Let’s make 2026 great again

It is a new year. Last year was a beast for me, with so much time invested trying to remove Mike Foley from his position as Clerk of Courts. There is no payback in Ohio for citizens filing pro se to enforce the law. Only if I had hired an attorney, paid the bill, and won would reimbursement even be possible.

This blog is a labor of love, a vent mechanism for frustration, and an attempt to make people think. It helps keep me sane in an insane world.

And while Donald Trump has brought massive disruption to the status quo, throwing the economy into chaos and destroying any remaining semblance of sanity or common sense, we have not yet seen the beginning of World War III or the complete collapse of the dollar, though both remain real possibilities. We did see my friend and client Shenise Turner Sloss win the mayoralty of Dayton despite insane fundraising disparities as a high point, and the passing of my friend and client Karen Wick as a low.

Random Thoughts for 2026

If there is one thing that should be screamingly obvious by now, it is that our fragmented web of political jurisdictions is not serving us well.

Need proof? Look at the constant disruption and absurd happenings in New Lebanon, a jurisdiction that serves no meaningful purpose other than to cost taxpayers money. The reality is that the entire state needs a rewrite of what can and cannot exist. County lines, forms of government, and legacy structures are costing us a fortune. This year, Ohioans may vote to abolish property taxes as a reaction to this dysfunction, only to make things worse instead of fixing the underlying problems.

Recent moves by the state legislature to force the dissolution of micro villages and consolidate minor jurisdictions through HB 331 and HB 574 are barely a drop in the bucket. This approach fails to address the massive duplication of services and the staggering amount of bureaucratic and political overhead.

The biggest issue no one wants to talk about is that county lines no longer make sense after decades of sprawl. We now have urban townships like Miami Township that are the size of cities but operate under governmental structures designed for rural farmland.

The midterm elections may be the most unpredictable in modern history. Political pundits will likely be wrong about both the issues and the outcomes. Despite record spending, voters fed up with higher taxes, rising costs, and a shrinking public safety net may trigger a political reckoning when the winners take office in 2027. No amount of gerrymandering will change the fact that this will be a referendum on the future of the country.

My prediction is simple. The party that understands that positive visions sell better than scare tactics will win. And yes, the word of the year will be affordability.

Mini Stories to Watch

My Ohio Supreme Court appeal was accepted, and now I must file a merit brief. More work. No pay. My argument is straightforward. Either the Ohio Constitution is the foundation of law, or it is not. Choose.

I have been told by experienced lawyers that no matter what I argue, it will not matter. I refuse to be a pessimist. Time will tell.

On December 30, 2025, attorney Mike Wright filed suit in Common Pleas Court on behalf of Khalid Mustafa against Montgomery County jail staff who brutally beat him on January 5, 2025. Wright previously secured a seven million dollar settlement in the killing of Christian Black in the jail, yet the Sheriff and the State continue to claim no one did anything wrong. Nine of the ten involved jail staff were returned to duty, despite initial investigative findings.

What is most disturbing is how normalized this behavior has become. The only elected official consistently speaking out is County Commissioner Mary McDonald.

Any political jurisdiction that sends people to this jail should be held just as liable as the Sheriff and his staff. It is long past time to place someone trained as a warden, not a cop, in charge of jail operations.

Unlike the killing of Christian Black, a jury will see the beating of Mustafa for what it was. An unjustified act committed under color of law. This case is primed for a jury to do what elected officials will not and put a real financial price on misconduct. If you want an example of how that can force change, look at what nearly ended the viability of Miami Township after the forty five million dollar judgment against it in the Rodger Dean Gillespie case over police misconduct. Bankruptcy is not a solution. Disbanding dysfunctional systems is.

We will also be watching the ballot initiative to end qualified immunity. Qualified immunity shields government employees from being personally sued for violating constitutional rights unless a prior court decision has already ruled nearly the exact same conduct illegal. Ending it in Ohio would finally allow victims to sue under the state constitution and hold both officials and the jurisdictions that employ them financially accountable.

In a state with hundreds of small governments duplicating services, losing that shield could accelerate the collapse or consolidation of dysfunctional jurisdictions faster than any legislation ever could.

Regional Efforts

The Dayton Business Journal ran a story on December 30 that I initially missed because they forgot to ask me to renew my subscription, which I did not. The article focused on my application for PDAC funding to repair the Kettering Recreation Center ice rink.

Kettering does not want to fix it, and frankly, it should not be their responsibility. It is a regional asset and should be handled by a regional authority such as MetroParks.

The DBJ editor claimed I was unreachable, which is simply false. My name is infinitely searchable, and the publication has no problem finding me when compiling its annual Book of Lists. The inconsistency speaks for itself.

I learned about the article only when a hockey player from a different league reached out on LinkedIn offering to help.

This is not a complicated objective. Convince Congressman Mike Turner that the rink is critical for the base, where people come from all over the country, and that it serves a broader regional purpose. Done. Funded.

Local Stupidity Is Still Rampant

I have often wondered why there is not a subscription based automated car wash in the city of Dayton, particularly on the west side. I attempted to reach Flying Ace about locating one on the former Wayne Avenue Kroger site, where Shelly Dickstein wasted five million dollars, and received no response. Instead, we’re getting another drop-out recovery charter school right on the stretch of road where we’ve had multiple pedestrian deaths.

So I was pleased to hear plans for a location at Wilmington and Patterson, until the City Commission backed out at the last minute on New Years Eve.

In a functioning city, this would be the moment for our economic development leadership to propose an alternative site. Are we really supposed to believe there is nowhere else it could go?

One of the first actions this new commission should take is placing signs on every city owned lot, every tax delinquent property, and every rotting structure inviting proposals, offers, and ideas. Or does that process only work for favored developers who participate in pay to play politics?

Additional stupidity was uncovered by my neighbor Joseph Abrahms. The City of Dayton decided that YouTube recordings of public meetings were subject to its document retention policy and deleted or privatized videos going back more than a decade.

There is no justification for this. These are public records. They exist so citizens can learn how decisions were made and to see past officials like Matt Joseph and Chris Shaw say profoundly foolish things. With elections coming in 2027, perhaps some people are feeling nervous.

The Aviation Lie

One persistent myth that continues to annoy me is the claim that Joby Aviation will manufacture electric flying cars for the ultra wealthy in Dayton. So far, all they have done is poach talent from long established Miami Valley companies like Hartzell Propeller and McCauley Propeller Systems.

One day, we may stop allowing politicians and their sycophants to invest public resources in their political benefactors and start demanding investment in things that actually benefit the public, like ice rinks, swimming pools, and plowed streets.

If you read this far, thank you. This work exists only because people still care about accountability at the local level. If you find this information valuable and believe it represents an important local voice, please consider making a donation. Every bit helps.

And to those of you who already donate, I cannot thank you enough.