Brunner names regional representatives

The former executive director of the Hamilton County Democratic Party was among 17 regional representatives named today by Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner. The state jobs pay about $45,000 annually.

Chandra Yungbluth of Springdale will serve Hamilton and Butler counties.

Kathy Jones of Felicity -- a former deputy director of the Clermont County Board of Elections -- was picked to serve Clermont, Warren, Adams, Brown, Clinton, Fayette and Highland Counties.

Jeff Ortega, Brunner's spokesman, said the liaisons will work closely with the boards of elections in their regions, introduce new statewide initiatives, work with community groups to assist with access to voting, and make presentations to raise the public’s awareness of the services provided by the secretary of state’s office.

"I’m very pleased with the caliber of people who will be working as liaisons between the secretary of state, boards of elections and communities throughout the state," Brunner said in a news statement.

Blackwell passes the bucks

In tomorrow's Enquirer

COLUMBUS – Before he left office this month, Secretary of State Ken Blackwell gave 19 staff members bonuses totaling more than $80,185, according to figures released by his successor.

Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, a Democrat elected Nov. 7, questioned the spending by her Republican predecessor.

The parting payments from Blackwell, who lost the governor’s race to Ted Strickland, ranged up to $7,923 for Assistant Secretary of State Monty Lobb of Glendale.

Other Blackwell staffers receiving the largest bonuses were:

- Chief of Staff Sherri Dembinski ($7,845),

- Chief Financial Officer Dilip Mehta ($7,765) who signed off on the bonuses

- and General Counsel Cassandra Hicks ($7,450)

“For a lot of the employees, it was almost like a golden parachute,” Brunner told The Columbus Dispatch which first reported the story Wednesday. “I just think that taxpayers’ expectation of how the government operates is that bonuses aren’t generally considered to be something that government does.”

Brunner, who defeated Hamilton County Clerk of Courts Greg Hartmann in November, said she learned of the payments after taking office Jan. 8.

Blackwell’s former spokesman Carlo LoParo said the bonuses were appropriate and payments to 10 of the 19 senior staffers included agreements that they would resign, saving the office from paying unemployment.

“I would just have to chalk (Brunner’s comments) up to overall inexperience,” said LoParo, who got a bonus of $1,702, according to payroll records.

Brunner said Blackwell spent too much of the office’s budget, forcing her to ask the state Controlling Board in coming weeks for as much as $1 million to pay expenses until the next budget takes effect July 1.

Her office also has to pay a $225,000 settlement from a lawsuit filed against Blackwell and the Lucas County Board of Elections on behalf of voters who did not receive an absentee ballot and were not allowed to cast provisional ballots in the 2004 election.

Brunner’s office was informed that the settlement was finalized in December but couldn’t be paid until January, LoParo said. As far as the office’s budget, more was spent last year because of the election in which statewide races were decided, LoParo said.

Blackwell, a West End native and former Cincinnati mayor, lost the governor’s race to Democrat Ted Strickland last year.

We want NIOSH, by gosh

Hamilton County's commissioners unanimously approved a resolution Wednesday asking the federal government to keep the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health -- and its well-paying jobs -- in Hamilton County.

And they want Jean Schmidt to butt out.

Commissioner Todd Portune noted that Schmidt, the Loveland Republican Congresswoman from Ohio's Second Congressional District, is doing all she can to have the federal government relocate a consolidation of area NIOSH offices to Clermont County.

NIOSH has had offices in Hamilton County for more than 35 years including the large building in Clifton.

Now, though, it plans to consolidate area offices into a $70 million headquarters. Four sites in Hamilton County -- all in the Cincinnati city limits -- and three in Clermont County are being considered.

The resolution encourages the government to relocate NIOSH and its 1,100 employees within Hamilton County.

Portune, a Democrat, asked Republican Commissioner Pat DeWine to place a call to the area's other Congressman, Steve Chabot, R-Westwood, (pictured) to try to offset what Portune said was Schmidt's attempt to help Clermont County.

DeWine said he'd be happy to do that.

Chabot represents Ohio's 1st Congressional District. The dividing line between Chabot's 1st District and Schmidt's Second Distrist is Vine Street downtown and going due north.

Clermont County is completely in the Second District.

NIOSH researches and recommends ways to prevent work-related injuries and illnesses.

A NIOSH headquarters, which wouldn't be completed until at least 2012, is to occupy a 350,000-square-foot complex.

A Savage mayor hits the road

The Wyoming mayor for 20 years, David Savage (pictured) has decided to retire on his 70th birthday.

Savage's Feb. 8 retirement announcement resulted in him being praised Wednesday by all three Hamilton County commissioners.

