Bedford School Board Member Swept out of Office

In the long over due spanking he never received, Bedford School Board member, Andrew "I want my Food" Mizsak was bent over the knee of Bedford voters and soundly spanked at the polls.

From the PD Tip Off --

Andrew Miszak, who didn't clean his room, is swept out of office.

Swept out: Andrew Mizsak didn't clean his room, but voters in Beford cleaned house Tuesday, sweeping the 29-year-old off the city's school board.

Miszak, who lives with his parents, said, "I know this looks bad" after his father, also Andrew, called 9-1-1 to complain that his son threw a plate of food at him and balled up his fist when told to clean his room (Tipoff, May 18, 2009.) According to the police report, "Andrew was sent to his room to clean it. He was crying uncontrollably and stated he would comply."

His father refused to press charges, saying, "I don't want to ruin his political career."

In a field of five candidates with the top three winning seats on the school board, Mizsak ran fourth Tuesday, according to final unofficial results from the Cuyahoga County board of elections.

His mother, Paula Mizsak, a Bedford councilwoman, answered the phone Wednesday and said her son would have no comment.

Be assured, Mr. Mizsak did not cost his son the election or ruin his political career. If it was not for his mother and father, the bloated man/child wouldn't have got the amount of sympathy votes that he did.

Don't worry Bedford residents, like a bad foot fungus -- he will return to run for something. With Andrew it is not about serving the people, it is about serving his stomach sized matching ego.

Is Bedford Municipal Court Candidate - Pamela O'Bannon -- trying to ACORN her way in office?

This blog has stated several times that Pamela O'Bannon is not fit to serve on Bedford Court. I will take it a step further... O'Bannon is not fit to serve free lunches at a homeless shelter let alone serve on a court in which she adjudicate law and will be dealing with peoples lives.

The latest mishap for this hopeful judicial misfit was, instead of being out on the campaign trail knocking doors meeting the voters, O'Bunyon is utilizing "robo-calls" in her race against Harry Jacobs to win a seat on Bedford Municipal Court.

But one of O'Bunyon's supporters, a State Senator from OH, was campaigning for her in an ACORNish way.....

From Channel 3 WKYC --

State Senator Nina Turner (D-25th District) says she has pulled a telephone campaign phone message she recorded in support of Bedford Municipal Court candidate Pamela O'Bannon.

The automated phone calls, also known as "robo-calls," were being automatically dialed to voters in communities in the Bedford Municipal Court district.

Turner's message in support of O'Bannon says, in part, to "vote early, vote often, vote Democrat."

When informed that a constitutent had brought the call to the attention of WKYC, Turner said it was not her intention to encourage people to vote multiple times.

"What I was saying is that people should become involved in the electoral process," she told WKYC. "That they should vote in every election, in the primaries and special elections."

"It was never my intention to encourage anything illegal," Turner said.

It may not have been Turner's intentions to do anything illegal, but... well, lets just say -- O'Bunyon has been linked, but not yet charged or cleared, in the Cuyahoga County corruption scandal.

To be honest... I'm really surprised they did not say the calls were really being made for the OTHER Pam O'Bannon.

Vote Harry Jacob for Bedford Municipal Court

Below you will find some comparative information on the two candidates running for Judge in the Bedford Municipal Court.

Experience

Harry Jacob

• 28 years of FULL-TIME practice of law
• 25+ years of litigation experience in Bedford Court

Pam O’Bannon

• "O’Bannon said she has never practiced law in the Bedford Muny Court, nor has she ever even been inside the building." -- Bedford Sun, May 6, 2009

Honesty

Harry Jacob

• Endorsed by the Fraternal Order of Police, George Murray Lodge #67
• Chair, City of Solon of Solon Civil Service Commission
• Past Chair, St. Rita Parish Council
• Past Member, St. Rita Finance Council

Pam O'Bannon

• O’Bannon "surfaced in the county corruption probe." "O’Bannon, meanwhile, had ties to J. Kevin Kelley, a former Parma school board member who has been charged in the corruption probe and appears to be cooperating with investigators." -- Plain Dealer, June 27, 2009

