The wise ones at the Dayton Daily News, the ones who endorse Mike Turner every time (even though they don’t agree with him), have chosen a 25-year-old college dropout who has “been involved in political causes for a long time” to go head-to-head with Turner for Congress.

Yes- the same people who endorsed Rhine McLin, want to send a lamb to a lions’ fight:

Joe Roberts also lists education as his top priority, seeking an “overhaul” of “the system.” He points to U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown as a role model, and expresses general support of the Democratic “platform.”

He is a political consultant, saying he has worked for such low-profile candidates as Stephanie Studebaker and Dr. Mark MacNealy (who each briefly put their names up to run against Rep. Turner). Dr. MacNealy is the fellow whose withdrawal resulted in this special election.

Mr. Roberts has been involved in political causes (immigration reform, Barack Obama, Israel) for a long time, or at least long for his age, 25.

And of course, they couldn’t resist trying to pigeon-hole me:

Mr. Esrati wants to be known not simply for running for election repeatedly, but for his blog, which he says fosters public discussion of issues and offers his views on them.

He mentions Rep. Dennis Kucinich, of the Cleveland area, as a political role model. As a presidential candidate, Rep. Kucinich took positions to the left of then-Sen. Obama and everybody else.

Mr. Esrati’s thinking continues to be hard to track. At the editorial board meeting, he said he favored the Obama stimulus, but would oppose a second one on constitutional grounds. (He invoked the 10th Amendment and the commerce clause.) Given that the Constitution hasn’t changed, there’s a disconnect in his logic.

Known for a confrontational temperament, he is unsuited to public office, better suited to gadfly status.

The best choice is Mr. Roberts, though, like Mr. Fogle, he would be a better choice for a lower-level job.

via Editorial: Joe Roberts best Dem bet in 3rd District primary | A Matter of Opinion.

And, of course, they are welcome to their opinion.

But, they aren’t allowed to do it in secret anymore. I’ve had it with the high-handed treatment- so I recorded it for you to listen to. Why not? They had their recorders (2 of them) going.

You can listen and form your own opinion.

And- as a final note: If you believe in something, and keep trying to accomplish it, why would you be mocked for trying and failing? Thomas Edison, Michael Jordan and many other successful people will tell you- true winners don’t give up.

My father has lived a pretty interesting life. From having to learn three languages and three alphabets by age 10, to being imprisoned in Lebanon in 1948 and subsequently losing his passport, to being investigated by the FBI in the McCarthy era- there is a lot of history and perspective that always intrigues me.

He knew Martin Luther King Jr. before he was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr – as they used to argue at Boston University over how one effects change. He’s written three books- one of which is available for free (for now) on this site: “Dear Son; Do you really want to be an American?” which he wrote to me in 1968-69.

His first book was “The Tenth Prayer. A Novel of Israel” which is available from Amazon.

Review Not only “a good read,” but it recalls the heroic events and ideological struggles that marked Israel’s early days. — Jerusalem Post, May 11, 2001

Product Description Historical fiction about the early years of Israel with an emphasis about the problem of “Who is a Jew?” This question, which has been at the center of controversy since independence, includes such problems as non-burial of the child of an Israeli Jew and an American Baptist.

The book covers a wide spectrum of Israelis, from extreme left to extreme right. One of its principal heroes is Naomi Ben Horin, the broadcaster of the illegal radio of the Irgun Zvai Leumi, who becomes a lawyer after independence. The book ends with her decision on whether to defend Adolf Eichmann.

His last book is “Comrades Avenge Us”- which I read as it came off the typewriter in installments- sort of like reading pulp fiction, in my last years of High School.

Product Description Based on a true story, a novel follows two officers — American and Canadian — who are captured by the German Gestapo while on a mission in Yugoslavia and survive to form a postwar Nazi-hunting operation to avenge their slaughtered comrades.

You can get an autographed paperback directly from the author for $5 pickup or $7.50 if you want it mailed to you. Email me to get a copy.

So when I had a chance to interview him in the mobile StoryCorps booth last Thursday- I tried to get as much of that first hand history and perspective into 40 minutes.

This interview was recorded at StoryCorps, a national nonprofit dedicated to recording and collecting stories of everyday Americans www.storycorps.org

It’s 40 minutes and 20 mb. You can listen here- or download for your mp3 player. Enjoy.

“Why are you recording this” comes out about half-way through this podcast. The answer: I believe that people who run for office should be transparent- and accessible. I believe that people who want to learn about a candidate, should be able to go online and read first hand what the candidate is thinking, saying or not saying. Take a look at what’s happening with Rob Portman standing by while “birthers” mouth off about the Commander and Chief.

