The suit alleges three van loads of Hughes High students arrived at the Downtown Board of Elections offices at 1 p.m. Wednesday, supervised by a school employee. School lets out at 3:15 p.m.
When they got out of the vans, the students, the suit alleges, also were accompanied by adults who appeared to be campaign workers or supporters for U.S. Rep. Steve Driehaus, D-West Price Hill, the congressman being challenged this fall by Steve Chabot. When the students got out of the vans, the suit alleges they were given sample ballots containing only Democratic candidates.
“We want these kids to vote,” Finney said. “I’m not sure them being bussed during the school day is a good thing, but that’s not the thrust of the suit.
“If they had fair sample ballots or no sample ballots it would be different.”
The suit alleges those actions violated a 2002 agreement between CPS and COAST where the school agreed it wouldn’t allow school property or employees to be used for “advocating the election or defeat of candidates for public office.”
On Monday, Finney asked Common Pleas Court Judge Beth Myers to hear his request for a temporary restraining order that was put on hold after the attorneys for the two sides met in court briefly, talked and then left.
Finney said if the issue isn’t resolved, he’ll go back to court.
Hmm. Well, let's see. Hughes is Cincy's new STEM magnet school (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) in Clifton and these would be the kind of 18 year-olds who should want to and be encouraged to vote. These kids are taking advantage of Ohio's early voting program, good for them.
It's the "Democratic Sample Ballots" that appear to be the problem. So, what information do we have about those ballots?
Pretty much nothing at this point. No ballots have been produced, and the CPS has denied the allegations. What about Tom Brinkman however? Well, we know plenty about him.
We know Brinkman's in the Cincy Tea Party, apparently a fan of Hugh Hefner's work, and was instrumental in suing the state of Ohio over a law preventing state employees from getting a lobbyist job for at least one year after leaving office. The law was thrown out as unconstitutional. Brinkman and his buddies from COAST got the state to pay his attorney's fees, some $134 grand.
He's run afoul of Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner for his involvement in a web site that supported Ohio's casino initiative...a website sponsored by unknown sources. That one involved former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell.
And he got term-limited out of the Ohio House in 2008, and decided to run for Hamilton County Auditor as his latest move.
And now he's suing the city over kids voting because of sample ballots? I'm not sure what the deal is here, these are magnet school kids, they're pretty bright. If the CPS gave them sample ballots with just Democrats checked off, let's see it then, because that is a definite problem.
I'm just saying that Brinkman may have a slight credibility issue, is all.
"I'm just saying that Brinkman may have a slight credibility issue, is all."
ReplyDeleteMuch like this blog and its ignorant author, when the best you have against Brinkman is character assassination and innuendo.
But then again, you do have a fact-checking problem...