• "Surrender(ed) her e-mails after the schools were subpoenaed by the feds (as part) of a wide-ranging probe of public corruption in Cuyahoga County." -- Plain Dealer, March 30, 2009

Ethical

Harry Jacob

• Chair of the County Bar Ethics Committee 1997–2002, member 1994–2002
• Past Chair County Bar Unauthorized Practice of Law Committee
• Past member County Bar Grievance Committee

Pam O'Bannon

• "Pamela O’Bannon – who served as president of the Warrensville Heights School Board last year – worked as an office assistant in Frank Russo’s office until 2002, when she went to work for Parma schools’ business department. At the time, the business department was controlled by J. Kevin Kelley, whom O’Bannon had befriended when the two worked for Russo." -- Plain Dealer, March 25, 2009

Judicial Ratings Coalition

Harry Jacob

• Rated "Good" by the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association, the Cuyahoga Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, and the Norman S. Minor Bar Association.

Pam O'Bannon

• Rated "Not Recommended" by all three bar associations

From just the information above it would appear Jacob is clearly the "clean" candidate and should be elected. But as a resident of Bedford I would like to expand on this a little more.

I have seen Jacob's going door to door many, many times over the past month or so, not to mention his presence at ALL of our community festivals through the year. On the other hand O'Bannon has been missing in action on the campaign trail and in the City. Which makes me think... does she feel entitled to this seat?

If her missing in action qualities are representative of the work she will do on the bench -- why would anybody want her as a judge? Though her "missing in action" tendencies are consistent with her -- never yet stepping a foot inside the court she wishes to serve. Maybe she want to just 'ride' the bench?

The City of Bedford and the communities served under the Bedford Municipal Court jurisdiction are currently experiencing issues that need to be dealt with by a combination of strict adherence to the law - yet an understanding of the communities it serves. Jacobs has taken the time to show he is concerned, he cares and he understands the law.

On the other hand, showing she does not have the work ethic, personal ethics and does not care about the court jurisdiction she will represent -- "Missing in Action" O'Bannon is too lazy and does not care enough to even participate in a parade with her supporters (as seen here) and feels there is nothing wrong with misrepresenting herself!

VOTE for HARRY J. JACOB III

Bedford Mayor joins Anti-Gun Group

I won't go into detail, but over the years Mayor Pocek of Bedford and I have had some pretty good arguments from time to time about things going on here. I honestly have to say that after some initial "growing pains" we get along.

It is no mystery that Mayor Pocek is a strong partisan Democrat and plays hard on the partisan lines. Though for the most part this has never come into play during Pocek's time as Mayor in Bedford --- until now!

It was brought to my attention this weekend that Mayor Pocek, along with several gun-hating Mayors from the Cuyahoga County area have foolishly signed up in support of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's "Mayors Against Illegal Guns" (MAIG) group....

Despite its very misleading name, this national group of anti-gun mayors has lobbied Congress of state Right-to-Carry permits, against much-needed reform of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE), for regulating gun shows out of existence, and for repealing the Tiahrt Amendment that protects the privacy rights of law-abiding gun owners and limits disclosure of sensitive firearm trace data to protect law enforcement personnel and protect lawful gun manufacturers from bogus lawsuits.

Bloomberg created "Mayors Against Illegal Guns" as a front group to lobby Congress to oppose important pro-gun reforms and support new federal gun control restrictions. (Ohio Sportsman)

You can be sure Mayor Pocek will be receiving many calls from the "Democrats" living in Bedford very upset with his signing onto a back door attempt of taking away our 2nd Amendment rights.

Realizing Bloomberg's MAIG group is just another back door way to push their gun-hating progressive programs down to a local level, Walton Hills Mayor, Marlene Anielski, when realizing the true intent and nature of this group -- did the right thing and immediately stepped down.

Below is a list of Mayors from Cuyahoga County supporting this gun-hating group, click here for a list of all the OH mayors....

