There’s a few reasons you’ve not heard from me as often, and it’s not because there’s a lack of things to talk about. I’ve been swamped with work, life and a fork in the road. But, this post is to share some insight on the upcoming election this Tuesday, November 7, 2023.

First off- disclaimers: I’ve done work or printing through my business The Next Wave, for the following candidates: Bryan Suddith for Kettering Council, Bob Matthews for Miami Township Fiscal Officer, Valerie Duncan for Dayton City Commission, Norman Scearce, Mary McDonald, Denise Moore, all for the Trotwood council. Some are Dems, some are Republicans, but none are endorsed by the Montgomery County Democratic Friends and Family Party.

If I’d been doing work for them, I’d have made a fortune just on mailers for Matt Shaw and Chris Joseph (interchangeable names intentional). The number of mailers and money being spent to re-elect these two should tell you that the Culture of Corruption is still alive in Dayton, and powerful people are putting money into their campaign (more on that AFTER the election) to keep the gears going for the church of demolition worshippers. We’ll find an excuse to tear down anything so we can funnel money into the hands of demolition contractors or provide work for construction companies.

In the Dayton City Commission race, I can’t vote for the corrupt, or a carpet bagger with a questionable past. That leaves me with only voting for Valerie Duncan. If everyone does this, it breaks the stranglehold of the party on the commission and it gives us 3 independent voices on the commission. While Valerie may not come across as the brightest bulb in the box, there is no question about her motivation and her desire to represent the people, not the contractors/demolishers. Valerie drives me batty, but has a heart of gold. She’s raised her niece and a friend of the family into fine young ladies- and you can tell she has a good moral compass.

The only vote for one person, or “Plonking” is so you don’t cancel your one votes effectiveness at pushing her above the threshold of the other candidate.

On the Dayton School Board, we’re left with 4 choices for 3 seats. And, while electing Ken Hayes is a no brainer, he also has his idiosyncrasies in his approach to campaigning. He doesn’t believe in doing anything the conventional way. So you won’t have seen signs, or flyers or much more than his blog. He’s got a PhD in English and teaches at Central State. He’s run before as a write in. He is everything we’d hoped Dr. Gabriella Pickett was supposed to be, but wasn’t. He’s an easy vote yes. And, he doesn’t push the PhD and want to be called Dr. Hayes- which scores bonus points with me.

William Bailey is the only candidate who said that a prior felony should disqualify a candidate from being a candidate at the NAACP candidate forum. The reason the question was even asked was probably caused by one of his opponents (coming up next). While he’s another one who likes to call himself “Dr.” – he has a divinity degree, I’ll give him a hall pass, mostly because I have to vote for someone else. He seems to have an idea of what needs to happen in the district in terms of discipline and interpersonal relations on the board- and should be a good replacement for Dion Sampson.

While I like Will Smith, and voted for him with high hopes, he’s disappointed me more times than I can count- never calling Lolli out for her incompetence. He was there through multiple votes to keep her- and for that alone, he shouldn’t ever be allowed back on the dais. He was part of “Hoodie Gate” where they blew $68K without going through proper channels. The rap, where he’s talking about smoking blunts, was unfortunate. But there’s one more thing- the simmering accusations by Jocelyn Rhynard of sexual improprieties by Smith to her, have been an elephant in the room for over a year. While no lawsuit has been filed- I have good reason to believe Rhynard. The likelihood of Smith losing is slim and none- and Slim’s out of town, but I can’t vote for him.

The last candidate is Eric Walker. Which isn’t his full name. Considering other candidates have had to battle the BOE to use a different name on the ballot, Walker, who’s voting name is Eric Dion Walker Mabry, has a history that hasn’t made the paper (again).

