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Friday, May 02, 2008

Report from Clermont County


Barrett Brunsman reports:


MILFORD – Todd Portune and David Pepper can’t vote for Theresa Conover in the Democrat’s bid to replace Mary Walker as a Clermont County commissioner, but the two Hamilton County commissioners are urging others to do so.


“The future growth, stability, security and prosperity of both Clermont and Hamilton counties requires that we work together,” Portune said in a statement released by Conover. “The elected leadership of both counties collaborating on those issues … will revitalize our corner of the state.”
Portune, who is also a Democrat, said Conover “is the partner that I have been looking for on the Clermont County commission.”


Conover said regional cooperation is important, but added that the image of Clermont County is marred by cronyism and nepotism.


She would like to see “ordinary citizens” play a role in government, “instead of having our husbands and our brothers-in-law and our pals from the political party on all of our boards and commissions.”


Clermont voters will decide on Nov. 4 between Conover and Miami Township Trustee Ed Humphrey, who beat out Walker for the Republican nomination for her seat on the Board of Commissioners.


Pepper, also a Democrat, said in a statement that Conover “has the perfect credentials to make a very effective commissioner.”


Conover is a member of the Milford Board of Zoning Appeals and a former member of the Clermont County Planning Commission. She also is a former member of the Cincinnati Board of Zoning Appeals, and she served for several years as a neighborhood liaison on the Eastern Corridor Task Force of the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments.
“I would like to see principles of smart growth addressed – or at least analyzed,” said Conover, who has a bachelor’s degree in urban planning and a master’s in public administration.
Conover made headlines in 2006 when she brought to a halt a $40 million-plus housing development in her native Miami Township, across Ohio 131 from her 141-year-old farmhouse in Milford.


She claimed the safety of her children was at stake because of a road-widening project to accommodate the subdivision.


The developer of the Reserves of Grey Cliff finally agreed to a settlement after Conover’s deft maneuvering through the bureaucratic layers frustrated state, county and local officials – including Humphrey – who spent countless hours trying to resolve the matter.


61 Comments:

at 10:28 AM, May 02, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Good. She can defeat another corrupt Repug and send her off to jail, too. There is some serious corruption there. you know it's bad when the right-wing rag the Whistleblower reports it so heavily.

So, we have Repug corruption in Blutler County and Repug corruption in Clermont County.

Kinda makes this whole Marc Dann thing seem way out of proportion now, doesn't it?

 
at 10:33 AM, May 02, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

It is a shame that Portune and Pepper chose to get involved in the Clermont County race. I can imagine the campaign mailers now with a picture of an empty riverfront on one side and drug dealers hangining out in Over the Rhine on the other with the caption, "Theresa Conover wants Pepper-Portune style leadership to come to Clermont County...." That will scare the hell out of Clermont voters. Clermont County doesn't need that.

 
at 10:48 AM, May 02, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Portune and Pepper should stick to ruining Hamilton County.

 
at 10:52 AM, May 02, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Nice try, Bozo. We don't know the extent of the Dann fiasco yet and already, you want to minimize the ordeal.
I feel sorry for Dann's wife; she has to have alot on her mind at this time.

 
at 11:07 AM, May 02, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Yes, 10:48, and Clermont County should let the Republicans stick to ruining Clermont County.

 
at 11:13 AM, May 02, 2008 Blogger usefullidiot said...

Lol........

She sho sounds like an “ordinary citizens” ................Knows EXACTLY which buttons to push to protect her own interests!! To hell with progress in Clermont when your own ox is being gored!!

I didn't know Todd and John Pepper's kid rubbed elbows with “ordinary citizens”

Lol

 
at 12:40 PM, May 02, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Actually, there are bulldozers moving dirt today on the Banks, thanks to Pepper and Portune.

The Banks was moribund when Heimlich/GOP was in charge. Incredibly, now that he's gone, things are moving forward.

 
at 12:50 PM, May 02, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Mrs. Conover will do a wonderful job. High ethics and no-holds barred attitude. This is true change for Clermont County!

 
at 3:12 PM, May 02, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

 
at 3:18 PM, May 02, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

It's refreshing to see a man and a woman have an affair. If this was a Repugnicant, he would have had an affair with a little boy or a farm animal.

