Enquirer Endorsements for State Representative

The Cincinnati Enquirer has endorsed Republicans Courtney Combs and Bill Coley for State Representative in Butler County and Peter Stautberg (Tom Brinkman's seat) and Virgil Lovitt (Jim Raussen's seat).

I don't know much about Stautberg (an attorney) or Lovitt (mayor of Sharonville), but Combs and Coley are incumbents and well deserving of a vote of confidence for re-election.

Tom Brinkman was term-limited and Jim Raussen is a traitor and took a job with the Strickland administration.

We Get Letters: "Regarding Hateful Mailer"

Albert F. Peter, Anderson Township Trustee would like to share the following letter that has been forwarded to Greg Delev who is running against Russ Jackson for Ohio State Representative.

Greg,

I am incensed by your recent mailer slamming Russ Jackson as ‘“Tax’N” Jackson’. It is first of all wrong, secondly is not factual, and thirdly represents one of the lowest forms of political dirty tricks. I believed that you were above this as most are in Anderson, but I guess that winning at all costs is more important to you than being honorable. I can have no respect for anyone perpetrating or condoning this sort of behavior.

To wit (things you should know, but apparently do not, and had you been attending trustee meetings you might have learned):

1. The new Anderson Center has not been built with tax dollars, but rather with TIFF funds that do not increase any taxpayer’s real estate bill, monies that otherwise would have been spent outside of Anderson by the County.

2. Russ, Peggy, and I are extremely frugal and responsible with the tax revenues in our care. For example, we stretch levies well beyond the original projections. Russ has been a leader in advocating such tax levy stretching. Most of our levy money is not indexed for inflation, but our expenses go up anyway. By State law TIFF funds can only be spent on capital projects, not for operating expenses, so levies are necessary to cover basic services, which are primarily labor related.

3. Even with the levy stretching we have maintained services and augmented our projects with millions of grant dollars to benefit the taxpayers of Anderson.

4. The Anderson Center is primarily for use of the community with the theater, public meeting spaces, Anderson History Room, and Emergency Operations Center comprising more than half of the square footage. Much of the rest is dedicated to activities benefiting the community, such as the Chamber and ACT (from each of which the township receives payment).

5. The long term upkeep and maintenance of the center will be largely covered by fees from usage of the facility.

6. Township Trustees do not even have offices in the new facility. We will use conference rooms or public meeting spaces for meetings with constituents and staff.

7. In surveys of Anderson taxpayer opinion on Fiscal responsibility, we have consistently scored very high, most recently being 87% favorable.

Your assertions of fiscal irresponsibility on our part are outrageous and simply not true. You owe Russ and all of the hardworking staff of the Township Government a retraction and apology for the bold-faced allegations in this mailer. Had you bothered to investigate the real situation you would have uncovered the facts above.

I will actively encourage everyone I know to vote against you on Tuesday and I hope your tactics will galvanize many others to do the same.

Albert F. Peter

Anderson Township Trustee

Here is the flyer in question...

35th Ohio House Update: Another Republican Joins the Race

Over at Politics Extra, the Cincinnati Enquirer's political blog, we discover yet another name thrown in to the ring to replace outgoing State Representative Tom Brinkman, who is term-limited and running in the primary for the Second Congressional District against incumbent US Rep. Jean Schmidt and former Hammilton County Commissioner Phil Heimlich.

Anderson Township lawyer Peter Stautberg joins another Anderson Township lawyer, Greg Delev, and Anderson Township trustee Russ Jackson in what is sure to be a circus of a primary. The eventual winner gets to take on Jeff Sinnard (D) in the general and should win pretty easily as the district is heavily Republican.