Justin Coussoule, Democratic candidate seeking to be elected to congress to represent Ohio’s 8th District, is outraged at the lack of federal help for Lake St. Marys’ residents and is calling on the current 8th District congressman, Republican leader, John Boehner, to, “For once, do your job.”

Coussoule, on his blog, urges Boehner, “Fight for federal dollars to help pay for the cost of cleaning-up Grand Lake St. Mary’s and eliminating the sources of contamination to the lake. Help save people’s businesses, their communities and possibly even lives.”

Lake St. Marys is in Boehner’s district and earlier this year it was discovered that a new and toxic algae was growing and proliferating in the lake. The algae produces a deadly toxin that causes liver damage to humans. It is killing fish and pets and causing a lot of distress to area residents who miss the dollars of tourists who are going elsewhere. The increasing toxicity of the lake is causing an economic disaster in the Lake St. Marys’ region.

Boehner says he has never asked for earmarks for his district and refuses to consider seeking an earmark for Lake St. Mary’s. Coussoule is emphasizing that in this election voters should hold Boehner accountable for his refusal to bring in federal dollars, and he is saying that the disaster at Lake St. Marys is just one example of where Boehner has failed to help his district.

Coussoule writes,

You are the representative for the federal government on this issue. Start acting like it! You are the House Minority Leader with 20 years in office, yet you refuse to lift a finger to help Celina and the surrounding communities in the wake of the ongoing crisis in Grand Lake St. Mary’s.

You take your own constituents for granted and have all but anointed yourself the next leader of the House, yet you refuse to lead on important issues affecting the lives of the people in the 8th District.

Lake St. Mary’s is turning toxic because of the runoff from neighboring farms of animal waster. According to this article, “Grand Lake straddles Mercer and Auglaize counties, and the 58,000-acre watershed around the lake is home to the largest number of swine farms in Ohio and the second largest of cattle and calf farms. According to 2007 statistics from the Ohio Department of Agriculture, Mercer County has 169 swine farms and 453 cattle and calf farms. Auglaize County has 86 swine farms and 252 cattle and calf farms.”

Coussoule says that Boehner’s stand against earmarks is “disingenuous.” He writes, “It is disingenuous because he’s only against them for his own district, but has voted for countless dollars for other districts across the nation. Boehner won’t fight for federal dollars to help find a solution. Instead, he’ll hide behind his empty stance and instead spend his summer recess everywhere BUT the 8th District, as he embarks on his 30 state bus tour to listen to everyone but his own constituents. This is not leadership. This is the total and complete absence of leadership.”

Last February, I requested that I receive a copy of all material sent to the Kettering Board of Education members and, since February, at the time of each board meeting I have received a packet of material for which I have paid 5 cents a page.  Some of that material I have posted here.

Yesterday, I heard from the district treasurer, Steve Clark, that this practice would be discontinued, because he discovered that according to Ohio Revised Code, I cannot request future records, I can only request records already in existence.  I telephoned Clark and he said he was alerted to his error by a Kettering board member who informed him that the current arrangement to provide me with public documents was exceeding the requirement of the Ohio Revised Code.  He writes (below): “The definition of a public record is ‘a record kept by any public office.’  A record which does not yet exist does not meet this definition.”

I told Clark that, of course, I could simply make a request each month for the material, but that this might mean that by the time I actually received a copy of these public records, some of the material might no longer be current.  My intent is to keep up to date with the thinking and actions of the board.   I believe public records should not only be available, but available in a timely manner.   This is a reasonable request and so I hope the Kettering Board will comply.

Below is Mr. Clark’s e-mail and my reply:

Mike,

In February, 2010 you requested copies of “all reports, letters, memos and e-mails provided to Kettering School Board Members that are designated in law as public information.”  It was my understanding that you were requesting copies of all future reports, letters, memos and e-mails provided to the Board of Education.

However, a further review of the Ohio Revised Code indicates that a request for access to public records must relate to records currently in existence.  The definition of a public record is “a record kept by any public office.”  A record which does not yet exist does not meet this definition.

We will not be sending records in the future in response to your request that do not currently exist.  Please accept my apology for incorrectly interpreting the Ohio Public Records law at the time of your request.

Steve Clark

Steve,

Since February, at the time of each meeting of the Kettering Board of Education, I have been receiving a copy of the packet of materials provided to each Kettering Board member.  My request in February was that each packet contain a copy of all reports, letters, memos and e-mails shared by board members generated in the time period from when the previous packet was prepared.  My intent is to keep informed in a timely manner of all communications made to this public board.  Your e-mail (copied below) indicates that you’ve discovered that this February request exceeds the requirement outlined in Ohio Revised Code, and, that, therefore, your honoring of this request exceeds your authority as an employee of the board.  I appreciate your informing me of this discovery.

It sounds like that a public body, if it chose to do so, could implement a strategy of delay as a means to frustrate the process of making public records available in a timely manner.  I am confident that the Kettering Board has no such strategy.  I am copying this e-mail to Jim Trent, Board President, and the other board members, and I am requesting that the board approve the current practice of my receiving a packet, in a timely manner,  containing a copy of all reports, letters, memos and e-mails provided to the board in the time period from when the previous packet was prepared.

Thank you.

Mike Bock

I wrote a response to David Esrati’s article,  “Perot Was Right.” My point is that for a movement to have any power, it must be seen as winnable.  The idea of starting a third party sounds, to me, well meaning, but a loser — tilting at windmills — idea.  Who wants to get on a train to nowhere?  Starting a third party sounds like something that would be awfully hard to accomplish.  I’m thinking there is a big group of citizens who could be inspired to dedicate some time and energy to activism — but they are looking for something doable.

My point is that the problem is not that there are only two parties, the problem is that the parties are corrupt and anti-democratic in their operation.  Transforming the political parties we already have, I feel, is key to vitalizing our democracy:  And, unlike the goal of starting a third part, the goal of transforming the current parties, I feel, could inspire an authentic grassroots movement.  I wrote at Esrati’s:

There are only 360 precincts in Montgomery County and each precinct may choose one delegate.  We simply need to raise up a vision of how an authentic democratic community — a transformed Montgomery County Democratic Party — would operate, sell that vision to the Democrats in Montgomery County, and get a delegate to run in each precinct to support a plan for transformation.  We have four years to get all of this accomplished.  Doable.

I’m looking for several long term projects to develop on this web-site, and Step One, for this project, asks that someone accomplish a giant step:  Develope a vision of a transformed Montgomery County Democratic Party, one that would operate as an authentic democratic community. Such a giant step seems a worthy goal and maybe it can be my second book — after this one is completed:  Kettering Public Education In The Year 2022: How Do We Get To A Great Future?