Marc Dann should stay in office for as long as Foot-Tapper Larry Craig and Diaper Dave Vitter remain in power.

At least Dann doesn't go around pretending to be some sort of moral exemplar of virtue, like Craig, Vitter, and so many other Repugnicants do.

The Repugnicant motto: do as we say, not as we do.

Marc Dann should use this as payback time.

Go after the corrupt Repugs in Butler County (Dynus)

Go after the corrupt Repugs in Clermont County (Walker)

Go after all the moralizing reporters, like none of them have ever banged a subordinate.

Go after the corrupt Repugs in Warren County

Go after the corrupt Repugs from Ashtabula to Zanesville, from Archbold to Ironton, and everywhere in between.

Hoist them on their own moralizing petards.

Go after the corporations, the price-gouging oil companies.

Show everyone what a fighter you are, Marc. This is why we elected you. Remind everyone what sort of corrupt morass you inherited after 16 years of Repugnicants plundering the state government and Treasury.

YOU are the reason Tom Noe is in jail and not wining and dining Governor Blackwell tonight.

YOU are the reason AOL and Time Warner aren't ripping the public off anymore.

YOU are the reason our state retirement system is much closer to solvency than it was when Tom Noe and other corrupt Repugs were buying coins and Beanie Babies with public retirement funds.

You've got some top-notch people at your disposal. Now is the time to put an end to all this moralistic snooping into your personal life and go on offense.

Show the guts, the heart, and the spine you showed in the Senate, and you'll get 70% of the vote next time.

It's time to not just defeat the Repugs at the ballot box, but also in the Courthouse.

Every single person in Ohio who chooses to affiliate themselves with the Criminal Enterprise Formerly Known As The Republican Party bears some degree of knowledge of, or responsibility for, their damaging policies and their criminal practices in office.

It's time to shut them down.

You haven't broken any laws, Mr. Dann, but a truckload of Repugnicants from one end of this state to the other have.

Investigate, indict, imprision. That's your job. Your job is not to answer questions from sex-starved moralists getting their jollies off asking you about your personal life.

 
at 3:20 PM, May 02, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Yes, she is crazy

Show us the money!

Maybe she can take that money and order some pizza!!!

 
at 6:08 PM, May 02, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

I had the good fortune of meeting Theresa Conover when I too had problems with impact on my property related to a development. The response from our local elected officials at the township and county level was that they could not help me with the problem. It was only after many months of complaining and hours of research that led to the EPA and Army Corps of Engineers getting involved to get the problem resolved. In going through that process, I met many others who also had grievances and were in litigation related to their own similar problems. Theresa is a true citizens advocate and helped myself and others navigate the quagmire that exists in Miami Township and Clermont County Governments. The local zoning boards and the Clermont County Planning Commission are dominated by private development interests who have signed off on their own plans and routinely receive tax incentives. If you are an ordinary, tax paying citizen in this county the deck is stacked against you. Years of one party rule have led to overcrowded schools, incessant school levies, eroding infrastructure, traffic gridlock and higher taxes. Clearly it is time for a change in Clermont County. Sincerely,
Julie Young, Campaign Manager for Theresa Conover for Clermont County Commissioner.

 
at 6:30 PM, May 02, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

What's this?! Todd Portune supports people having the opportunity to vote in a contested race?

 
at 6:59 PM, May 02, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

It is fitting to see Pepper and Portune getting involved in Clermont County. Through their high-tax policies, they have worked very hard to improve the economy of Clermont County. Pepper, Portune, and Leis are doing much more good for Clermont County than they are for us.

 
at 10:10 PM, May 02, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Crazy? Now that would be Ed Humphrey's lap dog and colleague Mary Barkley Wolf. She's the one who was quoted in the paper issuing expletives as it related to Ed Humphrey's opponent, Archie Wilson's signs.

 
at 11:36 PM, May 02, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

What did she do with the money??

