Mark Clark first on ballot and first to raise questions one of which is he a Republican…
I decided earlier this campaign cycle that I was not going to do a brief look into any candidates background until they had actually turned their petitions in, since there is a chance some of those who took out petitions will decide to not actually run for office. When I received the media release that Mark Clark was going to run for office, I ran his name through Toledo Municipal Court both civil and criminal and through Lucas County Common Pleas Court. There were no criminal cases found using the search perimeters, there were recent civil cases that appear to be related to medical bills, one of those has been filed in Lucas County Common Pleas Court. Additionally in Lucas County Common Pleas Court the State of Ohio filed action against Mark Clark twice in 2003 related to Sales Tax, both of those cases total over $10,000 and they are both shown as active/lien status as of this morning.
In checking Mark Clark’s voting record, he does not appear to have voted in a primary, Lucas County voter database information lists him as not having a declared party. The Secretary of State’s website confirms that since 2000, Clark has not voted in Municipal elections he voted in the:
2008 PRESIDENTIAL GENERAL
2004 GEN PRESIDENTIAL
2000 NOV GENERAL
Toledo Council elections are not partisan, so there are no requirements related to party membership, which means there are no legal questions that are being raised. There are however questions related to civic commitment, if a person has not voted in any primaries or any recent Municipal elections they are basically asking voters to vote for them, when they’ve not recently cared enough to vote themselves. I’m not sure what screening/vetting process has taken place by the Lucas County Republican Party in relation to their slate of City Council Candidates.
On Wednesday, June 3, 2009 at 5:09 p.m. I emailed the person who sent me the release on Mark Clark, informed him of the cases in Lucas County Common Pleas Court and told them I was going to be blogging about this, I stated I would hold posting until Friday morning to be able to give Mark Clark or his campaign an opportunity to include a statement/explanation. I also informed a member of the Lucas County Republican Party later that evening as to what I had found and that I was giving Mr. Clark an opportunity to share an explanation. I also shared a basic explanation of the process I am going to use, waiting until the petitions are filed and giving any person who does have items found (not including traffic) that raise questions an opportunity to respond.
As of 9:55 a.m. there has been no response from Mark Clark or on behalf of Mark Clark.
I realize some of you will be tempted to stray off topic into personal attacks/insults directed at the Lucas County Party Chair, Jon Stainbrook, I would ask that you keep your comments directed to this scenario. It would be appropriate to discuss the screening/vetting/decision process since it does appear clear that Mark Clark has not voted in a Republican Primary and is not a registered Republican and does that matter to you or not matter to you. Does it matter if a candidate has not voted in recent municipal elections for the office that he is running for? Do the filings in Lucas County Common Pleas Court matter or not matter as far as your decision process on a candidate? Those are all appropriate areas of discussion, and with this election season promising to be one that will have a large number of candidates, that we focus on serious discussion of these candidates and the process.
Updated 11:48 this was just received from the Mark Clark campaign:
Tax Liens:
I, like many Americans started a small business, the business was successful for about 10 years, then sales declined, I decided to it was time to move on.
I closed the business in 1999, at that time taxes were owed to the state of Ohio. The state placed liens on my home in an effort to collect remaining taxes. I have been making monthly payments to take care of my obligations and put this matter behind me.
To summarize, this was a leaning experience for me, and I have been successful in my business endeavors since.
Medical:
Recently my family experienced a major medical incident without insurance coverage; I’m making monthly payments to remedy this situation.
Mark Clark
Has Mr. Clark had any experience in politics?
June 5th, 2009 at 10:23 amThat has nothing to do with this topic, I’ve removed it and I will do the same for anyone who decides to venture into trying to discuss other potential candidates unless they are sharing a historical scenario that is similar.
June 5th, 2009 at 10:28 amLisa,
After signing Mark’s petition (he showed up on my doorstep last weekend, obviously using the BOE’s City of Toledo “walking list”
I checked that very same list only to find no republican with that name on the voter rolls either.
