Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Health Department, NAACP on Tillery, and Driehaus is Silent

Posted by The Dean of Cincinnati

Photo courtesy of here.

UPDATE: 9/19, 5:30 am:  Last night I was contacted by the Driehaus campaign, and I was told that not getting back to me was an oversight by the campaign, and that their response will be forthcoming today.  If true, I apologize for the miscommunication!

At committee this week, Councilmembers United Against the Health Department (CUAHD), led by former Fiscal Fascist Fiver Jeff Berding, continuously tried to pin the oversight failure related to the recently publicized nursing home raids onto the City’s Health Department.  There is only one problem with this attempt:  the State of Ohio inspected, and passed, the nursing home on March 6th—which, if you’ve been following the story and watching the dates, would be after the police first noticed the allegedly deplorable conditions, yet prior to the police raid.  All of this came out yesterday in Committee.  So if the City’s Health Department can’t do its job, neither can the State of Ohio.  Or, is something else going on here?  Does this relate to a backroom deal that Democrats might have engaged, perhaps for the benefit of an agency like Closing the Health Gap?

With City Council saying that Dwight Tillery’s Closing the Health Gap offers services that would be duplicated by an Office of Minority Health, one must wonder what Tillery’s high-paying non-profit gig does—since it does not appear to employ doctors, and since all they do is hold a few seminars yearly.  That’s why Cincinnati NAACP president Christopher Smitherman got involved, even getting Republican Congressman Steve Chabot to send letters inquiring about how the City was posed to lose free grant money for improving minority health.

With rumors flying that the Democrats are playing cronies with party insiders like Dwight Tillery and his high-paying non-profit, we wondered how Steve Driehaus would respond to inquiries directly focused on this issue.  After all, with the Chabot-Driehaus race likely a close one, and with a likely high turnout in the Black community on election day, courting the Black vote could be a key to success in the 1st Congressional District.  Chabot siding with the NAACP puts him into position to siphon voters who may otherwise be inclined to vote for a Democrat.

After several attempts to contact the Driehaus campaign, and despite a number of promises by his campaign spokesman that a response would be forthcoming, Team Driehaus has failed to respond to multiple requests.  This raises questions about why Democrat Driehaus cannot stand behind the local NAACP, which is looking out for the interests of dying babies.  After all, the Office of Minority Health would address the infant mortality rate which disproportionately affects Black babies.  Democrat Dwight Tillery’s outfit spends big money putting fat kids on billboards, encouraging people not to overfeed kids.  That might be an important issue, but dying babies trumps fat kids with onion rings any day.

So why is Dreihaus silent, while his opponent advocates for the NAACP?  Could it relate to the apparent Democrat-based backroom dealings at play here?  Does Tillery’s funding relate in some way to the funding of the Cincinnati Health Department?  Why are Democrats trying so hard to go after the Health Department?  Remember, CUAHD leader Jeff Berding went after the Health Department a few years ago when workers in clinics made photocopies urging council not to slash their budget—a slashing also supported by people like Berding.

It looks like Chabot continues to make inroads into the Black community, while the silence from Driehaus will likely cost him thousands of votes on election day.

Socializer!

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Jones says:
17 Sep 2008  at  08:58 pm | #

Driehaus won’t be getting my vote in November. When posed with a question in February about the State’s oversight of nursing homes, Steveo didn’t have the first idea.  He stated that Strickland expanded the PASSPORT program so more of the elderly population could remain in their homes. What Driehaus didn’t explain is that the PASSPORT program is only limited to those with absolutely no assets, other than barebones Social Security, & at poverty level or below. In addition, he failed to recognize that we have elderly residents who require medical care around the clock & have to be placed in a nursing home warehouse. PASSPORT does not cover such care.

Driehaus brushed off any ideas at reviewing & tightening up the seriously flawed state regulations on nursing homes. I got the hint that nursing home lobbyists, such as Dickie Weiland, are counseling him to leave these hellholes alone & further marginalize & isolate our elderly, while raking in private money & plenty of taxpayer dollars.

I don’t know where the outrage is on the part of the taxpayers. Millions of tax dollars are collected by nursing homes in the form of Medicare & Medicaid funding, & there isn’t a peep out of anyone when these warehouses are creating nasty places to live for our elderly & those in need of help everyday. Oh yeah, the nursing homes see to it the pockets of the lobbyists are padded quite comfortably.

IMO, this is abuse & neglect of our senior citizens who are ill & require professional help.  This would never happen to children. But, it’s OK to criminalize our elderly & get away with it. This trumps everything, but no one sees a problem with this.

