Montgomery County Democratic Party Chairman Mark Owens, will of course blame Rhine McLin for failing to beat Gary Leitzell with at least 10 times the money and a marquee name. Rhine McLin should be wanting her campaign manager’s rear end in a sling. Her campaign manager? Why of course, the brilliant political mind, our eternally unopposed Dayton Clerk of Courts, the very same Mark Owens.
It will be interesting to see how much they spent with Burges & Burges of Cleveland – her “strategic marketing consultants” (the same people who have the no-bid contract with the Dayton Public Schools for PR [1]).
Whom ever came up with the brilliant idea to send at least 6 mailings with Gary Leitzell’s name all over it, was an idiot. As was whom ever came up with the idea that talking about hard work or hard times was a good tagline for Ms. McLin. People believe ads that are based on truths- and the truth is, no one knew much about Rhine McLin’s accomplishments in the last 8 years of office. They did know that she wore funny glasses and hats, had a legendary father, and wasn’t a strong public speaker. No amount of money or marketing can change that “hard earned” perception.
The last gasp mailing accusing Mayor Elect Gary Leitzell as a racist, was the last thing a city already struggling with the race issue needed. If there is a copy of this out there- I’m still looking for one to post. It contained a lot of the same content that their amateur smear site, no gary no dot com had on it in the last few days- meaning Mark Owens had approved of it.
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[2]
- The front of Rhine McLin’s final smear mail
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[3]
- Last ditch McLin smear campaign back
Thank you to reader Joshua Stults for scanning and sharing these.
The Montgomery County Democratic Party has been anything but democratic for as long as I’ve been involved in local politics (20 years). It may be time for new leadership there as well. This stunning defeat should be a message to Dems throughout the County that the current chairman has no clue. Even Issue 3, which had party support, lost in Montgomery County. It will be interesting to see how much money the casino backers bought that endorsement for.
Public apologies aren’t something Daytonian’s do. If Mark Owens has an ounce of decency in him, the smear site will come down today. For this city to move forward, we need all leaders to step up and act like one, Mark Owens included.
That mailing is just slanderous. In light of this mailing, I enjoyed seeing the distress on McLin’s pathetic mug tonight on the news. She seemed like she was VERY upset and I think it’s hilarious that she had to run and hide for almost 24 hours before going public. I bet she tied one on last night that exceeded my Leitzell election party celebration scotchs mega fold. I also loved the video where she gave her acceptance speech. Wait till all the results are in next time! You made a perfect ass of yourself, exposing just how smug you and your ilk really are. Good riddance ex-mayor (redacted)!
I only pray that someone flushes the toilet over at the democratic party to clear out all the turds floating around the bowl over there. Daniel Klco, Mark Owens being the chief turds in my book. Oh, and Democrapic party….THANKS FOR THE NAME RECOGNITION, WE COULD NOT HAVE WON WITHOUT YOU!! morons.
Sorry if I am a little caustic on this issue..lol
He probably shouldn’t have been on that forum making comments like that. But today is a new day so what are your ideas on how to unite Dayton?
David, copy that website and it’s content, you know, for posterity’s sake.
Well, I’m not from Dayton so the whole east/west thing isn’t the way I see Dayton. With that said, I believe that one way to heal things is to not run campaigns that wrongly accuse someone of being a racist. I don’t agree with what was in those posts, but that’s his personal opinion.
I’ve worked with Gary at a neighborhood cleanup, like the ones he does in Walnut Hills, at Western Manor apartments. This was the first time I met Gary and I spent some time observing him. First, he interacted with everyone equally. I could tell that he was comfortable around people regardless of their race. Second, he worked hard. He could have been there campaigning but he wasn’t doing that. He spent his time picking up trash. At one point I saw him compacting a dumpster by climbing into it and jumping up and down.
In this example one of my ideas is exemplified in action. Get involved with all of Dayton. I think he has reached out to the black community and I believe he needs to continue to do that.
But to end, it was the democratic party that pulled the race card and it did not help unify this city at all.
Good riddance ex-mayor (redacted)!
Ya, ok I deserved to be edited. ROFL! I won’t cry censorship like a small part of me wants to.
By the way, who isVic Nelson ?