Sounds like it was a way to steal some money!
She has no experience at all, she is a professional student, what a minute, she was on the County Planning Commission, sounds like sour grapes to me!!

 
at 12:11 AM, May 03, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

This lady is a joke. Ed will clean her clock. He's a good guy.

 
at 3:49 AM, May 03, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Jeff Capell is a repug concern-troll who should be discarded with yesterday's trash.

 
at 9:24 AM, May 03, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

I am becoming increasingly disgusted with American politics. The incredible amount of negativity that I read and see every day is disheartening.

Sometimes, the only thing that keeps me going is knowing that I could do so many good and better things for the people that I care about so much... And, in time, I will...

As a leader who came before me once said, "It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal or acts to improve the lot of others, he sends a tiny ripple of hope. And crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, these ripples can build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance".

A few weeks ago, when our youngest son and I drove 1,150 miles in 4 days, we both stood at that man's grave in Arlington National Cemetery and read those same words that I've carried with me in my heart for so many years... The amazing thing was that at that very moment, I knew that what I am trying to do for so many people is not only right... It is necessary.

 
at 9:28 AM, May 03, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

To the best of my knowledge, Neither Portune nor Pepper are under investigation for funneling tax dollars into their families' coffers.
And neither has sat by and watched while a colleague has robbed the county treasury.
But that is how it works in Clermont County.
One party systems breed corruption because there are no watch dogs.
That makes sense and so do Portune and Pepper.

 
at 1:11 PM, May 03, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

I have known Theresa for about a year now and have nothing but respect and admiration for her. Yes, I could rattle off a list of her good qualities (dedication, intelligence, regional expertise, etc.), but what impresses me most about Theresa Conover is her authenticity. She is genuine. She is honest. She is real.

You don't have to take my word for it, though. Give her a call or stop by her campaign office in Old Milford sometime. I can guarantee you that you won't be greeted with a fake politician smile and pat on the back. She will sit down with you and talk one-on-one about the issues that matter most to Clermont County.

 
at 7:50 PM, May 03, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Wake up jack-asses! As a life long Repub voter we should all be ashamed of ourselves..We supported a convicted felon in Taft and continue to support the corrupt repub "good ole boys" network in Clermont county. How the hell do the repub candidates not dis-associate themselves from Mary (I am not a crook) Walker? Not a word from "Big" Ed Humphrey on his crooked collegues? By the way..how did Miami township get themselves into a lawsuit with Ms. Conover in the first place? How did our elected twp trustees lose this suit? Ms. Conover won because our crooked dumb-skulls got caught at their own game..I am voting for Ms. Conover because obviously she is smarter than the ass-clowns who have screwed us all by giving away the county to their buddies.. signed: one pissed off citizen!

 
at 8:03 PM, May 03, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

How do you people get up every day and vote for these fools? The Miami twp trustees have botched zoning issue after zoning issue..We pay Larry Fronk about $90,000 per yr and there are people on this blog talking about the 35,000 that Conover won from our incompetent trustees? Fronk is the "zoning guru" who tells the current trustee exactly what they want to hear..Need a variance? Call Dr. Fronk who never met a variance he didn't like..How the hell, does Wards Corner road become filled with commercial ventures against the original zoning ordinances to begin with? For all the cafe latte Starbucks sipping elites who live at the Oasis, keep voting Rebublican and protect your soft wimp asses cause your day is coming..

 
at 8:07 PM, May 03, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

"Crazy"?
I believe that's a word Ed Humphrey and the Miami Twp. trustees use to describe anyone they perceive to be smarter than they are.
They must think that just about everybody is "crazy".

 
at 9:08 PM, May 03, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

She's HOT!!

 
at 12:20 AM, May 04, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

 
at 9:30 AM, May 05, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ed Humphrey, your 'little buddy' Joe Eeeker, and the rest of your crew, is that the best that you can do? Spew lies? Put your crack pipes down. Certainly the trustees of Miami Township have been stealing from the people of the township. How many other people had to fork out thousands of dollars in legal fees to fend off the illegal decisions and other abuses brought by Big Ed Humphrey, Mary Barkley Wolf and Ken Tracy? Conover is not the first nor is she the last. I think a quick check at the clerk of courts could clarify all of this. Then there is the inept John Korfaghen and Larry Barbiere; incedently they are the same township attorneys who operate in Miami and Union Township and we know where Union Township is headed. The FBI has certainly been busy down here in SW Ohio, haven't they boys? Is Miami Twp. next?

