Mayor Cranley is growing on me

[jmecklenborg]

Cranley is a disaster.

[Sarah Perry]

I'm as big a "bleeding heart liberal" as you'll find and I would have loved to see Cincinnati with a QUALIFIED female African-American mayor. She lost my vote exactly as cincydave says, the fiasco about Children's. No way would I have wanted to live in a community where that's how the mayor operates. It was embarrassing enough that she behaved like that as a member of council. So that was that. I didn't really have a problem voting for Cranley, either. Not that I agree with everything he's done, but at least there's a lot of economic development happening on his watch.

[SWOH]

Chemistry_Guy, glad you brought this thread back up to the top. Here's what I said a couple years back, fresh off the streetcar fiasco created by our new Mr. Mayor-Elect himself:

Originally Posted by SWOH

Quote me now on this. I want to be very clear.


Within legal reason, I WILL DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO GET MAYOR CRANELY NOT ONLY OUT OF THE MAYOR'S OFFICE NEXT ELECTION, BUT OUT OF POLITICS ALTOGETHER!!!

That man is is a microcosm of not only what is wrong with politics in Cincinnati, but what is wrong with politics in the USA.
Narcissism and revenge have no place in politics.
He is the ONLY politician I have ever witnessed that does not have an agenda beyond himself.

He does not care about Cincinnati.
He does not care about people in the east side, or west side, or downtown, or anywhere.
He does not care about the city of Cincinnati progressing through the 21st century in a better position than it was in the 20th.
He does not have any sense of responsibility or ethics.


In short, he is a disgrace to the City of Cincinnati, the State of Ohio, and our nation.
He needs to be in a different field. Preferably not one where leadership is required.
I respect the ability to have ideas and have an agenda that solves problems. He has neither.
His only agenda revolves around his own head and his own needs.
He is the definition of a narcissist.



Because of this, here is what I personally will do.
I will donate as much money as I can financially withstand to his opponent.
I will come to Cincinnati and campaign on behalf of his opponent.
I will spread the word of his misdoings and misgivings through whatever channels I can.
I will solicit national support against his agenda from any group willing to listen.

And I Will do whatever it takes to not only get him out of office, but keep him out of office too. I'll even campaign on behalf of his opponent against him for the smallest possible positions imaginable.





His breed of politics has no place in Cincinnati, no place in Ohio, and no place in our nation.
United we stand, divided we fall.
And I'm not about to get behind an egotistical agenda.

There is decades of management and leadership research characterizing Cranley's leadership style and exactly how it destroys an organization. If I have time after Thursday I'll pull some of it up.
Basically, we can either keep pace or we can become Detroit.
Narcissistic and fear driven politics largely destroyed Detriot, and that could just as easily happen in Cincinnati too.

The effects of a leader's policies are normally not felt until a couple years after they are gone. Right now we are still riding the Mallory wave. I live in fear of the long-term effects of the Cran the Man Tart's agenda.
He needs to be voted out.

Between that time and now, I kept tabs on the election as I pursued other commitments, so I have to eat my words and admit I did not do any of the above.

But I think it's justified. Cranley has become more pragmatic about the streetcar, since he has realized he cannot unilaterally stop it. The streetcar has quirks that should be ironed out, quirks Cranley is letting fester to make the project look like a failure, but even with that it's doing OK. So there was no reason for outright war against Cranley a la a Save the Crew style movement or anything.

And to be honest, the argument is dying because the streetcar has won. Even early today I had a discussion with a co-worker, one who has solidly conservative views and is from Dayton, who told me how he saw potential in the streetcar and is looking forward to expansion (I doubt he knows about the Uptown Expansion proposal). So I won't knock him there because the streetcar is in operation and encouraging tourism, which in turn leads to development when people like my coworker's daughter move there. If people like that see a streetcar as a net positive and something that should be expanded, in my mind the argument is done. Popular opinion is pro-streetcar, let's get it done. If Cranley is politically savvy, he'll be the #1 cheerleader.

Additionally, as much as I would have preferred Yvette Simpson over Cranley, her comments in this virtual town hall raised a big red flag:

https://www.cincinnati.com/story/new...all/802493001/

She admits she doesn't talk to Cranley, despite the fact he tries to talk to her. I don't care about tone of voice or lack of respect, if anything is going to get done it requires communication. She doesn't appear to understand that concept in these comments. I'm hoping she takes some time, figures out a way to make a positive impact, and comes back on the scene to make a difference in Cincy politics somehow. She is a good candidate. But first I'm hoping she is willing to have open discussion with her opponents so they can find common ground and move forward to get stuff done...

[jmecklenborg]

Oh please. Many people are not on speaking terms with Cranley because he's a toxic little bully.

As has been the case since the 1920s, the old money got their guy in there and smeared the non-aristocratic opponent.

[SWOH]

Oh don't worry I agree Cranley is a toxic little bully.

Not to get *too* political here, but even Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer can work with Donald Trump and get things done. Things that, interestingly, were not aligned with GOP priorities.

That's what Yvette Simpson and others should have been doing. They could have made agreements with Cranley that were 10% in his favor, 90% in theirs, which would be 90% in our favor as urbanists.

For instance, with the parks issue, there could have been a concrete plan that didn't involve turning Burnet Woods into a car-centric bier garden OVI paradise. The money raised could have been used to do pocket parks, support community gardens, even do Parking Day where parking spaces are converted into miniature green spaces for a day - how awesome would that be in OTR!

But that would have required dialogue and discussion, neither of which happened because they were both on their ivory towers. Somebody's got to be the bigger person, and the fact that Yvette missed the opportunity to be that person is a major turn-off. Not a deal-breaker, but a turn-off. If I were a Cincy resident I would have voted for her though.

[jmecklenborg]

They succeeded in making the guy whose parents footed the bill to send him to Harvard and who just inherited a $10 million beach house seem "normal" and "down-to-earth" but the challenger who came from modest beginnings "strange" and like a child. Cranley was "from a good family" but Simpson was a threat because "she doesn't have a family".

[Wilson513]

Of course, in a vacuum Cranley would be regarded as a menace. A shortsighted liberal without vision. But, we are not in a vacuum. We are in a living, breathing petri dish teaming with the most virulent bacteria. Most toxic is the hateful BLM nonsense and Simpson is the poster child for railing against the orderly system of justice that keeps us safe. But, it doesn't stop there. She shows incredibly bad judgment at a crucial point with Childrens Hospital. I see her as Traci Hunter with a few extra pounds.

And, we have just escaped from the clutches of the mendacious Mallories, a clan of blood sucking retainers if there ever was one. Their father William excepted, may he rest in peace.

Back when it didn't matter who was Mayor (ceremonial title only) there was a string of harmless and ineffectual folks. Luken, Qualls, Mann, etc.

But, the recent history should give us all a sigh of relief that we have a guy who would otherwise be an insurance adjuster or an actuary instead of one of the bomb throwers. And, with a legacy of an endless stream of Demorat Mayors, spending their time micromanaging our lives and chasing one cockamamie notion after another, we should not expect nor do we deserve any better.

For my part, the Mayor's job ought to be to keep the city safe and clean, be a symbol for a city of upright people, and liaison with our corporate partners who create the reason to even have a city.

[northwoodsman]

Cincinnati died tues