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In today’s Enquirer, Sheila McLaughlin and Kimball Perry wrote that Todd Portune refused to attend a press conference about Hamilton County using Butler County jail space (source).  This inspired Portune to send the following letter to The Enquirer.

Socializer!

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1. Pebbles says:
   06 Apr 2006  at  12:09 pm | #

   The Enquirer shuts out Portune, the lone Democrat commissioner, from its coverage. How tough is it for the paper to call all three, especially the minority voice, for comment on a major story? There are only three commissioners.

   Now they’ve been caught running a pro-war blog run by an Army shill. The Enquirer should stop pretending to be a newpaper and just admit they’re a GOP house organ.

2. Andrew Warner says:
   06 Apr 2006  at  12:23 pm | #

   This is just getting ugly… and sad.

3. Peter Deane says:
   06 Apr 2006  at  12:25 pm | #

   The Enquirer has been such a disservive to the people of this County… Just look at who Phil Heimlich brought into Hamilton County as our County Administrator…

   Pat Thompson… Brought to us by Phil Heimlich….

   1. Tampering with Evidence and Destruction of Evidence. Earlier this year, reportedly some or all of the 12,000 pages of critical evidence in a case against Jefferson County were stolen from the County Attorney’s office on the 5th Floor of the Taj Mahal. Before the documents disappeared, the Jefferson County Commissioners and Pat Thompson called a special meeting in “Executive Session” to discuss the case. Within hours, the documents were gone. A Special Prosecutor in Denver is currently weighing criminal charges.

   2. Violations of Open Meetings Laws. Allegations are being investigated that surround dozens of Secret Meetings between Pat Thompson and County Commissioners that were conducted in violation of C.R.S. 24-6-401, The Colorado Open Meetings Laws. Evidence indicates that these Secret Meetings (including a meeting held aboard a Private Jet), were the breeding ground for much of Jeffco’s documented illegal activity over the years.

   3. Fraud, Forgery, and Extortion. A document known as the “Invasion Agreement” is now the subject of a formal law enforcement investigation. The Invasion Agreement was a “Full Personal-History Release Form” that was thrusted on Jeffco Airport businesspeople under direct threat of economic reprisal, during the early part of 2005. The document, printed on Jeffco Sheriff’s Department Letterhead, has been proven to be a complete fraud and a forgery, and Jefferson County Officials have been unable to explain exactly where the document came from. Sheriff Ted Mink, whose name appears on the document, has publicly stated that he had nothing to do with it. Three County Employees known to have handled this document (including the Airport Manager, Property Manager, and Airport Attorney) are now no longer with the County. Reports indicate that more than two dozen people had their personal lives illegally investigated after being forced to sign the “release” under duress.

   4. Conspiracy and Felony Witness Retaliation. These circumstances substantially arise from an apparently illegal Commissioners Meeting that took place in June of 2005, at which Patrick Thompson was in attendance and where discussions allegedly surrounded an orchestrated plan of revenge and retaliation directed at a female witness in a pending lawsuit against Jefferson County.

   Did Phil make a deal with Thompson to do what he wants and then none of this will get out.  Backdoor deals, coverups, secret meetings, revenge and retaliation against a witness, forged documents,  missing documents…  and this guy is now our administrator?

   The Enquirer has done nothing to look into these alligations as they continue to give Heimlich a free pass and they rake Portune over the coals and saying that he refused to attend a meeting when all the County Administrator had to do was reschedule the meeting.  This is an outrage!  Pat Thompson has to go!  Is the Enquirer, Post, or City Beat currently looking into these alligations against Thompson?  If not why not?

   These are pretty big alligations and the Enquirer seems to want to cover up Thompson hands in submitting to everything that Phil wants.  Already we have illigal happenings here with this guy.  This is bull and Heimlich has set the pieces in place to pull the wool over the eyes of not only Todd Portune but also the People of Hamilton County.

   The above alligations are taken from… http://www.coloradoexposed.com/wordpress/?p=75

   Why does it have to take a small search on google to figure out we have wolves in sheep clothing?  Our major newspaper in Cincinnati and maybe all of them should be ashamed of themselves!

4. .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) says:
   06 Apr 2006  at  12:30 pm | #

   Commissioner Portune acts like shoddy reporting is something new at The Enquirer (our finest & indeed only morning newspaper!)

   The Enquirer behaves in such a fashion because it is allowed to get away with doing a piss poor job. The only way to get fair, full and honest reporting from a newspaper is to cramp the revenue source for that paper. If advertisers refuse to support a paper that does not do a good job of reporting the paper will “see the light”.

   It’s always been about money (not journalism). Positive cash flow is what keeps a paper going. Go after the cash if you want a better paper. Makes no difference in this matter whether one is Right or Left winged….the Enquirer consistently fails in just about every department.

5. AlyssaB says:
   06 Apr 2006  at  12:59 pm | #

   Would Mr. Portune care to comment on how the SpEnquirer has virtually shut out Stephanie Dumas from the Conty Commissioners race? Or are you only concerned when it affects you?