I had some Driehaus vollies put a sign in my yard without calling me first. They weren’t at the stop sign & I yanked the damned thing out of the lawn & put it in the recycling bin. He will not get my vote.

anon says:
17 Sep 2008  at  11:06 pm | #

Lordy be, Dean, can’t you give the Democrats a chance to steer the sails on this ship before you sink it?  Look, I’m not thrilled with what city council is doing in regards to the health dept either.  Really, I’m not. But promoting the placating Chabot who has given the middle class and particularly blacks the shaft since his second term - is nearly irresponsible for anybody with a conscience.

I,personally, would like to know how the Health Dept screwed up the nursing home inspections - it’s just deplorable.  And the state, well, two wrongs don’t make a right and in no way at all exonerates the health dept for their failings.  Heads need to role for whoever was head of this program - plain and simple. Any employee who has been shown to have been derelict in their duties - should be out.  There are plenty of people who care that will do this job and do it well.

I agree with your assessment of the Tillary situation - this is an absolute scandal - but for Christ’s sake - don’t take Driehaus down for shits and giggles - Chabot is a net loss for all of us.  I hope that the NAACP realizes this and Dems on council get their act together (their games could not only cost Driehaus, they could cost the presidential election as well appearing as corrupt as the Republicans in this whole mess)

says:
18 Sep 2008  at  03:51 am | #

Yes, I can give the Democrats a chance.  That’s why I kept hoping Driehaus would respond to the issue.  But he failed to respond to multiple attempts.  All this, after Chabot began advocating for the NAACP.

Which local political party is best positioned to represent the interests of the local NAACP?  Is it the Democrats? 

I’d think that would be the natural alliance.  Yet, for some reason, the Democrats are always on the opposite side of the NAACP.  Why is that?

cincysuz says:
18 Sep 2008  at  09:37 am | #

For a white guy advocating against a black man for president, (a good candidate who, by the way Smitherman supports) your outrage rings hollow. You could care less about who supports the NAACP. Your job, mission, calling is to in small way, use this forum to try and plant a seed that will, you hope, put a wedge between the black community and the democratic party and consequently get more Republican votes. You work every angle. You’re condescending and patronizing to think that you can speak for and dictate what’s good for others.  Probably the problem with inspections is the same as the problem with foster care follow-ups and all social services responsibilities. NO MONEY. People don’t want to fund the oversight agencies but cry when the job isn’t done. That’s a Republican M.O.

And anon you’ve got it right. The Beacon is trying to find some miniscule action, like mouthing a couple of words the NAACP likes--refusing to weigh it against all the damage Chabot has done--and throw their support behind him. They’ve done this post after post. They think people are so stupid and they are so educated and privileged and we can’t see the game. Many of us would have much more respect for the Beacon if they just said, “hey, we’re Republicans and we’re behind our candidates. Live with it!” Like say a Willie Cunningham or Peter Bronson who use their forums in exactly the same way, for exactly the same purpose and hoping for the same outcomes as the Beacon. No difference. Instead, they try to invent clever and roundabout ways to support their Republican candidates, pander to the black community and still keep a foot in the progressive community. Look at each of the current threads. They tell the tale.

Westie Westsider says:
18 Sep 2008  at  09:53 am | #

How did you approach Team Driehaus? Sorry but I can’t see them not reponding Dean.

They are very pro-active with responses-I have called with questions and have gotten a call from Steve and not a person.

I find this difficult to believe. Sorry.

says:
18 Sep 2008  at  02:55 pm | #

Westie, maybe Mr. Driehaus responds quicker to westsiders that he knows. We’ll get a response one way or the other. Hopefully the Driehaus campaign will choose the easy way instead of the hard way.

Joe Wessels says:
18 Sep 2008  at  04:08 pm | #

Justin, Jason:

The power has been out at our office all week. Still is. Power at my house still has not been restored. Sorry I didn’t get back to you right away, but your assumptions about us hiding from y’all simply aren’t true.

We have something to say on this issue - and we will. But the campaign’s past experiences with you have left a bad taste in our collective mouths. I think you’d understand. Do you think for one second that the Chabot campaign is really “going to bat” for you?

A simple call to my cell phone right before you ran your story might have been the best way to handle this. I apologize for the confusion.

Thanks,
Joe

JenEdwards says:
18 Sep 2008  at  04:39 pm | #

I’ve had opportunities to work with both Chabot and Driehaus over the last few years. Each has provided more feedback of substance than many who came before. Yates, Barrett, Schuler, Voinovich, Kaptur, Pepper,Reece, Portune, DeWine, Crowley, Berding, Qualls, Bortz, Monzel also have been exemplary. But let us go further than these two gents.

