“What Stripper” and Former Mayor Ford picks Joe Kidd? UPDATED…
In this week’s Sojourner’s Truth the This Strikes Us editorial delves into the recent Lucas County Democratic Party trials and tribulations. It’s suggested that Ted Strickland should have had a more visual role in some of the recent events along with providing in detail the stages of the downfall of a political leader related to this scenario that ends with:
The sixth and final stage is the recrimination, especially among those left behind. That’s where we are now with the pronouncements that the media is to blame and the dissidents used the incident only to satisfy their own personal vendettas.
We hear now that there really was no incident that should have caused the ouster of such a stellar leader.
“What strippers?” the recriminators ask as we come full circle in this latest farce.
Before we get to Jack Ford’s column, there is an additional article written by Fletcher Word, Irish Out, Duffy In, Dems Still Split that I recommend reading. The immediate future should be interesting given the various rumors swirling out there that the Central Committee will be gathered to vote soon and some believe that John Irish will be again elected to the position of Chair by the Central Committee. Why this is relevant to what Fletcher wrote, is it seems very few people are willing to step forward to say they are interested, which does appear to give some credence to no one wanting to step forward because they don’t believe change will really happen.
Now on to our former Mayor, in his My View column he writes about several people, including giving some kudos to Toledo Public School Board candidate Richard Brown after he saw his campaign in action this weekend at the African American Festival and the Polish Festival.
Then Jack turns his focus to “The Blade party”, still seeming to believe that it was the Blade that was a large factor in the election of Ben Konop and Joe McNamara. I don’t discount the importance of the support of our daily local newspaper, but I don’t believe their support guarantees a candidate will win, there are clear cases in the past where this has not created a win. The comments our former Mayor made on Joe Kidd was interesting though:
The very next guy who will benefit from the favor of The Blade undoubtedly will be Joe Kidd. Kidd will be rehabilitated politically in the next few years by The Blade. In my opinion, this will be payback to Kidd for dropping a dime on Tom Noe.
Clearly, Kidd’s spilling the beans on Noe led to a great run of stories in the Blade which helped lead to a regime change in Columbus, a virtual state-wide sweep by the Dems and many kudos for Blade writers. They came very close to garnering another Pulitzer. That deserves payback and, believe me, Kidd will get it.
You may remember the silly stories about how attractive Joe McNamara was to some voters? Well, put on your galoshes because it is going to get real sticky around here. Kidd, start running a few marathons if you really want to get some good print! Too bad for Ed Cichy, Karen Shanahan and the other three dozen or so candidates for the District 2 City Council seat. It’s going to be Joe Kidd!
I don’t have all of the details but I do understand there were some questions as to did Joe Kidd actually live in District 2 to be able to be qualified for the election. A meeting/hearing was held this morning and it appears he was approved to be on the primary ballot. Given the District 2 race has a dozen candidates and only the top two move on to November’s election it will be interesting to see what develops in District 2 and I am currently obtaining more information on what transpired this morning at the BOE. We will also be able to tell by the next few days of Blade coverage if Jack Ford’s prediction ends up being true as to the Blade “paying back” Joe.
Blade coverage of Joe Kidd meeting residency requirements.
Also from JFo this week:
With Irish’s scalp on his belt, McNamara can now move up in the 2009 mayoral race. Watch out Finkbeiner and Wilkowski. Remember, they have a 29-year-old mayor in the Block’s new hometown of Pittsburgh who is doing a pretty good job. Step up the biking and jogging, Keith.
July 19th, 2007 at 7:00 pmHey, Lisa, if I worked on the Kidd campaign I’d be calling foul on that headline. It sounds like it’s a story about a mysterious stripper backing Kidd for council, along with our former Mayor.
July 19th, 2007 at 7:16 pmIt’s not meant that way Lily, I could see if the “and” wasn’t there if would give a different impression, but the content clearly makes it evident that the two are separate.
I’ve never had a candidate cry foul over a headline, the only time they’ve taken issue is if they disagree with the content. Was it my most creative headline? No, but putting “Jack Ford picks Joe Kid? And “What Strippers” would have been in the opposite order of the content…If Mr. Kidd or his campaign takes issue with the headline, I’d offer the same explanation.
