Folks watching NewsNight Akron on Western Reserve Public Media (yeah, that's the old PBS 45/49 for those of us not following at home) will hear continuing conversation on the Vietnam Memorial Park's bench.
It's been a banner week here with plenty of discussion over the role we give our elected officials. In Akron, it was sparked by the Akron Beacon Journal's Bob Dyer, first to point out the tasteless granite bench Akron provided for the Memorial Park in Clinton.
In the event you missed it, Bob's original story. In summation, Akron sent a bench with a quick toss-away line and Mayor Plusquellic's name while every other participating city took it as an opportunity to inspire and thank rather than extend the political brand.
Eric Mansfield, Phil Trexler, M.:L Schultze and I follow suit. I'll likely take some heat for comparing the rush to slap a politician's name on anything that doesn't move to a dog's desire to mark their territory. The thought stayed with me while driving to Akron this morning, coming through Macedonia (where Mayor Don Kuchta's name is on signs) through Cuyahoga Falls (where Mayor Don Robart's name is on signs) into Akron (where Mayor Don Plusquellic's name is on signs) and the studio.
Does anyone think we need the name of elected officials splattered on cars, park entrances, city limits, state lines or even gas pumps?
- - -
Some of this thinking plays out in my thoughts on President Obama's plans to address school kids next Tuesday; this webcast/cablecast comes the day before he addresses the rest of us on the subject of health care. Fox Television already says they won't carry the address, opting for entertainment instead. Here at Rubber City Radio, WAKR will carry the address thanks largely to the Indians having a night off. Otherwise, we would stream it.
When the President of the United States asks for time to talk directly to voters -- after all, we're the ones who decide who manages the country every four years -- we should clear the time. But in today's fractured media landscape one or two networks skipping the speech isn't the end of the world, although it does call to question that network commitment to helping the public stay informed. Between NBC, CNBC, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, CNN, CNN Headline, CNN Financial, CSPAN123, Fox News Television, radio and web I can't imagine anyone who wants to listen or watch is being denied.
Having landed in favor of airing the address, however, I do believe it's important to note why and accept others won't make the same call. Just because the President wants the time doesn't mean they should get the time. We established early on that America is a nation built on the concept of all of us are created equal (not just the men, by the way), and while it's taken us a long time to fully embrace that concept it really does mean ALL. That includes Presidents, Governors, Mayors, Senators -- all the way down the list. It is appropriate to ask we respect the office, even respect the person -- but to take it to the next level seen by politicians to splatter their name, image and cause in every aspect of our lives makes me uncomfortable.
We have a right to object to bowing down to any man (or woman) who expects it just because we elected them to manage our affairs. We've allowed the political class to use our parks, road signs, post offices and public buildings for their own personal branding for far too long, but until Dyer's column showcased the logical extension of that mindset it was easy for us to dismiss the cult of personality seemingly driving today's politics.
On Facebook recently I noted schools can't allow God through the door -- anybody's God -- so why is it acceptable for politicians to waltz right in? Seems to me kids should be learning how to read, and don't really need the President (or Governor, or Mayor) to get in their faces and remind them why they're in school.
A good friend weighed in that the President should get the chance because he's the President. That works when he's addressing a joint session of Congress, but to pull kids out of class to watch him on television? There's a uniquely American question to be asked when authority is used as an excuse: so what? Is that really enough of a reason to turn elementary school into another place to spread the political personal brand?
Showing posts with label Eric Mansfield. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Eric Mansfield. Show all posts
Friday, September 4, 2009
Monday, June 15, 2009
R Minus 7; No News2Night; Marriage Politics & Got Safe?
Both AkronNewsNow and the Akron Beacon Journal provided extensive coverage over the weekend of the Mayor Recall race, and with just over a week to go you can expect to see a stronger push from both sides. That'll include saying anything to energize their vote.
At this point, the question isn't what voters think but how many can be counted on to turn thought into a mark on the check box. So far, the conventional wisdom is the Citizens For Akron crowd have done a better job of getting their vote out early.