Still, anyone wishing to run or to put anything on the ballot gets my signature.
To me, to do anything less is to impede the process that too many have fought and died for, to give us this opportunity to participate in.
June 5th, 2009 at 11:29 amHooda, I have the same belief, I sign petitions for candidates running for office when I am asked as well, no matter their party affiliation. I have decided the best process is to wait until petitions are filed then look at each candidate exactly the same. As you can see by the update, the Clark campaign has provided a statement in relation to the Common Pleas cases, which is what I would have preferred, that way more than just the court docket is shared.
June 5th, 2009 at 11:54 amWell, I’m glad to see the Stainbrook’s regime is running a tight ship. Hopefully, Stainbrook will understand that recruiting candidates for central committee is not the same as for Toledo City Council.
What’s next….Is Matthew Bartow going to get an endorsement to run?
June 5th, 2009 at 12:14 pmLisa-
I find it sad that it appears you are essentially threatening political candidates with a ’smear job’ until you get information that suits you; ie: holding a story over their head.
You want quality people to run in this city? Then quit acting like a journalistic wannabe; either become a journalist, or stay a blogger.
Either way, this stinks to high heaven! Too bad Mr. Clark had to defend himself to you. How about we see what type of record you have… how perfect are you?
I say Good Luck to Mark Clark.
June 5th, 2009 at 12:16 pmLisaRenee wrote:
Why doesn’t it have anything to do with it? Isn’t political experience important?
June 5th, 2009 at 12:28 pmNot Again, you edited the comment, so you know exactly what I was referring to.
June 5th, 2009 at 12:33 pmLisa, you could have fixed the typos in the update before you posted it.
How could a successful businessman not have medical insurance?
June 5th, 2009 at 12:35 pmHenri, it’s public record information and the last time it was stated that I wasn’t being fair by not giving the candidates the opportunity to respond.
If I were selective in this it’d be an issue, but I’m not going to be. If I ever decide to run for public office? I’d expect the media would do the exact same thing to me – the Blade has run background checks on candidates and requested they allow them to run credit checks on them in the past, other media sources, including the Toledo Free Press have run background checks as far as public records information. I’m sorry you seem to take issue with the concept of transparency.
Not Again, I didn’t proof it, I posted it and did not notice the spelling error until you pointed it out.
June 5th, 2009 at 12:38 pmHenri,
I couldn’t agree more…why would anyone in their right mind want to run for a political office??
A) The hours stink
B) Your boss (the public) is crazy
C) The pay is less than lousy for the work you do!
All these folks running and have an honest desire to make things “better” have my respect and admiration.
I shall be staying in the public sector, thanks!
mj
June 5th, 2009 at 12:41 pmMindy if you don’t think these issues raised matter? Then that’s your decision, but I’m going to continue to do this because I think transparency is important.
Despite the threats, despite the hate mail.
June 5th, 2009 at 12:46 pm“Additionally in Lucas County Common Pleas Court the State of Ohio filed action against Mark Clark twice in 2003 related to Sales Tax, both of those cases total over $10,000 and they are both shown as active/lien status as of this morning.”
I can’t understand why it would take so long to pay this off. He has had six years since the lien was put in place.
I certainly wouldn’t vote for someone that won’t pay his taxes unless he is sued.
June 5th, 2009 at 12:53 pmI think it’s a great service for those of us who wouldn’t think to run the candidates through the filter prior to the October surprises which always create chaos.
And it’s a good opportunity for the candidates to discuss the situations in an open forum rather than a heavily edited newspaper story.
This way I got to read the statement as written. Not as slanted!
And this will preclude the activities of those candidates who decide to run NOT because they have anything of value to offer, but they have some dirt on their opponent that they plan to release right ahead of the election. That’s a big reason why we’ve wound up with some of the no shows we have elected in this county.