2009Watch, very true but, I don’t think Joe McNamara is counting scalps, especially since no one else has stepped forward as interested in the chair position and everyone knows the Central Committee does have quite a few B Team supporters.
July 19th, 2007 at 8:17 pmI know it wasn’t meant that way … I’m just ribbin’ ya.
July 19th, 2007 at 8:21 pmYou have a point, Lily, a few of my earlier choices were worse.
July 19th, 2007 at 8:43 pmLOL … More than anyone else, you are the the Queen of Good Choices, m’dear.
July 19th, 2007 at 8:45 pmI could provide evidence that was not true…but it would be way off topic.
(smile)
July 19th, 2007 at 8:47 pmAbout “paying back Joe” — I’m not as cynical as our former mayor appears to be. I would expect there to be coverage of Kidd in the next day or so because the BOE created a news story in challenging his residency. The Blade would naturally cover that. And there’s built-in news value in his candidacy, given his background. But there’s something else that could give him an edge in getting press: his qualifications. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Blade give ink to someone they think is right for the job, regardless of whether that person provided info important to past stories they’ve published.
I, too, have given the Blade info over the years — but if I were to declare myself a candidate for public office, I seriously doubt they’d get behind my campaign and grease my way into office. I don’t have any of the skills it takes to hold office, nor do I have the attention span. So if I see positive press about Kidd, I’m not going to assume that it stems from anything other than the candidate’s ability to do the job, or at least the Blade’s belief that he has what it takes.
I don’t know anything about the other candidates in that district, other than what Karen displayed about herself during Strippergate, so I really don’t know how he measures up to anyone but her. But if the race boiled down to just those two candidates, I wouldn’t need much time to figure out which one to vote for, and I doubt the Blade would either.
July 19th, 2007 at 10:28 pmLisa, you mentioned clear examples of the Blade’s candidate not winning an election. Please name them. For the first time in a long time, I have to say I agree with Jack Ford. Without the Blade’s constant good publicity of Ben and Joe, they would not have won. If Wagener, Copeland, Vasquez, Santiago, and Shultz would have gotten half the free publicity those candidates received, the outcome would have been different. And that doesn’t even factor the attacks on Phillip Copeland right before the primary election by the Blade while the carpet bagging Konop received a free pass on his residency issues.
Jack Ford is right…a divided and split democratic party strengthens the Blade. In 93, Carty beat Mike Ferner because of the Blade. Anyone who remembers that campaign (both the primary and general) knows all the free publicity Carty received over Bill Boyle and Pete Silverman to win the primary. Think back to 94 when the Blade pushed Betty Montgomery for Attorney General. Last year, the whole coin gate thing. The Blade is very powerful but to those in the know, we don’t realize it because we take the time to inform ourselves. But for most voters, they spend a few minutes flipping through the paper and it shapes their perceptions on election day.
July 20th, 2007 at 1:26 pmBG Democrat, there are quite a few, especially when it comes to State and National candidates. However, if you would like one example The Toledo Blade endorsed Ray Kest over Jack Ford.
In 2005 they endorsed Karen Shanahan and Bob Vasquez for Toledo City Council and for School Board Jim Whiteman, for Municipal Court again just using 2005 they endorsed Sam Nugent.
July 20th, 2007 at 1:56 pmIf you want to look at the 2006 Endorsements
there are more.
July 20th, 2007 at 2:02 pmLisa, quit confusing us with the facts.
July 20th, 2007 at 2:09 pmOkay Lily, I won’t get into the whole “earned media” versus the theory that the Blade somehow created this. (smile)
I don’t discount the fact that Ben and Joe got more press but the reality is it’s because they came up with so many ideas and press conferences the natural law of averages used in relation to the suggestions made more media coverage by quite a bit of the media, not just the Blade. As an example I believe Fox Toledo showed up for almost all of Joe McNamara’s Press Conferences. If Joe Kidd manages to come up with new ideas that other candidates have not covered, he will most likely get the same type of coverage from the media.