The question is: how much has Miami Township spent of taxpayers money defending their own illegal decisions?

What's your hang up with her education? Feeling a little inadequate with just your GED?

 
at 10:04 AM, May 05, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

 
at 10:15 AM, May 05, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Does Conover have any experience at all?

What has she done?
What prior posts has she held?
She was thrown off the Planning Commission!

FBI, give me a break, there is no such thing in Clermont County!

 
at 10:28 AM, May 05, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Pepper & Portune?
Is that the best she has to offer to Clermont County??

Just an attempt to give her campaign some sort of s shot in the arm, or at least, just to add some Pepper!

 
at 7:52 PM, May 07, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

cincycappell

Why don't you sign on with your last name instead of someone else's? You are a typical libtard coward.

 
at 10:02 AM, May 08, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

I am confident that once the voters of Clermont County learn about Theresa Conover they will realize she is not a viable candidate. The Clermont Democratic Party clearly did not vet her well before she announced her canidacy.

 
at 1:08 PM, May 08, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Theresa is a well educated woman who will speak her mind with forethought, compared to current township and county leaders who require incentives to speak (2 or more drinks or a meal or paid trips).

If you want someone highly ethical, Theresa is your next commissioner. To say otherwise would be "crazy".

 
at 1:48 PM, May 08, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

I am confident once the voters of Clermont learn of the unseemly side of Ed Humphrey and his back room deals among other things they will know he is not a viable candidate - viable, only if the people want to replace Mary Walker with the same material. Many in Miami Township already know he is not fit to hold public office here. Good riddance, Ed. Too, once the voters find out that Ed Humphrey is a clone of Mary Walker and that he is the best the Republican Party can offer, they will realize that Conover is the best qualified candidate. Ed Humphrey is the same as Mary Walker, cut from the same cloth.

 
at 10:22 PM, May 08, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Perhaps Theresa Conover wants to take us back to the Roaring 20s... I think not.

 
at 8:22 AM, May 09, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ed Humphrey and Mary Walker operate as if it were the 20s in Clermont County. Maybe that is why Mary is in so much trouble and why Ed is living on the edge.
Perhaps Ms. Conover can move Clermont at least into the current century...

 
at 8:49 AM, May 09, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

More like more us forward to the 2020's! You go Theresa!

 
at 10:47 AM, May 09, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Give me a break!!

She has no plan, & no experience.
She will set the County back twenty years if she is elected!
What company in their right mind would want to relocate to Clermont County knowing this women is in office??

 
at 10:59 AM, May 09, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Well....she doesn't have any family member that would profit from a vote, nor is dedicated to another office holder for employment, nor has any business dealings that could be a conflict of issue.

Gender has nothing to do with this. Look at Tommy Boy Neyer. No political experience and gee, wasn't he the President of the Hamilton County Commissioners?

Experience doesn't mean Schmidt...err...well, you get the point.

 
at 12:16 PM, May 09, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

She will be no better than Marc Dann!

 
at 2:42 PM, May 09, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

I am sure there are photos of Conover with Marc Dann. I saw one of she and Strickland on her website. Just wait until he goes down the tubes like Dann did.

 
at 7:14 PM, May 09, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

"I am sure there are photos"???

I can't believe these comments are really being reviewed/approved by anyone at the Enquirer...that comment is despicable.

I have to think that Clermont County voters will find this vile approach by Humphrey and his friends to be nothing more than it is...simple minded garbage.

 
at 7:43 PM, May 09, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Not sure what Marc Dann, Ted Strickland, Bob Taft or George Bush have to do with the commissioner's race in Clermont.
But I am sure of this; In addition to her training and experience, Theresa Conover's greatest attribute is that she has never been an elected official.
There are no connections to the corruptness that plagues Clermont County.
Her opponent can not make that claim.

 
at 11:15 AM, May 11, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Bottom line: Conover has no chance.

 
at 7:57 PM, May 11, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

amen

 
at 8:22 AM, May 12, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Anon 11:15 You forgot to add the Humphrey for Commissioner disclaimer.

 
at 10:17 AM, May 12, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

In addition to her training and experience...