And many small businesses don’t have and cannot afford insurance. It’s become such an issue, with the cost of the policies rising at unprecedented rates over the last decade that some states, like Texas are considering subsidizing healthcare premiums for small businesses (and individuals, since about a quarter are without and cannot afford health care).
June 5th, 2009 at 12:54 pmMartha44 wrote:
Come on, Martha! Help a brotha out! It’s the weekend, and I’m gettin’ thirsty.
June 5th, 2009 at 1:55 pmLisa, I commend you for your efforts to show the whole story behind the candidates. You would think that the LCRP would have run the same records checks that you have done in their vetting process, but apparently this was not the case. It bothers me that Clark only voted in presidential general elections for the past 9 years. You would assume that someone willing to devote their time and effort to campaigning and elected office would find the time to make it to the voting booth on election day, regardless of whether it was a “high stakes” election or not. I commend him for entering the race, but I just can’t support someone who did even less than a dedicated voter in the political arena. Putting an absentee ballot in the mail a few times a year could have gone a long way.
June 5th, 2009 at 2:03 pmYea, I’m guessing Mark Clark wasn’t much of a voter, in local politics, because he wasn’t given much of a choice when it came to who to vote for.
And finally, maybe out of frustration, or even desperation, with what he saw going on in the city, he threw his hat, his tax liens, and his dignity into the ring-of-fire that is Toledo politics.
All he did was go door-to-door, with little encouragement, share with voters his ideas, and hear their concerns, and managed to collect enough signatures to file for an office that no sane person should want.
So, my hat’s off to Mark. It’s easy to be imperfect, it’s much more difficult make those imperfections public.
I’m guessing he has good reasons for enduring this.
June 5th, 2009 at 2:23 pmrogue wrote:
Medical insurance?
June 5th, 2009 at 2:44 pmrogue wrote:
Yeah, Stainbrook was scraping the bottom of the barrel and needed a warm body for a candidate.
June 5th, 2009 at 2:55 pmWhy did he wait to get sued to pay his taxes and medical expenses?
June 5th, 2009 at 2:59 pmLisa,
I know that what you do, you view as a public service. Everyone should have a hobby with as much personal gratification, despite the threats and whatevers, I am guessing its still quite rewarding to share the information you do with so many inqusitive minds. I am not merely refering to the political BS, but all the topics you generate.
My point was only that I would not go through such scrutiny for a job I would not want.
NA – wow…what a cynic
June 5th, 2009 at 3:03 pmMindy, I understand, I’ve developed a pretty thick skin in doing this, so I don’t take offense no matter how you meant it. I do think some people go way too far in their emotional reactions to what is written on a blog and that my family shouldn’t have to deal with some of the silliness/drama some try to create but, if I was going to stop because of the actions of a few irresponsible people, I would have stopped a while ago.
If I start hacking into people’s private MySpace or Facebooks, start digging into their personal private lives or the lives of their children/spouses/other family then I’d be opening myself up to legitimate criticism. Ironically all of that has been threatened/attempted towards me in the never ending game in Toledo known as “shoot the messenger” which if successful turns the topic away from the topic/person posted about. I understand why it’s done, I understand why some fall for it.
When you run for public office you face more scrutiny than my blog and to be honest if someone can’t take the comments here, which while I’d like it to be more civil, if they can’t handle this? Then they might not be cut out for public office.
June 5th, 2009 at 4:13 pmGood for Mark, why not run. Hope you do well. Will Carty allow somebody to run for office in Toledo if they have a business outside of Toledo?
June 5th, 2009 at 6:31 pmThis guy must have thick skin if he put himself out there to run for public office with all those tax liens, doctor bills, etc. I do have to question why he waited to get sued prior to finally paying his bills. I’m sure many of us have been in the position of bills we cannot afford but hospitals do make reasonable payment arrangements prior to suing but I doubt the state does.
No surprise that he is not a registered R, most of stains folks weren’t. The voting is a problem for me, if you don’t vote don’t complain!
PS The video is an amazing piece of work! Although I thought it was supposed to be about the candidate not the chairman.