CFA have performed extremely well in Ward 8, expected to be a stronghold for Mayor Plusquellic's bid to turn aside a recall push his side is already toasting money-wise by 40-to-one. The interesting thing about this election, however, is the sense that big money may not be a big factor. Funny thing about grass roots efforts -- and despite the spin, the ChangeAkronNow folks are grass roots for sure -- is they are not predictable. Nobody really knows for sure just what motivates voters to apply shoe leather on their own to cast their ballot; even in the 2008 highly-hyped Presidential election the actual turnout percentages were higher four years prior.
Likely doesn't translate into for sure, which is why there will be a flood of web postings, emails, news conferences, robocalls, direct mail and photo ops showing either the foot soldiers who wrap themselves in reform or the Administration wanting to be seen as on the job.
Wonder how many events the Plusquellibots and Mendenbots can squeeze in?
The final decision still rests with the votes cast right up to 7:30 p.m. a week from this Tuesday. Early voting continues all week at the Board of Elections 8:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. through Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Saturday and against 8:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. next Monday.
- - -
The timing couldn't have been worse for PBS 45/49, aka Western Reserve Public Media, forced to bump NewsNight Akron from the usual Friday night lineup because of a mandate from the public television network. With a week and a half to go, host Eric Mansfield lined up Akron FOP Lodge 7's president to stop by and explain the vote his members took last week on the recall. No go, not even online, but Eric tells me they did talk with Paul Hlynsky and it's slated to air this Friday.
Among items in my goofy file: the listing of Mansfield in the Citizens For Akron financial report. On WAKR this morning, Eric related how his name also appears with wife Lisa's on their checks; I know, joint checking -- who'd a thunk? So when she signed up for an under-$30 fundraiser because she's running for the Akron School Board and is politically active, the CFA folks gladly took the check but instead of listing her they listed Eric.
This sexism in financial reporting is very common; campaigns (all stripes) will look for the names and addresses on the check when listing a contribution. Enter the CAN conspiracy theorists, who first cried out it showed bias and then switched gears to show sloppy book work from CFA.
I guess anything works to stir up the crowd to close to an election. Memo to any couple who ever thinks about attending a political function: set up separate checking accounts.
- - -
The Downtown Akron Partnership, in the meantime, picked a strange time to circulate a poll asking folks just what they think about safety and security downtown. Crime in Akron is one of those "under the surface" issues getting lots of comments and ink from folks following at home, but it wasn't a major topic addressed by either side in interviews over the weekend. After reading and listening to the respective combatants, and our (the media's) focus on the economy and pure politics at play, maybe you have something to say to the power-that-be that can help track just how the public feels about downtown Akron as a safe place to play.
It's a good idea to get a read on how the true customers of Akron's downtown entertainment offerings feel about the social core of this region. We've seen how center cities can drive perception, and despite the political back and forth on downtown v. neighborhood it doesn't take a rocket scientist to compare the health of cities with more vibrant downtown neighborhoods and the impact it has on quality of life overall. This kind of polling -- asking questions we all ask ourselves -- is invaluable in moving beyond the anecdotes and working on policies to address problems.
The link to the poll in an email says the poll can also be accessed from the Partnership's web site, but I couldn't find it when I checked this afternoon. The Downtown Akron Partnership advises it is in an orange box on the left after a scroll down.
At this point, the question isn't what voters think but how many can be counted on to turn thought into a mark on the check box. So far, the conventional wisdom is the Citizens For Akron crowd have done a better job of getting their vote out early.
CFA have performed extremely well in Ward 8, expected to be a stronghold for Mayor Plusquellic's bid to turn aside a recall push his side is already toasting money-wise by 40-to-one. The interesting thing about this election, however, is the sense that big money may not be a big factor. Funny thing about grass roots efforts -- and despite the spin, the ChangeAkronNow folks are grass roots for sure -- is they are not predictable. Nobody really knows for sure just what motivates voters to apply shoe leather on their own to cast their ballot; even in the 2008 highly-hyped Presidential election the actual turnout percentages were higher four years prior.