While running for school board, he’s been arrested for driving under suspension. Never mind the other cases:

DUS VIOLATION OF SUSPENSION

Location MONTGOMERY COUNTY, OH

Court Date 05/17/2023

Court Case Number 23TRD00892

Court Case Description COURT CODE: 5720

NO DRIVERS LICENSE

Location MONTGOMERY COUNTY, OH

Court Date 05/17/2023

Court Case Number 23TRD00892

Court Case Description COURT CODE: 5720

RIGHT OF WAY

Location MONTGOMERY COUNTY, OH

Court Date 05/17/2023

Court Case Number 23TRD00892

Court Case Description COURT CODE: 5720

TINTED GLASS, OBSCURED VISION

Location MONTGOMERY COUNTY, OH

Court Date 05/17/2023

Court Case Number 23TRD00892

Court Case Description COURT CODE: 5720

SPDNG OVER 35MPH IN SCHOOL ZN

Location MONTGOMERY COUNTY, OH

Court Date 06/21/2022

Court Case Number 22TRD01222

Court Case Description COURT CODE: 5720

Court Disposition GUILTY

Court Plea GUILTY

STOP SIGN VIOLATION

Location MONTGOMERY COUNTY, OH

Court Date 11/02/2020

Court Case Number 20TRD05888

Court Case Description COURT CODE: 5720

Court Disposition GUILTY

Court Offense STOP SIGN VIOLATION

Court Plea GUILTY

Court Fines $144

THEFT BY DECEPTION

Location GREENE COUNTY, OH

Date of Offense 01/29/2019

Court Case Number 19CRB00587

Court Disposition NOT AVAILABLE IJ REPORT Status:CLOSED

Court Statute 2913.02A3

Name on record ERIC DION WALKER-MABRY

THEFT BY DECEPTION

Location GREENE COUNTY, OH

Date of Offense 01/29/2019

Court Case Number 19CRB00587

Court Disposition NOT GUILTY AJ REPORT Status:CLOSED

Court Offense THEFT BY DECEPTION

Court Statute 2913.02A3

Background check through beenverified.com

I can’t verify the Greene County case- or find reference to it, but, this is a guy who speeds in school zones, drives without a license, and thinks he exhibits better judgement than a kindergartner. We already have children on the school board- and although I’ve always had pleasant experiences with Mr. Walker- this is the last person I want on the board.

I’m voting for just Hayes and Bailey and urge you to do the same.

I have no business telling the people in Trotwood on who to vote for, since it won’t affect me one iota. However, way way back, when I was hired to help an out of town investor try to save the Salem Mall, I ran up against Mike Lucking and Rhonda Finley, who were working behind the scenes to make sure that the investor would fail so some demolition company could make a small fortune tearing it down. I wouldn’t vote for Rhonda Finley for dog catcher- even though I get along with her too (up until I press publish on this post). Seeing as the sides have split, and the Monarchy of Montgomery County endorsed Finley and Page, that should be enough for every Trotwood voter to know that McDonald, Moore and Scearce are their best choices. You really need to watch the video of the Montgomery County Dems just trash McDonald and Moore to fully understand how crooked the party is.

On Issue 1 and Issue 2 vote yes. There is no confusion about what Issue 1 is. It’s whether a bunch of White Male Republicans get to tell women and doctors how to deal with personal medical issues. No exceptions for rape, incest or even when the life of a woman is at risk. If we want to go backwards to back alley abortions pre-Roe, anything but a yes vote is turning back the clock and endangering women.

As to recreational marijuana- vote yes. There has been illegal recreational marijuana as long as I’ve been alive and I’m old. The fact republicans are against this giant tax generator is odd- they always like sin taxes, and even stupid taxes like the $200 a year electric car tax. The amount of money this will generate for the state is huge, the money saved on arresting folks (mostly of color) for pot charges will be huge, and the only real problem we’ll have is more judgement impaired drivers on the roads with no way to blame pot for their bad driving (cell phones are a bigger problem- but, I personally don’t think Cheech and Chong were better drivers when high).

As to all the local tax levies, school levies and other stuff- sorry people. Because we don’t believe in regional uni-gov, we’re going to be screwed for years to come with some of the highest effective tax rates in the State of Ohio.

The cruel reality is, we could get rid of all these local banana republics like Jefferson Township, Trotwood, Moraine, etc really quickly if we had one county wide government that is run more like Kettering. We don’t need 18 police chiefs, or 30 mayors/administrators/city managers etc. Our population hasn’t grown or shrunk considerably in Montgomery County for the last 50 years. We just keep re-arranging the deck chairs, but that’s a whole other story and why Reconstructing Dayton exists.

Please vote this Tuesday. Even if you don’t agree with me.