For years I’ve been accused of sending out bizarre snail mail- often photocopied, cut and pasted, taped together. Sometimes it has my return address, sometimes it has someone else’s- and I would get it, too.

I’ve had letters written back to me from Mayor McLin, Maureen Pero- thanking me curtly for my “notes”- for a long time, it severely damaged my reputation. I wrote about it on the site to let people know it wasn’t from me back in January of 2007, but the mail had been going out for years. In September of 2007 I posted offering a reward- and included a profile of the person-

• Male, Age 55-65
• Lives in Oakwood now.
• Comes from money (or has it now)
• Gets the NYT on Sunday.
• Has some reason to travel to Oregon (some clippings from the Oregonian).
• Went to Fairview High School
• Gets the Dayton Jewish Observer, but may not be Jewish.
• Has been to Australia.
• Does business in Cincinnati (or travels there frequently)
• Makes the rounds of the better restaurants (Carver’s, Pine Club, Oakwood Club, Madison’s)
• Has a photo copier
• Has juvenile handwriting

I’d called the postal inspectors, the Dayton Police Department and the Oakwood Police Department. No help. I’d talked to the F.B.I. – no help. I got an anonymous tip one day pointing out someone – but the lead didn’t seem to pan out. About three months ago, someone with more juice than me got the police department interested and the word is that they brought someone in on Monday. He admitted he was behind the mail- and said he’d stop.

The person fits my profile pretty well- and some of you may know him:

As a teenager, Sidney Schultz had no intention of staying in Dayton and running the family business. The plan was to become an English professor.

Yet here he is, closing down General Surplus Outfitters later this month after 60 years in business downtown at Third and Patterson.

via News summary | Dayton Daily News.

While I’m relieved that this nutcase has been caught, it doesn’t undo the years of damage he’s done to my reputation. The next question is if the prosecutor will press charges, or if it will be up to those of us who’ve been disparaged.

I hope to get the full details from the Dayton Police tomorrow.

And, if any lawyer is interested in taking this case, please let me know. Payback is going to be expensive for Mr. Schultz.

The rule is, it takes three votes to pass a resolution. It also, is supposed to take three votes to make a decision to settle a lawsuit, purchase real estate or all those other things the Dayton City Commission has purview over.

Apparently- that’s all horse hockey.

I did a FOIA (Freedom Of Information Act) request of Tom Biedenharn to see the paperwork that granted former City Manager Rashad Young a retroactive raise.

Here is his response, which, due to the bad resolution of the attached PDF- has to make the case:

The Mayor has traditionally been the only person to actually sign paperwork relating to compensation items for the City Manager.  This was true even before Mayor McLin’s tenure.  So in response to your request, attached is the form Mayor McLin signed regarding the step equivalent payment that Rashad received along with other employees.  Her signature is in the “City Manager” block on the attached form. Rashad’s step equivalent was retro to January 1st because that is his anniversary date.

I’m not even changing the name of the PDF that he sent: DOC001.pdf DOC001

The next question is what else has been done- single-handedly- and what should happen?

I believe the Mayor acted illegally in this matter. If any other commissioners knew, they also acted illegally. The head of HR should also be questioned, for not requiring 3 signatures- as should someone in payroll.

Because the raise was not given by three votes, it is null and void, and should be collected from Mr. Young. Without showing a signed resolution with three signatures, heads should roll.

Maybe this kind of action explains why the Mayor is able to raise over a hundred-thousand dollars for her campaign kitty- because she has the ability, to singlehandedly hand out raises and who knows what else.

I’m asking all you smart people out there- isn’t this the job of the County Prosecutor, Mathias Heck- to investigate and prosecute other politicians for criminal acts. Why is it my job to do all the investigations around here?

I’m throwing this out for discussion- because it’s an alternative to explore in Dayton. I’m also bringing this up because I’ve had to listen to Mayor McLin talk about giving derelict homes to young college graduates to rehab- which in my opinion is an unrealistic and unnecessary “solution” if you think about it.

One thing to clarify: foreclosed homes are only valuable for a short time after the last residents leave. The moment these homes stand vacant, entropy steps in (or thieves) and the homes go from being habitable to a rehab project. The difference is huge.