Likely doesn't translate into for sure, which is why there will be a flood of web postings, emails, news conferences, robocalls, direct mail and photo ops showing either the foot soldiers who wrap themselves in reform or the Administration wanting to be seen as on the job.
Wonder how many events the Plusquellibots and Mendenbots can squeeze in?
The final decision still rests with the votes cast right up to 7:30 p.m. a week from this Tuesday. Early voting continues all week at the Board of Elections 8:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. through Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Saturday and against 8:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. next Monday.
- - -
The timing couldn't have been worse for PBS 45/49, aka Western Reserve Public Media, forced to bump NewsNight Akron from the usual Friday night lineup because of a mandate from the public television network. With a week and a half to go, host Eric Mansfield lined up Akron FOP Lodge 7's president to stop by and explain the vote his members took last week on the recall. No go, not even online, but Eric tells me they did talk with Paul Hlynsky and it's slated to air this Friday.
Among items in my goofy file: the listing of Mansfield in the Citizens For Akron financial report. On WAKR this morning, Eric related how his name also appears with wife Lisa's on their checks; I know, joint checking -- who'd a thunk? So when she signed up for an under-$30 fundraiser because she's running for the Akron School Board and is politically active, the CFA folks gladly took the check but instead of listing her they listed Eric.
This sexism in financial reporting is very common; campaigns (all stripes) will look for the names and addresses on the check when listing a contribution. Enter the CAN conspiracy theorists, who first cried out it showed bias and then switched gears to show sloppy book work from CFA.
I guess anything works to stir up the crowd to close to an election. Memo to any couple who ever thinks about attending a political function: set up separate checking accounts.
- - -
The Downtown Akron Partnership, in the meantime, picked a strange time to circulate a poll asking folks just what they think about safety and security downtown. Crime in Akron is one of those "under the surface" issues getting lots of comments and ink from folks following at home, but it wasn't a major topic addressed by either side in interviews over the weekend. After reading and listening to the respective combatants, and our (the media's) focus on the economy and pure politics at play, maybe you have something to say to the power-that-be that can help track just how the public feels about downtown Akron as a safe place to play.
It's a good idea to get a read on how the true customers of Akron's downtown entertainment offerings feel about the social core of this region. We've seen how center cities can drive perception, and despite the political back and forth on downtown v. neighborhood it doesn't take a rocket scientist to compare the health of cities with more vibrant downtown neighborhoods and the impact it has on quality of life overall. This kind of polling -- asking questions we all ask ourselves -- is invaluable in moving beyond the anecdotes and working on policies to address problems.
The link to the poll in an email says the poll can also be accessed from the Partnership's web site, but I couldn't find it when I checked this afternoon. The Downtown Akron Partnership advises it is in an orange box on the left after a scroll down.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Recall Tactics, Part 1
The recall election is underway -- with absentee voting taking place now at the Summit County Board of Elections, even with the actual deadline to register for the election next Tuesday.
Amazing how quickly government can work sometimes...
So now it's not just about whether voters want to see the issue on the ballot. The campaign now centers on the public and the private strategy of each side with the counting that starts after polls close at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 23, 2009 the only thing that matters. Less than five short weeks, with at least four days between now and then taken up by Memorial Day holiday activities (rotten time to campaign), the end of the school term, vacations and the general malaise surrounding anything political between Memorial Day and Labor Day.
In this case of the compressed campaign, the push to organize get-out-their-vote drives is on a very short leash. With effectively only four weeks to get done what normally takes four months, the strength of the political machinery on both sides will be tested.
So what strategy to adopt for each side?