June 5th, 2009 at 7:11 pmI believe that Mark had opened a restaurant/bar just before the smoking ban went into effect, and that his business there failed as a result.
June 5th, 2009 at 8:22 pmSuzanne wrote:
Like the others? One thing about being a good business person is that a good one will conduct a risk assessment before they commit to an investment. It not only applies to business but to governance. This is something sorely lacking locally.
The smoking ban proposals did not appear in the dark of the night.
June 5th, 2009 at 8:42 pmIs this the best the Republicans can do? Looks like the Democrats will dominate this area another 60 years.
At least run someone who is actually a Republican.
June 5th, 2009 at 8:44 pmmeghan wrote:
video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2Is4o6svg0
June 5th, 2009 at 8:58 pmGreat video, man that looks scary!!!!! What will the puppet master do next.
June 5th, 2009 at 9:02 pmwell he did a shitty job on this one.
June 5th, 2009 at 9:18 pmThe support shown in the video is impressive. I bet Jan Scotland wished he had that support in his campaign. I can’t wait to see the rest of the candidates film their arrivals to the B.O.E. You go Mark Clark, Jon will lead you to the light at the end of the tunnel. Speaking of tunnels, is a sewer line considered a tunnel?
June 6th, 2009 at 6:28 amSomeone needs to forward that pathetic video to the Toledo City Paper for Hildo’s column. That video is worth a couple of pages of commentary.
June 6th, 2009 at 10:20 amThe voting record is an issue and a mistake that would not have been made before. I know the party would have had a problem with this under previous leadership.
For those concerned about Jon being too much in the video, just leave him be, it is the first candidate he got to actually file petitions. The last one he forgot to file them, so he just got a little carried away.
Also, Jon is saying he is the first on the ballot, that is not assured until the Board of Elections verifies the signatures. Michael Collins knows that just because you file signatures does not mean you get on the ballot.
June 6th, 2009 at 11:31 amchrismyers wrote:
You are so right Chris. He actually got a candidate-of sorts-to submit petitions. Of course, given the level of incompetence of the current party leaders, we can assume that some error was made. The only real question is will it be serious enough to throw out the petitions.
June 6th, 2009 at 2:11 pmjenny wrote:
Then he will blame the BOE for being against him and his candidates. Its all a conspiracy you know. We will also see a blade op ed which states no matter the seriousness of the error, stainbrook’s candidate/s MUST be on the ballot.
June 7th, 2009 at 12:09 pmchrismyers wrote:
Maybe you should introduce yourself to Jeff Simpson, Chrissy, he had a voting record something like my attendance record at AA. AND he had NO Party affiliation before he was endorsed by the LCRP, in 2007, to run for District 2 City Council.
But that was another time, wasn’t it?
June 8th, 2009 at 9:35 amI’m not sure on that one Rogue, my copy of the Lucas County Voter Database when he lived at his former address shows him voting republican in the 2005 primary, at least that’s where the “X” is lined up under…That said, it does appear that he was not a regular voter.
June 8th, 2009 at 11:09 amThank you for the nice comment about the video. I only had my little digital camera, and the wind was really bad. I tried my best to get as much of Mark as possible, but I did not get good audio. I am glad you like it.
June 8th, 2009 at 12:18 pmLisaRenee wrote:
Yea, according to Mr. Jaeger-Bomb’s databases, Simpson couldn’t vote “republican” in ‘05 or ‘07, because those are non-partisan primaries.
Jeff Simpson declared himself (for the first time) in March of 2008, nearly six-months after losing his city council bid for district 2.
Sooooo, I’m still going to ask Chrissy to check his facts with the president of the Toledo YR’s, and find out when his friend officially joined the Republcan Party.
Since he should have served on the committee that endorsed him.
June 8th, 2009 at 12:47 pmThen it could have been the 2004 primary Rouge, the easiest way is to ask for his voter card through the BOE, since the text database with their cute little X’s is always fun to line up. It lists him as an R – and it was prior to the last presidential primary election.