In Atlanta they’ve got an incentive plan for foreclosed homes:

The foreclosure crisis is creating an investment opportunity for police officers and other emergency personnel who want to live and work in DeKalb County.

Federal stimulus funds will be used to help county personnel buy foreclosed homes in DeKalb County.

AJC file Federal stimulus funds will be used to help county personnel buy foreclosed homes in DeKalb County.

DeKalb CEO Burrell Ellis announced a new program Monday that will use federal stimulus funds to help county personnel buy foreclosed homes in DeKalb.

The program has earmarked $1.5 million for police officers and another $1 million for firefighters, sheriff’s deputies and other sworn “first responders.” It will provide a subsidy of $14,150 for those who stay in a home at least five years and $25,000 for those who remain a decade. It aims to stabilize neighborhoods dragged down by foreclosures while also assisting with the recruitment and retention of officers. As of August, there were 7,000 foreclosed homes in DeKalb County, said Chris Morris, the county director of Human and Community Development.

via DeKalb police to get subsidy to buy homes  | ajc.com.

(Note they call their “County Administrator” the CEO. Hmmm, maybe we’d get our pecking order right here if we switched terminology?)

The assumption that safety force personnel would want to live in areas in need of stabilization is a big one. In Dayton, we see a majority of our safety forces living in one area- Forest Ridge/Quail Hollow which is in Dayton, but part of the Huber Heights School district.

Secondly, it assumes that safety force personnel like to rehab homes. This is the fundamental flaw in Rhine McLin’s young graduate plan- not everyone can rehab homes, nor do you want them doing it. I happen to have the handy gene that skipped my father. I can frame, hang and finish drywall, and do a bit of finish carpentry, roof, paint, and do a little electrical work. That’s not the norm these days.  If you can’t do the work yourself, some of these homes will never be a good economic proposition. That’s why we have to work on the value of neighborhoods more than on homes. The value of the community has more to do with the value of a home than the value of the home. Need proof- look at some of the Dayton View mansions- and compare purchase prices to bungalows in Belmont.

What do you think of Atlanta’s idea? I’d love to hear from some of Dayton’s safety personnel.

I’d rather give them a guarantee of no increase in property tax valuation for as long as they live in the home as an incentive. The jump in valuation on my office once the abatement came off was a shock to me- with the tax rate 40% more than my home across the street that is bigger, with a garage and a bigger lot. Talk about a way to discourage fixing up things.

The real issue in all of this “reinvestment” is that the value of our city isn’t based on the value of the bricks and mortar, but the value of our people and their values. If we put people first- the rest will follow.

The Mayor, who makes around $40k a year for her part-time position, has an “Executive assistant to the City Commission” whom she sends out to get her mail at the vacant building.

Kerry Gray got two promotions this year. One on Jan. 5, 2009, and another on Jan. 26, now with a salary of $89,294.40. He makes double what the Mayor makes and she has him running errands for her.

They pay the Secretary to the executive assistant, Erin Jefferies, $40,102.40 and there is at least one more legislative aide, Bobbi Dillon, making $41,870.

I understand that this country has CEO’s making more than the President, and that the Governor makes about the same as what we pay the city manager, but, at least all these people have full-time positions.

If the Mayor would do her job properly, as a member of a Board of Directors, instead of trying to be the City Manager, we would have more money to pay for enforcing laws (the number one priority established by the Priority Boards last year- a test question that none of the incumbents knew the answer to last night).

Apparently while heading into a $17 million hole, a whole bunch of middle management, salaried employees got “step” increases in their paychecks while the city was crying poor to the unions.

Is this an example of the “tight financial” controls that “the team” touts from its secret monthly meeting? They disguised the raises as “step increases” to hide the facts from the people.

But then again, we’d never have known about the overpaid errand boy, except for a porcelain pig in a blanket.

Population loss in the McLin/Williams Era

I can write the plan, I can write more than 1,000 posts on this site, I can talk about all the little things we could do- and even some of the big things, but there is no greater priority than solving this problem:

From 2001 to 2008, Dayton’s population declined by nearly 10,000 — from 163,962 residents to 154,200.

via Pay freeze, layoffs possible for city workers.

