Schumann's Cleveland Pages archives

A little of everything (14 December 2000)

Worktime around the software world has slowed a little bit as the end of 2000 approaches. The work deadlines are spaced apart a little more than they have been, so let's look at a few things that have happened around Cleveland in the past month and a half.

Sally Morillas

We'll miss Sally Morillas, the schoolteacher and revolutionary. She lived and agitated for many years on the west side, not half a mile from my various residences on Archwood and Mapledale.

In the fourteen or fifteen years I'd known Sally, she led protest marches against shootings of civilians by police officers, organized relief of the US embargo of Cuba, spoke out on issues from Zionism to the new McDonald's location on Pearl and Denison, and just generally scared the living hell out of the establishment.

"But... but... she's a Communist!" sputtered one of those establishment people when I commented approvingly on something or other that Sally had gotten into the papers for doing. Well, yeah; unfortunately it seems that around here you have to be left-wing all the way out to there to feel good about making a little noise.

What this city needs is a thoughtful, well-organized, nonsocialist Left. Since that isn't currently available, I'm delighted that we had radical firebrands like Sally Morillas around.

Like I said, we'll miss Sally. Cleveland won't be the same without her scratchy voice and uncompromising rhetoric.

Oakar nudges out None of the Above

Now this is simply amazing. It's well known that Mary Rose Oakar ran without even token Republican opposition in the 13th state House district. I complained at the time that nobody should get a free ride like that, and come to think of it it's perhaps even worse that we're having one-candidate elections for a supposedly open seat. (Barbara Pringle will be forced to retire in January due to the stupid term limit.)

But this is the incredible part. According to the certified results available on the secretary of state's website, the unopposed Mary Rose Oakar was supported by only 19,670 voters. Compare this to other unopposed state House candidates:

• John Barnes, Jr., in District 12 with 32,105;
• Dean Depiero in District 20 with 39,019;
• G. Metelsky in District 61 with 29,998;
• Dennis Stapleton in District 88 with 33,782;
• William Ogg in District 92 with 31,937; and
• John Carey, Jr., in District 94 with 35,041.

In other words, Mary Rose Oakar got a little under 20,000 votes while similarly situated candidates in other districts got at least (within a two-vote margin) 30,000. There were districts (such as the 15th of Jim Trakas and the 16th of Sally Kilbane) where 20,000 would have gotten third place.

If you conclude, quite conservatively, that about 30,000 voters in District 13 probably turned out--over 10,000 of them skipped over the House election rather than voting for Mary Rose Oakar. Those votes were free for the taking of any Republican (or other party) candidate without very strong negatives. The Republicans have no good excuse for failing to field a candidate for a seat with so many votes up for grabs. Shame on them.

What this really means is that Mary Rose Oakar won a stunning 2-to-1 victory--over "None of the Above"! Some comeback.

Darn. I should have run for that seat. Memo to Ohio Libertarian Party...

Person of the Year 2000

An honor that should not be sought unopposed is that of Cleveland Pages Person of the Year. Tell me who you think best represents the people and events of Cleveland this year. Candidates include:

• For selling out Clevelanders and acting like nothing had happened, Mayor Michael White;
• For doing what White said God Himself could not do in rescuing community hospitals from imminent closing, US Rep. Dennis Kucinich;
• For serving over the decades as the left half of Cleveland's social conscience, Sally Morillas;
• For keeping Cleveland and the rest of Ohio in the telecomm backcountry by dragging its feet on DSL and other newfangled innovations, the Ameritech division of SBC;
• For showing signs of life on the Council side of City Hall, Council President Mike Polensek;
• For her stalwart unchanging presence in Ward 7, the Queen of Hough, Councilwoman Fannie Lewis;
• For making do last week with a wide receiver turned fifth-string quarterback, proving again that Clevelanders will always muddle through somehow, Browns coach Chris Palmer; and
• Nominated for lifetime achievement, comforting the afflicted but far more often afflicting the comfortable, Free Times and Point of View writer Roldo Bartimole.

Talk to me. Who do you like, on or off this list, for Person of the Year. And why?

Rate this Cleveland Pages article!

Talk back to Schumann!

