Gee Ghiz
Submitted by Todd Hoffman on Mon, 07/10/2006 - 2:03pm.
Statewide Ballot Issues
Today, Leslie Ghiz, the Cincinnati Councilwoman who championed slot machine parlors for the Queen City, has flipped her position and filed a lawsuit against Ohio Learn and Earn. Ghiz’s sudden flip comes after her group, Queen City Gaming, was plagued with petitioning irregularities forcing them to withdraw their quest to get on the ballot.
Ghiz claims that she is upset that Ohio Learn and Earn is being dishonest in its petition drive. However, less than a month ago she was supporting a casino amendment that was illegally gathering signatures by paying per signature and failing to register the appropriate paperwork for all petitioners with the Secretary of State.
The fact is that the Ohio Attorney General has certified that the language of Ohio Learn and Earn's amendment summary finding it “fair and accurate”. Petitioners are instructed to answer all questions regarding the funding sources, locations of slot machines, and percentages of gaming taxes allocated to scholarships and economic development.
Ghiz’s flip-flop is really about sour grapes. She was the loudest voice in Cincinnati FOR an amendment to legalize restricted gaming. When Cincinnati stalled too long to join the deal, she changed her tune. She has stated that she would "actively and publicly" work against any casino ballot referendum that does not include Cincinnati as a location.
So it’s really not about being opposed to Learn and Earn, it’s about not having a casino parlor in Cincinnati.
In fact, Ghiz pledged to boycott OLE for not including Cincinnati. Since Ghiz’s boycott, OLE has received 75,000 signatures from the citizens of Hamilton County.
Voters deserve better than Leslie Ghiz’s political grandstanding. The lawsuit has no merit and should be dismissed as frivolous.
Todd Hoffman
Ohio Learn and Earn
Yes, you are right
Submitted by Todd Hoffman on Mon, 07/10/2006 - 3:18pm.
This is just a publicity stunt though. Just read the actual document...all fluff.
No shock . . .
Submitted by TheCablinasianRam on Mon, 07/10/2006 - 5:06pm.
She's not changing her position, she has always wanted gambling in Cincinnati because of what it would do to revitalize the downtown area. She's one of the few people on council I can stand; I even think she's more open minded and forward thinking than many of the Democrats on Council.
 Frankly, it's not the first thing I would do to give downtown Cincy a renaissance (I would install a Whole Foods-type yuppie store), but it's worth a shot.
And for those outside of the Cincinnati area, that's a hard 'G' in her last name.
97X .  . . BAM
She has been a real disappointment to me.
Submitted by Muffet on Mon, 07/10/2006 - 5:35pm.
She has shown me that she is indeed a management-minded lawyer who will do anything for a buck.  Sell out the people of Cincinnati?  OK.  Sell out poor people with a regressive tax called gambling?  OK.  She fooled me once.  She won't again.
From the other thread...
Submitted by Todd Hoffman on Tue, 07/11/2006 - 2:10pm.
In response to Muffet's post "Leslie Ghiz sues OLE":
I posted the following on Andrew's blog:
Fieldworks has conducted what will be soon known as the most professional and successful petition drive in Ohio history. Just wait for the filings on August 9, and decide for yourself. Their efforts on behalf of Ohio Learn and Earn, the minimum wage petition and the workers compensation petition have been stellar, to say the least. They have reached every corner of Ohio, talked hundreds of thousands of voters, and done this by abiding the law and not paying per signature like many other campaigns.
Leslie Ghiz's lawsuit is all fluff. I have read it. As a trial lawyer, she is well versed in introducing frivolous lawsuits. For proof, you only need to look at this. She files a lawsuit citing evidence yesterday, and today she admits that she has never seen the evidence and wants to view the petition.
P.S. Leslie, the petition is online (the petition is merely the amendment plus lines for signatures), if you cared to do your research. This is a mere publicity stunt.
Hey.
Submitted by Muffet on Tue, 07/11/2006 - 2:17pm.
Let's quit the slamming of trial lawyers.  You may actually need a lawyer someday, and where will you be if you bad mouth all of us?  Please don't lump me with Ghiz. I'm a trial lawyer and damn proud of it.
 In fact, Ghiz represented the city in its negotiations with the unions.  She was at a plantiff's firm for just a short period of time.  She's not there any longer, so I don't even know if she qualifies to be known as a "trial lawyer."  It's not an epithet, you know. 
Trial Lawyers
Submitted by staff on Tue, 07/11/2006 - 2:48pm.
Come on Muffet, everyone knows Trial lawyers are worse than liberals and George Soros combined ! heh.
Yeh.
Submitted by Muffet on Tue, 07/11/2006 - 3:38pm.
We're the dregs of the earth.  How bad is it if you're a liberal Democrat who's a trial lawyer, too?  That's actually one of the things John Edwards and I discussed when we met about a year ago.  We are over the top.  I just wish I were as over the top successful as John Edwards.  What a man.
Ok, I will admit
Submitted by Todd Hoffman on Tue, 07/11/2006 - 3:08pm.
that was a bit of a cheap shot on trial lawyers. I meant to emphasize the frivolous nature of this lawsuit, rather than criticize trial lawyers. The group is to large and diverse to talk about in sum anyway.
I suspect