I appreciate your perspective and input, but I would disagree that Cimperman is immediately so easy to like. I have met him several times and each time he has come across as too intense and not easy to get along with. In time, maybe I would have found that impression to be incorrect.  On a personal note, the one and only time i needed him to act as my representative on a matter that involved the city and my home, he was 100% unresponsive. It was only once. But it is clearly all I have to go off of.  

Tremont isn't even in the 10th District, so it's not like it matters who we choose, since Tremont residents cast votes for the 11th District Representative.

Adam - actually, the 10th district covers the south side of Buhrer, the east side of w14th south of Buhrer (Santiago is one house shy) and Holmden.

bUt, regardless, i would argue that the 10th district affects residents living around it. i don't think we are isolated from the effects of 10th district. Clark Metro is in the district and we are certainly affected by that area's development.

i'm looking forward to the day Stephanie realizes her ward extends west, past the cuyahoga... or maybe the next census we can get properly aligned, into the correct district. meanwhile, i'll vote for the republican.

I live on Holmden and I'm in the 11th District., but looking at the GovTrack map, I see where the line is. Tremont is still basically in the 11th District. I had this same conversation with some friends recently, to me, talking about the minutiae of races in other districts is a bit off base. I'd rather talk about what happens to Ward 13 if Cimperman wins. Who takes over, etc. That's something that affects us all more directly than Congressional Districts primary races.

Check out Cleveland.com

     Here is some recent post. The District 10 Battle is in full force over their.

They are putting Tremont in the crosshairs.

298. chimperman who?

by skullman45, 2/22/08 11:24 ET

cimperman... congress? ah ha ha ha ! a joke for sure !

west 12th and clark the street is likea bombed-out iraq street with dips and sink holes the size of tanks !and chimperman LIVES on that street?what an outrage !

the man has done NOTHING in terms ofinfrastructure so imagine what he woulddo in congress when he starts out withpolitical attack adds.

well I have my own political attack add.

drive down west 12th and clark sometimeand see if it is a smooth level nice street to navigate.

trouble is none of you who vote evenLIVE in the area or can identify withwhere w. 12th and clark is; cimperman'sstreet.

he should be embarrassed to live on sucha terrible condition street.

now don't even get me started on lower west 11th which is HIS ward , down by clark field, there are open sewers where you can literally fall in.

i don't call the city or the councilman on that because he won't do a thing about it in the first place and hedidn't answer my mail when i didwaste my time to contact him aboutstuff of MY taxpaying concern !

he allows all these bar patrons topark their suburban vehicles ALL overthe streets of tremont and park illegally too all the way up to the corners and in bus stops and which is ILLEGAL parking but cimperman turns hiseyes away to that and I can go on.

too much focus on downtown and the man does NOTHING for the brass tacks ofthe neighborhood he supposedly loves.

he fought against walmart coming to cleveland and says he brought 5000 jobs?well how many jobs did walmart bring?and whats so good about FIGHTING against walmart coming to cleveland?

he wants clevelanders to spend money atSUBURBAN walmarts which would be the ONLY alternative. surely you can noteven buy a pair of LEVIS made in the USA anymore anywhere you go unless you buy vintage Levis at boutiques.

Tell me WHERE does he shop?Does he buy 100% domestic made in USA clothes? imagine that ! he is mister union guy but unions shot themselves in the footdecades ago and didnt save ONE darnamerican job if you ask me.

cimperman is supposed to be st iggiescatholic trained and yet he doesn'teven pick up garbage in clark fieldor clean the darn overgrowing woods.

Since Cimperman has never been a congressman, my comments pertain to the position he now holds. He has never, ever, returned phone calls when we've called his office. He has neer helped us with anything at any time.

Dennis, as a congressman (in a district that does not include Tremont) has helped people in his congressional district (including people who live or own businesses in Tremont.)

I would suggest that Dennis be returned to the U. S. Congress.

Who will be running for council since Cimperman insists that you cannot run for another office while holding one? (See his political Ads concerning Kucinich) When will he be resigning?

