Ohio's Worst Kept Secret Now Official: Mandel in for Treasurer

Yawn. This has been public knowledge for months:

It's a very exciting time right now. I'm happy to be kicking off my State Treasurer campaign.

I am running for State Treasurer in 2010 for a number of reasons, not the least of which is to bring new energy, fresh ideas, and the next generation of leadership to state government.

To prepare for this decision, I put more than 30,000 miles on my car over the past few months, driving to every corner of our state to speak with people from all walks of life.  I heard their frustration that while our economy is hurting and families are tightening their belts, government is spending like there is no tomorrow.  They said that to change the direction of our state, we need new leaders who believe in good old-fashioned values like honesty, hard work and fiscal responsibility.

Will Bondholder Deal Keep GM From Bankruptcy?

I'm not sure that it will, but even if GM does enter bankruptcy, having this agreement in place with the bond holders would make that bankruptcy shorter and less risky:

General Motors said in a regulatory filing on Thursday that it has proposed a new deal to a committee representing many of its largest bondholders, offering an equity stake of as much as 25 percent in the restructured automaker if bondholders don’t oppose G.M.’s reorganization plan.
The filing also fills out many of the details of that plan, crafted under the eye of the Treasury Department, which would be G.M.’s majority owner once it emerged from bankruptcy protection with a 72.5 percent stake.
...

A committee representing about 20 percent of G.M.’s bonds said in a statement that they are supporting the new proposal.

“The ad hoc committee of G.M. bondholders supports the revised offer from GM and believes that when contrasted with the alternative – uncertain and costly bankruptcy court litigation – that it represents the best alternative for bondholders in the current difficult and dire situation,” the group said in a statement.

GOPers In Such A Hurry To Attack Obama's SCOTUS Nominee That They Can't Be Bothered To Learn Her Name

Well, that didn't take long.

Former Arkansas Gov. and presumed 2012 GOP Presidential Candidate Mike Huckabee already has a statement out criticizing President Obama's Supreme Court nominee. There's just one problem.

President Obama's nominee is 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Huckabee's statement criticizes someone named Maria Sotomayor .

So, Huck-meister, is it that you can't be bothered to learn the name of our next Supreme Court justice before cutting her off at the knees? Or, are you playing to stereotypes that all Latino women are named "Maria"?

Thoughts on "Decoration Day"

If you have ever driven west from downtown Cleveland along the shore of Lake Erie, you might have taken the West Shoreway to Clifton Boulevard to Lake Road out to Bay Village. If you did that, you would have followed a portion of U.S. Route 6. 

U.S. Route 6 is known as the Grand Army of the Republic Highway for its entire length from Massachusetts to California, obviously including the portion I described above. The Grand Army of the Republic, in turn, was a now-defunct fraternal organization for Union veterans of the Civil War. And it was this organization that began the tradition of setting aside one day in late May to remember our nation's war dead.

As it was originally conceived, "Decoration Day" was supposed to be always on May 30th, not on the last Monday in May. The full text of the GAR Order that was issued calling for the establishment of Decoration Day is available here. It calls for GAR members to decorate "with the choicest flowers of spring-time" the graves of Union soldiers who died in the Civil War. 

It was not until after World War II that the holiday became more commonly known as Memorial Day. And it was not until Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act (Public Law 90-363) that Memorial Day was moved from May 30th to the current last Monday in May. In fact, there is a movement underway by veterans' groups to return Memorial Day to its traditional May 30th observance. That link will take you to an online petition calling for passage of a bill restoring Memorial Day to May 30th, which if you click it you'll see lots of signatures from today. Which proves, I guess, that politics never takes a rest. 

On whatever day it is observed, Memorial Day is a day reserved for honoring our veterans who made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of this country and the freedom we all enjoy. Thanks for your service, vets. And I hope everyone had a nice holiday. Tomorrow, it's back to work. 

United #615 Makes Emergency Landing In Pittsburgh; Plane Was Carrying Sen. Roland Burris

United Airlines Flight 615, an Airbus A319 flying from Washington National (DCA) to Chicago O'Hare (ORD) made an emergency landing this afternoon at Pittsburgh Int'l (PIT) after the plane experienced a problem with its hydraulic system. According to ThePittsburghChannel.com , the plane was carrying Sen. Roland Burris (D-IL).

United remains the only major airline in the United States that does not have any new airplanes on order with any major airplane manufacturers.

Rust Belt Is Already Benefiting From Green Jobs

As this CNNMoney.com article makes clear. My favorite quote?