The ChangeAkronNow folks need to continue their momentum beyond the 3,179 certified signatures it took to get the recall on the ballot. They need to convince those who signed the petitions to take the next step by voting, and try to convince those on the fence to fall their way -- and to vote that way. So far, it's been grass-roots campaigning, with the strong use of social media such as Twitter and Facebook, word of mouth, and use of shoe leather. But their task isn't as hard as it is for those arguing on behalf of Mayor Plusquellic. Anger and outrage, deserved or not, is a supreme motivator for people entering a voting booth. In this case, word of mouth works best because it is one-one-one and intimate; it also doesn't have to stand the test of truth-telling or challenge.
In terms of putting on a media show of pro-recall advertising, that takes money. Raising funds to support an effective ad campaign would cost thousands of dollars. It will be tough waging that kind of political war against a two-decades plus incumbent who clearly knows not only how to raise campaign money on his own, but also understands how to freeze out potential support for his opposition. Look for more push for so-called "free media" from the pro-recall effort, although in today's news environment that effectively limits them to the Beacon Journal and West Side Leader on the print side and broadcast news & talk outlets WAKR, WNIR, WKSU, WCPN and WHLO. I hope I'm wrong, but Cleveland television can be expected to treat this as they do most Akron issues -- with a 1:40 package the days before the election, unless something better is happening in Westlake.
The tactics for Citizens For Akron will be much more nuanced; not only do they need to convince voters the recall is unwarranted, they need to motivate voters to care enough to lift themselves off the chair and get in front of a ballot. The biggest problem Plusquellic supporters may have is indicated by a conversation I had recently with a woman at the Starbucks on Sand Run -- not an area of the city known particularly as a hotbed of revolutionary thought.
She doesn't like the idea of the recall, telling me she thinks Plusquellic's done nothing illegal or unethical to warrant being tossed out of office two years before his term ends. She thinks it is a waste of time and money, but here's the problem for the pro-Plusquellic campaign: she also doesn't like the mayor personally.
She tells me she while she believes it is a big mistake to recall Plusquellic, she isn't invested enough in the civic duty part of being an Akron voter to come to his aid. She needs a personal reason to vote no to vote yes for Plusquellic, and that's her tough choice because she doesn't like the way he treats people.
There's the rub of the greatest challenge for the mayor's supporters: the very passion which makes Plusquellic a powerful and, on a great many occasions, an effective advocate on behalf of Akron is his greatest asset. It's also his greatest liability. In the same conversation supporters opine Akron is in far better shape than every other northern Ohio major city, and they credit the Plusquellic Administration with being pro-active rather than reactive. But in the next sentence they'll shake their heads over name-calling, finger-pointing and bring up stories such as arguing with parking lot attendants and saying opponents have special places in hell reserved for them when he loses.
It's not the big picture with all the talk of travel budgets, long-term or short-term debt that seems to spark the greatest reaction. It is the little things that all of us can relate to -- how do the big guys treat the little guys, and should that be the biggest part of the equation when the big guy needs the little guy to vote?
The conventional wisdom politically is to come out with guns blazing, and that's been the history of the mayor's pattern of response...but is it the wise course of action when blazing guns appears to be why people will vote against you, or worse yet decide to not vote for you?
Supporters tell me they intend to wage an intensive feet-on-the-ground education campaign detailing the plus of Plusquellic. WKYC's Eric Mansfield Tuesday night aired portions of a sit-down with Plusquellic that broke little new ground. I think the interesting take-away, however, is the mayor's tone: less combative than we're used to, perhaps an acknowledgment that in this case leadership style may very well play the major role in this election.
WKYC-TV video; if embed doesn't work you can find it here on WKYC.com
Amazing how quickly government can work sometimes...
So now it's not just about whether voters want to see the issue on the ballot. The campaign now centers on the public and the private strategy of each side with the counting that starts after polls close at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 23, 2009 the only thing that matters. Less than five short weeks, with at least four days between now and then taken up by Memorial Day holiday activities (rotten time to campaign), the end of the school term, vacations and the general malaise surrounding anything political between Memorial Day and Labor Day.