But I won’t write that either…
July 20th, 2007 at 3:00 pmLisa – Look back at the race of Ford vs. Kest. Sure, the Blade at the last minute endorsed Kest but I don’t think anyone involved in that campaign that worked for Ray Kest would say that the Blade did Kest any favors in that campaign. In fact, if you research what Ray Kest said after he lost the election, it was something to the effect that he went from the top vote-getter in the County to losing a Mayor’s race because of the Blade.
The other candidates you mentioned were endorsed by the Blade but how many stories did the Blade really run about them during the course of the campaign. Minimal, if any.
I know you love Ben and Joe and it’s very tough for you to be objective about them Lisa but the fact is, Jack Ford is correct. Joe’s looks and comparing him to an actor was “news”. Ben going “bowling” was news and there were two stories about that. The Blade determined very early on that it wanted Konop and Joe to win and I’m not convinced they weren’t recruited by JR to run for office.
And Lily, your constant sucking up to Lisa is beyond annoying. Most of the time your posts are uninformed and worthless. You bring nothing to the blog outside of sucking up to Lisa. Yawn!
July 20th, 2007 at 3:24 pmIf you can’t play nicely…
Sometimes, it just so happens that the Blade endorses a *qualified* candidate. There’s nothing wrong with that.
July 20th, 2007 at 3:35 pmBG Dem, I know it’s hard for you to be objective on this issue as well, but you asked for who was endorsed by the Blade and did not win – I responded with several examples.
For your theory to be correct it would have meant only the Blade gave these candidates extra media attention, that’s also not the case. I’ve learned enough about how the “earned media” aspect works to be able to understand that not all press conferences get coverage, as an example, the first few candidates who announce generally get more coverage unless there is something different, take Steve Leggett as an example, his youth made his announcement more “novel”. Joe Kidd’s coverage today was because there were questions concerning his residency. Candidate A who is the first to have a press release on a specific topic generally gets more coverage than Candidate B who’s press release comes off as responding to Candidate A rather than presenting new ideas.
I can appreciate the fact that it’s easy to try to discount these facts by trying to say that I’m biased towards Joe and Ben. That’s not entirely accurate because I make it a point to cover everyone, and present information from all candidates who share it whether I agree with them or not.
Lily in my opinion has added quite a bit to the conversations here, you of course do not have to agree, but I would remind you that all I ask of people who participate here is to be civil, and while realizing in the heat of an argument someone may write something they later regret, derogatory comments are not necessary unless your goal is to incite rather than to discuss…
July 20th, 2007 at 3:42 pmYour examples were comparing apples to oranges as I proved.
July 20th, 2007 at 3:44 pmBG…You can’t discount the other media that covered them as well because of the ideas and the number of press releases both men put out. That’s what got them more coverage…
I realize you took the position then and still now that somehow the Blade was the only reason or main reason they won. It’s obvious that the Blade endorsement alone is not enough for a candidate to win and that if a candidate does not come up with the ideas there is no earned media.
So I disagree that you proved anything, but I believe we’ve done this dance enough in the past that I’m not going to sway your opinion. It will be interesting to see if Jack Ford’s prediction on the Blade and Joe Kidd prove to be true if Kidd does not create the media opportunities the way Konop and McNamara did. Neither you or I live in District 2 so for us the Kidd race will be a bystander only one, but there are other people here, including one that you don’t seem to think very highly of that lives in 2…
July 20th, 2007 at 3:53 pmBG Democrat,
Me, suck up to Lisa? Never!
Sincerely,
July 20th, 2007 at 4:25 pmLily White
President
Lisa Renee Ward Fan Club
Northwest Ohio Chapter
Is BG Democrat J FO himself?
July 20th, 2007 at 11:01 pmlol – no Clayton, our former Mayor told me he reads the blog but he’s never commented.
July 20th, 2007 at 11:43 pmNo, BG democrat is Tim Wagener’s former campaign manager. Tim Wagener ran against Ben Konop as a democrat for commissioner and lost. He is simply a bitter and interested party. He asked Lisa to provide a list of Blade endorsed candidates who lost – Lisa did – then he claimed those endorsements weren’t really endorsements – and then Lisa pointed out that they were indeed endorsements – and then BG democrat, knowing that he looks like an idiot called Lisa an idiot – and then Lisa, being very kind, did not stoop to such a level. But I will do what Lisa wouldn’t BG democratic, BG democrat is an idiot.
