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2009 Election

2009 Events Archive

Events occuring during 2009, including elections.

Who deserves credit for Kingsdale?

City Council incumbent candidates Frank Ciotola's and Wade Steen's campaign flyers are proclaiming how they got Kingsdale done.

"With Linda Mauger and Don Leach both leaving Council, we need moderates to replace them --- members who will put the people's business first. We think Mike Schadek and Debbie Johnson are those two candidates."

--- UAPA Executive Cmte

But who really negotiated on behalf of Upper Arlington constituents for the best deal with developers? Who had the backbone to stand up and get the best deal for Upper Arlington?

As it turns out, Ciotola and Steen are two of the least deserving of all the praise they are heaping on themselves.

The market idealogues vs. the pragmatists

We heard it 100 times during the Kingsdale debate from Council's right-wing block --- "let the market dictate what goes in at Kingsdale". In this Columbus Dispatch story entitled 'Big-box approach OK'd for Kingsdale', Ciotola thought that UA was negotiating too aggressively on Regency's big box Target store proposal:

"I think municipalities are getting overzealous in dictating what the mix of development is instead of letting the market dictate," he said.

If UA had solely relied on market forces, as Ciotola suggests, Jacksonville, Fla.-based Regency would have "dictated" our future and we'd likely have a big box Target store or something like it at Kingsdale today.

A view of the Continental's proposed Kingsdale site from Tremont Road. Many of us breathed a sign of relief when Regency failed in their bid to build a big box Target store at Kingsdale. If Ciotola had been in charge of the negotiation, the market would have "dictated" the outcome and UA would likely have a Target store at Kingsdale!

And thanks to Council's moderate, pragmatic majority we will have something much better than Steen or Ciotola were willing to settle for.

The audacity of negotiation

Instead of the passive role of government that Ciotola recommended, the city staff and other Council members embraced their responsibility to the community to get the best deal for UA.

By effectively tempering market forces with the needs of the community as described in the Master Plan they brokered a Kingsdale compromise has been well received throughout our community.

The role of government

 

At the heart of the Kingsdale debate was how active and engaged City government should be in making economic development decisions.

Steen, Ciotola oppose UA Sidewalk Policy

In reality, very few children should need to be driven to school since the majority live within a 10-minute walk or a short bike ride (if facilities existed) of their neighborhood school."--- UA Transportation Plan

2009 Upper Arlington City Council Race Analysis

With only two moderates running for City Council, the balance between moderate and conservative voices on Council hangs on the results of this election. UAPA believes UA City government needs:

  1. a moderate City Council
  2. a capable, experienced, moderate mayor --- Mary Ann Krauss

The only way this can happen is if both Mike Schadek and Debbie Johnson are elected to City Council. Here's the situation:

    Moderate Right-wing  
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Mayor
Current Council   Seidel Krauss Leach Mauger Steen Ciotola Yassenoff Leach
                   
2010-11   Seidel Krauss ? ? ? ? Yassenoff ?
                   

Best Outcome

  Seidel Krauss Schadek Johnson Milillo Ciotola Yassenoff Krauss (75%)
                   
Worst Outcome   Seidel Krauss Morrison DeCapua Steen Ciotola Yassenoff Steen or Ciotola

 

City Council Race Overview

  • This year 4 seats are open and 7 candidates are running for these seats.
  • Each voter will get to vote for 4 candidates.
  • City Council terms are for 4 years.
  • Only if Schadek and Johnson replace moderates Leach and Mauger can Council's moderate majority be maintained.

The progressive vote is key

The progressive vote had a race-determining impact in the 2007 City Council election --- only one vote per precinct separated the candidates in 2nd and 3rd place and the candidates in 3rd and 4th place.

The elephant in Democratic clothing

DINO (Democrat In Name Only): Life-long GOP supporter and UA City Council candidate Vern Morrison told a local 9/12 group that he switched parties in 2008 to vote for Hillary Clinton, while at the same time telling progressive and moderate voters he's a "Democrat".

UA Library Bond Issue (Issue 4) Explained

libraryThe $25 million bond levy that the Library is seeking on May 5 will provide for the rehab of the Main Library and the Lane Road branch to address critical health, safety, and energy savings issues.
 
The funds will permit the Library to reconfigure space to give patrons:

• an expanded reference department
• a space loaded with technology, music, and furniture suitable for teens

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