Commissioner David Pepper, who spent part of his childhood in Wyoming when Savage was mayor and, before that, a councilman, said Savage is a great example of what a mayor can be when he fights for his city.

Commissioner Todd Portune praised Savage for being a citizen of the world and a progressive thinker.

Commissioner Pat DeWine thanked Savage for all of the work governments have done to keep ramps open to and from Interstate 75. Wyoming is just off of I-75.

Savage has served as president of the Hamilton County Municipal League, a group formed to promote interests of cities within the county. Savage plans to ride his motorcycle a lot more after retirement.

That long ago?

Hamilton County Commission President Todd Portune is dismayed at what he calls a waste of space at the Downtown Hamilton County Administration Building.

He notes the first floor is nothing but a lobby and needs to be used more efficiently.

At Wednesday's meeting, Portune suggested perhaps a coffee kiosk could be added so county employees could gather to share ideas and stories.

Another idea is to use the lobby walls to display art created by Hamilton County citizens.

Portune started thinking about the ideas a few weeks ago while walking through the lobby and seeing a poster of Republican Bob Taft, (pictured) the Ohio Secretary of State.

Taft was Secretary of State from 1991 through 1998. Before that, he was a Hamilton County Commissioner and after that Ohio Governor.

"It was rather symbolic of how up-to-date Hamilton County is," Portune said of the Taft poster.

Blackwell gives parting bonuses to SOS staffers

Before he left office this month, Secretary of State Ken Blackwell gave 19 staff members bonuses totaling more than $80,185, according to figures released by his successor.

Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, a Democrat elected Nov. 7, questioned the spending by her Republican predecessor.

The parting payments from Blackwell, who lost the governor's race to Ted Strickland, ranged up to $7,923 for Assistant Secretary of State Monty Lobb.

Other Blackwell staffers receiving the largest bonuses were Chief of Staff Sherri Dembinski ($7,845), Chief Financial Officer Dilip Mehta ($7,765) who signed off on the bonuses and General Counsel Cassandra Hicks ($7,450)

"For a lot of the employees, it was almost like a golden parachute," Brunner told The Columbus Dispatch for a story today. "I just think that taxpayers' expectation of how the government operates is that bonuses aren't generally considered to be something that government does."

Brunner, who defeated Hamilton County Clerk of Courts Greg Hartmann in November, said she learned of the payments after taking office Jan. 8.

The bonuses were appropriate and payments to 10 of the 19 senior staffers included agreements that they would resign, saving the office from paying unemployment, Blackwell's former spokesman Carlo LoParo said.

"I would just have to chalk (Brunner's comments) up to overall inexperience," said LoParo, who got a bonus of $1,702, according to payroll records.

Brunner said Blackwell spent too much of the office's budget, forcing her to ask the state Controlling Board in coming weeks for as much as $1 million to pay expenses until the next budget takes effect July 1.

Her office also has to pay a $225,000 settlement from a lawsuit filed against Blackwell and the Lucas County Board of Elections on behalf of voters who did not receive an absentee ballot and were not allowed to cast provisional ballots in the 2004 election.

Brunner's office was informed that the settlement was finalized in December but couldn't be paid until January, LoParo said.

As far as the office's budget, more was spent last year because of the election in which statewide races were decided, LoParo said.

The complete list of inaugural donors

We've got it here

Report from Wyoming

Jane Prendergast reports:


Some City Council members wondered why Mayor David Savage’s wife, Judy, was in the audience for last night’s meeting. But they thought it might be because they were honoring 31-year water department employee and volunteer firefighter Johnny Leavell.

Nope.

She was there because her husband of 50 years – a council member here since 1979, mayor in 1987 and then again from 1989 until now, was about to announce he was quitting.

Only she and Barry Porter, the vice mayor who’ll take over after Feb. 8, knew it. Council members talked about the citizens of the year, Save Darfur Day on Jan. 29, the Beautify Wyoming Commission, etc.

Until agenda item "N – miscellaneous." Then Savage started talking about how proud he is of his colleagues and the administration and so on……

That’s when it hit Councilwoman Vicky Zwissler: "I thought, ‘Oh no, he’s going to do it," she said this morning. "I’m sad for us, but it’s so nice for him."

There’d been talk for some time - particularly during and after the tense times last summer when city officials were sued by a citizens group that wanted to stop construction of the new pool – that Savage might choose to go now.

He said that controversy wasn’t the deciding factor, rather it’s just time to do something else. Like a month-long trip to Australia in March with his wife, who’s retiring soon too, and then a cross-country motorcycle ride with a son. He is, after all, the mayor who wears leather chaps and vests to meetings.