It’s one of the reasons I tried to post every candidates’ night on YouTube when I was running. It’s why we run the Dayton Grassroots Daily Show unedited. It’s about getting to know who you are seeing on the ballot.

This last Tuesday I was asked to speak to an AP Government class at Thurgood Marshall High School. I brought my father along. A long time ago, he came to my high school to talk about the history of the Middle East to my 11th-grade History class.

I met with 13 engaging students. Principal David Lawrence sat in through a good 30 minutes of my talk to Mr. Spencer’s class.

I took along my very first campaign piece, when I ran almost 20 years ago for Mayor of Dayton. I also took the piece that Gary Leitzell distributed (btw- Gary had spoken to the same class- you can hear what they thought of him on the podcast) in his first run for mayor: should have made an impression.

One of the main questions was “why do you do it? Keep running and losing?” On the way out, Mr. Spencer tried to suggest I should “Move to the center, and try to get elected”- as if the Center is where the answers are?

Of interest- only one student identified himself as a Republican, a few Democrats- and a majority- independents. Apparently they still don’t understand that by being undeclared in the State of Ohio just means you can’t take part in choosing who is on the final ballot (I didn’t really tell them this- my bad).

I did share with them my belief that until we introduce true campaign finance reform- with the taxpayers funding the whole thing, we’re going to continue to be screwed. That was a major part of the discussion. I’d be interested to hear from the students – what they thought, in the comments.

Ohio Secretary of State and candidate for the US Senate, Jennifer Brunner will be coming to Thurgood Marshall in the next week to speak to the students. These students now know what a Herculean task she is facing in running against the much better funded Lt. Governor Lee Fisher. Hopefully, she’ll be prepared to give them real answers instead of the politically correct ones- because I think these students will see right through the same old BS that’s passed for political speech in the past. At least these 13 will.

Here’s the podcast:

The signatures were good. The petition was turned in on time. The issue is what day did I declare my candidacy?

My answer: I’ve never declared my candidacy, the Board of Elections declares my candidacy.

Today they rejected it- because I put the date of turn-in on my petitions instead of some arbitrary date in advance of the signature dates. Now, all the voters who signed directly in my presence, with full understanding of what they were signing- are being declared as:

1) either fraudulently collected under false pretense

2) invalid because I somehow deceived them

Reality- the form isn’t even available for people to look at. And, in many other cases, incumbents running for office had different dates in their petitions- but were allowed on the ballot. I’ve attached petitions from Nan Whaley and Rhine McLin showing different ways of filling out the exact same form. Either there is one correct way- or there isn’t- or is it only for “endorsed candidates.”

The Board of Elections is run by appointed Dems and Republicans- you don’t get a say in who makes these decisions. When asked how to appeal their decision- they won’t tell you. Amazing- yet these people are paid with your tax dollars.

Of course, the Dayton Daily News paints me as a failure:

David Esrati’s petition for the May primary election to Congress was rejected on Tuesday, Feb. 23, by the Montgomery County Board of Elections.

Esrati asked that the board to accept his petition even though he failed to sign and date his candidacy declaration prior to passing the petition for signatures.

Esrati sought the Democratic nomination for the Third District Congressional seat. The board said his failure to properly fill out the form was a “fatal flaw” and they could not accept his petition.

The decision leaves as the only Democrat running for the seat, Mark A. MacNealy.

The Republican primary will include U.S, Rep. Mike Turner, R-Centerville facing Rene Oberer of Dayton and David Finke of Springboro.

via Election board rejects Esrati petition for congressional seat.

Yet, before they got to my issue- the BOE allowed “Joe Ellis” on the ballot with a form improperly filled out- saying there was “no deception of the voter.” They also said had I come in and got the petitions from them- they would have made sure this didn’t happen (tell that to the majority of candidates who got rejected from the Dayton City Commission Race- the BOE didn’t even bat .500).

I’m not going to beat Mike Turner in his gerrymanded district, with his huge war chest. But, I can guarantee that I could put together a PDF solution that would preclude these kinds of problems from happening again- and would comply with Federal requirements for ADA accessibility as well.

And, if you think the Secretary of State’s office was of any help, dream on. Instead of returning my call yesterday, they call the Board of Elections instead- that’s service for you.

The appeal must be filed in the courts, I’ll have to check if this is an issue for Federal Court since it’s a Federal office. Then again, it’s a State form- so who knows. Just remember, all the Constitution says is you have to be a citizen and 25 years of age.

How far away from the Constitution we’ve moved.

