Konop unveils plan to help working families…
From the Blade article, since no release was sent to share and there’s no details on his mayoral campaign site as of moments ago:
•Acquiring funds from the $12 billion that President Obama has set aside for community colleges and using that money to help Owens Community College open a campus in downtown Toledo.
•Placing a ballot initiative before Toledo voters by November, 2010, requiring Toledo businesses with 25 or more employees to provide paid sick days.
Employees working 32 or more hours a week would accrue six paid sick days, and those working 20 to 32 hours a week would accrue four. Paid sick days could be taken to care for sick children or a spouse.
•Requiring that any business receiving $50,000 or more in tax incentives and nonrepayable financial assistance from the city, and employing 25 or more workers, pay a living wage to all employees.
•Requiring that any contractor wanting to do business with the city sign an agreement to pay the prevailing, or average union, wage to employees.
•Merging county and city building inspection departments to produce more frequent and stringent inspections.
Awesome job Ben! Finally, a candidate in this race realizes that our economy and our city will be rebuilt by the middle class. We have had enough of business and city leaders getting fatter and richer while the middle class in our city shrinks and only grows poorer. I think all the other candidates in this race should take a lesson from Ben and run for the people!
July 20th, 2009 at 10:49 pmIf those very small businesses are
July 20th, 2009 at 10:51 pmrequired as Konop suggests they
will go out of business and all the
employees will have every day of the
week as a sick day!
Well Katie I’d hope that no other candidate would repeatedly take up the local media’s time with a multitude of projects that a needy public wants desperately to hear and yet they all go nowhere. Every time.
I’d hope no other candidate signs up volunteers with great experience to retrain adults for a changing job market and then never contacts those folks once the paper has gone out.
Sounds great – goes nowhere.
Just a thought…
July 21st, 2009 at 12:32 amBen? The only way this plan will work is if you just quit trying to help.
July 21st, 2009 at 5:32 amIt’s nice that Konop finally has some specific plans, but why deliver this speech at a church? This is no place for a politician to “preach” their own philosophy. You’d think we would have learned from people like Jeremiah Wright that politics from the pulpit is not a good idea. I’m frankly surprised that no one has called him on this, because it’s not like there aren’t other venues for him to speak in Toledo. I guess this reassures Ben’s God complex. A church is a place of worship, not an opportunity to pass out campaign stickers.
July 21st, 2009 at 8:31 am•Acquiring funds from the $12 billion ….
not his idea – been worked on for years by others including the other two sitting commissioners
•Placing a ballot initiative….
leadership?! doesn’t have the courage to pass the legislation himself – put it on the voters
•Requiring that any business receiving $50,000….
qualifying businesses either already do OR would forgo incentives and leave
•Requiring that any contractor ….
does this not already exist? they only pay living wage for the government projects.
•Merging county and city building inspection ….
both departments are currently understaffed and do very little enforcement. at a time of economic distress how does additional fines and penalties on small business and residents help the working class?!
July 21st, 2009 at 8:53 amI guess his scholarship plan is going nowhere so he moved from UT to focusing on Owens. No doubt UT is smiling as Owens feels suddenly tired…
July 21st, 2009 at 10:44 amHas boooooo Ben Konop boooooo ever held a private sector job? Has he ever owned a business? What does he mean by “working families?” No matter how much money a person with a job and a family makes, wouldn’t that make them a working family?
Why was he making a political stump at a church? Isn’t this a violation of separation of church and state?
Benny boy sure has great ideas when it comes to spending other people’s money. His ideas will surely bring more businesses and residents to the City of Toledo. NOT!!!!!! No Ben, you cut taxes and fees, you cut non-essential staff. Look at the City of Toledo’s website and click on departments. Look at how many assistants are in the mayor’s office. Another thing, UT used to be at the Seagate Center, didn’t work. More tired ideas from the politics of usual. I wonder if Aunt Sandy is giving him pointers. If I hear anything from him about a free roof……….
July 21st, 2009 at 12:18 pmIt’s not a violation to speak in a Church, many candidates, including those on both side of the aisle speak at churches.
July 21st, 2009 at 12:23 pmHe’s anti-business. If all of his ideas pass, you can expect a lot of small businesses to move or close up.
July 21st, 2009 at 1:28 pmFrom The Tax Guide For Churches and Religious Organizations:
Inviting a Candidate to Speak
Depending on the facts and circumstances, a church or religious organization may invite political candidates to speak at its events without jeopardizing its tax-exempt status. Political candidates may be invited in their capacity as candidates, or individually (not as a candidate).
Speaking as a candidate.
Like any other IRC section 501(c)(3) organization, when a candidate is invited to speak at a church or religious organization event as a political candidate, the church or religious organization must take steps to ensure that:
it provides an equal opportunity to the political candidates seeking the same office,
July 21st, 2009 at 2:20 pmit does not indicate any support of or opposition to the candidate (This should be stated explicitly when the candidate is introduced and in communications concerning the candidate’s attendance.), and
no political fundraising occurs.
Which does not appear to have been violated, unless other candidates seeking the same office are refused the right to also address the congregation.
Even then, it’s not a failure of the candidate, it would be a failure on that particular Church.
July 21st, 2009 at 2:37 pmThat is kind of the point I’m making. Is this church extending an invitation to any other candidate????????? I wonder why the reporter did not ask this question of the pastor or church board.
July 21st, 2009 at 3:57 pmNot to be overly cynical, but I’ve almost given up on asking why a reporter didn’t ask one or more questions. If the church does demonstrate some type of a bias and doesn’t offer the same invitation to the other Mayoral candidates then it still would not be anything related to the Konop campaign though, it would be related to the Church. It’s a valid point to raise Pam, and it’s one that the Church or the reporter should answer/share.
July 21st, 2009 at 4:00 pmAnimal House Rescue unveils plan to help local pets.
http://www.ahrescue.org
Big Dog Walk this Sunday at Secor Metro Park. Auction, prizes, etc.
TAHL
July 21st, 2009 at 4:57 pmI got the release, just was busy with other things, it’s up now.
July 21st, 2009 at 5:42 pmKonop sure does like to mandate a lot of things to PRIVATE businesses!
Living wages? How about entry level wages for entry level work? Pumping gas or, delivering papers was NEVER intended to be a career for the head of a family of 5!
Young Ben’s candy-coated dreams might work in fantasy-land but, in the real world they chase private businesses out of Toledo.
Ben and Opal seem to be living in the same section of the twilight zone. The only difference is that when Opal says something, she really believes it and isn’t just pandering to an audience.
July 22nd, 2009 at 3:12 amSo Ben wants to mandate sick days on private businesses, as well as wages… one more way to sink Toledo further down the hole it’s in now!
Bye-bye business development! No wonder Wood County and towns such as Rossford and Perrysburg have the Welcome Wagon stationed at their bridges…
If this or similar pipe dreams get implemented, just change the welcome signs to read:
Welcome to Little Detroit!
July 22nd, 2009 at 10:26 amIt seems to me that those plans that Ben has will chase business out of Toledo.
The only good thing might be the more frequent building inspections.
July 22nd, 2009 at 11:33 amThis guy and Wilkowski will destroy this city. Not like its already being destroyed now, with all the liberals and the hope and change economy.
July 22nd, 2009 at 11:44 am