Please Run For City Council

Please Run For City Council!

Today is Wednesday, July 31, 2013.  There are only 27 days for you to pull a petition to get on the ballot as a candidate for City Council in November’s election.  Get 50 good signatures on it and get certified.  Get 100 to 150 signatures to make sure you have 50 good ones. It will only cost you $45.00.  You do this by going to The Board of Elections Office  in Hamilton. The staff is very courteous and will help you with all of your questions. So, if you can make life better for others and have integrity please, please,  pull a petition and run for office.  We must not let things go as they are and we must not let incumbents run unopposed. It is time to stand up and be counted! 

Dan Picard, Ann Mort and  Joshua Laubach have all  filed. All three have been part of the council that has brought the city of Middletown to where it  is.  Are you satisfied with where our city is? If you are then you are deceived. They will probably be put back on Council if you don’t rise up and defeat them at the polls. Although they are nice people, they, and the rest of Council, have been terrible representatives for our city. We are getting like Detroit unless we quickly reverse our course and change our image. There is nothing left  to fight for. Our city is in shambles and for all practical purposes there is nothing left.  However, you can run and fight for the future of our city and for its citizens that have been ignored, insulted and have paid the price of lowered property values and higher taxes .

The Board of Elections website shows that John Jackson pulled a petition.  Dora Bronson, whom I cannot in good conscience, recommend to anyone,  for a position on Council, has also pulled a petition. 

If you run, you will want to propose some alternatives to turn the city around and put it on a solid foundation. You will have to get the other Council members to agree with your views or by your vote let the citizens know your opposition to all decisions that are not in the best interest of the city and its citizens. You will need to believe that our city can be turned around and have the ideas and determination to persuade the citizens and the rest of Council to map out a plan to turn it around. You must be persistent in selling our city as an opportunity for present and future economic growth.

You will need to educate the voters as to What Is Wrong. The opposition will accuse you of being negative because you are pointing out our disasters.  You will need to educate the voters as to What We Need To Do To Change Our Course.  The opposition will spend any amount of money to belittle you and stop your efforts if they interfere with their special interests and projects that only serve and benefit a few selected people.  Remember, their main interest is to have all of the power and control all of the money.

What Is Wrong? There is not enough room here to state all that is wrong but let’s name a few things.

1.       Unemployment. We need Jobs! Jobs! Jobs. This has not been  and is not now a major golof the current Administration.

2.       Our roads are in terrible shape. The patch work being done is too little, too late. Where has all of the money gone that was to be set aside for our roads? Someone needs to be held accountable. What is the current plan in detail to get our city streets where they should be?

3.       Our sewer system is about to bring us into financial disaster. Any serious effort to bring it where it should be has been ignored. The Administration has played games with the funding until we recently

got someone to head the department who takes it seriously.

4.       The Historic Commission is useless and out of control. They have illegal authority over the whole city. This authority was given to them while there were  FOUR attorneys combined on Council and in  the Administration that let the illegal document be passed without any opposition except by those on this forum.  We are told it was written by someone in the Administration who is not an attorney. The attorney’s should be totally embarrassed and should correct the city document immediatel;y.

5.       MMF should be publicly abolished and reprimanded for their continued clandestine illegal political involvement. Their story about there being two different MMF organizations was a  cover-up. They should not receive any further funding and should return the recent gift of $75,000 to the city immediately. Members of the City Council and the Administration that sit on that Board are on two sides of any contracts engaged in by MMF and that is and has been a blatant conflict of interest and only serves special interests.

6.       We need to reduce our bureaucracy. A huge portion of our city government does not live in Middletown. Those that do are intimidated to do the will of the Administration even when its wrong. There is a lot of discontent with their bosses. Council should admit the terrible decisions that have been made by the Administration and hold the responsible parties accountable and fire them and replace them at more reasonable salaries with competent people who have some integrity. Those needing to be fired immediately are Judy Gilliland, Marty Kholer, Les Landen and Doug Adkins. Council has done nothing but sing their praises for putting the city in the negative situation we find ourselves. Another reason why Council needs to be replaced.

7.       We need to get the city out of the real estate business. It is obvious that Council and the Administration don’t know what they are doing here. The abuse and misappropriation of HUD funds has for years been a constant source of confusion. It started with Ginger Smith. Things got so bad that their were several law suits. They then went to the city prosecutors office and hired Doug Adkins. They needed an attorney to straighten out the law suits  not the real estate matters. They kept him on at a huge salary and he and the administration have had controversy over every effort they have engaged in. To wit: MPHA, Section 8 housing, HUD. At first they refused to reduce the Section 8 vouchers when we were all pointing out the disaster it was. But they were wanting the support of landlords and the money. Now it is totally out of control and HUD has stepped in. It gives us another black eye to our city image. Doug Adkins has proved to be an obnoxious bully and is not appreciated by the citizens who pay his salary. The fiasco over the building purchases from the Perry Thatcher estate and for Cincinnati State is another great disaster. Although it’s good to have  Cincinnati  State here  it will never have any serious impact to equal that of Miami University.

