I don’t do this often- take a whole post from another blogger and publish it- but, this one is a must read in Dayton where the “Monarchy of Montgomery County” has perfected mad skills in the art of nepotism.

Marketing is actually what other people are saying about you.

Like it or not, true or not, what other people say is what the public tends to believe. Hence an imperative to be intentional about how we’re seen.

It may be true that the effluent from your factory is organic, biodegradable and not harmful to the river. But if it is brown and smelly and coming out of an open pipe, your neighbors might draw their own conclusions.

I know you washed your hands just before you walked into the examination room, but if you wash them again, right here in front of me, all doubts go away.

Yes, Ms. Congressperson, I know that lobbyist is your good friend, but perhaps someone else should host you on vacation.

Your brother-in-law may very well be the most qualified person on the planet to do this project for us, but perhaps (unfair as it might be) it would be better marketing to hire the second-most-qualified person instead.

Sneaking around is a bad strategy. You will get caught. Ironically, it’s also a bad strategy to not sneak around but appear to be.

You will never keep people from talking. But you can take actions to influence the content of what they say.

via Seth’s Blog: The appearance of impropriety.

It’s why you don’t hire your siblings, Sheriff Plummer; it’s why you don’t hire your convicted rapist brother, Beverly King, and why Clerk of Courts Mark Owens shouldn’t have his brother working in the BOE or Montgomery County Clerk of Courts Greg Brush have his dad father-in-law on the payroll. It’s why the lobbyists at the Dayton Development Coalition shouldn’t have hired their Congressman’s wife to do their marketing campaign no-bid, and why Lori Turner and The Turner Effect shouldn’t be doing work for the Home Depot PAC or have a GSA schedule and do work for the Army Corps of Engineers while her husband Congressman Mike Turner, sits on the Defense Appropriations Committee.

Damn, the list goes on, like Mr. Nan Whaley (aka Sam Braun) working for Auditor Karl Keith, and how half the Dayton Fire Department happens to have relatives in the Department and about a quarter of the Dayton Police Department (and I’m pulling those percentages out of my rear end- but, the numbers need to be looked at). It’s how Former Dayton City Manager Rashad Young had his grandfather working in the City IT department- who then got caught with kiddie porn on his city computer. It’s why when I see County Commissioners Judy Dodge and Debbie Lieberman out for drinks- I always wonder about a quorum and if it’s an illegal meeting of the Commission- but of course, the Sunshine Laws don’t shine in Dayton, Ohio (see above).

OMG did I just say all that- and just off the top of my head? It’s all been covered on this site before. All you have to do is search and find. Of course, the Dayton Daily News can’t be bothered to do a comprehensive investigation into the ACTUAL improprieties in our local government.

It’s why I’ve called for an elected Chief Ethics Officer for the County- to make sure that this kind of bs stops.