Mayor Merle Gordon Beachwood, OH

Mayor Daniel Pocek Bedford, OH

Mayor Fletcher Berger Bedford Heights, OH

Mayor John Licastro Bratenahl, OH

Mayor Samuel Alai Broadview Heights, OH

Mayor Frank Jackson Cleveland, OH

Mayor Edward Kelley Cleveland Heights, OH

Mayor Jack Bacci Cuyahoga Heights, OH

Mayor Bill Cervenik Euclid, OH

Mayor Thomas J. Longo Garfield Heights, OH

Mayor Gregory Costabile Mayfield Heights, OH

Mayor Bruce Rinker Mayfield Village, OH

Mayor Gary Starr Middleburg Heights, OH

Mayor Susan Renda Moreland Hills, OH

Mayor Thomas E. O'Grady North Olmsted, OH

Mayor Kathy Mulcahy Orange Village, OH

Mayor Martin Zanotti Parma Heights, OH

Mayor Bruce Akers Pepper Pike, OH

Mayor Daniel Ursu Richmond Heights, OH

Mayor Earl M. Leiken Shaker Heights, OH

Mayor Kevin Patton Solon, OH

Mayor Georgine Welo South Euclid, OH

Mayor Beryl Rothschild University Heights, OH

** Side note for all the supporters for the Issue 6 Cuyahoga County Reform -- notice many of the above area Mayor's supporting this gun-hating group also support or had a hand in crafting Issue 6.

How long before these same people -- regionalize their efforts for taking away our 2nd Amendment?

Bedford Municipal Court Race: Will the Real Pam O'Bannion Please Stand Up?

This off-year, there are only two contested municipal court races in Cuyahoga County. One is in Parma. The second is right here in Bedford for the seat that currently belongs to Peter Junkin.

You might remember Junkin's name for two reasons. First, it surfaced back in the winter in connection with the on-going FBI probe into county corruption. Second, because he lost to perennial candidate (and before the May primary) and loser Pam O'Bannon. (For the record, I believe Judge Junkin will be cleared of any wrong doing)

Although O'Bannon may not be a good lawyer (she was quietly pushed out of the prosecutor's officer at a time when Stephanie Tubbs Jones was the prosecutor and Marcia Fudge was O'Bannon's supervisor) and isn't that good of a candidate, she has nailed down the art of stealth campaigning.

For instance, she ran against incumbent county judge (and now federal judge) Chris Boyko in 1998. How did she do this? Well, on the west side voters only knew her by her Irish-inspired yard signs bearing her name "Pamela O'Bannon." These voters, therefore, were led to believe that she was the typical Irish girl next door they grew up with.

However, many voters on the eastside were introduced to this Pam O'Bannon:

Well, in 2009, it seems as if Pam O'Bannon has taken the art of deception one step further. At the Solon Homedays parade this year, held at the end of July, this was the Pam O'Bannon that greeted Solon residents.

As you can see, even in this post-racial era of Obama, O'Bannon is still trying to play racial politics. The fact that she is doing so is despicable in and of itself. The fact that it's a judicial candidate doing so is even more egregious. She's supposed to be campaigning for an office where everyone is to be judged fairly, without regard to race, religion or gender, and the law is to be applied equally. Yet she sees fit to try to deceive voters into voting for her simply on the basis of her name.

Given this duplicity, and the fact that she is also intwined intimately (http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2009/03/publiccorruption_probe_expands.html) with the largest corruption probe in the history of our county, is this really who we want sitting as a judge for the fourteen communities the Bedford Municipal Court serves?

A Bedford School District Boner

The Bedford School District, having just passed a levy that was narrowly defeated the first time on the ballot, just showed the residents of Bedford improving our schools with new talent is not as important as rewarding failure.

After finally being relieved from the financial anchor of retiring Superintendent Marty Motsco, the district is claiming, after a national search, her flunky assistant was the best we could find.

From the PD

After a national search, the Bedford school board ended up hiring from within, choosing Sherman Micsak to replace the retiring Martha "Marty" Motsco.

Micsak, 52, has been assistant superintendent since 2001.

He began his career as a teacher and coach in the Lorain schools and then was an assistant principal in North Ridgeville. He has been with Bedford since 1992, serving as secondary supervisor and director of secondary education before becoming assistant superintendent. He starts his three-year contract with an annual salary of $131,500.

Micsak selection can be equated with choosing streak stained underwear over a pair of spanking new shiny skivvies. Personally, I would not give Sherm Micsak the cracked shells of 131,000 peanuts on the stadium floor after a Browns game. This guy is not fit to be head snot-wiper of a preschool class let alone an urban school district.

