No Evidence of Bohannon Conflict of Interest

There was a meeting back I believe in August or September that I attended where Mr. Bohannon and Mr. Adkins were both in attendance (at Java Johnny's) where this particular subject was brought up.

Viet,

buddhalite:
"I don't disagree with your premise - however after the billion plus wasted by this government already (at least by my calculations it is well close to if not over $1B) $5k seems like small potatoes."

The small potato 5K to "billions" comparison doesn't matter. Gotta start somewhere as to holding elected officials accountable for their actions. If we let this go by, where do we then draw the line in the sand to define when enough is enough? We are already at "millions" being spent in the downtown area alone.

buddhalite:
"It shouldn't have been done - but it was. So now - who gets faulted"

Bohannon and the city who loaned him the money get faulted. It was done and should not be written off as "just a minor infraction". He is a public official who some (not me) placed their trust in to do the right thing. This is not the right thing. Bohannon is not an ignorant person. He knows right from wrong. He knew that accepting any PUBLIC money at all to aid his PRIVATE business venture is not ethical nor does it help that public servant trust factor either. He also knew that being in the public eye, his activities would be scrutinized and was. You simply can't mix benefiting on private business activities with public money usage. Doesn't sit too well with any taxpayer. He must be held accountable to return the money as all HUD landlords should who chose to use this service. Let the man use his OWN MONEY to run HIS BUSINESS, not ours.

buddhalite:
"I am not mad at Mr. Bohannon (nor do I understand the vitriol being sent his way here) - on the contrary - he did what any smart businessperson would do in that circumstance."

Nope. What "any smart businessperson would do" is not place themselves in a mixed usage of public and private sector actions especially when it is used for the private side business owner's advantage. The man should not have used this service to bolster his personal business. Being a councilperson, it is a misuse of the office he holds. Kinda like using one's "in the loop" position to do insider trading to bolster a portfolio. An advantage that doesn't create a level playing field.

buddhalite:
"If he has to give it back - then all the landlords have to give it back."

Yep

buddhalite:
"It's the only fair way - but I say now that everythings out in the open - let's just not do this ever again. Let's ensure that our council and city leaders don't put public money out on a private endeavor ever again. That'll stop this nonsense once and for all."

But buddha, it is happening all the time in the downtown area. Cincy State now occupies a building that was purchased by taxpayer money from the Thatcher Estate. Same goes for the Manchester Hotel. Same for the Main St bank building and is about to happen with the old Seniors Center and the BMW dealership proposal. The Rose building is also included. EVERYTHING downtown is city purchased with taxpayer money and if they can't sell it, they give it away for a HUGE loss for a buck if there are no takers on the market. The practice of using taxpayer money to grow the downtown cluster has been happening for more than a decade now. It is documented very well within the pages of MUSA. It is not now "out in the open". Hell, it's been out in the open for years on this forum. And just how do we go about "ensuring council and the city leaders don't use public money on private endeavors"????? Do we all just march into Adkin's office and threaten him if he does it again? Won't work. He doesn't care if we like the public money for private endeavors or not. He doesn't care about anything outside the realm of the downtown, the inner circle and his friends of the city. The rest of us can go to he-- as far as he's concerned. He has made that abundantly clear since becoming the city manager. Oh, and yeah, they will do this again if not held accountable with some sort of public outcry. Hell, they will ignore any outcry as well. They don't care about public opinion. They do as they please. After all, they are just low grade politicians and we all know that politicians aren't worth the powder to blow them up. JMO

Viet,

buddhalite:
"See - we both agree - the issue is that the landlords collectively will not return the money - and frankly, I doubt that Mr. Bohannon will either. I don't like flogging dead horses. It was a mistake to begin the program and it should be prevented from reoccurring...the reality is i'd rather focus on learning from our mistakes, preventing the re-occurrence and pushing on toward bigger and better things for our city."

"it SHOULD BE prevented from reoccuring"......but won't be. It will happen again. History tells us that the city will set up their friends with loans and programs that will help selected individuals. That is the mantra for how the downtown development works in many cases.

buddhalite:
"I hope that if I run (and it looks like I certainly will be) that I don't have to sit through all the talk about the old days - I want to move forward and move on."

Ahh buddha, but if you don't know about the past, you are doomed to repeat the mistakes......OR, LEARN about the successes and how they were achieved. I realize that the younger generation doesn't want to hear about the past and want to blaze their own path and make their marks on the world in their own way, but it would be wise and prudent to revisit the successes Middletown has had in the past and compare how they are now. You just might find that the old ways work much better than the changes that were made over the years caused by city leaders who thought they had a better idea. Sometimes, believe it or not, the old time proven ways are best in a given situation. You can join the others on council and follow their town ruining policies or you can do it the right way and research the correct way of doing things for the city. It will be your choice if and when you win a council seat. Do you want Middletown to prosper and regain some of it's image and regional status again by doing things right, or do you want Middletown to remain the poor image it has now with it's lousy schools, poor ammenities, poor job choices, population losses and ghetto building agenda? If you choose the latter, you are no better than the people on council now and in the past and we will have no refreshing choice at voting time. None have done Middletown any favors with their decision making since the 80's. The city has died a slow death (and yes I will say it now) since the great days of the 50's and 60's. I know, I have been here almost the entire time, with my military service being the exception. You have been here a short time compared to some on this forum. You have no basis of comparison concerning how nice it was versus what it is now. What it is now is all some here know, including many city leaders. Trust me, it was much better.

buddhalite:
"......he wasn't a direct beneficiary of a contract or any underhanded dealings"....

But buddha, he took advantage of a PUBLIC TAXPAYER monetary offer from the city to support HIS PRIVATE BUSINESS which in essence is the same as the taxpayers walking up to him and handing them their money to help him in a private business manner. It is wrong for him to take the money and apply it for his own business advantage. What makes it even worse is that he is a city official and is under the microscope by the public and, he broke the trust of the public as to "backroom" dealings within city hall. The very premise of this situation lends itself to distrust, once again, concerning public officials. The city should drop any and all practices of loaning money to ANYONE in the private sector......but they won't. They like their buddies way too much to stop bailing them out with OUR money.

buddhalite:
"IF I thought it would actually make a difference to you or anyone else here - I'd call and ask him to return the money (probably easier if he'd donate it to charity) myself."

No need to call. They won't listen to you or anyone else anyway. They will do as they dam well please. Always have.

As someone not raised here, and having been a resident for only four years (two as Community Development Coordiantor), I've learned much from people like VietVet, Spriderjohn, Vivian Moon, Paul Renwick, Walter Leap, the late Bert Grimes, Acclaro, Wanda Glover, Rosalean Lindsey, John Soppanish, etc.  Their first-hand knowledge of the history and past governmental actions/inaction can and should provide a solid basis for selecting the most cost-effective and highest/best community development initiatives to return Middletown to its' once proud place of prominence in S.W. Ohio, if not statewide.  To suggest otherwise is simply overlooking reality.