When a Jan. 25 e-mail exchange between Hamilton County Commissioner Todd Portune and Hamilton County Democratic Party Chairman Tim Burke became public through a leak, it lifted the veil on the thinking of some political bigwigs. The pair began the exchange to discuss who should be appointed to fill a vacancy on the Board of Elections and ended up opening an ugly window into inter-party dealings and behind-the-scenes jockeying.
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It's difficult to resist the urge to tell Hamilton County Commissioner Todd Portune, "I told ya so." Portune made a big deal a few weeks ago of his teaming up with his colleague, County Commissioner Greg Hartmann, to devise a solution for the looming deficits in the county's stadium account. Much like President Obama at the national level, Portune was enamored of his bipartisan approach to the problem.
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WINNER: Thanks to the vigilance of Pierce Township resident Barbara Hartman, the public now knows that township trustees there have violated Ohio's Open Meeting Act 18 times in the past two years.
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The honeymoon might be over between Tea Party followers and Ohio Republicans. Although the Cincinnati Tea Party has long said it’s a non-partisan group, its largest rallies and protests have featured a predominantly GOP slant. But for all of the Tea Party’s deference to Republican officials, the effort hasn’t been reciprocated.
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Here's another example of why many people are leery of Christians and their bellyaching about their faith being abused. Even though U.S. military rules prohibit the proselytizing of any religion in Afghanistan or Iraq, it was revealed this week that a military contractor has been printing references to Bible verses on rifle scopes used by soldiers in those wars.
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WINNER: The NAACP's Cincinnati chapter and the Baptist Ministers Conference recently called out Cincinnati Public Schools for not hiring enough minority contractors as part of the district's $1.07 billion plan to renovate and rebuild many schools. It's odd the CPS contract errors were found only after the NAACP did the research.
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Some local Democrats are upset with Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher over his demands for attending an upcoming political event in Oakley and believe he's disrespected Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner. They're squaring off in the May 4 Democratic primary to get the party's U.S. Senate nomination, and the Hamilton County Democratic Women's Caucus invited them to participate in a debate here Jan. 20. Brunner accepted almost immediately, caucus members say, but their experience with Fisher was far different.

CINCINNATI REDS: With the Bengals blowing their playoff game against the Jets, local sports fans thought they'd spend the long, cold months of winter grumbling over their Hudepohls. Instead, Reds management gave them something to be happy about with the signing of Cuban pitcher Aroldis Chapman.

It's only the first week in January, but already political campaigns are gearing up for what likely will be the most high-profile local race this year. Cincinnati City Council colleagues Leslie Ghiz and Chris Monzel are running in the GOP primary for the Hamilton County commission, setting up a fight for the local Republican Party's soul between moderates and hardcore conservatives.
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ALAN KALMANOFF: Local political junkies will remember Kalmanoff as the city of Cincinnati's first federally-appointed police monitor, hired in 2002 to oversee the implementation of dozens of reforms to the Cincinnati Police Department.
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