I’ve included the recording of the meeting- up to my part:

We have some amazing voices in this community- and they opened their meeting in song. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the recorder going for the opening.

There were no strict time limits. When I arrived on time, only Joe Lacey of the Dayton school Board and Charlie Shoemaker, executive director of Metroparks were there. We were invited to the table- excuses were made for a candidate who said he could be there by 1pm (Gary Leitzell- but he wasn’t named). Then the Mayor with Nan and Joey popped in about fifteen minutes late.

The Mayor was given the podium first, then Whaley and Williams. I was at the end. I didn’t do the normal stump speech if you take the time to listen. I think I made a few friends.

The questions were pointed- and the moderator, Reverend Stewart, cut off the question on the candidates’ support for the casinos- listen and you’ll hear.

The issue of the step increases/raises was asked- the answer from Commissioner Williams and “the team” was evasive.

I don’t usually make speeches like this one. It’s worth a listen.

Please note, if elected, I’ll keep providing you with insight and recordings of events and meetings that affect you. That’s my job.

Excerpt for Will- just my parts (14:18):

Click here to view the embedded video.

Candidates night at c[space hosted by upDayton and the League of Women Voters. Candidates from left to right, Gary Leitzell, Rhine McLin, Nan Whaley, Joey D. Williams and David Esrati.

A few thoughts:

• Good lighting makes for better video.
• Don't expect candidates to speak from their seat when there is a HUGE POLE in front of them. Podiums, or a single mic work best.
• Combining questions into mega-questions by combining them, makes it easier for politicians to pick and choose answers
• Don't use a 1 hour Flip Cam when it goes over an hour (and don't try to record the levy people first).

So, the end is cut off- I took out my iPhone and made an audio recording of the end.

There is a bit of a gap.

Thanks to Gary Leppela for running a tight ship and announcing each speaker- which saved me subtitling.

Why don’t all the other candidates supply video for you? Why didn’t upDayton make their own? Why am I the candidate and the news team- all in one? Is it because I’m the only one who believes in democracy and an informed electorate. This is one of the best examples of what to expect if you elect me. No more secret meetings.

It was nice to see that my moving around- and standing behind the “team” spooked them enough to ask the League of Women voters to change the rules- as you can see by the instructions handed out last night at Ruskin School.

The "Esrati rule" for candidates forums

Sorry it took so long to post- still figuring out the best workflow for the Flip Cam to Youtube. That the lighting was horrible made for some bad compression artifacts, bringing Final Cut Pro to it’s knees.

UPDATE 9 oct 09: upDayton posted their video:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Since the Mayor decided to finish off the last candidates forum saying that the Commission didn’t hold illegal secret meetings, I thought I’d post the actual language from the Charter and the Sunshine Laws:

Meetings of the Commission
§ 39… the Commissioners shall meet at such times as may be prescribed by ordinance or resolution, except that they shall meet not less than once each week.  The Mayor, any 2 members of the Commission, or the City Manager, may call special meetings of the Commission upon at least 24 hours written notice to each member of the Commission, served personally on each member or left at his usual place of residence.
All meetings of the Commission shall be open to the public in accordance with the Ohio Sunshine Law presently codified in Ohio R.C. § 121.22.  The commission shall determine its own rules and order of business and shall keep a journal of its proceedings. (Amendment adopted by voters 11-20-89)

City_Charter.pdf (application/pdf Object) PG 16

What part of “they shall meet not less than once each week” does she not understand? The “Special meetings” – or as they like to call them, “work sessions” are not meant to happen every week.

From pg 90:

Discussing Public Business:  With narrow exception, the Open Meetings Act requires the members of a public body to discuss and deliberate on official business only in open meetings. In this context,  “discussion” is the exchange of words, comments or ideas by the members of a public body; “deliberation” means the act of weighing and examining reasons for and against a choice.  One court describes  “deliberation” as a thorough discussion of all factors involved, a careful weighing of positive and negative factors, and a cautious consideration of the ramifications of the proposal, while gradually  arriving at decision.
In evaluating whether particular gatherings of public officials constituted “meetings,” several courts have opined that the Open Meetings Act is intended to apply to situations where there has been actual formal action taken, such as deliberation upon official business.  On the other hand, meetings strictly of an investigative and information-seeking nature that do not involve actual deliberations of public business have been found by some not to be “meetings” for purposes of the Open Meetings Act.

Considering all the 5-0 votes with no discussion, either the commission is not doing it’s job, or it’s doing so outside of the required public meeting stipulated in the Charter.

