Thurber's words could come back to haunt her

11/20/2005

Nine bite-size Lemmon Drops to nibble on while waiting for Vito's pizza-eating bear to return to Toledo:

  • If Lucas County Commissioner Maggie Thurber decides against running for re-election next year, she can use the same reason for bowing out as she gave for her late entry into the 2002 race.

    (Rewind to 2002: Ms. Thurber took advantage of incumbent Sandy Isenberg's very public missteps controversies over a new roof and her intention to double-dip and easily defeated the longtime commissioner.)

    In a televised debate on Oct. 15, 2002, Ms. Thurber said she entered the race because it is "important to remember that elected officials are held to a higher standard. We don't have to have no appearance of conflict, we have to avoid the appearance of impropriety. It was the appearance of impropriety."

    As reported in the Nov. 12 edition of The Blade, federal investigators have identified Ms. Thurber as one of the people Tom Noe allegedly used to funnel money into President Bush's re-election campaign.

    For Ms. Thurber, what went around has come around. She did not live up to her own appearance-of-impropriety standard.

  • After watching Katie Couric interview 18-year-old Michael Sessions, the mayor-elect of Hillsdale, Mich., on NBC's Today show recently, two words come to mind: buyer's remorse.

    Mr. Sessions came across as the high school student he is, not as a civic leader.

  • Given that Lucas County was the last of Ohio's 88 counties to file election results with the state, I trust that back-patting was kept to a minimum at yesterday's board of elections-sponsored "Appreciation Breakfast and Recap."

  • Santa Claus arrived at Westfield Franklin Park on Nov. 12, a week earlier than last year. A suggestion for 2006: Just go with Nov. 1 and be done with it. Once upon a time, the day after Thanksgiving was considered the start of the holiday season; soon, it will be the day after Halloween.

  • State Sen. Marc Dann is seeking the Democratic nomination for attorney general. This is the same Marc Dann who got in on the ground floor of Ohio's coingate scandal, becoming an outspoken critic of Republican cronyism.

    Not that I blame Mr. Dann for using coingate to raise his political profile but, in lieu of a wink and a nod, he ought to at least introduce himself at election-related gatherings this way: "Hi, I'm Marc Dann, political opportunist."

  • Speaking of the politically ambitious, Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro's decision to run television ads six months before the Republican gubernatorial primary was risky because voters were bombarded with political ads before the Nov. 8 election and had grown tired of them. That early exposure might end up being the difference in what is expected to be a competitive three-way race with Ken Blackwell and Betty Montgomery.

  • Call it a hunch, but 33 parking meters in downtown Toledo won't be reported stolen in a year on Carty Finkbeiner's mayoral watch, which starts ticking again on Jan. 3.

  • Just asking: Are those in the Lake Local School District who believe voters will pass a levy in May being resilient or are they in denial? The rejection of six consecutive levies makes it a tough call.

  • Time magazine called Ohio Gov. Bob Taft one of the three worst governors in the nation.

    As if we didn't already know that.