Recent Cleveland Pages archives

1. The real problem with race (25 May 2003)
2. Yes to the Library, raspberries to the SEIU, and Voinovich is fair game (24 April 2003)
3. Health and Human Services levy: vote NO, for the children! (17 April 2003)
4. Convention Center: they can't be serious (11 January 2003)
5. Hey! The system works! (26 December 2002)
6. Halloween in the Hood (3 November 2002)
7. Endorsements Again (25 October 2002)
8. Callahan's Cleveland Wages Pages (22 September 2002)
9. DUH! (Gateway out of money) (23 August 2002)
10. Campbell's acclaim so far: two cheers (11 May 2002)
11. Primary: Dettman, probably; definitely NO on Port Authority (05 May 2002)
12. Cleveland Schools: Tremont, fifteen others to close (26 March 2002)
13. Accounting for Accountability (20 March 2002)
14. Ohio != Education (10 March 2002)
15. Charter Schools Audit--Amazing Clarity (3 March 2002)
16. Rehabilitating Jeffrey Johnson (20 January 2002)
17. An Agenda for the New Mayor (4 January 2002)
18. New Year's Resolutions for Everyone! (29 December 2001)
19. Dirty Yellow Journalism at the Plain Dealer (20 September 2001)
20. All I Wanted (27 August 2001)
21. The Little Coverup (24 January 2001)
22. A Little of Everything (14 December 2001)
23. Last-minute endorsements (6 November 2000)
24. I'm Going to Ralph (13 October 2000)
25. "Airport Authority" a bad idea (22 September 2000)
26. Ameritech: real competition needed (1 September 2000)
27. Broken in[to]! (12 August 2000)
28. Mad about Brady (31 July 2000)
29. Straight talk from a developer (17 July 2000)
30. Gateway sports leases: the not-so-fine print (7 July 2000)
31. What's wrong with "Cleveland Tomorrow" (23 June 2000)
32. Central Planning loses again: Gliatech heads east (2 June 2000)
33. There was no Cleveland pages of 26 May 2000.
34. Things on My Mind (19 May 2000)
35. "... but sometimes, it really is raining!" (12 May 2000)
36. Plain Dealer flubs Living Wage coverage (5 May 2000)
37. Wake Up! (28 April 2000)
38. There was no Cleveland pages for most of April 2000.
39. This Week in Hospitals (31 March 2000)
40. All Quiet on the Western Front (24 March 2000)
41. Hospital Investigation Needed (17 March 2000)
42. One-party rule continues (14 March 2000)
43. Endorsements? Me? ...and why the city should shut down, now (7 March 2000)
44. Ohio 13th House District: who wants it more? (18 February 2000)
45. Cleveland's a joke. Get used to it (4 February 2000)
46. Living Wage, on the merits, yes (28 January 2000)
47. Reclaiming the city (24 January 2000)
48. Crain's "gets it"! (7 January 2000)
49. Person of the Year 1999 (31 December 1999)
50. Baeppler quits (24 December 1999)
51. News stories we'd like to see (13 December 1999)
52. Crimes out of Nothing (29 November 1999)
53. The trouble with Polensek (12 November 1999)
54. Joanna Cagan on Sports Facilities (5 November 1999)
55. Richard's Route (22 October 1999)
56. Quiet on West 62nd Street (15 October 1999)
57. Pine Needles vs. Democracy (8 October 1999)
58. Who Owns the Rock Hall? (1 October 1999)
59. Supertrapp: some signs of life at City Hall (24 September 1999)
60. More "public participation" (16 September 1999)
61. Unhooked from vouchers (7 September 1999)
62. Good news about the Klan (20 August 1999)
63. Another kind of respect (13 August 1999)
64. Compromised Larkin? (6 August 1999)
65. County Continues to Bail Out Gateway--this is news? (30 July 1999)
66. Why are people poor? (23 July 1999)
67. More on Reverse Commuter Blues (16 July 1999)
68. North Coast Harbor project proposals: some sure things (9 July 1999)
69. More happy talk, less Rokakis-bashing (18 June 1999)
70. Scratch a Philadelphian, find a Clevelander (11 June 1999)
71. ...and second prize is two weeks! (4 June 1999)
72. There was no Cleveland pages of 28 May 1999.
73. Chema admits it--Gateway's a loser (21 May 1999)
74. Gateway broke; anyone surprised? (14 May 1999)
75. Better than vouchers (7 May 1999)
76. