Best Advocate For Change
The tireless Adam Reilly
is full of youthful exuberance and uses it to help others. As a risk
reduction specialist with Stop AIDS, Reilly has done extensive
research, held focus groups, traveled to conferences and spoken with
the city’s health commissioner about getting a needle exchange up and
running in Cincinnati. Already common in more progressive cities, an
exchange would help lessen the spread of HIV among drug addicts.
Knowing the concept will generate controversy in the conservative Queen
City, he’s already gotten support from police officers and local
doctors. Reilly does this in addition to his full-time job as an HIV
educator. If Cincinnati finally gets a needle exchange, after a noble
but ultimately unsuccessful attempt in the 1990s by City Councilman
Tyrone Yates, it will be solely because of Reilly’s drive. (Kevin
Osborne)
Best Flip-Flop by a Corporation
After years of blaming the victim, the Cintas Corp. had a
change of heart about an employee’s death while on the job. Just four
days before a trial was slated to begin on a wrongful death lawsuit,
the Mason-based uniform supplier settled the case for an undisclosed
amount. The suit was filed by the widow of Eleazar Torres-Gomez, who
was burned to death in an industrial dryer at a Cintas facility near
Tulsa, Okla., in 2007 — all for a $9 an hour job. Too bad it took the
company three years to find its conscience.
Best Flip-Flop by a Church
The Archdiocese of Cincinnati canceled an event slated
for after-hours at Purcell Marian High School in November after
learning of its true nature. The 912 Project, a group inspired by
right-wing talk show host Glenn Beck, rented space for a supposedly
nonpartisan speech by a black Tea Party activist. Once the media told
the Archdiocese the event was entitled “Stolen History: What the
Democrats, Progressives, and the Left Don’t Want You to Know,” it saw
through the deception and made the group find another venue.
Best Political Smackdown
Alliances often shift in politics, but the dispute that
ignited in December between Cincinnati City Councilman Jeff Berding and
his former allies in the police and firefighter unions was one for the
books. After Berding pushed for police and fire layoffs, the unions
distributed a flier alleging Berding had promised them privately to
oppose the city’s streetcar project but reneged. Berding denied the
claim and threatened to sue unless there was a retraction. No
retraction occurred, and Berding didn’t sue.
Best Overdue Farewell
Speaking of Berding, the peevish councilman announced in
late January that he would resign from office “in a few weeks,” despite
having another year on this term. Having not accomplished much during
his five years in office except losing his party’s endorsement (from
the Democrats) and, amazingly, also pissing off his base of supporters
(conservative West Siders), Berding decided to pack up his things and
retreat to the safety of his office at his day job down at Paul Brown
Stadium. The new year is off to a good start after all!
Best Avoidable Waste of Money
After a three-judge panel rejected his motion to let him
avoid testifying at trial, Hamilton County Sheriff Simon Leis Jr.
quickly settled a lawsuit filed by an ex-inmate at the county jail. The
plaintiff was shot three times at point-blank range by a pepperball gun
while shackled to a chair, yet Leis refused to discipline the deputy
who did it. Instead, taxpayers coughed up $30,000. We guess ol’ Si
doesn’t like explaining himself in public.
Best Rejection of Sleazy Tactics
During the heated campaign last summer and fall for the
Ohio House’s 31st District seat, Republican challenger Mike Robison
allegedly went around the conservative West Side saying Democratic
incumbent Denise Driehaus had tried unsuccessfully to change her last
name to that of her husband’s on the ballot, which she hadn’t. When
confronted about the allegations, Robison declined comment — probably
not something an innocent man would do. Thankfully, Driehaus prevailed
in the election by 2,800 votes.
Best Show of Unity
After two intoxicated people yelled anti-gay slurs and
assaulted two lesbians and passersby who tried to help them last August
at a Covington gas station, the community rallied to show hate crimes
wouldn’t be tolerated. Police stepped up patrols in the area, while the
owners of six gay-friendly taverns organized a well-attended rally in
support of tolerance.
Best Way to Shame the Rich
Just before the federal tax filing deadline last April,
immigration reform supporters rallied at the main Post Office in
Queensgate to declare and celebrate their willingness to pay their
taxes. The event was held to publicize research that indicates allowing
current undocumented immigrants — or “illegal aliens” — to become
legal, tax-paying citizens would produce billions of dollars in new tax
revenues. What a refreshing change from all the moaning and complaining
of the spoiled Tea Party crowd.
Best Use of Number-Crunching
When a group of clergy analyzed payroll data and found
that the number of local residents working on the massive Banks
riverfront project — partially funded by taxpayer money — was lower
than those provided by Hamilton County’s consultant, officials were
skeptical. But lo and behold, a subsequent county analysis reached a
similar conclusion. It found just
8.7 percent of workers lived in Cincinnati, and 22.1 percent lived in
the county. Kudos to the AMOS Project for forcing officials to take
another look and promise to do better.
Best WTF? Moment at City Hall
Facing term limits, Cincinnati City Councilwoman Laketa
Cole used her political connections to win a state government job that
was never posted. When selecting her replacement on council, though,
Cole didn’t pick the Democrats who were the next highest vote-getters
in the last election (Greg Harris and Bernadette Watson). Instead, Cole
picked the only person who would agree to keep her office staff,
Wendell Young. Although a nice guy, Young is a three-time loser in past
council elections — in 2005, 2007 and 2009 — never finishing above 14th
place. We’ll see if he can finally get elected this fall as an
incumbent.
Best Online Double Standard
The Enquirer last spring stopped allowing reader
comments under its online articles about the death of St. Xavier High
School football player Matt James, who fell off a balcony while on
spring break in Florida, causing some readers to blame his alleged
inebriation for the incident. For years previously, however, the
newspaper seldom if ever stopped vile, racist comments under articles
about shooting deaths in poor African-American neighborhoods. After
many complaints about the disparity, The Enquirer finally stopped allowing comments on all crime-related stories.
A wise but belated move.
Best Speaking Truth to Power
The Obama adminstration made a big deal last August when
it withdrew the last “combat troops” from Iraq, claiming it meant the
prez kept his central campaign promise. The action largely was a
meaningless photo op, said Dan LaBotz, a local activist and
then-Socialist candidate for the U.S. Senate. He noted Obama was
keeping 50,000 U.S. troops in Iraq, as well as hiring 7,000 private
security guards. “In reality, the U.S. is leaving behind a permanent
occupying army in a country that has become in all but name a U.S.
colony,” he said.
Best Disappearing Act
A vile e-mail circulated last September among
conservative Republicans that contained a link to the Wikipedia page
for Cincinnati City Hall. The entry had been changed to include a lie
about then-U.S. Rep. Steve Driehaus (D-Price Hill). It said he had
filed a successful lawsuit in 2003 to remove a statue of Jesus from the
building. Except there was never a statue and never a lawsuit.
Someone’s going to Purgatory for that one. Thankfully, the lie quickly
was deleted once publicized.
Best Defeathering of Chickenhawks
When State Rep. Connie Pillich (D-Montgomery) was seeking
reelection last fall to the Ohio House’s 28th District seat, some
bloggers began questioning whether she earned all of the military
medals she wore. Pillich, who served for eight years in the U.S. Air
Force and another eight in the reserve, provided documentation for each
model — and noted it also could’ve been verified using the Internet.
Now might be a good time to note that Pillich’s GOP opponent, Tea Party
leader Mike Wilson, never served in the military. Ultimately, she beat
Wilson by about 600 votes.
Best Step Up for a Local Reporter
Hagit Limor, who heads WCPO’s I-Team, was named president
of the Society of Professional Journalists’ national organization in
October. During her tenure, Limor wants to increase access to training
for journalists across America and begin the process to create
international chapters of SPJ. Here’s hoping she is successful.
Best Detour of an Agenda
Unfortunately, Limor’s term as SPJ president got off to a
rocky start in January, when its leaders voted to retire SPJ’s Helen
Thomas Award for Lifetime Achievement. Thomas, the longtime White House
reporter, raised a furor last year when she said publicly that Israelis
should “get the hell out of Palestine” and “go home” to Europe and the
United States. After months of internal debate about whether SPJ should
distance itself from Thomas’ anti-Semitic remarks or whether SPJ should
support her right to free speech, SPJ’s board voted to stop handing out
the award named for her. Limor, who was born in Israel, was criticized
(along with other SPJ leaders) for being too sensitive to Thomas’
anti-Israel remarks.
Best Display of Double-Talk
When CityBeat interviewed Cincinnati City
Councilman Chris Bortz last spring about possible conflicts of interest
between his family’s development firm and the city’s streetcar project,
he laid out his best arguments about why none existed. But Bortz
conveniently failed to mention he’d already received an advisory
opinion from the Ohio Ethics Commission stating he did have a
conflict. Once the letter was revealed, Bortz claimed he was under no
obligation to publicly disclose the letter because he requested it as a
private citizen, not as a councilman. (And we’re under no obligation to
believe anything else you say, Mr. Bortz.)
Best Rebuke by Voters
Even in a year with Tea Party fever sweeping the land,
uber-conservative Chris Finney struck out at the polls. The erstwhile
leader of the Coalition Opposed to Additional Spending and Taxes
(COAST) was defeated in his bid to become a Republican precinct
executive in Anderson Township. Finney lost in the May primary to James
Ginocchio, a former assistant Cincinnati solicitor. Better luck next
time, Chris.
Best Unintentionally Hilarious Press Release
We can always count on the hysterical white men who lead
Citizens for Community Values to provide us with a good laugh. The best
one last year occurred just before July 4th, when its excitable leader,
Phil Burress, issued this warning to followers: “Homosexual activists
have taken center stage in downtown Cincinnati’s July 4th celebration.
Rather than have their Pride parade in June as usual, they chose
Independence Day to flaunt their sexual desires … if you decide to go,
please be forewarned that you may be exposed to deviant behavior.” Oh,
please. You wish, Mr. Burress.
Best Shameless Begging for Cash
Speaking of CCV, the anti-porn crusaders in November sent
an e-mail to supporters seeking donations to avoid a $150,000 shortfall
in its budget. Of course, the e-mail didn’t reveal that CCV pays more
than $268,000 in salaries and other compensation to its three employees
or that it foots the bill to send a politician to Florida on a
“fact-finding” junket. (Yes, we’re referring to you, Charlie Winburn.)
We suspect the group’s followers don’t make nearly as much on their
jobs as Mr. Burress and his cronies do.
Best Sucking at the Public Teet
Alex Triantafilou, the Hamilton County GOP chairman,
complains a lot about the size of government at all levels. But that
didn’t stop Alex from pulling strings last year when Green Township
trustees were looking to hire an executive assistant. He had his
soon-to-be-ex-wife apply for the job even though she didn’t meet the
minimum requirements and had missed the application deadline. Alex’s ex
was hired despite the fact she scored more poorly in an interview than
several other women. Can you say “patronage?”
Best Warning on Political Donations
An October report compiled by the Center for Public
Integrity concluded politicians often use money donated to political
action committees (PACs) for purposes other than those outlined in
their mission. One example cited was the “Ohio’s Future” PAC organized
by U.S. Sen. Rob Portman (R-Terrace Park). Although it’s supposed to be
focused on creating ideas to improve the state’s economy, the report
found donations were spent on items like renting private jets and
leasing a posh Cincinnati club for a “kickoff event.” Caveat emptor,
y’all.
Best Purveyors of Local TV News
It’s no secret we don’t like much of what passes for news
these days on local TV. The four newscasts in town — like their
counterparts across the nation — mostly are filled with
sensationalistic stories and mindless blather that don’t educate their
viewers or enrich their lives much. (Do we really need a segment
testing reaction times of drivers who are texting, just to see them
knock down mannequins of kids?) But three stations each have a reporter
who’s the exception to this trend. Tom McKee at WCPO, John London at
WLWT and Jeff Hirsch at WKRC are old-school veterans of the biz, and it
shows. Each produces thoughtful pieces that go beyond sound bites and
truly serve the public interest. Give them all a raise.
Best Request That Went Unheeded, Pt. 1
Back in June, City Manager Milton Dohoney Jr. told City
Council that Cincinnati’s deficit would be larger than previously
expected in 2011. To help offset the shortfall, Dohoney recommended
ending a property tax rollback, which only saves most homeowners $15 or
less annually, but would have a huge cumulative effect on the city’s
coffers. Council said no, so we all were treated with weeks of
hand-wringing, trash-talking and wacky ideas by members as they cobbled
together a spending plan at year’s end. Well, at least they got to make
their symbolic but largely meaningless stand.
Best Request That Went Unheeded, Pt. 2
During the Kroger Co.’s annual shareholder meeting last
summer, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals once again
asked the firm to change how it kills poultry. PETA wanted Kroger to
use a more humane method that slowly replaces the oxygen that chickens
and turkeys breathe with a gas that puts them to sleep. Currently, the
company uses a process that dumps the birds onto conveyor belts and
slams them upside down by their legs into metal shackles; the birds are
still conscious when their throats are cut, and many are then scalded
to death in defeathering tanks. Yikes.
Best Adherenceto Principle
The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio held its
collective nose and supported an anti-abortion group in October that
was being investigated for its plans to erect billboards that then-U.S.
Rep. Steve Driehaus (D-Price Hill) said contained false information.