8.       The Downtown effort is a joke at the expense of the taxpayers. It is typical of the amateurish way the Administration does things. It demonstrates their philosophy of  the City of Middletown. In light of the downsizing of  AK Steel they want to tear down buildings without any overall plan. Demolishing buildings must be done to some extent when a Steel Company leaves a city. History is replete with it. But what do you do with the properties and how do you afford  and where do you get the man power to reduce the vacancies ?  The most sensible way is to keep the city out of the Real Estate business. They have proven that they don’t know anything about it. They don’t have the work force to handle it and the city can’t afford it. The fact is, the city should turn these properties over to professional real estate brokers who have the expertise to sell the properties to the right people looking for such properties and pay the real estate agents a reasonable commission. It would be a lot less costly and the image of the city presented to potential buyers would be much more positive.

 

The downtown effort is being done in such a way as to create a total negative image. The majority of the city resents putting millions of dollars and years of effort  into schemes that have not been productive. It has been done to the general neglect of the rest of the city and the few businesses that have remained and are toughening it out resent the neglect. Spider John has been eloquently spelling it out for along time.  This is a special interest project that favors a few people on the inside. It is an attempt to bring money in by the back door. The city needs to stop funding it and let those business people downtown carry t themselves and take the risks that every business person takes. We need to now make a major effort to grow the whole City not reduce it to 28,000 and make it a campus community. That is ridiculous. Grow the city and more revenue comes in and everyone benefits through the front door and not through back door deals. Work with State and the Fedreral government that has great interest in returning to manufacturing. Continue expanding the education and medical developments. Go after research and development opportunities. Then watch the shopping center, the Mall and downtown fill up.

 

Because of our strategic location what would happen if we changed the name of our city to MIDDLETOWN USA. I like the idea of made in the USA, especially made in MIDDLETOWN USA.

 

Please run for office.  It isn’t easy to run a city or a school system.  There are new people running for our school board. Please return Marcia Andrews to the school board. She has been the best thing that has happened to our school board in years. She does the work and doesn’t just posture. Also,

Please vote for Christi Delloma to be on the school board. She is a great achiever.

 

Due to age, health and other personal situations I can’t run again.   It’s too bad .  I believe with the votes and support you gave me in the last election I would have made it this time running at large.  Thank you for that support. So, I’m encouraging you to run for office. Somewhere out there are some talented and able leaders. Please run and represent the thousands that have been used and ignored in our city for so long. Answer with the best that’s in you.

 

Thank you.

 

Paul Nagy

 

 

 

Thank you, Paul.  It's good to hear from you again and this post tells it like it really is.  I wish your wife and you the very, very best.  Many of us appreciate your previous efforts to run for elective office.

RECAP TIME AGAIN….
● Ms Judy has stated that we will be short 1.5 million dollars
● Moody Rating has been downgraded
● Traffic Camera will no longer provide revenue to city coffers
● Weather Wax continues to loose money
● HUD will move Section 8 Program to Butler  County so another million
   dollars will leave the city coffers
● Ms Judy wants a 2 million dollar bond to tear down more buildings in
   “THEIR DOWNTOWN”
● Separation of Sewer will need a 200 million dollar bond
● City Hall will continue to fund revitalization of downtown area
● School Board will be looking for a levy to build the new schools while Mr.    
   Adkins continues to demo more properties removing them from the tax rolls.
Revenues and population continue to fall….
and we still have that pesky little problem of the police and fire departments.

How will the citizens of Middletown be able to support these tax burdens?

acclaro, what is the answer at this point?  I know you have espoused a 1% city tax to draw in business but IMO that won't accomplish much -- every municipality throws out tax abatements.  These companies all end up in Mason or WC anyway.  I wonder if we really have much developable land anyway.And while city hall may have had bloated payrolls in the good ol' days, I don't see where there is much headcount to cut anymore.   is there any hope?

is there any hope? as an outsider now I would have to say nope..

KTF1179,  I don't think you have any worries that AK will shut down the Middletown Plant.  If they shut down Middletown they will go bankrupt in a hurry as this is their source for all of their carbon steel products plus it has nearly all of their coating lines.AK may go bankrupt, but whoever buys them will continue to run Middletown.  It will be painful getting from here to there, but I would be shocked if the plant would shut down for very long.

Why is it that some of the most vocally people on this forum don't stand up and run for City Council? There is a huge amount of negativity coming from this forum. Anyone who would even do some looking into investing in this area and found the comments here would most likely just turn away. In fact, that has happened. I found a thread on City Data where a gentleman was thinking of coming to Middletown with an AM radio station and when he posted here with the idea he was beaten down with negative remarks. Why in the hell would you do this?