Scores of firms in the renewable energy business have recently opened in the Rust Belt states. They hope to take advantage of a population known for its industrial skills, engineering ability and work ethic.

It's hard to say how many people these firms currently employ. The government doesn't yet track green jobs and the distinction between what's "green" and what isn't often gets blurred.

One study by the University of California, Berkeley estimated that green energy companies employ at least half a million people. That number could climb to 2 to 4 million over the next 15 years if the nation got 15%-20% of its power from renewable sources.

I Support Marilyn Brown for Ohio Secretary of State

I have not been able to pin down whether or not Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Bill Mason is going to take the plunge and run for Secretary of State. Some people say yes, some say no. It really doesn't matter to me, because Franklin County Commissioner Marilyn Brown has my support no matter what.

I have known Marilyn Brown and her husband Eric for six years, dating back to Howard Dean meetups at the now-closed Scottie MacBean's Cafe in Columbus' Clintonville neighborhood. In 2004, Eric Brown was elected to a seat on the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas. In 2006, Marilyn Brown took on the challenge of unseating the last GOPer on the Franklin County Board of Commissioners, defeating three term incumbent Dewey Stokes by 5 points. During that time, I vividly remember her husband attending campaign events with a nametag that identified himself not as "Judge Eric Brown" but as "Mr. Marilyn Brown"

 Since then, Marilyn has helped the County maintain its best possible AAA bond rating, a testament to the county's sound financial management practices. She helped oversee the construction of the new Huntington Park baseball stadium, which was on time, on budget, and built without a dime of taxpayer money. All the while, Marilyn and the rest of the Board took fire from the Dispatch (R-Columbus) for sticking to labor practice policies that were pro-labor, but that the paper conveniently forgot were enacted by her GOP predecessors. In 2008, she was elected President of the Board of Commissioners. Also in 2008, Marilyn's husband Eric was elected to become the first ever Democrat on the Franklin County Probate Court.

So, the Browns have a collective 3-for-3 track record in elections in Franklin County. Marilyn is now taking on the challenge of holding the Secretary of State seat for the Democratic Party. While it won't be easy to defeat "Slick Jonny" Husted, Marilyn will have my full support in her campaign. Go get 'em Marilyn!

PD: Fisher, Haseley Knew of Barbash's Tax Problems

Mark Naymik of the Plain Dealer is reporting the following this morning :

Strickland's administration also delivered a negative communication last week. That's when it acknowledged that the nobody told the governor that state's top development officer, Mark Barbash, had tax troubles before his promotion in February to the Cabinet-level post.

Barbash resigned Friday after a media report revealed he owed the Internal Revenue Service more than $146,000.

Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher knew of Barbash's problem, as did the governor's chief of staff, John Haseley. Yet, neither said anything to Strickland, who found out only when Barbash told the administration he had received a foreclosure notice on his home.

The situation sends a couple of possible messages, neither of them good.

One, the governor's staff keeps him out of the loop. Or, two, the governor doesn't pay attention to his own vetting process.

So, Lee Fisher and John Haseley knew of Barbash's tax problems and yet failed to tell the Guv?

Shame on them.

Governor Strickland is in the midst of a tough budget cycle and is looking at a no-gimme re-election campaign next year. These two should know better than to make his life more difficult than it already is.

As for Mark Barbash, fear not! You may owe $146,000 to the IRS, but Akron mayoral recall instigator Warner Mendenhall has you topped! He owes $196,000. So, Mark, you may not be fit to be director of Development, but you can feel free to start a petition drive to recall your local mayor. And, you can whine about it if your mayor's supporters try to point out your tax lien as a reason not to support your recall efforts too, just like Mendenhall has.

A New Campaign Link

Hi all, please note my new campaign link over on the right. I'll have a full length post up about this later.

OH-01: Driehaus Makes List of Most Vulnerable House Incumbents

This from the Fix's first ranking of the 10 U.S. House seats most likely to switch parties in 2010:

8. Ohio's 1st district (D) (55 percent): Rep. Steve Chabot's (R) hold on this Cincinnati-area district was always tenuous due to the heavy (27 percent) black population. With President Obama's historic candidacy leading the ticket, Chabot's number came up in 2008 as state Rep.Steve Driehaus (D) knocked him off by just over 8,000 votes. Chabot is running again, believing that the high levels of black turnout will not be repeatable in 2010. He's probably right but Driehaus will also benefit from the power of incumbency; witness the $152,000 (out of $215,000 raised) that came from political action committees in the first three months of the year.