Question: Not a toss up. But it is one where I’d like some further education.  During the Smitherman NAACP administration, and prior to that, in the Thrower NAACP administration, what is the chronology of issues and what politicians dropped their political shields to take firm stances on important matters? Federal, State and Local? This will make many of us squirm, but it is important in developing an understanding of where we are now.......and who was with us (NAACP or specific issues) prior?

Perhaps a WHERE THEY STOOD/STAND Chronolgy could be developed so we can look at this now and in the future? Would make for a great after election house party!

says:
18 Sep 2008  at  04:46 pm | #

No Problem Joe, we understand and look forward to hearing from you all soon. I Hope that you get your power back soon. Thanks for the reply.

Best,

Justin

cincysuz says:
18 Sep 2008  at  05:00 pm | #

Power outage? Biggest interuption in service that this area has ever seen? What a lame excuse. 200,000+ citizens still down. Big deal. Even if you had to crawl on your hands and knees to personally deliver a response to The Beacon, in a timeframe THEY consider reasonable, you should have done that. The Beacon waits for no Democrat! They lurk and stalk and pounce. They’ll smear you but good if you don’t acknowledge their superior whiteness and privilege. They’re entitled, don’t you know? It’s too late dude. Why bother? They needed some excuse to support that war mongering, Bush sycophant Steve Chabot and they’re starting with this. You’d get a more fair shake at the Enquirer.

Westie Westsider says:
18 Sep 2008  at  05:06 pm | #

You guys want to be “professional” about reporting and getting the best inside news to us-think about Joe’s response before you jump and start publishing.

For fun-Not pitting West vs East here- but according to how the storm progressed across the area- the westside took a huge hit- Now as a whole- we all DID! But the progression of how the storm went- we got hit with higher winds. God’s way of getting back at us for Cornhole?

Today-Thursday at 6 pm- Gamble Nippert Y is still without power, most of Cheviot is still out- and there are area’s around Price Hill still without- and not individual houses- but grid areas.

Also-like Hyde Park- we lost our 100-200 year old trees. They crashed onto our houses, our lawns and into our power lines.

Also Cheviot lost an entire block due to a massive fire.

So instead of jumping to conclusions and threatening to chase Steve D. around-why not look out the window first? Or turn on this crappy news that we have in this city to find out who is still without power?

CHILL OUT DUDES.

You will find Steve D. way more approachable than Chabot ever was and he will stay that way- even if you disagree with him- you can approach him to discuss issues. Try that one w/ Chabot.

I mentioned something to him at an Elder game- not the LaSalle one either- he diss’ed his team that weekend!- and he has no memory of talking to me concerning an issue that I have not only brought to his attention but sent certified packets ready for him to take to committee. He can’t remember. Hello- the Y, Krogers, walking since he lives within 5 blocks of me? He can’t remember my issue- thank God Arlen Spector has taken it and is running with it- and if Steve D. gets there- he will have the full thing as well. Chabot can’t remember talking to his “people”. Just what we need. Another term of Comb over!

says:
18 Sep 2008  at  05:14 pm | #

Actually, cincysuz, I planned on having this article out BEFORE the power outage, and it got delayed.

Here is the timeline:

Sept. 1—I email the Driehaus campaign, and am told the same day a response will come back to me.

Sept. 6—I asked if I could know by the end of the weekend when the promised response might be forthcoming

Sept. 7—I’m told a response will come on either September 8 or 9

Sept. 10—I’m told a response will come the next day.

No response came.  How much time does this take?

Aw Shucks says:
18 Sep 2008  at  05:51 pm | #

Driehaus wants win this election by getting a large portion of the black vote. He cannot be bothered with an issue as divisive as this one. Dean, please revisit this after the election and let Driehaus campaign to win, not take a position.

says:
18 Sep 2008  at  06:34 pm | #

Westie, we always prefer to do it the easy way. The candidates get to choose how they want to do it and we do have some questions for Chabot too.

Westie Westsider says:
18 Sep 2008  at  08:05 pm | #

Then why not blast Chabot as well- he is the easy target here- and as I said- Steve D. is VERY easy to find- all you had to do was just look.

And Aw Shucks is right- let him win and then take a stance on this. Let him get into office and get settled. He has so much clean up that he will have to do- but blasting him will only let Chabot keep the office. Is that what you guys want?

Sure sounds that way- And Why not ask Chabot about his “friendship” with the Chris Finney while you are at it! I do every damn chance I get! He won’t answer the question- so go chase him with your camera- and get him to answer why his office doesn’t answer certified mail with real issues, why they pick and chose which issues to help people with (the easy ones that make him look good-not the tough ones that he will have to put in a full day of work in Washington and have to make him cross the aisle!) and then pick your candidate that you want to chase.

