Fairfield Republicans

I am maintaining this blog page in an effort to provide information on activities and events to conservatives in Fairfield, Ohio and surrounding areas. This page will feature items of interest and links to information from the Butler County Republican Party and from the City of Fairfield. It is my hope that by utilizing this forum, we will be able to share ideas and information that will make our Party, our City, and our Neighborhoods better than ever!

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Fairfield to study need for fee hike

Just keeping you up to date with items of interest in the City of Fairfield. This is from the 3/28 Journal-News.
- Scott


Wastewater and water treatment fees at issue in city

By Michael D. Pitman
Staff Writer
Tuesday, March 27, 2007

FAIRFIELD — City leaders are recommending studies to see if there will be a need to increase wastewater and water treatment fees to help future projects.

The recommendation came at a Monday work session where the Fairfield City Council was given a rundown of the 2007 capital improvement projects.

"Given the projects we have out there this year, in 2008 we will run into an issue in our sewer surplus fund," said Finance Director Mary Hopton. "It is recommended that we do a rate study to try and cover some of the cost that we will be incurring on some these maintenance projects we will have."

In 2008, it is projected the wastewater treatment and water treatment divisions will each have just under $1.2 million in project expenses. In 2009, project expenses are expected to be around $1.1 million for the wastewater division and just under $2 million for the water division.

City Manager Art Pizzano said if the rate increase is warranted based on the study, he will recommend a gradual increase.

The 90-minute work session touched on the highlights for the $15.5 million proposed 2007 capital improvement budget, which is expected to be spent on 100 capital projects. Hopton said about 27 percent of the funding will come from outside sources, such as federal and state grants.

City department heads presented a brief overview of their capital improvement projects for the year, and many of the major projects will have some type of outside financing, Hopton said.

Part of the capital improvement budget includes recurring projects, which account for more than 18 percent, or $2.8 million, of the 2007 capital improvement budget.

Larger projects — such as waterway access to the Great Miami River, the Miami to Miami bike trail, Ohio 4/Crescentville Road improvements and the LeSaint Drive reconstruction — will be partly funded through grants either from Ohio or the federal government.

The 2007 capital improvement budget is part of the larger five-year plan, which is proposed to spend $85 million from 2007 to 2011.

The 2007 capital improvement budget is expected to be presented to council for approval in April.

Monday, March 26, 2007

Re: Fired US Attorneys


I thought this cartoon kind of said all that needs to be said on the topic.

- Scott


Friday, March 23, 2007

Hamilton County GOP cunducts campaign school

Thought you might find this story from the 3/23/07 Enquirer interesting.
- Scott

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070323/NEWS01/703230424/1056/COL02

School teaches campaiging
BY JESSICA BROWN

They sat quietly in class wearing business attire and name tags. They raised their hands to ask questions about reporting deadlines and yard signs.

They mulled over the contents of an inches-thick white binder with a red, white and blue elephant on the front.

Inside were the secrets that could mean the difference between winning and losing.

This was no ordinary classroom. This was Candidate School.

About 60 people attended the two-day school at the Ramada Inn in Queensgate. It was organized by the Hamilton County Republican Party. The Democrats are holding another Candidate School next month.

Participants included college students, political hopefuls and those planning to work on their campaigns.

They hoped to gain insight into the big job of running a successful campaign.

"Campaigning is definitely a science," said John Eby, who is running for Cincinnati City Council. "It's amazing what you learn there."

Eby is no stranger to politics. The West Side Republican ran for City Council in 2005. He said newcomers are often astounded at what a huge, complicated, time-consuming thing campaigning is.

"There were things we didn't have any idea about," he said of his first run for office. "We didn't know what we didn't know. If you've never (campaigned) before and you're up against someone who knows what they're doing, then you'll get run over."

For example:

No one person can contribute more than $100 in cash to the campaign. This often becomes a problem at fundraising events and can be a problem on campaign finance reports.

Many communities have their own yard-sign rules. Knowing them can save another costly trip back to the printer.

A computer program can map where your campaign signs are to figure out where the holes are.
There is a whole science behind direct mailings that can make a big difference.

Mike Robinson, 30, of Westwood said the lessons will help him as he works on the campaigns of Hamilton County Municipal Judge Julia Stautberg and Cincinnati City Council candidate Pat Fischer.

