Big City Mayors In LaLaLand

needs to happen with a quickness. 

staff -- i disagree with your angle and your analysis.  to be honest, it sounds like the "get on board" perception folks have of sherrod's campaign. 

if anything, coleman has been very consistent in putting an urban agenda first.  its why he ran for governor.  its what he's talked about since bowing out.  its what he's looking for from strickland. 

and, as the most important elected democratic officials in ohio, isn't it more than a little disconcerting that strickland still hasn't reached them with 5 months til the general? 

Coleman gave up his agenda when he got out of the race. Strickland is running to govern the entire state not just 3 or 4 cities. If he wanted to just have a big city agenda he wold have run for Mayor.

These mayors need to wake up to election reality in Ohio. Big cities cannot alone deliver the election - we need a message that resonates with people outside the cities too.

I am not saying get on board. I am saying that if they are genuine about this issue why keep running to the press and issuing veiled threats instead of collaborating to find the best possible solutiuons for everyone ? I posit that the reason this isnt happeneing is because they are not being genuine at all.

in their concerns.  i share them.  and they're not the end all, be all of ohio politics, but they're still extremely important issues and politicians. 

i also think this is falling into the city vs. country meme that is so destructive to dem interests. 

city vs not city is what kills Democrats in Ohio and these bozo mayors dont get it - like Sherrod Brown doesnt get it. They really need to get out of the cities a little and taste the rest of the state. It's really starting to piss me off how disconnected these folks are from many ohioans.

the majority of our current voting base is in the cities, but not the majority of voters. But clearly we must expand or continue to lose. Sometimes to expand you have to cast aside a few too. If we do not do this we will continue to lose.

I also disagree that the cities are the engines of the state. The suburbs are - that is where the people live who get the work done. they just commute to the cities or larger towns.

are largely an expensive draw on state taxes.  cities are where people work, increasingly live, etc.  to see what the neglect of a city can do to a region, visit lima or youngstown. 

besides, these mayors are elected by a particular constituency and have to meet their needs.  while i'm not saying that it will, the possibility of a strickland administration that largely continues the anti-city policies of taft is obviously enough to make them want assurances.  seems reasonable enough to me. 

>>are largely an expensive draw on state taxes.  cities are where people work, increasingly live, etc.<<

Actually, outside of Columbus it is really questionable re: increasingly live/work as Cleveland, Youngstown (whichi isn't really part of the Big 8 anymore as Canton has moved past it), and Cincinnati have all had fairly large population decreases between 2000 and 2003 when the census did it's estimate (3.4% in Youngstown and Cleveland's case, 4.2% in Cincy's).  Toledo and Dayton have suffered smaller declines in that period (2.7% for Dayton and 1.5% for Toledo).  Heck, some sururbs actually have more business activity, in terms of percentage used, than cities (I see plenty more filled offices and open factories, as a percentage, in the suburb of Maumee than in Toledo).

Meanwhile, many suburban counties have experienced a great deal of growth as Butler county, for instance, grew over 4% between 2000 and 2003 which is over 4X the Ohio growth rate.

>>to see what the neglect of a city can do to a region, visit lima or youngstown.  <<

Not arguing this, though Youngstown had some self-inflicted problems (unless Traficant used fraud, or something, to get re-elected).

"Treat old friends like gold and new ones like silver"

This is what my late mama always used to say to me. Most of the time, common sense stuff is the best answer.

So, I'll disagree with staff's "you have to cast aside a few" ... no ... we just have to do a better job of helping everybody to get to know each other better. We need to be open and nice to new people with slightly different lifestyles and political ideas. We need to mix but respect that there's a place for grassroots and a place for fancy pants as well as a place for progressives and a place for middle-of-the-roaders.

But no matter what anybody says, the only way we can quickly change the direction of this state and nation is to come together ... even if it means I have to keep my big mouth shut about the quirky little habits of suburban house party socialites and rural country folks. 

I promise ya one thing. I don't believe I'll ever be comfortable standin' in a circle and holdin' hands to sing Kumbaya ...nope... I just ain't gonna do it.