The ACLU said an Ohio law restricting false statements in political
campaigns is unconstitutional, adding that “speech is rarely black or
white” and the law could quell political dissent. Driehaus eventually
dropped his complaint against the anti-abortion group, and lost the
election.
Best Reason to Get Up Early
Women and men alike who’ve awakened before dawn during
the week and turned on their TVs probably have stumbled across the
best-looking person in local broadcasting. We’re referring to WLWT’s
traffic reporter Brandon Hamilton, who appears from 4:30-9 a.m. on
weekday mornings. With his sparkling eyes, dazzling smile and perfectly
coiffed, spiky hair, Hamilton will ease your way into the day and put a
spring in your step. We see a modeling or acting career in this kid’s
future.
Best Clueless Ass-Kissing
Enquirer columnist Krista Ramsey wrote an Op/Ed
profile last summer commemorating Joe Deters and his 12 and a half
years in office, making him the longest-serving Hamilton County
prosecutor in history. That’s all well and good, but then Ramsey had to
go and praise Deters for his work ethic and long days spent at the
office. What planet are you living on, Krista? As almost anyone who
knows Deters can tell you, he’s rarely in the office. That leaves him
ample time to moonlight at a private job, unlike most county
prosecutors, for Stan Chesley’s firm.
Best Evidence Karma Exists
Speaking of Chesley, the prominent tort attorney is
facing possible disbarment in Kentucky. An official with the Kentucky
Bar Association reviewed Chesley’s handling of a $200 million
settlement in a case involving a faulty diet drug and concluded Stan
had conspired to keep too much of the money. Chesley’s actions were a
“a cover-up of thievery,” the official said, adding it was “shocking
and reprehensible.”
Best Coup D’etat That Wasn’t
People who know Brad Beckett, longtime aide to ex-City
Councilman Chris Monzel, know that Beckett likes political intrigue.
When Monzel was elected as a Hamilton County commissioner last fall,
Beckett secretly lined up another job as Butler County’s top
administrator, beginning Jan. 1. Two commissioners there hatched the
plan privately but one abruptly changed his mind Dec. 31, leaving
Beckett without a job. Nevertheless, we’re sure Brad appreciates the
high drama of it all.
Best Comeuppance for a Hothead
The U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development
(HUD) issued a report this winter that found the Cincinnati Metroplitan
Housing Authority (CMHA) discriminated against minority tenants and job
applicants. HUD concluded the agency’s policies kept black tenants out
of certain neighborhoods, and targeted blacks more severely than whites
for rule violations. Much of the blame has been laid on Arnold Barnett,
the fiery ex-board member who resigned after calling another member “a
kike.” Barnett also signed a confidential agreement with HUD to settle
discrimination charges.
Best Shameless Hypocrisy
Dusty Rhodes, the ex-radio deejay who’s been Hamilton
County auditor since 1990, often made headlines railing against people
who “double-dip.” Double-dipping is when a person retires from public
service so he or she can begin collecting a pension, then gets rehired
or reelected to the same position so the person can also draw a
paycheck. Rhodes has called it “an abuse of the system.” So it was
surprising when The Enquirer revealed in September that Rhodes
had quietly filed to do the same thing eight months earlier. Rhodes
tried to defend the action, but as he himself once said about the
practice, “You can put all the lipstick you want on the pig. But at the
end of the day, it’s still a pig.
Best Champion of Public Art
Hurray for Cincinnati City Councilwoman Laure Quinlivan,
a forward-thinking activist who is using her leadership of council’s
Quality of Life Committee to champion the idea that the city needs to
get more involved in promoting an expanded and improved public-art
program. She wants to use 1 percent of casino tax revenues for an
outdoor sculpture contest with results voted on by residents. It’s the
kind of thing the Internet and social media were made for, as well as
an idea that could be copied nationwide. And we say that even realizing
the potential risks — like a colossal, granite statue of Pete Rose
straddling the new I-75 bridge. Egads!
Best Bald-faced Lie by a Politician
Months before he became House Speaker, U.S. Rep. John
Boehner (R-West Chester) told one of the biggest whoppers of his
career. After Congress passed a financial reform bill in July, Boehner
promised to work toward its repeal, alleging it “institutionalizes”
taxpayer-funded bailouts of failing banks. Not true, replied the
nonpartisan FactCheck.org. In fact, the bill created a fund — paid for
by banks — that would be used to rationally dismantle troubled fiancial
institutions and sell their assets instead of relying on taxpayers,
like in 2008. Didn’t the good brothers at Moeller High School teach you
that lying is a sin, Johnny?
Quimbob