My whole quest for public office began in 1986 when as a new homeowner in a seemingly decrepit part of town, I went to city hall to find out how we could have a “Historic District” with special laws- with no signs and no covenants in the deeds?

It was like talking to a wall. Instead of thanking me for buying a home that had been on the market for 2 years- losing a third of its asking price, and moving out a clan of tenants who did wonderful things like pooping in a pizza box and locking it in the closet- I was ignored and prosecuted for fixing it up (putting on the wrong style of garage door). I tried to tell the commission then that this wasn’t the way you treat the customer, or you won’t have customers.

In the last 7 years- roughly, the time that Rhine McLin and Joey Williams have been on the City Commission, Dayton has lost about 9,000 taxpaying residents, and countless more taxpaying employees.

This is, to quote old Ford advertising “Job 1″- to make Dayton a place where people want to live and work. This should be the primary, if not the only measure of our leadership- net increases in residents, jobs and tax base.

My formula is simple: Hire the best City Manager/CEO we can afford, set goals and objectives, measure performance, adjust course as necessary. It is the job as a commission to guide and advise, hire and fire the City Manager and not much else. He or she, should be the clear captain of the ship. It’s not about the commission, the mayor- it’s about the Captain and his crew. When it comes to statements about safety- I want to have Chief Biehl at the microphone, not Gary Leitzell or Rhine McLin. When it comes to marketing our community, I want the City Manager and the heads of the Chamber of Commerce, the Dayton Development Coalition, Citywide Development etc.

You notice I didn’t say the “city head of economic development?” That’s because I don’t believe that “economic development” is done as a separate function of government anymore than service is a separate part of running a restaurant. Everything the city does- has to be the greatest good for the greatest number. We have to strive to use what we have, to create the most livable, safe, comfortable, friendly city we can.

When we do that right, people will move back, jobs will follow and the transformation will begin.

I hope to be a part of the City Commission that puts these principles into practice.

Sounds like a pretty simple question, “who do you want to run Dayton?” And most of you think this is a question of who you’ll vote for (or for those of you in the ‘burbs but own property or work in Dayton- who will the residents choose).

But, it’s not about elections, not by a long shot. Rhine McLin used to say she preferred the term “elected representative” to “politician”- and I agree with her, but it’s still not a question of who you want to run Dayton.

Maybe the question should be, who is running Dayton now? Who has been running it for a long time?

If you think it’s been the people who’ve been elected- you are kidding yourself. If you think it’s been the City Manager- the person tasked by the Charter with the job- you are kidding yourself. The people running Dayton have been the people with the money, the people who decide who gets to represent the people with the money, and that’s about it.

When I first ran against Mayor Richard Clay Dixon I had no idea that I was running against much more than a former shop teacher. I was running against the unions, the political parties, the Dayton Business Committee and the developers. When I asked how Dixon had raised $28,000, maybe from someone who wanted to build a landfill on the West side- I hit a nerve.

I’ve been hitting nerves ever since. Like the letter I got the other day about my “spray painting” my message on the sidewalk- outside a non-profit, and how they demanded I clean it off, because it would hurt their 501-c3 (non-profit) status. Or the call about the chalk around the park where we had the play in South Park.

However, if it’s the “Dayton Originals” campaign done by the city- it’s ok. I even got chastised as mean for pointing out that Rhine McLin listed a dead person on her campaign finance report, as if reporting facts is now somehow wrong.

I’m the guy people love to hate. I get compared to Abner Orick, who had a combative style on the Commission, just because I ask questions, like- who do you want running Dayton?

The chalk is guerrilla marketing. Making a very little bit of money go a long way. Yes, you are supposed to notice it. Should it make you mad, or curious? Would it be better if I accepted big checks from special interest groups and bought yard signs, billboards, TV spots,  and did robo-calls like everyone else? Or had the unions distribute my literature to curry future favor- instead of just based on who is the right person for the job?

P.T. Barnum used to think that all press is good press- as long as they spell the name right. I believe that today, it’s more about creating an emotional response to cut through the clutter of the millions of messages. Either way – means to an end, I need name recognition, and just writing online isn’t enough. Look at most campaign literature, and then ask what it tells you? Born in Dayton, wife and 2 kids, where they went to school, endorsed by? I was laughed at for printing tabloid sized literature the first two times I ran for office.

