When Mike Jones accepted an invitation from the
Concerned Citizens Group and met with them on 20 January 2007 to
discuss his candidacy for city solicitor, one of the questions he
was asked was about the Marting building. Since 2002, the most
contentious issue by far in Portsmouth has been the city’s purchase
of the worthless Marting building from the Marting Foundation at an
inflated price. The city intended to convert the 125-year-old
leaking department store into a new home for city offices. Former
mayor Greg Bauer and members of city council had involved themselves
in the fraudulent sale of the building. The persistence with which
our current doofus mayor, Jim Kalb, and a couple of crooked city
council members have tried to waste from $7-10 millions of public
dollars to make the building habitable has mobilized many citizens
and particularly property owners. Because they were the victims
chosen to pay for the fraudulent project through property taxes,
property owners were outraged.
Marting
Building
There is no single issue that more accurately
reflects the judgment and the integrity of a candidate than the
position that he or she takes on the Marting building. Beware of
candidates who avoid or even hedge on that issue, because they are
probably either dumb or dishonest, or both, and we’ve got enough of
those types in public office already.
So eager were they to get David Kuhn out of
office that CCG members did not pay enough attention to what Jones’s
position was on the Marting building. They have lived to regret it,
deeply. Jones’s answer in January 2007 to the question on the
Marting building was that he didn’t have a position, or at least
didn’t have one that he was willing to admit to in public. Once in
office Jones quickly showed his true colors, not only on the Marting
building but on other issues as well. He has turned out to be, in my
opinion, a politician of the worst stripe, lacking not only in
competency but integrity.
We may be able better understand
the reasons candidate Jones would not say what his position was on
the Marting building when we examine his financial situation at the
time he was running for city solicitor.
On 8 June 2007, five
months after not answering the question on the Marting building and
five months before being elected to office, Jones and his partner
completed the purchase of the Crispie Creme Donut Shop, at 1202
Gallia Street. The value the County Auditor put on the donut shop
was $107,990, but Jones and his partner paid an eye-popping $325,000
for the property. Did Jones confuse Crispie Creme with the national
chain Krispy Kreme? What was he thinking? I suspected there might be
an error in the $325,000 figure, so I checked with the County
Auditor’s Office to make sure that figure was correct. I was told it
was. Granted the valuation put on property for purposes of taxation
is usually less than the putative market value, but a nearly 300
percent increase can hardly be accounted for on those grounds. The
$325,000 for Crispie Creme sounds as inflated as the $2 million
dollars the city paid for the Marting building.
I have walked
or driven by Crispie Creme at least a thousand times over the last
twenty years and the question that often occurred to me was how in
the world it managed to stay in business. In driving past the small
building, it’s hard to tell whether it’s open or closed, because
open or closed, the dimly lit interior is often empty. I’ve been
told that it was a popular business in an earlier time. Customers
loved the coffee and especially Mrs. Renison’s 1929-recipe donuts.
But time and tastes change. Duncan Donuts and later Starbucks helped
do-in old-fashioned donut shops like Crispy Creme, but concerns
about diet were what really nixed donuts.
Why did Jones and
his partner pay $325,000 for a walking-dead donut shop? I don’t
know, but from public records I know who his enablers were, I know
who made it possible for him to pay that eye-popping price. The
financial institutions that granted Jones mortgages on Crispie Creme
were, not surprisingly, the American Savings Bank (ASB) and the
Southern Ohio Growth Partnership (SOGP). When I hear ASB and SOGP,
what do I think? I think financial hanky-panky and political
shenanigans. Records in the County Auditor’s office and the County
Records office show that the ASB obliged Jones with a $182,000
mortgage and that the SOGP, to cover the rest of the purchase price,
provided him one for $147,000.
Is it possible that the ASB
and SOGP were in Jones’s corner in the city solicitor race? Of the
SOGP’s involvement in local politics we have plenty of evidence, not
just the Marting building; and the ASB, it is now clear, is up to
its eyeballs in local politics. Robert M. Smith is the most
politicized bank president in Portsmouth, and ASB Vice President
Michael L. Gampp was the point man on the Progress Portsmouth
Political Action Committee, which lobbied hard for the passage of
the Marting ballot measure in November 2008. In spite of the fact
that Clayton Johnson, Neal Hatcher, et al, made sizeable financial
contributions to Progress Portsmouth, that ballot measure was
soundly rejected by the voters.
One way Johnson and Smith
could help Jones, in addition to providing him with $329,000 in
mortgage money, would be to patronize Crispie Creme, which is in
sore need of customers. Rumors currently circulating about Jones
being in dire financial difficulties are just that—rumors, but with
the financial meltdown and business recession that have occurred
since he acquired Crispie Creme in the summer of 2007, it would not
be surprising if Jones was in a financial deep fry, and that he soon
may be toast. Even the national chain Krispy Kreme, according to
Yahoo! Finance, may be out of business before 2009 is
over.