@a girl
I’ve got over 1200 posts here- lots of ideas- but the one we need to work on first is empowering and partnering neighborhoods. But- I didn’t get elected- Gary did, you should be asking him.
As to @Hall- No one knows who Vic Nelson is- nor, do we care.
This quote
“The guy who won in Dayton did not get elected. She (McLin) was defeated.”
— Ohio Democratic Party Chairman Chris Redfern, who said McLin didn’t commit enough time to campaigning early in the year
is from here: http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/election/mclin-i-just-think-voters-chose-for-change-384190.html
Man these guys just don’t get it do they. McLin lost votes in her strongest support base because they are TIRED of the status quo. Gary got elected by people who believe he can help make a difference and are TIRED of the status quo. And how the heck do you come up with some convoluted logic that the guy who won wasn’t elected? Isn’t that about the same as saying half of the seesaw isn’t in the air, the other half is held down. Uhh…I think I’ll have the denial d’ jour.
That latest mailer does show more examples of taking things Gary said out of context, but it also points out some rather interesting things he said.
For example, his statement — from this post http://www.daytonmostmetro.com/forum/index.php?topic=64.msg2079#msg2079 — “I think that assorted statistics would indicate that African Americans are more tolerant of irresponsible behavior within their culture” is bizarre, and reading the entirety of that post, I’m not sure what to make of it. He doesn’t cite any specific statistics to back up his claim. Why he thinks that African Americans in west Dayton are more tolerant of irresponsible behavior than white residents of say, East Third Street, are, I’m not sure. What I am fairly sure of is that for every example he could come up with of an African American tolerating irresponsible behavior I could point out an example of a white American also tolerating irresponsible behavior and also an example of another African American not tolerating irresponsible behavior. There’s just nothing in this particular posting of his that I find very defensible.
And that makes these last ditch mailings even sadder. The Democrats didn’t need to take any of Gary’s words out of context. Instead they could a better job of quoting him a bit more extensively, in context.
If the mailer quotes were in context they would have to acknowledge that we aren’t as ignorant as they seem to think we are. That perhaps the populace is capable of comprehending multiple complete sentences. It’s an appeal to emotion not reason.
Well, that last mailer didnt work since voters in the African American wards went fishing on election day. More a rejection of McLin by her base (or apathy) than a vote for Leitzell by former McLin supporters.
Find a credible black candidate (like maybe Joey Williams) and Lietzell is toast in the next election.
@Jeff
If Leitzell does something for the black community, he’ll be reelected. That was the complaint I heard over and over. We’d have to go back to look at how Paul Leonard did- which is before my time to see a candidate that wasn’t either incompetent or self-absorbed. Although Williams is liked and respected- there were many who told me that he hadn’t done anything for them either.
It’s moot- since Williams may be looking to greener pastures for his and his wife’s career- they’ve both “topped out” here.
IMO – it takes more than doing something for the black community. People are smarter than that. People in Dayton, typically want the same thing. JOBS, safer neighborhoods, better quality of life – to cover broad strokes. There is a process of inclusion that is needed for the city commission to reconnect with all of Dayton. But let me tell you something, I don’t see any more jobs on the east side, where I live, than on the west. I don’t see less drug activity/prostitution/etc on the east side than I do the west. We all have common interest in Dayton and were in it together. The mayor has to lead the way to reconnect us on how city hall is going to deal with the issues.
Interesting. On one hand we say their is an AA community, separating them from the community as a whole. Esrati said it, and most people of both parties use similar phrases. Then if someone points out failures of said community (or any other “defined” groups, like gays, woman, white, whatever) people say it is racist (or sexist, homophobic, etc.) What is the point of defining a community if they are not somewhat different to begin with? It maybe be debatable what the differences are, what the standards are for each group. But if we chose to put them into a “group” then we almost by default must point out differences (other than being black or gay or a woman) to some degree, otherwise there is not reason to define the “group” in the first place. Does the AA community have different set of standards? I don’t know really, I am not black. I am sure some are accepting of certain irresponsible behaviors, and I am certain others are not. But when Bill Cosby says it there must be a little something there. But the “white” community has its own certain issues as well, as does any defined “group.” It is how we address these issues, because they must exist to a certain degree if we bother to separate them in the first place. So what can Gary do “for the black community?” (as DE said above). I don’t know, but why bother to say the “black community” if there are no differences. Is this a poor vs rich thing? Again, not sure, but if it is there are a lot of poor white people. And a lot of poor people are poor (not ALL) because of irresponsible behavior, including crime, drugs, drop outs, financial situations, work related issues, etc. By DL reasoning above, I have seen poor people become successful so for every example of “keeping a poor person down” I can show you a person who overcame similar situations. What it breaks down to is personal responsibility, and generally liberals love to blame the system. What system? If you… Read more »
Just don’t have sex and you can avoid number 3.