In this case of the compressed campaign, the push to organize get-out-their-vote drives is on a very short leash. With effectively only four weeks to get done what normally takes four months, the strength of the political machinery on both sides will be tested.
So what strategy to adopt for each side?
The ChangeAkronNow folks need to continue their momentum beyond the 3,179 certified signatures it took to get the recall on the ballot. They need to convince those who signed the petitions to take the next step by voting, and try to convince those on the fence to fall their way -- and to vote that way. So far, it's been grass-roots campaigning, with the strong use of social media such as Twitter and Facebook, word of mouth, and use of shoe leather. But their task isn't as hard as it is for those arguing on behalf of Mayor Plusquellic. Anger and outrage, deserved or not, is a supreme motivator for people entering a voting booth. In this case, word of mouth works best because it is one-one-one and intimate; it also doesn't have to stand the test of truth-telling or challenge.
In terms of putting on a media show of pro-recall advertising, that takes money. Raising funds to support an effective ad campaign would cost thousands of dollars. It will be tough waging that kind of political war against a two-decades plus incumbent who clearly knows not only how to raise campaign money on his own, but also understands how to freeze out potential support for his opposition. Look for more push for so-called "free media" from the pro-recall effort, although in today's news environment that effectively limits them to the Beacon Journal and West Side Leader on the print side and broadcast news & talk outlets WAKR, WNIR, WKSU, WCPN and WHLO. I hope I'm wrong, but Cleveland television can be expected to treat this as they do most Akron issues -- with a 1:40 package the days before the election, unless something better is happening in Westlake.
The tactics for Citizens For Akron will be much more nuanced; not only do they need to convince voters the recall is unwarranted, they need to motivate voters to care enough to lift themselves off the chair and get in front of a ballot. The biggest problem Plusquellic supporters may have is indicated by a conversation I had recently with a woman at the Starbucks on Sand Run -- not an area of the city known particularly as a hotbed of revolutionary thought.
She doesn't like the idea of the recall, telling me she thinks Plusquellic's done nothing illegal or unethical to warrant being tossed out of office two years before his term ends. She thinks it is a waste of time and money, but here's the problem for the pro-Plusquellic campaign: she also doesn't like the mayor personally.
She tells me she while she believes it is a big mistake to recall Plusquellic, she isn't invested enough in the civic duty part of being an Akron voter to come to his aid. She needs a personal reason to vote no to vote yes for Plusquellic, and that's her tough choice because she doesn't like the way he treats people.
There's the rub of the greatest challenge for the mayor's supporters: the very passion which makes Plusquellic a powerful and, on a great many occasions, an effective advocate on behalf of Akron is his greatest asset. It's also his greatest liability. In the same conversation supporters opine Akron is in far better shape than every other northern Ohio major city, and they credit the Plusquellic Administration with being pro-active rather than reactive. But in the next sentence they'll shake their heads over name-calling, finger-pointing and bring up stories such as arguing with parking lot attendants and saying opponents have special places in hell reserved for them when he loses.
It's not the big picture with all the talk of travel budgets, long-term or short-term debt that seems to spark the greatest reaction. It is the little things that all of us can relate to -- how do the big guys treat the little guys, and should that be the biggest part of the equation when the big guy needs the little guy to vote?
The conventional wisdom politically is to come out with guns blazing, and that's been the history of the mayor's pattern of response...but is it the wise course of action when blazing guns appears to be why people will vote against you, or worse yet decide to not vote for you?
Supporters tell me they intend to wage an intensive feet-on-the-ground education campaign detailing the plus of Plusquellic. WKYC's Eric Mansfield Tuesday night aired portions of a sit-down with Plusquellic that broke little new ground. I think the interesting take-away, however, is the mayor's tone: less combative than we're used to, perhaps an acknowledgment that in this case leadership style may very well play the major role in this election.
WKYC-TV video; if embed doesn't work you can find it here on WKYC.com
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