Not through marked improvement, but through creative math and watered down standards of the state report card, Bedford Schools were just barely elevated out of the basement of the continuous improvement category. That Micsak's starting salary would be higher than the outgoing Motsco is unfathomable from a district barely passing their last levy. That Micsak, after a nationwide search, was deemed the best candidate available is as believable as me becoming an Olympic Decathlon winner.

More upsetting is that the district paid money for this search, which now appears was nothing more than a cosmetic dog & pony show for their predetermined selection. I am told the national search was conducted only after being raised by involved parents. Which by the way, Micsak has repeatedly shown he is not receptive too. As immediate past president of the BHS PTSA, I am saying this from first hand knowledge.

We have a school board election coming up this November, with the struggling financial picture we face in our school district and our city, voters must force the candidates and incumbents running for re-election to show they are ready to make substantial change & fiscally responsible path in moving our district forward. This can be done by demanding a district-wide "performance audit" conducted by the State Auditor. Untold millions have been saved by ditricts across the state through the use of "school performance audits."

Sherm Micsak, should not be confused with his equally pompous, Friday night football buddy and Bedford School Board member Andrew Mizsak. Mizsak, the food throwing, parent threatening, over-bloated, "I love me" man-child who gave the district a national black eye is hopefully serving his last term as Bedford School Board member.

That would be unless voters in the Bedford School District are more stupid than they look.

There's A New Sheriff in Town!

A real policeman will finally be running Cuyahoga County.

From the PD --

Five weeks after former Sheriff Gerald McFaul resigned amid numerous scandals, the Democratic party elected Bob Reid to serve as sheriff.

Reid, the Bedford city manager, previously served as that city's police chief for 10 years and was a police officer for 25 years. He also graduated from the FBI national academy.

On Wednesday, he will replace Frank Bova, the Warrensville Heights police chief who has been serving as interim sheriff since McFaul resigned.

McFaul was a former pipefitter who was elected through rough-and-tumble party politics before state law required the county's sheriff to have law enforcement experience.

Reid edged out Clayton Harris, 280-206, in voting among party regulars. He will have to run countywide in November 2010.

Former area Prosecutor Dies in Prison serving time on Gun Charges

Former Bedford, Highland Hills, and Chagrin Falls Township Prosecutor, Tom Longo, died at the medical facility in the prison where he was serving his sentence on firearm charges.

From the PD --

Thomas G. Longo, a former lawyer, prosecutor and judicial candidate, died Dec. 3 while serving an eight-year prison sentence on firearms charges.

That was not his first scrape with the law. Longo, 64, served three years in prison previously, after admitting his role in a scheme to smuggle a half ton of marijuana into Ohio using a horse trailer.

He was sentenced to prison again in 2007 on the firearm charges, after detectives found a cache of guns in his house in 2004 while investigating a sexual assault case. As a felon, he could not own or possess any guns.

But before he could face the firearms charges, he fled to Mexico. More...

This is the ending to a very sad story. Tommy Longo was a great guy who got caught up in the game. I cannot count the times I was in Bedford Court on all the stupid stuff I did - Longo was always a gentleman and was always fair. I cannot speak highly enough about his work as prosecutor during his time in Bedford Court.

That he would get caught up in this crap can only be described as ignorant on his part. There is no doubt that one day, had he stayed clean, Tommy could have been elected judge somewhere.

During his time running from the law Longo was highlighted on the TV show "America's Most Wanted" and was eventually caught in Puerto Vallarta Mexico after the FBI pieced together shredded emails he sent to his wife.

For more background on the story and the usual garbage that he was Italian and knew alleged Cleveland organized crime figures click here.

Tommy, may God watch over your soul - rest in peace my friend.

Bedford Mayor reimburses city for Obama mailing

Mayor Dan Pocek of Bedford recently slapped his own hand for doing wrong. An innocent snafu at Bedford City Hall has shined some light on our quite little town.

Pocek, a hard core democrat, accidently caused an endorsement letter for Obama to be sent using city materials.

From the PD --

Mayor Daniel Pocek said today that he repaid the cost of using city stationery for letters asking Northeast Ohio mayors and city managers to support Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.