Cleveland.com #2 Re-post

     Wow, maybe birds of a feather do flock together. I assure you I am not Skull guy.

300. NO TO CIMPERMAN AND DEMOCRATS !

by skullman45, 2/23/08 0:10 ET

as long as democrats like cimpermanand a piece of work like zach reedrun this city it will remain to bea pukehole of drunks which THEY supportby allowing bars to be built and run like nightclubs in RESIDENTIAL areas !

and that zach reed guy ! look at him !they should have locked him up and threw away the key. yea nightclubs arecool if you want to get drunk and laidand make noise but dont put it next to my house !

CIMPERMAN IS DOING CORPORATE WORK  By Roldo

 Boy, they really want to kill him off this time. It’s like “stick the silver dagger” in the little guy’s heart. Let’s get him once and for all, cry the corporate thugs, the Pee Dee and Brent Larkin.

Some big bucks are out on the street to finally ice the little bugger.

How can one tell? Just take a gander at the money flowing from downtown developers and Cleveland’s elite to Joe Cimperman, the main opponent to incumbent Congressman Dennis Kucinich. They can’t stuff his pockets with enough, as this look at his end of 2007 financial report shows.

There’s really only one reason they want to get: Dennis. He doesn’t do their bidding. Never did. Never will.

Isn’t there room for one alternative voice in politics here? Do all Congress members have to be sell-outs like Stephanie Tubbs Jones?

Downtown Councilman Joe Cimperman, imbued with raw ambition, has made himself the tool of developers and corporate biggies. For them, he’s a chance to retire Kucinich permanently.

It’s too bad because Cimperman is one of the brightest Council members in years, and has some progressive political instincts. If he doesn’t win, he may have hurt his future with this election try.

Cimperman might have been saved from this fate if he had been elected from a non-downtown Council ward. The vibes he gave off as a new member in 1997 suggested he was a man of the people.

He started as a former social worker but by 1999 he was representing downtown interests in a crackdown on panhandlers, never getting around to the real downtown panhandlers – the developers, abatement and property tax reduction seekers.

As the downtown Councilman, he faced the invariable task of satisfying development needs and desires. He thus became an agent of Power, a puppet of the downtown string-pullers.

I wrote back as early 2000, “Joe Cimperman is a political charmer. Popular and ubiquitous, the young politician also can claim to be City Council’s foremost money-grubber.”

Cimperman got one of his first tastes of the downtown crowd after taking office. At a holiday party, someone poked him in the back. It was the legendary Forest City’s Sam Miller. As I wrote in January 1998, “Cimperman, young, idealistic and exuberant, introduced himself and said that he hoped the two could work together. The kind of chatter one might expect at a first meeting. The gruff Miller wasn’t having much of the ‘can’t we get along’ line and wanted to know why Cimperman had voted against his (and Mayor Michael White’s) candidate for City Council President.”

I guess Cimperman was beginning to understand how the game was played. He became a favorite benefactor of Sam and the Forest City gang.

His zestful pursuit of campaign funds made him the all-time City Council money raiser. In 2002, he raised $62,210 to bring his bank account to $150,004, a very sizeable sum for a mere councilman. He held one fund-raiser at fashionable and expensive Johnny’s, thep favorite restaurant of downtown developer Dick Jacobs (who, by the way, gave two $1,000 checks at the time) and many other elites. The restaurant location was via an in-kind contribution. They love Joe.

Once on the “take list,” it’s hard to get off. Now Cimperman lives on the pay-as-you-play dole.

Let’s lead off with the 10 donors for this Congressional run from Forest City Enterprises, the chief buyers of politicians: The Ratners: Al, $2,000, Brian, $1,000, Mark, $1,000, Ronald, $1,000, James, $1,000, Kevin, $1,000, Audrey, $2,000, Charles, $1,000, Deborah Ratner Salberg, $1,000 and Alan Krulak, $1,500. That’s $10,500 from Forest City people in the first financial report to the Federal Election Commission. (On a single day in the early 2000, Cimperman got $4,000 from some of the same Ratners, always seeking favors at City Hall)

When Tower City’s Al Ratner made his pitch to the Convention Facilities Commission, guess the only Councilman on hand to speak out strongly for Forest City’s location grab for the new convention center.

Did you guess Joe Cimperman? Go to the head of the class.

He was from the beginning an exuberant supporter of a publicly subsidized convention center on Ratner property, attached to its heavily subsidized downtown shopping area, Tower City. Whatever, you guys want, says Joe.

There are plenty of ways a public official can be helpful to the money people.

As the downtown Councilman, one is in a position to be of use quite often. The unwritten law among legislative members is that legislation favored by a councilman in his or her ward takes precedent over the reasoning of the other 20 members. Rare are the exceptions.

So it’s no surprise to see two $2,300 contributions from developer Scott Wolstein. Wolstein took the public for a vast sum of subsidies for his Flats development. Or $1,000 from the Steve Strnisha and his wife, consultants for Wolstein’s project.

After all, the city and other public agencies have committed some $50 million in subsidies and loans to the Flats project. Government provided the power of eminent domain and all kinds of other promised goodies (See Read Roldo May 3, 2006).

Cimperman also worked a deal for Wolstein to pay off a city loan to Wolstein for about 40 percent of the $7.7 million at a zero interest rate. However, in working the deal he angered some council members by uneven division of the revenue. I wrote at the time, late 1989, “Cimperman took much too personally opposition to his plan.” He became “overly huffy” and made several colleagues unhappy.

The payoff for some measly $1,000 or $2,000 contributions could represent tens thousands of dollars to a developer. Having this quality of help can aid their bottom lines.

Cimperman has been a go-to guy for the downtown developers.

That’s why it isn’t unusual to see the Goldbergs of Ohio Savings Bank give donations as follows: Gerald, $1,250, Robert, $2,300, David, $2,300, Brenda, $2,300, Nancy, $1,150. And the Marons, Jori and Ari, MRN Ltd., giving $2,300 each.

After all, Cimperman has been going to bat for them.

Ohio Savings (now AmTrust bank) and the Maron family have made investments in the lower Euclid Avenue area around E. 4th and E. 6th Streets. It’s become a hot area of development and a sponge for public subsidies.

Back a while, they engineered with the help of THEIR councilman quite a deal. To upgrade E. 4th, the city gave a $9.2 million bond, financed by a TIF, meaning the property taxes from the development didn’t go to the city, county and city libraries or especially to the declining Cleveland schools, but got diverted to pay off the $9.2 million, plus interest of several million dollars.

Because of the financial needs of paying off the bondholders, another maneuver was required to aid the deal by lowering the value of the improved properties in that area. Here’s what I wrote at the time:

“The developer, MRN, Inc., petitioned the Board of Revision to revise down the property value retroactive to 2000. MRN asked for a $5.5 million value on property now assessed for $22.3 million, according to the County.

“By lowering the property value, the developer also pays less tax and the schools, in particular, lose that revenue.”

Legislation for the $9.2 million bond issue was brought before the Council at the last minute at the final meeting before summer recess. Only Cimperman could have objected successfully to the quick action. It was his call to bring the legislation forward. One Councilman summed up the problem and Cimperman’s effective role in passage, “After 14 hours here, I can’t comprehend this information,” he said. He wasn’t supposed to understand. That was the point of the last minute strategy. A councilman can do this. Joe did.

So the property owners in the area should and have rewarded Cimperman for his efforts.

Later, the Marons got another $1.5 million subsidy. With all the city’s needs, the purpose for this subsidy was shameful - a downtown bowling alley. The $1.5 million was taken from Core City Fund, which many wanted to be used for neighborhood projects.

Cimperman, in the recent debate, claimed to have added numerous jobs as a result such developments and his work. He cited as one example the renovation of The Arcade, a historic structure between Euclid and Superior Avenues.

The Arcade project was larded with public subsidies, including a $1 million, 30-year loan at zero interest for the first 20 years and 2 percent interest thereafter; a $2 million, 20-year loan at 2.5 percent interest from Cuyahoga County; a $6.45 million tax incremental financing gift from the city, a $8.26 million federal historic tax credit and $9.6 million in tax benefits via a conservation entitlement.

How many jobs did it produce? Not likely any since the owners of the Arcade and the Hyatt Regency Hotel, the prime tenant, soon after the subsidies, asked for a decrease in the value of the property from $25 million to $l6.2 million for 2001 and then down to $12.1 million in 2002. Reason: Lack of business. Indeed, the original deal only promised 150 low pay jobs at some $7.50 an hour despite the heavy public investment.

Cleveland has lost some 48,000 jobs in this decade. How anyone can distinguish job creation in the mess we are in, I don’t know.

There are more questionable donors.

Here’s a smattering of potential conflicts in these donations:

Mitch and Karen Schneider, Steelyard Commons,$2,300 each; Joel Cole, $2,000, downtown parking business; Richard Pogue, wheeler and dealer on many levels, $2,000;Terry Stewart, director Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, $500; Paul Volpe, architect with his hands in nearly everything, $1,150; John Zayac, Council consultant, $1,000; Jeff Jacobs, who wants gambling downtown, $2,300; Dominic Visconsi, $2,000, and Anthony Visconsi, $1,500, developers; Michael Wager, Port Authority member, $1,000; Dennis (Jones-Day law firm) & Laura Lafferty, $250, convention center; Nancy Lesic, $750, public relations (for convention center principals and others); and Victor and Cheryl Shaia, $500 each, downtown parking; Adam & Pamela Fishman, $500 each, Shaker Square renovators.

Cimperman also fought to keep tax abatements at the highest level, rewarding downtown interests and luxury condo buyers. A gift that keeps giving.

The ambitious Cimperman felt he couldn’t pass up this chance of a wounded Kucinich in his gun sights. He has been getting fat checks from all those who know that he would be a much more pliable legislator that Dennis. It also would solve a Republican problem because Cimperman doesn’t have the intestinal qualities of a Kucinich when it comes fighting for the underdog or confronting thorny issues.

Cimperman has shown his inexperience with juvenile moves – delivering a food basket to Kucinich’s home and showing up with cameras with a “Where’s Dennis?” request at the Congressman’s office to signify Kucinich’s absence on the Presidential campaign.

Dennis shot himself in the foot by calling for a federal investigation of the intrusion. That’s the Dennis many don’t appreciate.

Kucinich, of course, gave his opponent the opportunity with his foolhardy second run for President. Cleveland needs a full-time Congressman of his stature, particularly as the Democrats now control the Congress.

He should have taken the advice I once before offered him with this tidbit:

Back in 1895, Lincoln Steffens asked Teddy Roosevelt about running for President, six years before he did ascend to Presidency following McKinley’s assassination. Roosevelt scolded Steffens:

“Never, never, you must never remind a man at work on a political job that he may be president. It almost always kills him politically. He loses his nerve, he can’t do his work, he gives up the very traits that are making him a possibility. Go on away now and don’t you ever mention – don’t you ever mention that to me again,” Roosevelt scolded Steffens.

Hopefully, Dennis can escape the fate envisioned by Roosevelt. If he does, Dennis should concentrate on being a working class Congressman from Cleveland and avoid the lure of the White House and Hollywood.

NOTE: The above article was written before the latest filings by candidates in the 10th District. Kucinich outdrew his competitors by raising $738,801 in the first six weeks of 2007, though his donations don't come primarily from corporate sources, as do Cimperman's; he has raised $485,869 in total.
 

Roldo Bartimole roldo@roadrunner.com

www.coolcleveland.com//index.php?n=Main.RoldoCimpermanIsDoingCorporateWork

cimperman lost! I'm so happy!!! Go Dennis!