The definition of “Work Session” is from page 91:

a.  Work Sessions:  “Work sessions” or “workshops” are “meetings” where public business is discussed among a majority of the members of a public body at a prearranged time.  Accordingly, these work sessions must be open to the public, properly noticed, and minutes must be maintained, just as with any other meeting.

A prearranged time, is not an “emergency” and the use of the “emergency” or “special meeting” notification process on a weekly basis is a purposeful skirting of the law. Again, the charter stipulates “one meeting per week” and that meeting is for this very purpose. Note- all minutes of these “work sessions” must be maintained, and should be entered into the public record at the regularly scheduled meeting for approval.

Special Meetings:  A “special meeting” is any meeting other than a regular meeting. A public body must establish, by rule, a reasonable method that allows the public to determine the time, place, and purpose of special meetings.
•  Public bodies must provide at least 24 hours advance notification of special meetings to all media outlets or individuals who have requested such notification. PG 94

It’s time we stop hiding behind closed doors and having two commission meetings per week- the well publicized, televised public meeting- and the very quiet work session where the real decisions are being made. I can guarantee, that if elected, this practice will stop.

McLin’s closing comments:

The patron saint of South Park is coming to Gilly’s next Wednesday, Aug 26. (8pm) If you aren’t familiar with Buckwheat Zydeco, aka Stanley Dural Jr. you are in for a treat. Nominated for four Grammys, Buck and the band put on a show that guarantees you’ll be jumping out of you seat and dancing.

Back in 1995 or so, I went to hear him at Bogart’s in Cincinnati, just as we were embarking on doing the video “South Park Soliloquy” for the neighborhood as a marketing piece. It seemed to me that if Buckwheat could make people get up and dance, he’d energize potential home buyers as well. After the show, I got back to the dressing room and asked if he’d be interested in letting a neighborhood use his music for the soundtrack. He gave me the number to his manager and off I went.

We worked a deal, if The Next Wave would do Buck’s website (and parts of it still exist today) – they’d let us use songs that Buck wrote and owned the rights to. However, we’d still have to clear this with the record labels. The day before the debut, we got our final letter in granting rights- and the video was a huge success.

We also worked on the poster and postcards you see at right- which was later used as the basis for a cover to a later album.

The last few times Buckwheat has come to town, at the Fraze and Canal Street Tavern, I could always count on seeing a whole bunch of South Parkians dancing their butts off. Most of them, all fell in love with the music about the same time they fell in love with the neighborhood, and that’s why Buckwheat Zydeco will continue on as our patron saint of good times.

Hope to see you there. Advance tickets are available at Gem City Records- so get them while they’re hot.

While everyone seems excited about getting Federal Stimulus dollars, spending them on existing infrastructure doesn’t really stimulate much for very long. Real change means changing the infrastructure to make Dayton a more desirable place to live.

The idea of the free bike isn’t new, and it’s not out of reach. It’s working in Paris, and it’s being rolled out in small communities across the country and a few big ones. To appease the old school thinkers in Dayton- remember, the Wright Brothers were bicycle builders first.

Watch this video about the B Cycle, a big idea from Crispin Porter + Bogusky (an ad agency- with visionary leadership)

Click here to view the embedded video.

The video doesn’t get into the specifics – so I found this description from Time Magazine that explains it a bit better:

To borrow a SmartBike, users have to be over 18 and have a credit card. An annual fee of $40 lets riders tool around on a three-speed bike as often as they like for up to three hours at a time. Better be punctual: your second tardy return gets you booted from the system. The program keeps track of the bikes via tiny rfid chips, the same tamper-proof radio-frequency devices used to monitor everything from clothing inventories to office ID badges. Riders use a swipe card to unlock the bikes, and if they fail to return them–or if the bikes are stolen on their watch–they’ll be out $200. SmartBikes will soon be outfitted with independent wire locks so that cyclists can make pit stops wherever they want. No need to worry, though, about wheels getting pilfered. They’re not quick release and are too small for regular bike frames.

via Bike-Sharing Gets Smart – TIME.

The B Cycle site where the video came from, provides a really great way of seeing the impact of the B Cycle program- but, unfortunately, you can’t copy and paste the benefits elsewhere. If all of my readers would go to the site- and plug in their zip code, pick Dayton, I’m sure we’d be at the top of the list really quickly: http://bcycle.com/b_effect/

Sure, we could pave a few roads–or buy 2,000 bikes and 200 stations. Years from now, the roads will be in worse shape–but with the bikes–you’ll be in better shape. With our system of bike ways–and talk of complete streets, I think this is a better stimulus to our economy by far.

Help out- click on that last link.