July 21st, 2007 at 12:24 amKurt – sorry, you have me pegged as the wrong person but I can always count on you to stir up the pot as you do on virtually every post you make on this and many other forums. Sure, the Blade has endorsed candidates that have lost but there has never been a candidate that I can remember that the Blade has enthusiastically supported that has lost which was the case with Ben, Joe and will be with Joe Kidd. Jack Ford is absolutely correct about that. People can discount that but I agree with Jack Ford.
Further, I have never said the only reason that Ben and Joe won was because of the Blade. For Ben, it was the Blade; for Joe, it was the Blade and all his own money that he spent.
And I can discount that Fox news was at some of Ben’s press conferences because as Ben said to paraphrase, they don’t have much of the market share. Having the Blade’s active support (endorsement, well placed stories with pictures, good headlines, etc.), with a divided Democratic party is a huge asset.
July 21st, 2007 at 1:59 pmI voted for Ben because of his ideas and the breath of fresh air he brought to politics. I didn’t read Blade articles about him; I followed his campaign on the blogs — where he was both knocked and praised. Sifting through those opinions to what the man himself had to say is what won me over.
Just before an election when the Blade runs its summaries of candidates and issues and makes its endorsements, I read those and often find myself at odds with what the newspaper recommend. I don’t vote as they tell me to unless I’m already inclined to vote for their chosen candidate or issue.
July 21st, 2007 at 3:02 pmAnyone who is active in politics (and smart) will be able to tell you that the people who ran Konop’s and McNamara’s campaigns knew how to get the proper information to the media. Getting media coverage that’s positive is easy when you simply provide the information for them. Let’s face it, journalists work hard enough as it is and when you line up stories for them about your candidate and send them in, they are more than likely to run stories about them. Getting the Blade to run stories in favor of Ben and Joe was easy for Ben Krompak, and some one should be saying ’shame on him’ for doing exactly what a campaign manager should do: USING THE MEDIA TO INFORM VOTERS.
As for the Blade endorsing candidates, wouldn’t you assume that the news has an idea of who is fit to serve as an elected official and who’s not? If you can’t trust a media source to throughly examine a candidate to make sure they are sane and true to what they say, then you shouldn’t trust them enough to give you your news each day.
July 22nd, 2007 at 8:01 amAllison – interesting take considering it wasn’t too long ago you were blaming the media for their reporting of your t-shirt. So the media was then the only one who didn’t get it and was causing problems but when it comes to certain candidates, the media knows best. Interesting way to look at things.
July 22nd, 2007 at 9:35 amI see a lot of “build em up to tear em down” in American culture. The media is often the culprit of making a saint and then exposing their sins. Saddly, bad news and sensationalisim sell better than good news and positive movement. Shame on we the people for supporting this practice. Shame on them for the practice.
July 22nd, 2007 at 10:00 amBG Dem- Just so you know how it works, the media outlets were sent a statement with that picture by an ‘anonymous’ source. Story was already written for them, they just chose to lie about where it came from. I know because the person who sent the story out called and harassed me and also sent me a copy of the release, as well as several journalists who were outraged by this unnamed individual trying to attack me. You must have noticed by now that papers with more integrity, like the Blade and the Free Press decided not to cover those tabloid lies, but did contact me to see how I was doing and ask me if I was going to sue. But of course some one as well informed as yourself already knew all that right?
It’s proof both ways that you can feed the media frenzy yourself. I have called a few press conferences and influence the news, and who am I to be listened to but a regular college student. You can only take what you are given by the media, but if you are going to be a responsible person you have to investigate yourself what is truth and what is not.
July 22nd, 2007 at 10:32 am“As for the Blade endorsing candidates, wouldn’t you assume that the news has an idea of who is fit to serve as an elected official and who’s not?”
This is a history of institutions of backing a candidate for the institutions own purpose, is there not?
I am not saying that this is what The Blade does or has done but, you also said; “You can only take what you are given by the media, but if you are going to be a responsible person you have to investigate yourself what is truth and what is not.”
July 22nd, 2007 at 10:47 am“Story was already written for them, they just chose to lie about where it came from.”