House
Money
Who knows why the SOGP makes loans or provides
mortgages to the people it does? Someone wrote in an email, “Jones
was bought and paid for from the beginning.” I don’t know about
that, but like the AIG and other free-wheeling financial entities,
the SOGP has pretty much had Portsmouth public officials in its
pocket for quite a spell. The SOGP, with its offices in the pork
barrel Welcome Center, has been able to do as it pleases in River
City. It has no accountability to voters and little to regulators.
The SOGP is Portsmouth’s shadow government, wheeling and dealing
while playing with house money, doling out millions of dollars
without much oversight.
The ASB is not much better. In 2005, to avoid
the paper work and scrutiny that goes with being a publicly held
company, ASB went private, buying out its shareholders. Since then,
as a private company, its financial operations have become somewhat
inscrutable, like they were at AIG, Bear Stearns, and Lehman
Brothers.
Why, for example, would ASB grant a $187,000
mortgage to a business that appears to have nothing going for it but
donut nostalgia and a return to those filling days of yesteryear,
before our deep-fry diets caught up with us in the form of
artery-clogging cholesterol and ass-over-the-stool obesity? It’s not
just assets that can be toxic. The SixWise.com website claims that
donuts are among the six unhealthiest foods in America. When it
comes to diet, according to a nutritionist at the New York Obesity
Research Center, the only healthy thing about a donut is the
hole.
Is it too much to hope that the SOGP and ASB might in
the future be held more accountable not only for their financial but
also their political activities? Can we be assured that they are not
making the equivalent of sub-prime loans to customers whose failing
businesses they are subsidizing and whose political support they are
currying? Can the citizens of Portsmouth be assured that the chief
legal officer in city government is not being held hostage by his
indebtedness, that he does what is best for the city, and not just
for the influential and wealthy individuals to whom might be
beholden for $329,000 in mortgages and his $60,000 a year part-time
job?
Closer to
Home
Unfortunately, Jones’s indebtedness is not
confined to his business. He appears to have financial problems
closer to home. In April 2005, two years before taking out the two
mortgages on the donut shop, he bought a home in Portsmouth, on “the
Hill,” at 2828Willow Way, for $192,000. Yes, Jones lives on the
Hill, but can he afford to, not only financially but ethically? Were
the decisions he has so far made as city solicitor influenced by his
being mortgaged to the hilt? Would he have favored renovating the
Marting building if he was not obligated to the SOGP and Clayton
Johnson? Would he have brought Harold Daub to trial on trumped up
charges if Daub wasn’t enemy number one to the rich white trash who
control Portsmouth economically and politically? And would Jones
have tried to fire Police Chief Charles Horner in the
rush-to-judgment, undocumented way he did if Horner had not been
disloyal to his bosses, first to Mayor Bauer and then to Mayor Kalb,
accusing them of illegal actions in connection with the purchase of
the 15th Street Viaduct property and the Marting building?
Is
there a more highly leveraged office holder in city government than
the City Solicitor? If the City Solicitor is no better at handling
the city’s legal problems than he is at handling his own finances,
his term in office may seem even longer to the citizens of
Portsmouth than it will to him. The prayer of Alcoholics Anonymous
goes, “God grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot
change, courage to change the things we can, and wisdom to know the
difference.” Is Portsmouth one of those things that cannot be
changed? Should the Concerned Citizens Group change its name to the
Serene Citizens Group? Should they wear a toga and do yoga? Should
they, like Alfred E. Newman, stop worrying? Questions and more
questions! When a Greg Bauer is replaced as mayor by a Jim Kalb, and
a David Kuhn is replaced as city solicitor by a Mike Jones, when we
go from the deep fryer into the fire, it is enough to drive a
teetotaler to drink or, even worse, to
donuts.
Tuesday 28 April, 2009 – at 9:00 A. M.
-
Solicitor Jones Attacks New
Lady Mayor...
on her third day in Office -
Attempt to
bull-doze the new Mayor has failed.
(Read the
Portsmouth Daily Times published Thursday, January 07,
2010.
You may have to
spend fifty cents
for a copy, but it is worth it.)
The pompous,
bullying Solicitor Mike Jones has attacked new
Mayor
Jane
Murray, and again demonstrated to the
citizens of Portsmouth his
arrogance. Many
grievous errors by the new Mayor were
charged
against
her by the Omnipotent
Almighty Solicitor who laments that
she has sinned
against him by daring to
make decisions without his approval.
The news articles
published by the Daily Times clearly reveal that Mike Jones
"speaks
words without knowledge."
The bombastic City
Solicitor Mike Jones has made a clown
of himself
in this base attempt to intimidate and harass
the new
Mayor Jane Murray
as he has treated her as a second rate official,
under his
command.
Mike Jones has shown,
as evidenced in writings in Thursday's issue
of
the
Portsmouth Daily Times, that he is
out-classed. Mayor Jane
Murray
is
way ahead of him.
She will be the
Mayor. Mike Jones will not be running her office.
Solicitor Mike Jones has
less than two years remaining in his own term.