"Candidate School is a great learning experience to kind of go through it yourself and be in the trenches and see what it's like," said the Clerk of Courts Office worker.

He's learned everything from envelope stuffing (the correct folding and spelling are just as important as the content) to filing deadlines for campaign finance reports.

"Everyone sees the fund-raisers but doesn't see what all goes into it behind the scenes.

"That's what we get to see in campaign school," Fischer said. "The nuts and bolts of how it comes together and why each part is necessary to try to ensure a win in November."

Candidate School used to be an annual staple for the Republican Party, but was discontinued about five years ago. It was reborn last year.

"It is important that candidates for elected office spend their time wisely in a campaign," said Maggie Nafziger, executive director of the Hamilton County GOP.

"A lot of things like campaign finance laws and fundraising aren't something that the average person knows. This takes them through the process from beginning to end."

Candidate School graduates attest to the program's value.

"It was one of the most valuable, interesting ... things," said Hamilton County Recorder Rebecca Prem Groppe, who has been elected to three terms.

It was also a chance to network, students said.

Kristin Harper wanted to get some pointers to help her husband, Andre Harper, win a Cincinnati City Council seat in November. During a break, she chatted with Shirley Rosser, a veteran campaigner who has worked on the political bids of Jesse Jackson and Charlie Winburn, among others. She ran for Cincinnati City Council herself in 1991. The women discussed how much work campaigning is.

"I was like 'Oh my God,' " Harper laughed, recalling her reaction to the amount of material at candidate school.

"Oh, wait till you get to the parades and the festivals," warned Rosser. "All that waving - it's exhausting!"

Monday, March 19, 2007

2006 Congressional Scorecard

The Club For Growth has released their 2006 Congressional Scorecard. The following link takes you to the Club's web page. There you can review the criteria used in ranking members of the House and the Senate.

http://www.clubforgrowth.com/2007/03/the_clubs_2006_congressional_s_1.php

*** Quick Search Tip ***
While in one of the congressional scorecards, press "Ctrl+F". In the search window, type the name of the congressional rep. that you are looking for and click "find next".

- Scott

Biased Media? - You Be the Judge!

New Obama Ad "Blows Up" Clinton

www.youtube.com/watch?v=6h3G-lMZxjo

I hear about a you-tube video titled "Hillary 1984". The link is listed above.
Enjoy!
- Scott

Friday, March 16, 2007

Making Sense of it All

Have you ever tried to figure out the relationship between democrats, the liberal 527 groups, big money left wing donors, etc?

Follow the link below to a site that helps to make (some) sense of it all!

http://www.discoverthenetwork.org/default.asp

- Scott

p.s. the Java based visual map is Really Cool!

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Regional Meeting - Update

Many I've spoken to have asked when we will have a regional meeting to discuss issues ranging from upcoming elections to the current state of the party.

I have been trying to schedule a Region 1 meeting for the last month & a half. With recent committee changes, I thought it best to get an updated Region 1 committee list to ensure that meeting notices would be sent to all committee members.

I received notice yesterday that the updated list should be available shortly. As soon as the list is made available to me by Butler GOP Headquarters, I will schedule the meeting and send a letter with pertinent information.

Should you have any questions in the meantime, please feel free to call or drop an e-mail.

Thanks,
Scott

Friday, March 02, 2007

Questionable Judgement continues to plauge Butler County Children's Services

With the closure (in Ohio) of Lifeway for Youth (the agency contracted by the Butler County CSB & responsible for placing the late Marcus Fiesel with David & Liz Carroll), ans the subsequent resignation of CSB director, Jann Heffner; the Butler County Children's Services Board has found yet another reason for the public to question their judgement.

Please see the following articles from the Hamilton Journal-News ...

Jolivette objects to deal for outgoing head of Children Services
http://www.journal-news.com/search/content/gen/ap/OH_Children_Services_Contract.html

D'Epifanio (task force member) calls for 'drastic changes' to CSB
http://www.journal-news.com/n/content/oh/story/news/local/2007/03/01/hjn030207csbtaskforcenew.html

The insanity continues ...

In their never ending quest to create news rather than report news, some media outlets continue to conduct (and then report on) polls for the 2008 presidential election.

The Cincinnati Enquirer gives us the latest attempt at the following link

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070302/NEWS01/303020049/1056/COL02