This post is longer than what most candidates publish on their entire site.

Who do you want running Dayton? An automaton who spouts what the people who paid his way into office, who is careful to never step on any toes? A bold leader who tries new things and looks at failure as a learning experience? Someone who communicates what they are thinking- and asks for your input?

The reality is- the person leading Dayton, by charter, should be the City Manager, who works for the City Commission. It takes three votes to pass any legislation. I’m running for one seat. Will it kill Dayton to have one person who isn’t owned by any special interest groups, political parties, developers? One who doesn’t take $5,500 from a demolition contractor in Westerville?

Dayton’s leaders  priorities should be the people, not the special interest groups, or people with the bank rolls.

You get to decide November 3rd. Or, they do.

You pay taxes for police protection, but are told, we can’t afford more police officers during a rash of crime.

You pay taxes for street maintenance, yet, streets go unpaved because asphalt is expensive.

You pay taxes on your home, while other homes sit vacant, with uncollected tax bills – and fall into disrepair, dragging down your property value and wonder how it’s all going to turn around?

Well the Dayton City Commission thinks that by investing your money in church music and 15 “new full-time jobs” – they are being good stewards of your money:

The Dayton City Commission, on Wednesday, Sept. 16, awarded a $240,000 development fund grant to the Lorenz Corporation, 501 E. Third Street.

Founded in 1890, Lorenz is a publisher of religious and educational print music in the United States.

The company entered the general education market in 2008, expanding operations in its downtown Dayton headquarters.

Lorenz is investing $1.76 million in the expansion project, which will enable the company to create 15 new fulltime jobs and maintain 69 positions. The company or an affiliate must maintain the total of 84 full-time, permanent positions in the city though Dec. 31, 2014.

via Lorenz Corp. receives $240,000 development fund grant.

Sure, $240,000 may only pay 4 cops for a year, but, if we want to see people feeling that investing in Dayton is a safe investment- being able to say we have added 4 cops to the streets sounds better than we have a company with 15 more jobs making sheet music.

With our lousy track record of enforcing these “agreements”- one need to look at the money handed over to Enterprise Information Management.

From a reliable source:

EIM made a great noise about moving their headquarters from Rosslyn VA to Dayton and how they intended to hire 120 or so software developers.  The city and the State both chipped in some tax incentives and some money for training.

Needles to say, the 120 jobs never materialized,  in fact, most of the recent hiring has occured in Colorado Springs and EIM is in fact off-shoring work to Foxconn in Taiwan (yes, the company where the worked allegedly jumped out of his apartment window to his death after losing an iPhone prototype).  Foxconn does a lot of work in mainland China and EIM has contracts with the US Army and Air Force.

Bruce Lyman, the CEO of EIM was implicated but never indicted in dealings with ex-Congressman William Jefferson - the money in the freezer guy.  In fact the main government witness against Mr. Jefferson in his recent trial was Mr Lyman’s partner in EIM until she too became disgusted with the business practices and started wearing a wire for the government.

No local media has picked up or followed up on EIM- or called into question the practices of giving tax dollars to private companies in exchange for empty promises. At least if we’re paying for more cops- we know that they will actually show up and go to work.

It’s time to end this kind of corporate welfare- not just locally, but nationally. Unfortunately, as long as we continue to have “the best politicians money can buy”- like Mayor McLin and Commissioner Nan Whaley (at least $15,500 in “donations” to their campaigns by Westerville demolition contractor Kitt Cooper) we’ll not see an end to this.

If you believe we need independent, un-biased, honest leadership in Dayton, I ask that you consider donating $25 right now to my campaign.

Seems like a small price to pay to stop the handing over of almost a quarter-million of your money doesn’t it?

One has to wonder why this isn’t law already?

Columbus- A powerful Republican state lawmaker wants to stop the wink-and-a-nudge practice of county officials soliciting campaign contributions from their employees.

House Minority Leader Bill Batchelder, a Medina Republican, will introduce a measure today that would ban all county elected officials from receiving contributions from employees.

via Bill to bar officials’ soliciting of workers for campaign gifts – Cleveland.com.