Lie? Lied about where it came from?
I read the hard copy version of the Toledo Free Press and there was no attribution other than Hildo was watching.
July 22nd, 2007 at 10:52 amNC, Hildo doesn’t write for the Toledo Free Press, he/she/they write for the Toledo City Paper.
July 22nd, 2007 at 10:59 amHildo didn’t attribute the source, the story and the photos taken from other net sources than what was stated is part of the issue. Also it was at a theme party…that context was also not included.
My daughters have attended similar theme parties and have had photos taken of them in more risque outfits, especially at Halloween or Toga parties or several other theme type parties that are held.
The implication that if you decide to a wear a t-shirt with a silly slogan at a party or be involved in a staged photo that somehow should make you a target I disagree with.
I also think we are getting off track and that Allison is not the issue here…
July 22nd, 2007 at 11:32 am“I also think we are getting off track and that Allison is not the issue here…”
Well, she did say, “lie”….
And “she” is the not the issue for me, her words are. As a Young Democrat, making a statement in public that someone or some entity posted a statement or picture and that was not true or in this case an allegation of a lie, while it is not germane to the subject, it non the less does raise questions, does it not?
People make targets of themselves and then complain and fuss when the media does what they do.
And Ms. Dow, so eloquently stated; “You can only take what you are given by the media, but if you are going to be a responsible person you have to investigate yourself what is truth and what is not.”
And I investigating, she made a claim and I, for one, would like to know about the alleged “lie.”
No cross hairs on Ms. Dow…
July 22nd, 2007 at 11:50 am“The implication that if you decide to a wear a t-shirt with a silly slogan at a party or be involved in a staged photo that somehow should make you a target I disagree with.”
Whether or not people agree or disagree, it is as they say; good ol’ American politics where simply stating something makes it so…and a picture is worth a thousand words, as to whether or not any of them are true, the consumer must decide.
But if we give the media the fuel they will stoke the fire by reporting it….
But I digress.
July 22nd, 2007 at 12:01 pmI believe I did just cover what was lied about – the source and the context at a minimum.
I also would point out that we don’t have to agree to continue stoking fires we don’t think should have been set in the first place…
July 22nd, 2007 at 12:15 pmAll I can say is, that when leads a public life one’s life is that public and there are media that will publish the story and the City Paper did state that it came from Ms. Dow’s face book, so I am still confused about the alleged lie.
Stepping out of the mine field of public discussion as it seems that this subject is simply too touchy for reasons not known.
July 22nd, 2007 at 12:36 pmAs I have stated so many times before, that photo did not come from my facebook profile. I do take ownership of the photo, however there are several other people who have copies of it. (seeing as it was a costume party, where people take pictures). It’s unfortunate that they (the two in the photo with me) wound up in the news too by no fault of their own.
July 22nd, 2007 at 12:40 pmIt’s not too touchy NC, I just get tired of seeing people being made a focus when it should have never happened in the first place. Nor did it come from her facebook, it came from “a” facebook from what I understand which is totally different if you know anything about how facebook works. My advice to my daughters now is not to let anyone take photos of them at parties, since what other people post you can’t control.
July 22nd, 2007 at 12:42 pmI see Allison posted while I was still writing…
July 22nd, 2007 at 12:43 pmhehe Lisa I beat you to the punch. You should start some sort of blogging race!
July 22nd, 2007 at 12:49 pm“As I have stated so many times before, that photo did not come from my facebook profile.”
And thank you for clearing this up as I do not remember you stating the above, at least that I saw.
July 22nd, 2007 at 1:02 pm“…I just get tired of seeing people being made a focus when it should have never happened in the first place.”
It’s not a touchy subject, but it is one that makes a person tired of seeing it being discussed.
Same but different?
It is done for me.
As like Paul Harvey, would say, now you know the rest of the story.
July 22nd, 2007 at 1:05 pmAnd as Ms. Dow, pointed out; “You can only take what you are given by the media, but if you are going to be a responsible person you have to investigate yourself what is truth and what is not.”
Or be an informed consumer of what is written and said, but to do that, one needs to ask.
July 22nd, 2007 at 1:07 pm