His rating with the
general public is now at low ebb and the rising
tide may not raise
him. If Mike Jones had shown as much concern
for the operation and
integrity of his own office during the past two
years
as he has shown for the
three short days of Mayor Murray's
administration, Portsmouth would
now be a more desirable and more
pleasant place to
reside.
In our opinion Mike Jones actions and
words were in accordance
with instructions from the un-elected,
over-privileged wealthy boodlers
he is serving. War has begun against the new
Mayor. –Austin
Leedom –08 January 2010-
Written by Austin Leedom, Shawnee Sentinel,
27 April 2009
Scioto County Common Pleas Court Judge William T.
Marshall will issue a decision on a motion by 24 citizens who have
asked the Court to overturn an election in February 2009 in which
a majority of voting citizens voted to keep City
Councilmen from raising your real estate taxes without a vote
of the people. Overturning the vote of the people was first
proposed by City Solicitor Mike
Jones.
Jury finds former councilman not guilty of complicity in theft
by Frank Lewis
1 day 2 hrs ago | 221 views | 0
At 8:45 p.m. Thursday, Portsmouth Municipal
Court Judge Russell D. Kegley read the verdict — "We the jury find
the state has not proved its case, and find the defendant, Harald
Daub, not guilty."
With the announcement, an applause broke
out in the court room, and Daub, who had been standing, his head
slightly bowed and his eyes closed, breathed a sigh of
relief.
Daub had been charged with complicity in the theft of
tools and a shopping bag on Dec. 20, 2008, with a total value of
$176 from the Aldi Store on Gallia Street in Portsmouth — a crime
his nephew, Aaron Applegate, recently served time for in the Scioto
County Jail.
"I was innocent all along," Daub told the
Portsmouth Daily Times after Kegley adjourned the session. "I felt
this was just a smear campaign on the part of the (Portsmouth City)
Solicitor (Mike Jones) because I speak out at Council and filed
charges against Mr. Jones. I feel this is all a retaliation on his
part."
Afterward Jones talked about the way justice works,
and why he still believes the system works as well.
"I
respect the decision of the jury," Jones said. "This is a criminal
case. I thought there was reasonable grounds to bring this case to a
jury. That's what our American system is built on — the jury system.
And I respect the decision."
The prosecution's case centered
around a surveillance video from the store, and testimony from store
manager Anita Sexton and Portsmouth Police Officer Jon
Peters.
Daub, a former city councilman, is best known in the
community for speaking out on issues concerning city government at
Portsmouth City Council meetings.
"If I was anyone else this
case would have been dropped," Daub said. "But since it was Harald
Daub, they proceeded to the hilt and so did I."
Daub was
making reference to how the jury trial came to be. Just before the
trial started, Daub told the Times, "I asked for this jury
trial."
The jury had begun deliberations at 7:10 p.m. and
returned at about 8:40 p.m.
Daub looked in the direction of
the dismissed jury and said, "Thank you."
"I think for once
our system has finally worked," Daub's attorney Rick Nash said. "The
shameful thing here is this is the extent that an innocent person
must go through to prove their innocence. We're just thankful the
system has worked tonight."
FRANK LEWIS may be reached at
(740) 353-3101 Ext. 232.
Copied from PDT on Saturday, March 21, 2009
by Austin
Leedom
http://www.runboard.com/bmoesnewsforum.f1.t12518
Solicitor’s employee car decorated on city time
–
A
New Kid On The Block And A New Newspaper On The
Streets
The “New
Kid on the Block” has been well received by the citizens. He is not a bully,
and has shown the gang can not bully
him. Mike Jones has appeared as an answer to
the prayers of many of our long
suffering citizens. Jones’ victory at the polling places
was only four days ago
.
Already,
citizens eyes shine brighter and their smiles have returned with new
hope swelling in their hearts replacing the
dismal prospects of continuing life under the tyrannical rule of a government that has long violated their
common rights, denied their freedom of speech, ignored their appeals
and actually destroyed their legal petitions.
More
good news, The Informed Voter, an investigative publication
printed their first edition.
Seven-thousand copies
were printed and distributed city-wide through the efforts of
Robert Forrey, Ph.D. and Teresa Mollette of the
Concerned Citizens Group.
Six of the eight
newspaper pages were devoted mostly to the incumbent
Solicitor David Kuhn who lost his bid for a fourth term to
challenger Michael Jones. From the results of
the election tally it appears publication of The Informed
Voter was significant in this
race.
The
staff of the Shawnee Sentinel newspaper welcomes The
Informed Voter as another substantial
contribution in bringing important documented information to local
citizens
who do not use the
Internet.
If you
are reading this you are likely aware of the links to Teresa
Mollette and Robert Forrey
Internet
sites such asRiverVices www.rivervices.blogspot.com ,
Concerned Citizens Roundtable www.com2.runboard.com/bccgforum.f1
and 3rd Ward Councilman Bob
Mollette’s www.mollette.info, dedicated to making
council information
available to the public.
Posted
by Austin Leedom at 12:30 a.m. Friday, November 9th,
2007
|