To go along with it- I still think it should be illegal for the auditor to slap his name on every gas pump, scale etc- at taxpayer expense. Free political name recognition with no chance for equal time. I’ve also questioned why taxpayers have to pay to change the signs in every rest area that have pictures of our Governor etc.

But, even closer to the local political power structure- let’s talk about patronage jobs. We’re supposed to have some sort of civil service exams. Yet, the county building is full of “friends” of elected officials.

This is where Dayton City Commissioners Matt Joseph and Nan Whaley got their start. You work hard on my campaign, you get a nice job, until we can hook you up with a seat of your own.

The funny thing is, you can’t take out a petition to run for the Dayton City Commission without resigning your job, but you can work in the County building up until the day you’re sworn in.

At some point, we need to separate the professionals from the politicians.

At least, now maybe soon, the boss can’t be leaning on government workers for political payoffs or support.

I know one more reason Rashad Young went to Greensboro- so he wouldn’t have to pick up  Mayor McLin’s lunch tab at least once a week (And one more note- to servers in Greensboro, word is he’s a lousy tipper). Don’t kid yourself, this is how things have always been done in Dayton.

Maybe with new State legislation we can see a reduction in this tomfoolery.

Albert Einstein said that the definition of insanity was doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. The AFL-CIO did just that- endorsing the incumbents instead of the challengers- or not endorsing at all.

The Dayton Miami Valley AFL-CIO Regional Labor Council has endorsed Rhine McLin for a third term as Dayton mayor over her opponent, Gary Leitzell.

Democrat incumbents Nan Whaley and Joey Williams also received the union’s support of their bids for re-election to the Dayton City Commission. Their challenger, neighborhood activist and blogger, David Esrati, was not endorsed.

“It’s no secret that we have had problems with the city commission and the mayor, but those have been resolved,” Wesley Wells, executive director of the labor council, said.

via McLin wins AFL-CIO endorsement for mayor.

The comments on the Dayton Daily News site are almost all negative, with quite a bit of union bashing- as well as McLin bashing.

What this means is that McLin and her shadow, Nan, have an army of volunteers to distribute their literature, paid for by out of town landfill/demolition contractors. What it means for Williams is he gets to tag along for the ride. What it means for Gary Leitzell and me- we need volunteers.

Lots of them. There is no doubt that the people of Dayton are frustrated with the lack of leadership and direction. However, just getting them to the polls in these off-year elections can be tough.

Are you willing to volunteer? To donate?

Or are you going to sit around and let nature take its course?

My new donation page is ready for testing

http://electesrati.com/civicrm/contribute/transact?reset=1&id=5

Before long, it may be illegal to have an opinion, at least one that runs contrary to our Government’s when it comes to deciding what is right for the common good. No, I’m not talking about reforming health insurance, but on the right to protect your property.

Right now, Mayor McLin and Nan Whaley, have no problems spending Federal tax dollars in Dayton to tear down everything in sight. They had no problem stepping in for Midland-Atlantic to help first declare a neighborhood blighted- and then try to force sales- only to see the developer walk. So much for the new Wayne Avenue Kroger.

Eminent domain is a dangerous tool in the wrong hands, and now, even writing a book about the questionable practices has led to lawsuits claiming defamation of character and asking the end of publication of a book.

I highly recommend reading all of this George Will article- that begins like this:

It began with the proliferation of campus “speech codes” ostensibly designed to promote civility but frequently used to enforce political conformity. The new censorship accelerated with the McCain-Feingold legislation that licenses government regulation of the quantity, timing and content of speech in political campaigns.

Now the attack on First Amendment speech protections has taken an audacious new turn, illustrated by a case being pondered by a Texas judge. He is being asked to collaborate in the suppression of a book, and even of expressions of approval of the book.

via George F. Will – Bulldozing the First Amendment – washingtonpost.com.

The book is “Bulldozed: ‘Kelo,’ Eminent Domain and the American Lust for Land.” by Carla Main, and deals primarily with what happened in 2000 in New London, Connecticut, where the city condemned middle-class homes so that a developer would come in and build something that paid more taxes. In 2005, the Supreme Court decided 5-4 that is was OK in Kelo v. City of New London.

If you believe in free markets, eminent domain is a very scary market force.