I’ve been having sex since I was 19 and I’ve not any problem with #3.
I knew you would point that one out.
17 for me!
@David Lauri,
Excellent analysis of the Mayor elects Most Metro post on “irresponsibility” in the African American community. Calling the McLin flyer a smear campaign for taking quotes out of context fails this simple test. They ar not lies. ALL of the quote were accompanied by web address links to the FULL CONTEXT of the quote. I’ve re and reread the one in question and still don’t understand where the justification is, for what I think, at minimum, a a fairly insensitive remark. One that, while it doesn’t rise to the level of overt racism, does give me pause due to the nature of the elected position Mr Leitzel is stepping in to.
Mr Leitzel, by his stated admiration of Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan as political role models, paints himself as a conservative. How conservative I do not know, as he has not been very forthcoming to very specific questions on that subject.I do know that he must be a progressive-moderate conservative on race issues, and, I do hope, for the sake of our City, that his supporters are correct and that the insensitivity shown in his on-line posts does not translate into the material world.
Mr Leitzel is about to become Mayor, and, although I don’t feel an 878 vote margin offers much of a mandate for his ideas,
I want a city leader who is a Uniter, not a Divider, a member of a team of leaders who have the best interests of all the citizens of Dayton at heart. I suggest, in the spirit of moving on, that our Mayor Elect proceed ahead with both caution and more sensitivity, because first impressions are often long lasting ones…
@Gary- I found a Margaret Thatcher quote today that I love: “Consensus Is The Absence of Leadership”- does that make me a Republican or a conservative? After all the 5-0 votes of our wonderful City Commission I think it sums things up pretty well.
When you consider the percentage- his margin was way greater than when Turner beat Dixon, and bigger than when McLin beat Turner. It isn’t close enough for a recount. He won. Get used to it.
And go ask your questions of him on his site.
@ Gary Staiger – Regarding the last mailing calling Gary a racist. If it wasn’t meant to be divisive and exacerbate racial tensions for the sake of not voting for Gary Leitzell, then why was it only sent to select communities? I live in the middle of east Dayton. It’s a mixed neighborhood with more diversity than a lot of other neighborhoods in Dayton. Why not send it to my zip code?
Ya, the questions are rhetorical and the answers are obvious. I still disagree and cannot support Gary’s comments that he posted but that’s the way he feels. It’s his opinion, not his political initiatives for the city of Dayton.
This is my biggest gripe with how McLin’s campaign was managed. Due to her lack of leadership and lack of success as mayor her supporting party had no choice but to go negative and dig up anything they could to try and strip votes away from her opponent. To be honest, I could have reached down and maybe mustered support for her if she admitted that it has been a rough road and she feels that they could do better, and then unveil a plan to help the city of Dayton detailing how she was going to accomplish this, etc.
She had no plan, she has a failed track record, and she represents the interests of those who pay her, not the citizens of Dayton. Turns out that voters are waking up a little bit and are not buying all the crap the parties are selling to get their candidates elected.
There is nothing wrong with being a conservative as Maggie and Ronald certainly were, but it was implementation and background were the problem. Maggie and Ronald believed in the American/British Ideal and both got a benefit; Maggie got Cheap Energy from the North Sea (Gone now, but sold for 20.00 a barrel, free market idiot) and Ronnie got cheap credit (plus cheap energy, free market idiot) to spend the Soviets into the dust. Mr. Leitzell has at least ONE very important distinction from this group…..He is a trained Geologist, which allows one to keep their eyes on the forest (long term future) and not the trees.
Who really should have been the first black President?
Answer Colin Powell – Trained Geologist.
I am biased, but blessed with foresight.