June 8th, 2009 at 12:50 pmPRIMARY-03/07/2000,GENERAL-11/07/2000,SPECIAL-05/08/2001,GENERAL-11/06/2001,PRIMARY-05/07/2002,GENERAL-11/05/2002,SPECIAL-05/06/2003,GENERAL-11/04/2003,PRIMARY-03/02/2004,GENERAL-11/02/2004,SPECIAL-02/08/2005,PRIMARY-05/03/2005,GENERAL-11/08/2005,SPECIAL
Those are the ones listed from the copy of the database I am quoting from…
June 8th, 2009 at 12:52 pmYep, my information similar, but doesn’t show Simpson as a loyal voter, or as a longtime republican.
June 8th, 2009 at 1:44 pmAnd Mark Clark is?
June 8th, 2009 at 2:34 pmNeil Harrison wrote:
June 8th, 2009 at 2:37 pmNot so quick, you cranky, whiney, self-inflated, off centered, egotistical, poop.
Just where do you get the fake balls coming off as a Republican as you do? Again…who in their right stinking mind would work for a bananna head Rebublican like you??!!
You won’t even use your real name on this page, ya weenie, and you have the aduaditity to call Mark’s VOLUNTEER out! You sooooo suck. (Yes, Lisa, I know I am being a bit harsh, but I am betting our little Meghan can take it…sometimes that happens when you dish it out)
I will deal with Jon, the girls, and Bartow any day…at least ya know where ya stand with them…None of this sniping from the bushes BS directed at new candidates and volunteers.
Sheesh…where’s my Midol???
mj
June 8th, 2009 at 3:01 pmI thought we weren’t supposed to engage in personal attacks, immature tirades and name calling?
That is not a great way to represent the party. Makes us look very bad indeed.
Not helpful at all.
June 8th, 2009 at 3:05 pmI stand behind my words, the video, as a campaign piece in one word – sucks. Sorry if someone got their feelings hurt, if you can’t take it maybe you should get out of politics since it is a not touchy-feely, kind and gentle world.
June 8th, 2009 at 3:23 pmAnd again – who said I did not use my real name?
I’m sure Neil Harrison is a very nice, well intentioned person and I did not personally attack him, I attacked the campaign product.
Meghan,
I apologize for my diatribe…it was uncalled for and the Midol seems to be kicking in…but I ALSO stand behine my sentiment.
An experienced politico such as yourself should know enough to NEVER attack the volunteers…that is just cheesy and lowlife in my book. We must have trained under different teachers.
Ah well…always a pleasure to discourse with you.
Again, I apologize for my hasty, personal insults
mj
ps…butt out, kateb. Surprisingly, I don’t need you pointing out my faults.
June 8th, 2009 at 5:03 pmmindy wrote:
Gosh i missed this part on my first read. Must have been because I was laughing so hard at getting your panties in such a wad.
I do not have real balls let alone fake ones, i don’t know many men named Meghan although I’m sure some cruel parent has done it. I have voted Republican for 16 years (which does give away my age, i’m gettin up there) so I guess I am that kind of R, the one whose parents were R and so on.
I am not hiring at the present time so nobody will have the opportunity to work for me. I find your choice of words interesting (I’m sure you were avoiding calling me a bitch but that would have been ok, I am one and I can take it.) I haven’t been called a banana head Republican before, thats a new one!
Thanks for making my day even more entertaining than watching that lame video over and over.
Does that answer your questions? Hope so and have a great day sweetie, it’ll get better
June 8th, 2009 at 5:12 pmSorry Mindy, we must have been posting at the same time! Ah, great minds….
apology accepted! That was definitely out of character, even when we disagree you are always very pleasant.
June 8th, 2009 at 5:13 pmWell if you don’t want comments, you might refrain from blogging.
That’s how it works. You actually were called out for making an unsolicited comment (wholesale frontal assault) on another comment.