If you believe in free speech, you already know that there is a price associated with it. If this developer has his way against the author and publisher- we’re all in trouble.

And, I’m still wondering how much the corner of Wayne and Wyoming is really going to end up costing the taxpayers in Dayton- after the commission’s ill-planned attempt to venture where it shouldn’t have.

Jeffrey at Daytonology made a nice comparison of me to Harvey Milk. I’m glad someone sees the similarities.

Like Harvey Milk David Esrati has run multiple times for office. In the case of Harvey Milk, though, the election law was changed in San Francisco to bring back ward elections, meaning Harvey Milk finally won an election. If there would be a similar change in Dayton we could well see David Esrati win an election, too. As it stands, the current election law in Dayton mandates at-large elections, diluting the impact of neighborhood activists and grass roots politics, as it did in San Francisco.

And Harvey Milk finally ended up with the endorsment of one of San Fransciscos two major daily newspapers.

Milk did give a glimpse of the dynamics of power in a system of ward elections via the Dan White/Harvey Milk relationship. One can see how votes and issues work differently, as neighborhood interests become more important and have to be balanced against city interests. It’s messy and requires more negotiation and political skill. But is this perhaps preferable to a system that de-emphasises the importance of the neighborhood and community in favor of a more abstract board of directors concept designed to diffuse and limit the citizens voice?

via Daytonology: Milk, Esrati, and Urban Politics.

I still believe in grassroots independent political thought. However, in my past runs for office, I’ve done few of the “traditional” things that it takes to get elected. It was only in my fourth run that I accepted campaign money, and I’ve never had a campaign manager. No matter the strength of your ideas, in local politics, the strength of your organization is what wins elections. It’s why the Montgomery County Democrats can run people without ideas, experience, or as it turns out aptitude (Nan Whaley, Matt Joseph, never mind old blowhards like Dick Zimmer, or failures like Bootsie Neal who never introduced anything meaningful in 3 terms).

Dean Lovelace pushed hard for districts in Dayton, before I helped him beat Judy Orick and Mary Sue Kessler by siphoning just enough votes off either established name in a special election to replace Mark Henry who resigned mid term. After getting elected, you never heard another word from Lovelace on the issue.

I believe our main problem with Dayton government besides small-minded pettiness and the elected politicians’ desire to constantly usurp the city manager’s role (he’s the CEO, not the Mayor) is that we haven’t had a voice that understands the City Manager form of Government. The commission jobs are part-time for a reason- and we need to find more people who understand that.

The reason I got involved in politics in the first place, was not one of ego, or an aspiration of a career in politics- but purely out of frustration. In fact, I believe that frustration is the catalyst for change in all things- and it seems that the people of Dayton just move out to the suburbs instead of trying to fight the machine. Even Mike Turner bailed from Dayton the moment it no longer served him. So much for the uber urbanist cred he tries to wear like a cheap suit.

This coming election, with our city in dire financial straits, and with no clear goals in sight, it’s time for a change. I’ll need a lot of help. The question is whether the people of Dayton are ready. We don’t have districts like San Francisco has, and the party will be backing Nan Whaley, Joey Williams and Mayor McLin.

It will also be a cold day in hell before the Dayton Daily News endorses me. Hell, if they would read my site, they wouldn’t get scooped by 5 days on a no-bid contract with the DPS.

Maybe I need to change my sexual orientation to get elected? (note: it’s not likely)

So, I decided to throw the new logo up on the masthead- since I think I qualify.

Reading the DDN blog- there are a bunch of spineless (they don’t post with their whole names- for fear of something) haters. Very little intelligent thought there- but, what do you expect from people who read a paper written for third graders.

With so much hatred for “Mayor McHat” as Mayor McLin seems to be called – you’d wonder who elected her?

For all the complaining about our elected leaders- very few are willing to step up and have a plan. I’ve done it at least 6 times and been spanked. Are we our own worst enemies? Are we capable of electing someone who is a “Dayton Original” and has an original thought?

I’m debating running for Commission next year- should I do it? What would it be like to have a blogging commissioner? Are my ideas worth your support?

The incumbents are Joey Williams and Nan Whaley. Who should I beat out if it’s only a three way race? Or will I be coming in fourth again?

Thoughts?