But there’s another distinction that ends with Savage’s departure. Since at least 1849, there’s been a David Jackson Savage in Ohio who’s been able to marry people. The mayor’s dad was a judge and his grandfather a justice of the peace.

Savage’s last time to preside over Mayor’s Court is tonight. No word yet on whether there will be any more Savage-officiated weddings before Feb. 8.

Mallory: We're not there yet.

Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory said he challenged people during a speech at Music Hall during the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday to make their own assessment of how well Cincinnati has achieved King’s dream. The mayor said it’s up to each individual to put King’s dream of racial equality and non-violence into action.

When asked for his assessment, the mayor was blunt: “We’re not there yet. We still have an awful lot of work to do. When we have so much violence in our community, it’s clear people don’t make the connection between what King stood for, and died for.”

The mayor also said he was appalled at the violence that broke out during a high school basketball tournament at Xavier University’s Cintas Center. Mallory said he “almost” went to the event.

“For there to be a violent outbreak on that day (MLK holiday) is truly appalling,” Mallory said. “Part of our challenge is to get them (kids) to think about King’s message. It’s obvious at least six didn’t. People need to take responsibility for their own actions.”

The council woman who couldn't cry

Cincinnati city council woman Leslie Ghiz came to Tuesday's Finance Committee meeting with a new look -- a black eye.

At the end of an hour-long Finance Committee meeting, which was broadcast live on CitiCable, Ghiz said her office had received several telephone calls from people asking about her left eye.

"You should see the other guy," she joked, before telling everyone that she had eye surgery, and that was the reason for the black and blue streak.

Ghiz said later that she had a tear duct replaced, and that the surgeon implanted a small tube along side her nostril, which will be removed after several weeks.

Blocked tear ducts are fairly common, particularly in children.

Cardinals at the White House

As is tradition, President Bush welcomed the World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals team to the White House today.

But considering how many Greater Cincinnati notables showed up, you'd think the Cincinnati Reds had won!

First, there was baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Bunning, a U.S. senator from Southgate, Ky., who President Bush referred to as "Big Jim Bunning."

Then, there was White House Budget Director Rob Portman, a former U.S. congressman from Terrace Park, who the president called out because Portman is supposedly a die-hard Reds fan:

"Rob Portman, I thought he was a Cincinnati Reds fan -- it's amazing what victory does to the -- (laughter.) Everybody likes a winner. (Laughter.) I appreciate you coming."

Indian Hill businessman Bill DeWitt, owner of the Cardinals who was Bush's business partner at the Texas Rangers and a big Bush campaign fundraiser, was also there. Here's what Bush had to say about DeWitt:

"If you ever need a good, honest business partner, pick Bill DeWitt. He knows something about baseball. He was raised in baseball. But he is one of the sharpest business minds in the United States of America, and I'm really proud for him and his family to be here today to receive the accolades."

DeWitt gave Bush a World Series jersey with the number "06" and the name "Bush" on the back:

"'06, so you'll remember the year we were here, and 'Bush' ... " DeWitt started.

"Yes, so I remember who I am," Bush joked.

Indian Hill businessman Mercer Reynolds, another former partner in the Texas Rangers, big Bush campaign fundraiser and a former U.S. ambassador to Switzerland, was also there.

Read the entire transcript of the visit HERE.

More details on inaugural givers

In today's Enquirer, we reported that nearly 100 corporations, associations, unions and individuals gave more than $1.5 million to Gov. Ted Strickland's weekend inaugural festivities. The story and list of contributors is here.

The article reported some, but not all of Cincinnati lobbyist Richard A. Weiland's clients. Weiland gave the maximum $25,000, and said some of the money came from clients.

For the readers who asked for more details, here are all of Weiland's clients as listed on the Joint Legislative Ethics Commission internet site:

Agudath Israel of America, Chicago; Art Academy of Cincinnati; Central Clinic; Cincinnati Arts and Technology Center; Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center; Cincinnati Museum Center; Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden; Classic Optical Laboratories of Youngstown; Communicare Health Services; Cornell Companies of Harrisburg, Pa.; Greens of Bunnell Hill, LLC; Jeffrey R. Anderson Real Estate; Jewish Community Center of Cincinnati; Lighthouse Youth Services; Mental Health Association of the Cincinnati Area; National Underground Railroad Freedom Center; Ross Sinclaire & Associates; Rumpke Waste Removal Systems; Schottenstein Stores Corp., Columbus; TechSolve; The Mayerson Co.; WPS Energy Services of Cleveland; and YWCA Cincinnati.

Criss-crossing blogs

We're trying to figure out the potential local impact, if any, of all this.

Let us know what you think.