Pocek said the drafted letter was mistakenly mixed up in a pile of papers given to the city clerk. The situation came to light when the finance director questioned why city stationery and postage was being used for a political letter, Pocek said.

"It was a total miscommunication and I take full responsibility," Pocek said this morning. A personal check for $115.26 was written and delivered to the city, Pocek said, covering cost of the clerk's time, stationery and postage for the 60 letters.

"I have a campaign fund for this kind of situation. I have personal e-mail. It was never my intention for this to happen," Pocek said.

I heard Mayor Pocek speaking on WTAM with the disgusting and repulsive slobTrivasanno about this incident. Though it was an innocent mistake, Pocek willfully placed his hand out to be publicly slapped. Pocek could have easily passed blame, but didn't - so I have to commend Mayor Pocek for "manning up" and admitting guilt.

I have received many calls from fellow Bedford residents who were upset about this incident. After speaking to them many were shocked that I would defend our Mayor and our Clerk of Council. I also stand in defense of our Clerk of Council's integrity.

Mayor Pocek and I have had some very spirited exchanges on & off council floor. If for one minute I thought this was not an innocent mistake - I would be all over Mayor Pocek using city resources to support the Anti-American, socialist agenda of Obama. But it was a mistake and Pocek immediately did the right thing - which is something rarely seen by politicians of either party.

Don't worry - I am not turning soft. Bedford is discussing implementing a $15 fee for trash pick up due to declining finances. You can be sure I will be demanding ALL department heads no longer be allowed to drive city vehicles home at night. We have some department heads driving over 30 miles one way to work, this will stop unless they want a fight over their proposed trash pick up fee.

Bedford schools Superintendent Martha Motsco gets Jennings Foundation Ohio award

I am shaking my head in disbelief!

From the PD --

Bedford schools Superintendent Martha "Marty" Motsco has been named the 2008 winner of the Superin tendent's Out standing Per formance Award in Ohio by the Cleveland-based Martha Holden Jennings Foundation. Under her leadership the past 11 years, the school system has made significant improvement in academic achievement, especially in reading and math. She will receive a $20,000 award to be used for a project of her choosing in Bedford.

Click here to see our test scores over the past several years. For years our district has been at the bottom of the "Continuous Improvement" rating.

Would you say a significant improvement in academic achievement has been made?

Bedford Historical Society Strawberry Festival & Car Show

Bedford Historical Society
Strawberry Festival

Downtown Bedford, OH

June 13, 14 & 15

Join us on Bedford Square
for
Strawberries, Food, Amusement Rides,
Craft Vendors, Games, Music
&
FUN!

3rd Annual Car Show

Saturday June 14, 2008

Downtown Bedford
On Broadway Ave.

(Street Blocked Off)

Registration - 5:00pm - 7:00pm

Show Hours - 5:00pm - 10:00pm

Goody Bags

&

Dash Plaques

for First 100 Cars!!!

Voted #9

Cruisin' Times

Best Downtown Car Show
(under 399 cars)

Over 30 Classes

Club & Best of Show Awards!

Seperate Classes for Imports, Trucks

&

"Tuners"

50/50 Raffles & Door Prizes

Entertainment by

Favorite Car Show DJ

"Al Piniecki"

General Admission:

FREE
Participant Donation: $10 day of the show

For More Information
Or Early Registration Call -
Ralph King (440)465-1834

Christmas in Bedford Falls

For those not yet in the Christmas spirit, I suggest going to downtown historical Bedford and take a look at Bedford Square's Christmas lighting display at night.

From the PD--

Bedford Square's gazebo stands below the old city hall, illuminated with lights for the holiday season Tuesday, Dec, 04, 2007. Bedford, with its lovely town square --flanked by a 1874 museum, once a town hall, and an 1882 railroad depot -- once a year becomes Bedford Falls, the "It's a Wonderful Life" town. December 8 kicks off the Bedford Falls festival with horse-drawn wagon rides and Santa greeting kids in a caboose.

The Christmas in Bedford Falls is really an event that must be seen. Taking place on the Square from 12:00 - 4:oopm this Saturday 12/8. This will be sure to bring back childhood memories of Christmas and will make cherished Christmas memories for years to come with your children.

There will be fun filled activities up and down Broadway through the downtown business district and on the Bedford Square. Events include photos with Santa, horse drawn carriage rides, entertainment throughout Broadway, fun and festive activities at many shops, giveaways, face painting, clowns, ice sculpting, and a frequent shopper raffle.

The Bedford Historical Society which owns the above pictured Old Town Hall will be hosting their annual "Christmas Open House" from 10:00 - 2:00pm. Christmas in Bedford Falls could be considered the celebration to end the yearly events on Bedford Square.

Kicking events off in the summer is the Rotary Rib Burn Off, then my favorite is the Bedford Historical Society's Annual Strawberry Festival & Classic Car Show. These two events are followed by the Lions Festival, The Italian/American Festival, Bedford Community Council Street Dance, and the BCC Oktoberfest, to name a few.

For more information on these events please contact the Bedford Chamber of Commerce for a list of the 2008 dates.

Update: Walton Hills Council President to run for Mayor

***Update***

I am updating this post as there has been many comments on this older post. The comments have came after my original post on 7/13/07 was recently handed out to residents of Walton Hills.

Please note that there was also an "Anti-King Blog" started by an anonymous poster who works on the Hurst Campaign.

I wonder.... if Hurst gets elected is this the behavior residents can expect if they disagree with him? Are these the type of people the residents can expect Hurst will surround himself with if elected? Is this a prelude of how the residents will be treated by Hurst and his Nightmare Team?

King

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Routinely setting up the night before at the polls for the best sign positions, you can bet election day in Walton Hills will be a zoo this year.....

Council President, Kevin Hurst, will give up the safety of his seat and run for Mayor.

"After spending 42 months on Council, it has been made clear to me that Council can only do so much," he said July 9. "And I want to be pro-active, not reactive.

"I followed certain, specific criteria in making this decision to run and I believe my decision is in the best interests of the residents of Walton Hills," Hurst said. "I prayed alone and then I prayed with my family and then I talked with many people."

Hurst said his ability to communicate with people, his ability to make smart decisions and his willingness to work long hours makes him qualified to lead Walton Hills.

Current Mayor Marlene Anielski has pulled petitions and has stated she is still deciding if she will run again.

Walton Hills is currently in a fight with Bedford Schools to leave the school district. The biased state mediator has ruled Walton Hills is not allowed to leave the district. The case is currently under appeal.

Hurst having been on both side of this issue, notes he looks to prayer for guidance. While commendable, it does not appear to be sending him a clear message.

Prior to serving on council, Hurst was against Walton Hills pulling out of the failing Bedford School District. After being elected, he switched to being for the pullout, now flipping back, he is against it.

The biggest mistake Walton hills residents could do now would be to "Quit" their fight to pull out. If a decision will be made in their favor, it will be at the appeals court level.

I had the chance to listen to Councilman Hurst on a radio show one evening. Hurst was unwilling to answer any questions and continually referred back to his faith as his guiding light.

One who already sees the light is current Mayor Marlene Anielski. While Mayor Anielski may not bring chocolate chip cookies on a platter to meetings to keep everyone happy, she sure does bring a lot to the table.

Anielski is the ONE elected official in this area who has had the courage to stand up and speak truthfully about our schools. After trying to work within the system to effect positive change in our schools and being rebuffed, Anielski, acted on the residents cry for "help" with conviction.

While maybe sincere, Hurst appears to be easily pulled in opposite directions. The communities in this area need strong leaders with good direction.

Mayor Anielski, has the keys to the car, is buckled up with a full tank of gas and knows where she is going!

Walton Hills residents need to keep up the fight and keep Mayor Anielski in the drivers seat!

Bedford High School PTSA/PTA Voter Education Forum

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Bedford, Ohio 44146
Contact: Venezuela Robinson, Legislation Chair
(440) 786-9855
MrsVTR@aol.com


The Bedford High School Parent-Teacher-Student Association (PTSA/PTA) is hosting its annual Voter Education Forum, at Bedford High School, 481 Northfield Road, Bedford, Ohio, on Thursday, October 4, 2007, starting at 7:00 PM.

Listen, learn, and speak to candidates running for mayor in Bedford Heights, Oakwood Village, Village of Walton Hills and candidates for the Bedford Board of Education.

This free forum is neutral territory for a sharing of philosophy, ideas and information, not campaigning. This educational event is open to the public.

A presentation by the Ohio Lottery will occur at 6:30 PM.

For more information call (440) 786-9855 or visit our website at http://www.bedfordhighpta.org

Bedford Finance Director elected President of Ohio Government Finance Officers Association

From the Bedford Sun Banner --

The city's finance director has been elected president of the Ohio Government Finance Officers Association.

Frank C. Gambosi won the honor during the organization's fall conference Sept. 12 in Columbus. The Ohio GFOA is a professional organization of more than 1,100 members. It was formed to act as a conduit for the flow of information among all local governments.

Gambosi has 28 years of experience in state and local government. He has been Bedford's finance director for 17 years and prior to that served for seven years in the state auditor's office.

It is probably not often when someone says the "Tax Guy" is a nice guy. But Frank is a Hell of a Guy!

The City of Bedford, in fact any city, would be hard pressed to find anyone with half the dedication of Frank. Mr. Gambosi does not only pour his heart and soul into his work for the city, but he can regularly be seen volunteering at community events.

In my interactions with Mr. Gambosi over the years at events and attending council meetings, work sessions, budget hearings, I can only think of positive remarks. I think our city administration could attest that Frank is a great steward of our cities finances.

I would say his attention to detail of the grants/funding for Tinkers Creek Industrial Park and the tax abatement packages for Ben Venue, has helped secure financial stability for our city for many years to come.

I know the guy either has or will soon get ulcers the way he gets so worried about everything - at times I do believe Frank thinks the sky really is falling. I get pictures in my mind of Frank eating Tums like M&M's as he works on our cities finances.

Frank has been awarded the GFOA Certificate of Excellence in Financial Reporting for 19 consecutive years. I am proud to say 17 of them in Bedford!

Congratulations Frank!

Ganley Auto Group Accused of Racism

Bedford car dealer, Frank Nero Lincoln Mercury, which is part of the Ganley Auto Group family has been accused of racism and is facing a lawsuit filed by the EEOC in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio in Cleveland.

Larry Vandiver, a black employee, filed a complaint about Nero with the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission last year. He claimed that the dealership put sales by black salesmen through greater scrutiny than those of white workers; that it denied advancement opportunities to black workers; and that general manager Jay Walsh frequently referred to blacks using derogatory terms, including the n-word. More....

Attorney's for the EEOC have said the suit was filed after negotiations over the past year failed to correct or address any of the issues.

Sign a Med-Mart Referendum Petition today at Bedford's Party in the Park

We will be circulating petitions at the City of Bedford Party in the Park, at Bedford Public Square on Broadway. 7-9pm on Wednesday Aug. 15th.

Bedford Public Square is located in Downtown Bedford on Broadway Ave, south of the Automile.

If you have not signed a petition, please do so. Time is running out and we only have 9 days left.


Put in on the ballot

Sign a Med-Mart Referendum Petition today at Bedford's Art's & Jazz Festival

The City of Bedford is hosting an Arts and Jazz Festival today on the Sqaure in downtown Bedford.

The work of 13 local artists will be on display from 2 to 9 p.m. Rock/jazz fusion band Rare Blend will perform from 7 to 9 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

• Where: Bedford Square / Downtown Bedford

• When: 2:00p.m. - 9:00p.m.

Bedford Public Square is located in Downtown Bedford on Broadway Ave, south of the Automile.

We will be circulating the MedMart Referendum Petitions. This is the petition that will repeal the 20 yr, forced .25% sales tax increase by the Cuyahoga County Commisioners and allow residents to vote on the tax.

Come have a relaxing time in historical downtown Bedford, listen to some jazz while you visit the works from local artists. Make sure you see us and sign the petition to have your voice heard!

If you are interested in circulating a petition or able to help in any way, please visit Put it on the ballot.

Ben Venue Labs to add drug-manufacturing plant in Bedford

Ben Venue Labratories, located in Bedford, OH, will be expanding their already constantly growing pharmaceutical company. Already employing 1,100 people, the expansion will allow for the creation of 200 NEW jobs.

Being the largest employer and responsible for 41% of the total payroll tax, this is great news for Bedford. Sort of....

The City of Bedford Council, through the hard work of Frank Gambosi (Finance Director), Ken Schuman (Law Director) and Rebecca Corrigan (Economic Development Director), with cooperation from the schools, were able to further solidify Bedford's financial outlook by granting the abatement on this $71.5 million dollar expansion.

The tax abatement approved Monday night gives Ben Venue an 80 percent reduction in real estate taxes for 10 years. This year Bedford Schools, which shares property taxes with Bedford, will also begin receiving monies from one of the first Ben Venue tax abatement's granted 10 years ago.

Owned by Boehringer Ingelheim of Germany, Ben Venue, as usual were very gracious & appreciative of the cooperation they received. In 2005 Ben Venue shocked everyone with an unexpected gift for Bedford City School District.

Afterwards, Mike Faulk, the Controller of Ben Venue presented a check for $10,000 to the Bedford Schools Foundation Fund. At that time, Ben Venue presented a larger check for $300,000 for technology, improvement of computers, etc. Everyone at the meeting was taken by surprise at the amount.

With outdated computers being used by our students, many in the community were flush with joy over the unexpected wind fall, which they believed was to immediately & directly benefit the children. The school district felt it was more prudent to advance their effort to reach out and involve parents.....

Ben Venue earmarked the funds for technology at the discretion of the superintendent. In keeping with the school district’s ongoing efforts to improve home-school communications and meet the goals in the school district’s strategic plan, laptop computers will be purchased for all teachers.

“This will enable teachers to better communicate with parents using the laptops for e-mail and through an Internet tool called ProgressBook, said Mrs. Motsco.

While maybe well intentioned, many felt this money was squandered on the purchase as the ProgressBook program is only utilized by a select few teachers, and rarely kept up to date, if used, by other teachers. With this latest abatement, it is believed, Ben Venue will purchase new lockers for Heskett Middle School.

The downside to this story is.... after having Bedford City School District recently compared to East Cleveland & Maple Hts Schools, by a teacher, one has to wonder if people will want their children going there.

Judge: Maple Hts. parental-responsibility law is unconstitutional

I want to thank Jill from, Writes Likes She Talks, for pointing this out to me.

The Maple Hts 'Parental Responsibility Law' that was being challenged in Garfield Municipal Court as to vague, has been ruled unconstitutional.

Posting my feelings on this case previously, I feel the way Maple Hts. had their law drafted was vague and could be considered subjective. While well intentioned, it seemed to be backwards as their were no steps for parents to take prior to being charged, thus maybe the judges reference to due process...

From the PD --

Judge Jennifer Weiler dropped the charges against a Maple Heights mother who a city prosecutor said failed to supervise her 17-year-old son when he led police on a high-speed chase last fall that ended when the car slammed into a tree.

The mother, Thelma Ephraim, 44, challenged the parental-responsibility law, which is believed to be the first of its kind in Ohio.

In her decision, Weiler wrote that the law is vague, fails to define "poor supervision" of a minor and is unevenly applied, because not every parent whose child is charged with a crime is cited.

The ordinance gives parents a chance to convince a court that they have taken reasonable steps to control their child. But Weiler ruled that the law unconstitutionally places the burden of proof on the accused and violates due process. More....

The City of Bedford, which has a similar ordinance, has a juvenile diversion program involving the parent & child, prior to any charges being filed. To date, I am unaware of any parent being charged under Bedford's version of the Parental Responsibility Law. But, we can be sure our law will now be challenged.

The article notes that Maple Hts will appeal the ruling but has charged 11 other parents through Garfield Municipal Court under this ordinance. Nine have pleaded no contest and were sentenced to parenting classes. Being one of two judges in Garfield Municipal Court, I find it hard to believe Judge Weiner has not presided over one of these cases.

This leads me to ask....

If having sentenced a defendant on a law she later ruled unconstitutional, did Weiler willfully violate their civil rights?

Do the parents previously charged & sentenced have any recourse against Weiler and/or Maple Hts?