Greg Hunter
BS Geological Sciences 1986, Wright State University!
GoGaryGo!
their smear site is still there. It enshrines their failure and I hope they leave it for all to see.
Obama is half white, right?
Calling someone a racist is very dangerous. Gary does not think his race is superior to another. That is what a racist is…….
He pointed out that the AA community “is more tolerant of irresponsible behavior.” Again, I don’t know what any one person or any group of people are tolerant of, each and every situation in life brings different expectations. But his statements are not racist, rather observations on groups of people. Are his statements accurate? Not exactly, but there is no tone of superiority.
But certain individuals are more likely to put up with certain things, but who those people are and to what degree they put up with stuff is impossible to determine unless you know them personally.
@ Gene – couldn’t agree more and I suppose this emphasizes his self-assessment that “he is not racist, but he is prejudiced.”
On the other hand, I see all sorts of people tolerating all kinds of irresponsible behavior where I live. So again, I think you hit the nail on the head.
That mailer did make one factual statement. It was the last one
“No Gary. You are the worst thing that could happen to us.”
“Us” being the democratic machine.
@Greg H
There is nothing wrong with being a conservative as Maggie and Ronald certainly were, but it was implementation and background were the problem.
That gives blanket approval to an ideology that also brought us the British assault on Ireland, the Falkland Islands debacle AND Reagan’s implication in the Iran-Contra affair among other malfeasance’s committed during his Presidency and Prime Mimistership. Great stuff, nothing wrong with that…
And what do you mean it was implementation and background that were the problems? I don’t see how that stands on its own as a statement. I also don’t know what the American/British Ideal is. Google search doesn’t have an answer and neither does wikipedia.
I also don’t know what the American/British Ideal is.
For a clue as to what the American Ideal is, one might look to the Preamble to the Constitution of the United States, in which one of the reasons for establishing the Constitution is to “promote the general Welfare.”
Of course then one would have to consider just what is better for the general Welfare of Americans? For example, would Americans be better off if we spent $100 billion each year on more troops in Afghanistan, or would we be better off if we spent $100 billion each year instead to ensure that no more Americans die for lack of health insurance? (Nicholas Kristof has an opinion on that question, which you can read at http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/12/opinion/12kristof.html .)
@david L.
Like your reference to the Constitution and the point about where we spend our $$. I still need an answer to whatever it is Greg H is referencing. I’ve never heard of a political philosophy called the American/British Ideal. On the other hand, based on history, its most likely that what Ronnie and Maggie were into was that nasty old imperialist, we are the rulers of the world game plan that has failed so miserably and so often. Not the role model I want in office.
And, more pointedly, there is/was plenty wrong with being a conservative with the viewpoint of a Thatcher/Reagan. That’s what has me concerned about the Mayor elect’s politics.
British/American Ideal – The idea of freedom and holding up expectations for the way the world “should be” for people while not recognizing the “way or semantics” of how America/Britain became powerful. I like that they believed in this ideal, while I am appalled at their lack of understanding on how the greatness came in to being.
Look Ronnie came within a hairsbreadth and getting rid of a great deal of nuclear weapons and if it wasn’t for the council of the dick cheney, george bush it would have been done. Sure Ronnie was a dupe but when he got into office he focused on what he thought was important. Look at your last two Demis, Billy C sold out the environment and labor with no restrictions on either in any free trade issues and Barack is backing his Wall Street Owners like the lap dog he his.
Maggie what have you done…..
Of course they are Imperialists and it has caused great problems, but the molly coddling of people by the likes of the Great Society Legislation has been an abject failure, so who has more blood on their hands? Hard to know, but Dayton has been dying and the Democrats were in charge for most of the denouement. Mike Turner is enriching his benefactors, while Tony Hall turned his back on the Miami Valley for 25 Years to feed the world to enrich his benefactor Monsanto and nary a peep is made by a soul. Tony Hall was worst thing to happen to Dayton and Turner is the 2nd. At least Gary in not owned by anyone. Really how bad was Rhine? Terrible. Phony for sure, as I met her when she was maybe 32 and she was dressed like a little old lady so she could get elected.
So I will take a trained Geologist with a bent toward setting expectations than a bunch of people that say this or that is the problem and these people should be forgiven.