6. Influence Peddler says:
   06 Apr 2006  at  01:20 pm | #

   I think there is more here than just poor journalism. In a recently published book “The Fox in the Henhouse” by Si Kahn and Elizabeth Minnich, the authors describe the techniques used by privatizers. The outline matchs what is happening in Hamilton County today. An excerpt can be found at http://www.bkconnection.com/static/kahn-excerpt.pdf

   One of the tactics is to convince the public that services are broken and the only way to fix them is by turning control over to the private sector. Drake Center was turned over to the Health Alliance in just this manner. Jails are the next target of the manipulators.  With the new marijuana laws put in place the jail population will swell even more until the only answer left is turn it over to corporations. This is a concerted effort by operatives behind the scenes to pull political strings that make the puppets dance. Entertaining perhaps, but not in the public interest.

   The best defense is an informed electorate. Educate yourselves because this could be challenging.

7. Local69 says:
   06 Apr 2006  at  10:54 pm | #

   Don’t vote for Privatizers even if they pretend to be Democrats. Pepper can call it “managed competition” or whatever he wants but it’s the same game. Stephanie Dumas will support living wages and unions.

8. Peter Deane says:
   06 Apr 2006  at  11:20 pm | #

   Whatever anyone says about Hamilton County and privatization… it’s already being done on a massive scale here.  Last year when they were putting in new streets in my neighborhood I asked one of the workers that it must be nice working for the county, and I meant it as being employed with Hamilton.  The guy looked at me and said that he loves working the contracts that the county gives out because they always pay a union wage.

   As long as the county pays a union wage to contractors then what ever.  But they best way to make sure that the county is going to pick a company that treats their workers well is to make sure that the jobs are only given to companies that are already Union.  Doesn’t matter if they are private or public just better be union.  Makes sure that the company that the county is hiring is giving their workers good benefits and pay.

9. Noah Cross says:
   07 Apr 2006  at  12:03 am | #

   The Reason Foundation is behind the whole local privitization push. And guess who’s giving massively to the Reason Foundation? Everybody’s favorite buyer of politicians, Carl Lindner.

   Cincinnati Reds owner Carl Lindner will donate $50,000 to help a Hamilton County task force seeking to make government more efficient, County Commissioner Phil Heimlich said Tuesday. The Hamilton County Competition and Efficiency Committee members hope to visit places like Miami; Phoenix; and Charlotte, N.C., where governments have increased efficiency, often by making departments compete with private companiesLindner initially donated $25,000 to the Reason Foundation, the nonprofit helping Hamilton County with the process, Heimlich said early Tuesday. By the end of the day, Heimlich said Lindner agreed to donate $50,000 for those expenses. The task force’s goal is to identify $25 million in savings from the roughly $1 billion Hamilton County spends annually by making government more efficient, even if it means privatizing some services now provided by the government. Lindner didn’t return calls.

   One of the nice benefits of privitization for guys like Heimlich is that they get kickbacks as they sell off the public works and, as a side benefit, private businesses are not subject to public records laws, so we can’t track their crimes.

   When poor people in New Orleans steal food and water after Katrina, they call it “looting.” When these pirates loot the public, they call it “free market efficiency.”

10. Wake up Deane says:
    07 Apr 2006  at  03:45 am | #

    “As long as the county pays a union wage to contractors then what ever.” The best way to ensure this is to support unions and UNION candidates!

    “But they best way to make sure that the county is going to pick a company that treats their workers well is to make sure that the jobs are only given to companies that are already Union.”
    David won’t do this.

    “Makes sure that the company that the county is hiring is giving their workers good benefits and pay.” Remeber the $52 million dollar Convergys deal. It created a lot of jobs in India and the Phillipines, but not union and only 7 here.

11. .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) says:
    07 Apr 2006  at  01:10 pm | #

    I like Todd Portune and appreciate him writing the letter to the Enquirer and allowing other letters to be posted at this site.  What I’d like to read is Portune’s letter explaining why he endorsed David Pepper instead of Stephanie Dumas.

12. Chuck says:
    07 Apr 2006  at  01:16 pm | #

    I’m with you Nate!

    Why did you endorse Pepper over Dumas Mr. Portune?

13. ThatDeborahGirl says:
    07 Apr 2006  at  10:39 pm | #

    I’d love to hear Mr. Portune answer that question myself.

    Now all of a sudden he cares that the Enquirer isn’t giving the County Commissioner’s office fair press?  Where the hell has been while Dumas has been getting short shrift?

    The Enquirer sucks.  On Monday, I will have a complete list of anyone who advertises in the Sunday edition of this week’s Cincinnati Enquirer.  I support a boycott of all mid-to large sized businesses that advertise in the Enquirer starting Monday.

14. .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) says:
    08 Apr 2006  at  09:00 am | #

    Deborah:  That is great news about the list!

    I am eager to help spread the boycott!  Please forward me a copy as early as you can, so I can make it the front page story!

15. Peter Deane says:
    09 Apr 2006  at  03:18 pm | #

    I’m sorry but the warning about Thompson was reported by the post…

    http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060111/NEWS01/601110353&template=printpicart

    It seems like the DeWine’s might have been close to this guy.  And you should see all the nickles and dimes that DeWine and Heimlich spent to get this guy here.  Why would we pay him 100,000 dollars more then he was making in Colorado?  And the guy had a checkered past…

    This is getting uglier and uglier.  Heimlich and DeWine are throwing money on failure after failure after failure.