Funny how that worked, eh?
June 8th, 2009 at 5:24 pmI can’t believe you guys are picking on a volunteer. That is low, I don’t see you out there helping any one.
June 8th, 2009 at 6:55 pmI volunteer. I’m a registered Republican and I’ve worked the campaigns here in Toledo since I moved here in ‘01. I also contribute to candidates.
June 8th, 2009 at 7:01 pmThat’s an interesting comment Susan, since someone using the same ip address and the same e-mail address as you used here, posting under the name Kara is the one that pointed out the video in the first place on the other thread Which if you read the rules of this site? You need to pick one user name…
I agree people shouldn’t pick on volunteers, which most of the comments were related to the video, and that’s a part of politics, when videos are made? They are critiqued…Mark Clark is not the first one in this area or anywhere to have done a video that met critique…
June 8th, 2009 at 7:23 pmI am not picking on a volunteer. I am picking on a ridiculous video which says nothing other than “we were the 1st to file”. Big deal, what does your candidate stand for? What are his policies? People value their votes more than ‘well, he was first to file so i guess I’ll vote for him’. Mark Clark says 8 words in the entire video.
June 8th, 2009 at 7:28 pmMeghan,
I am guessing in different times, under different circumstances, we would most likely have worked very well together. I must admit, of all the folks I have ‘met’ on the pages, you are one of the ones I would most like to have a cocktail with…!
But I have to admit I am disappointed that you called out a volunteer. I can (sorta) understand going after the leadership, afterall, they (kinda) knew what they were getting into. However, a newbie candidate’s volunteer…well that just strikes me as somewhat cheap and somehow beneath you. I believe you to appreciate the entheusiasm and hard work that volunteers bring to a campaign, taking them out the first week strikes me as overkill.
kateb, I could refrain from blogging or perhaps you could just refrain from being annoying.
mj
June 8th, 2009 at 7:41 pmNeil Harrison wrote:
Not wind Neil, hot air.
June 8th, 2009 at 7:55 pmjenny wrote:
ROTFLMAO! You always come up with great stuff Jenny!
June 8th, 2009 at 8:14 pmmj – when you quit being annoying and I’ll be able to quit commenting on it. Don’t shoot the messenger.
Back to the actual topic at hand…has there been an answer to Mark’s voting record?
June 8th, 2009 at 11:23 pmkateb,
If you are so well connected…so involved in campaigning and such a hefty donnor, look up/obtain Clark’s voting record yourself…or get Lisa to do it. I am not here to do your bidding.
mj
June 9th, 2009 at 5:00 pmI believe the question was related to did Mark Clark have a response related to his voting record as was pointed out. Which the answer to that question would be no, there was no response sent in reference to his voting record.
June 9th, 2009 at 5:02 pmMindy wrote:
Ditto!
I actually didn’t really realize it was a volunteer that made the video. I figured it was stainbrook or one of his freaks with the camera. If I hurt someone’s feelings (aside from the usual suspects)I really feel bad. I took the response from Neil as sarcastic and responded in kind. I am not out to hurt the feelings of volunteers, particularly new ones who may not understand the entire situation at hand.
Neil, please accept my sincere apology, I was being mean because of my feelings toward others which has nothing to do with you. Keep working hard for Republican candidates, they appreciate your help and so do all the Republican voters!
Mindy – when you FINALLY wake the heck up and realize stainbrook for what he really is we will have the cocktail! I am truly looking forward to it!
June 9th, 2009 at 10:02 pmThe question said ‘back to the original topic’, which is not about you – everything is not just about you Mindy – I hope that doesn’t hurt you feelings.
Meghan – I’ll buy you that cocktail
You’ve got a good grasp on reality.
And the question stands,,,I’d still like clarification on the voting record. When you’ve never voted on Party lines and then you announce yourself as a Party candidate – when you’re not a registered voter with that Party, how does that happen?
June 10th, 2009 at 9:57 am