Cincinnati Dem Insiders: See 5 Council Incumbents Safe On Election Day

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- The City Council has nine seats -- and at this moment --Democratic Party insiders believe that a majority will be filled after the Nov. 6 election by people who are already there. Three are Democrats, and two are members of the independent Charter Party. The other expected winner is a Republican who once was a Democrat and now is out of public office. There are 25 candidates seeking the 9 seats and they run in a field race citywide. The top 9 vote getters are elected.

Now for the 6 names, alphabetical and not by order of expected finish:

Council member Chris Bortz, Charterite.
Council member Laketa Cole, D
Council member John Cranley, D
Council member David Crowley, D
Council member Roxanne Qualls, Charterite
Charlie Winburn, R (a former council member)

These others are described as very much in the hunt for three openings:

Council member Jeff Berding, D
Minette Cooper, D (a former council member)
Pat Fischer, R
Council member Leslie Ghiz, R
Council member Chris Monzel, R
Council member Cecil Thomas, D

These candidates are described as still having a shot, or as one Dem insider handicapped their chances, "I'd say they're on the low bubble."

Melanie Bates, C (a Cincinnati school board member and former Hamilton County Democratic Party executive director looking to change jobs)
Brian Garry, D
Sam Malone, R (a former council member)
Mitch Painter, I
Wendell Young, D

The Daily Bellwether got the list after lunches and discussions with several of Hamilton County's top Democrats. A couple of senior Republicans were asked for opinions, and they agreed their list looks the same. If there is a surprise in this, it is Pat Fischer, a former Cincinnati Bar Association president and downtown lawyer who is well-financed. Fischer lives in Pleasant Ridge, a Democratic neighborhood where he served as community council president. Several of the Democrats said they knew him, liked him and planned to vote for him.

Fischer also got a boost from a half-page write up in the monthly newsletter for his Catholic parish, the Church of the Nativity of Our Lord. There he was described as a GOPer who "bridge the gap between political parties" and work with the Democrats at City Hall. That is the kind of micro-level news that is priceless and only helped to build positive word of mouth for Fischer, a 49-year-old Harvard grad who got his law degree at the same school. He told the church bulletin: "I respect people that I disagree with."

Nobody would bet that Fischer is elected to council. At most, they said he has had a good couple of weeks and built momentum to become a contender.

Cincinnati's Republican Chair: Dust-Farting Sissies In GOP?

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- A chunk of the Ohiosphere is now occupied by insurgent bloggers. Or the chairman of a major Republican political organization in this state has slipped his mental moorings. Probably the former.

Why else would something like this appear attributed to AngryGeorge, who is supposed to be the 'sphere's alter ego of Hamilton County GOP Chairman George Vincent:

"Simon Leis is a dust-farting sissy. Ever since Pat DeWine decided to act like a conservative on this jail tax, Simon Leis has been flapping his dentures as though anybody in this town actually gives a flying crap what he says. No, wait a minute. I'm giving that sack of bones too much credit."

A satirical blog that probably is a cleverly honed bit of culture-jacking has bubbled up on Google's Blogger replete with a logo showing a Democratic donkey about to mount a Republican elephant. And the mount is not for a ride on the elephant's back. This blog punks DeWine, a Hamilton County commissioner who is former U.S. Sen. Mike DeWine's son, and Simon Leis, a former prosecutor, judge and now the sheriff.

Expect this to be traced back to the anti-tax movement; more specifically the suspects are probably people opposed to a local tax increase that is earmarked to build a new jail.

If the straight-laced Vincent is actually the author, expect a mushroom cloud to appear over Cincinnati any second. This would be a real political meltdown, a moment that would make Toledo's Democratic stripper-gate seem like putt-putt at Cedar Point. Vincent is a corporate lawyer who owns a piece of the Cincinnati Reds. Anyhow, AngryGeorge has quite a way with words.

"As the greatest and most respected leader in the history of the Hamilton County Republican Party, I was repulsed by the ass-kicking we got last November, largely due to the fact that the candidates we put up last year sucked like a girlfriend I had back in law school."

Inquiring minds want to know: Is it proper, and legal, to steal someone's identity and use it as the creator and author of a blog? Is it a political dirty trick if it turns out the real author/creator is a Democrat, or somebody affiliated with the party? What are the rules about this kind of stuff, should there be rules, and does it erode the credibility -- if there is any credibility -- of the Ohiosphere?