LMAO and others,

bumper wrote: Historic House Guy wrote: Why is it that some of the most vocally people on this forum don't stand up and run for City Council? There is a huge amount of negativity coming from this forum. Anyone who would even do some looking into investing in this area and found the comments here would most likely just turn away. In fact, that has happened. I found a thread on City Data where a gentleman was thinking of coming to Middletown with an AM radio station and when he posted here with the idea he was beaten down with negative remarks. Why in the hell would you do this? Everyone seems to want to see Middletown bounce back but your public comments only serve to do the very opposite. Do you folks not see the damage you're doing to this city yourselves or are you too wound up with your disagreements with the current policies to realize what your own actions are doing?    maybe if you would have been born and raised in Middletown you would see just how flippin bad city leaders past and present had their hands on( screwing) ( crooking) every taxpayer in Middletown... there's ya some more negative... now ill give you a positive!! I moved.

In fact, you have a very negative impact on this city and any new investors who fin your posts online.

Just realized I can't edit posts for spelling. I'll slow down..... oooooooo K enjoy your new city!! go take a midnight walk all around downtown tonight your love it....ooo by they way I stand to be around awhile, somethings in life your just gotta live with...

HHG....you probably are like the landscape guy the city 'sleeping slumber' morons threw a bone to get a rah rah rally going to reduce council members from 7 to 5 and get all elected 'at large.' I have lived in 20 major cities in the US, including Boston, SF, Dallas, Austin, DC, many others. Been there, done that. The cit is a disgrace.

The leaders you speak are old, or have established roots for decades, and drive 20 minutes at most to work in Hamilton. The two Mulligans on council have a mother whom advocated without problem, the catholic high school to move to a point between two counties, for growth, and because Middletown had none. Should be apparent if that move was made, it said volumes about the future.

Having you come in from Vermont, and running up to Oakwood, Hyde Park, Mt. Adams, other areas, while buying something cheap in Middletown, means very little. Middletown is a dump, filled with cronyism in every department in Donham,  and the only people who have time for council, are those who made their livelihood next door in Hamilton.

You have more credibility when you study the history HHG, than throwing rocks in a glass town.    

Ok Historic House Guy, here's the background that you are unaware of.....

Some here, like Mike Presta, Spiderjohn and myself, have been around a long time. We all went through the schools here in the 60's, grew up with Armco Steel three times the size it is now, saw Miami U-Middletown built, in 1958 saw I-75 built, were here before the blvd. systems were built, have seen the heydays of Middie athletics, were witness to some incredibly good times with growth and prosperity and, in 1958, when the town was named an "All American City". We have seen many highs for the city......we have also seen the lows like the City Centre Mall idea rise and fall in the 70's downtown, saw the development of Bicentennial Commons only to see it fall into disinterest and realize it was a waste of effort. Same with Lake Middletown that never did get off the ground as it cost the city over $300,000 in fines when they released the silt into the river without the Army Corps of Engineers approval. We have seen the Towne Mall rise and fall into major vacancy since the 70's. The Midd. Hospital, there on McKnight Dr. since the 20's (?) demolished and moved to the other side of the freeway, leaving a big open green space of nothingness in it's place. Sunset Pool filled in. We have seen the downtown, once so crowded on a Saturday in the 60's you couldn't walk on the sidewalk, but rather in the street to avoid the crowds reduced to the ghost town and emptiness you see now. We have seen the schools go from a well respected, high performer, producing a large percentage of college bound kids to a system of free lunches for everyone due to the poverty level in this city, an "academic watch" rating, followed by "continuous improvement" for decades, with no indication that that designation will ever change in the next decade or two.

No, we the seasoned veterans of the city, have not been endeared to the "new blood" and the "new ideas" that have been calling the shots around here for the last 3 decades. None of these "newer" people have proven that they were as good as the 60's leaders. Alot of very poor direction, inept decisions and alot of wasted money spent accomplishing nothing as to the health of the city. The city councils and city building administration have sat back and let the city fall, with no clue or caring how to adapt, develop a game plan, manage money frugally and prioritize city activities. We have had city leader operational failure since the 60's.

I ask you, considering this, is it any wonder that some of us, who have seen the good, the bad and the ugly, have become so negative? We knew the city when it was a wonderful place to live. Some younger people on this forum,and in the city, have no idea how nice this city was at one time. I am sad that they couldn't have experienced what we had in years gone by.

You came on this forum requesting information about the city with the intention of perhaps locating here. I have noticed that the timid, cautious approach you first used, has given way to insulting long time forum members here. You are now typing posts that are the same as the MMF puppets and planted city leader loving believers who, apparently appreciate people who constantly fail, have the wrong concept for the development of this city, and are totally misfocused as to priorities in their thinking. They have proven in the past, that they are liars, keep information from the people, spend our money on their own special projects with a "to hell with what the majority of the people want" attitude, and are generally obnoxious, self-serving and blatantly egotistical. We wish they would take their as--- and their little attitudes and leave town and let competent people who really care about the city run the show. How would you expect us to react to that kind of leadership? Of course we are angry, frustrated and negative. You would understand if you were in our shoes as to what they have done to a once proud city. That is about as blunt and as plain as I can make it. All JMO.