But the Driehaus group laid low until Labor Day for a reason- and there is more yet to come. Now you’ll get your answers- and stop rafting them when we have one big ole comb over wasting space in Washington- and Justin- stop the threats- save them for when you really need them! Gee Whiz Boyz-don’t grow up to be like Steve F.!!!

says:
19 Sep 2008  at  11:43 am | #

Westie, thanks for the advice, but we asked nice and as I said we prefer it that way. Joe’s a good guy and I think we have things worked out now.

What about Chabot’s “friendship” with Finney? Is there some reason why that should be of interest? If you have some real questions for Chabot send them our way.

It’s stupid to wait until after the election to ask questions of candidates. That’s why Democrats see their candidates and Party constantly moving to the right. You never see Republicans moving to the left. And what people pretend is the “center” is really just the center of where the big campaign contributors are, not the people. The people have largely been made irrelevant in our elections and that’s because people make no demands on their candidates and get taken everytime.

Really, ask no questions? A good candidate will answer legitimate questions to the best of their ability in a timely manner. This should be expected of every candidate regardless of party affiliation. I do know campaigns are time consuming so we understand that, but sometimes you find politicians that think they don’t have to answer any questions no matter how long you ask them, then they end up looking stupid.

JFD says:
20 Sep 2008  at  07:53 am | #

Justin
You repeatedly, failed to answer questions about your “Neighborhood Rescue Plan”, while running for Council. Now, you and Jason chastise Mr Driehaus, for not getting to your questions fast enough. Did you read the last paragraph of post #16? What are we to think? Could you list for us, all of the people who you and Jason think look stupid, (other than Phil Heimlich), for not answering specific questions regarding their candidacy for office? If your name isn’t on the list; can you please explain why not?

says:
20 Sep 2008  at  12:00 pm | #

What questions did he fail to answer?

And, did you just leave them as a random blog comment, or did you contact his campaign?  Or ask him at a public forum?

says:
20 Sep 2008  at  01:26 pm | #

Bill, what questions are you talking about? I saw you at a forum in the West End. I took several questions from the audience, I would have taken more and you didn’t ask one. I don’t recall receiving an email from you or any phone call from you. I was all over the city at all kinds of events and was always happy to answer questions.

I’m flattered that you remember our Neighborhood Rescue Plan. I’m sure Michael Earl Patton would be happy to give his two cents worth on any questions you have about it also. He had a lot of good ideas and input into it as well. I can’t take all the credit for it. I think we were more accessible than any other candidates in the race and I think we put out more fresh ideas than any other candidates, even if you don’t agree with them. I think there are good ideas in our plan that didn’t require us being on council for communities to work on them. If you are really interested in some segments of the plan I would be happy to give you my thoughts on them and I think MEP would as well.

L.G. says:
21 Sep 2008  at  08:07 am | #

The Hamilton County Democratic Party has driven a wedge between their party and the African-American community, not the Beacon or the Republican Party.  The Dems don’t want to endorse PR or the amendment to ban red light cameras, so why should the African-American community support their candidates?  The Driehaus-Chabot race will be close and Driehaus will need the African-American vote to defeat Chabot with this November being the highest turnout ever expected.  If Chabot wants to show interest in the African-American community by inquiring as to why City Council rejected $269K for an Office of Minority Health, then Chabot deserves credit & votes for representing EVERYONE.  The Democrats think that black people have to vote for them and they don’t.  Black people doesn’t owe the Democratic Party anything, especially when they don’t act in the interest of our community.  More and more black people are becoming independents and will vote for whichever candidates serve our interests.  It’s all about “WHAT HAVE YOU DONE FOR ME LATELY?”

Pimp my Vote! says:
21 Sep 2008  at  11:01 pm | #

Really both Driehaus and Chabot can go to hell! I just hope Driehaus gets there faster.  Same with both Dems and Repubs.  William Goldman (famous) screenwriter/writer once said about Hollywood, “Nobody knows nothing.” OK he said something like that. Same with the election.  What the bleakity-bleak does anybody know for sure?  Everybody’s got an angle.  We’re all lobbyist so to speak.

You can’t just jerk people of color off. Smitherman is a master. Some may think they are playing him. But they’re really being played. Smitherman never reveals every card.

I’m on of the Citizens Against Joe “Dirty” Deters. And in the famous words of Smitherman--We will punish them!

cincysuz says:
24 Sep 2008  at  12:25 pm | #

Sympathies to the Driehaus family on their loss.