What training??
What experience??

Do you really think a mulit-million dollar company would move to Clermont County because of her experience? or her training?

She would turn them away! She would cost the county millions of dollers, and hundreds of jobs!
The people will not vote for Conover.

 
at 11:12 AM, May 12, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

I am not sure she is really a person of the people as she purports to be. She has sued the county, she is building a wall around her house, she has a bunch of fancy titles and degrees and she is tryiong to get her home on the historic register -- sounds like a person of the people to me.

 
at 11:20 AM, May 12, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

"What training ??
What experience??"

You need to start paying attention to candidates resumes.
You're in a state-of-denial my friend.
BTW-You sound like a certain campaign manager who constantly re-uses the same old tired slams on behalf of his current hack candidate.
Be creative for a change and come up with some new bards. Your're getting boring.

 
at 1:51 PM, May 12, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

After her picture with Ted, she can have a picture with Marc Dann!!

 
at 1:53 PM, May 12, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Anon,

I have reviewed the resumes, and she had no EXPERIENCE!!!!!!!!!

 
at 3:07 PM, May 12, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Big Ed blessed the agreement of Conover v THE TOWNSHIP (not the County) if you have a problem with stealing go see big Ed the govement watchdog, NOT!
Check you facts next time.

 
at 3:18 PM, May 12, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

What's funny is that she sued the developer, like a good citizen should. The township had its nose out of joint....ask why? Should we follow the money?

As for degrees, it reads volumes. She knows what she's talking about. Look at Columbia-Tusculum.

Oh...her house isn't trying to be on the National Registry. It IS ON the National Registry!

 
at 6:26 PM, May 12, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Walker should have resigned as Taft should've resigned, as Dann should resign.

Corruption transcends political affiliation. There are enough examples on both sides to start a series of books.

As a woman, I don't want [another] remiss, emotional, power-hungry, woman back in that seat.

Having that said, I don't like Big Ed or his being the wooping boy of woman supporters (namely Walker and Mary foul-mouthed, dumbass Mackley Wolf). So the way I see it, female elected officials in ClerCo (including Schmidt & Weidenbein) are the fricking problem.

As a woman that makes me sad. Sad that my gender is such a train wreck and sad that it wouldn't be this way if the men could get-r-done.

Where have all the cowboys gone?

 
at 8:55 PM, May 12, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Anon 6:26,
Let's repeal the 19th Amendment!!
The problem is the misogynist one party rule in Clermont Co.

Are you sure you're a woman or are you Big Ed or Joe Eeek!er typing away wearing a dress and heels?

 
at 11:39 AM, May 13, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Leave the dresses and political advertising to Jamie Farr :)

 
at 1:45 PM, May 13, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

She just likes to stir things up
She has no plan, no ideas!!!!

How is she going to fix the roads?
Add new jobs?
Increase the tax base?

She just talks, & her buddies at the newspapers love it.

 
at 3:32 PM, May 13, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

You know, I haven't seen Ed's plan. Seems like he would have mentioned it when he was running against Archie Wilson. Ed has no plan. He's just waiting for Conover to unveil hers so he can steal from it. He's good at that. No original ideas. Where IS Ed's plan? 18 years as trustee and look what we have to show for it. Nothing!
Remember: A vote for Ed Humphrey is a vote for Mary Walker!

 
at 4:35 PM, May 13, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ed has experience, he's a BAD EXPERIENCE.

 
at 12:53 AM, May 14, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Club 440 anyone? The hippest place in Miami Township! Amazing that none of the Miami Twp Trustees have ever publicly denounced the swingers club. Makes you wonder about if any official is/are members. Just asking.

 
at 11:59 AM, May 15, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

All she has is former this, and former that, and former everything.

She will not help the County move forward!

 
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