Treasurer losing heat even before he starts

1/9/2005

Ten molasses-coated Lemmon Drops to nibble on while waiting for Amber Frey's 15 minutes of fame to end:

  • On the next "who's hot / who's not" list for Lucas County, look for Wade Kapszukiewicz's name in the right-hand column.

    I almost feel sorry for the Lucas County treasurer-elect, who lost to Dennis Duffey -- Dennis Duffey! -- in a bid to finish out the final nine months of Ray Kest's term.

    Talk about a humiliating defeat.

    But Mr. Kapszukiewicz has no one but himself to blame for what happened. His vow to "clean house" in the treasurer's office made him look petty and vindictive.

    After defeating Betty Shultz in the Nov. 2 general election, Mr. Kapszukiewicz is to begin his 4-year term on Sept. 12.

    In a move that was not a surprise, Mr. Kest resigned in late November to avoid a felony theft charge. Lucas County Democrats gathered Tuesday and voted to have Mr. Duffey finish out Mr. Kest's term.

    Denying the treasurer-elect an opportunity to take office nine months early defies logic. Then again, this wasn't about what's in the best interest of Lucas County -- this was about flexing political muscles.

    The tough-talking Mr. Kapszukiewicz got sand kicked in his face.

    How will he respond? We'll find out in nine months.

  • One can only hope that Iraq, which is preparing for a Jan. 30 election, didn't send a representative to the United Auto Workers Local 12 hall Tuesday to observe the voting by Lucas County Democrats.

  • If there were a competition among Ohio's 88 counties to determine the best snow-plow crew, my money would be on Lucas County's entry. (Toledo has not only "the Cadillac" of solid-waste programs but also "the Lexus GX 470" of snow-removal operations.)

  • Don't tell TARTA, but I'd be willing to pay double the normal fare to ride the bus to and from work on days when the roads are covered with ice and snow.

  • I'm glad Andy Geiger resigned as Ohio State University's athletic director. I was beginning to have flashbacks of Vik Kapoor's tenure as president of the University of Toledo.

  • Which reminds me Mr. Kapoor's successor, Dan Johnson, will be served UT's $60,000 carrot -- a 90-day paid sabbatical -- sometime this year.

  • Some calculator-generated trivia: Toledo's mayor makes $2,615.38 a week -- or $109.76 more than Ohio's governor.

  • If I'm the person responsible for booking guests on Dr. Phil, the first call I make this week is to Lucas County Democratic Party headquarters. Ideally, one member of the "A Team" and one from the "B Team" would agree to go on the show and try to resolve their differences.

    Before making the call, though, I'd cross my fingers and hope they haven't already been booked on The Jerry Springer Show.

  • We're not laughing with you, Lucas County Democrats, we're laughing at you.

  • As a member of the priority-challenged Toledo City Council, Pete Gerken spearheaded the drive to name the wild lupine as the city's official wildflower. It has been nearly two weeks since he switched to another priority-challenged elected body, the Lucas County Board of Commissioners.

    Please tell me the county already has an official wildflower.