 for the Slave Center? After all, they promised him a cool million.

 
at 12:01 AM, May 24, 2007 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Jeff,

Nobody ever won any arguments by parroting that criminal Nate Livingston. Come back with an original argument.

 
at 12:54 AM, May 24, 2007 Anonymous Anonymous said...

"...Just pass the Tarbell plan, minus the $800,000 for the Slave Center...."

Don't look for Coll to run the freedom center up the poll, she is overly concerned about the wRong wingnut whacko bird-ling donators !

She is far to busy, palm up, as the turncoat col-LABORATOR !

PATHETIC !

When you go to the Poll:

Vote NO, on bird-ling Coll !

 
at 7:32 AM, May 24, 2007 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Down with the unholy alliance of Berding-Bortz-Ghiz who wreck havoc on the city with their petty games and gifts to the rich.

 
at 8:14 AM, May 24, 2007 Anonymous Anonymous said...

The Fiscal Phonies should all apologize for being The Farce that they are. During the budget time they all talked like they were for the middle class. They acted like the city was in financial crisis, then they think they can increase government subsidies by millions of dollars to the boards of their rich friends. They even tried to take millions from middle-class neighborhoods and give it to elite institutions.

 
at 8:31 AM, May 24, 2007 Anonymous Anonymous said...

I cannot remember a mayor more "out of it" when it comes to important policy debates. The only elected city leader who had no opinion, again, and offered no leadership, again, was Mayor Mark Mallory.

When does The Enquirer start doing the job of a real newspaper instead of putting all the nonsense they do about "Mayor Zero"?

 
at 9:50 AM, May 24, 2007 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Once again, Chris Monzel has betrayed his fiscal conservative sheep's clothing to show everyone that he is a true liberal wolf.

 
at 10:45 AM, May 24, 2007 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Anon 9:50--

How is Monzel betraying his fiscal conservatism when he is voting to spend between $800,000 and $1 million less than ANYONE ELSE on council? To me it would seem he is the ONLY fiscally conservative person on council.

 
at 12:36 PM, May 24, 2007 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Anon 9:50 must be joking. Monzel's plan is the least expensive of all!!!

 
at 1:46 PM, May 24, 2007 Anonymous Anonymous said...

"Once again, Chris Monzel has betrayed his fiscal conservative sheep's clothing to show everyone that he is a true liberal wolf."

Scott, is that you?

Shouldn't you have posted this as coming from the Blue Chip Young Republicans.

But,you are right. Monzel voting to spend $3 million and not give money to the Freedom center is irresponsible compared to Ghiz's plan to spend $4 million.

 
at 5:19 PM, May 24, 2007 Blogger Yossarian said...

I wasn't there (or was I), but I could just imagine ghiz trying to come up with something witty to say when she lost but only thinking "screw you guys, you will all be sorry when I make good on my campaign promise and cut your salaries in half". I am sure that will happen ANY day now.

And I am sure that she would do it, ya'know if she didn't have a wedding to pay for (you can't expect her husband to pay for it - with Canadian money, that's like monopoly money) and ya'know she has those start up business costs (I hear most business succeed ) and then who needs money for a campaign? I am sure she is just about to cut her salary by $30,000. Of course she will probably give another $10,000 bonus to her aides. How did she get elected again?

 
at 11:31 PM, May 30, 2007 Anonymous Anonymous said...

I love Jim Tarbell, he loves Cincinnati!

 
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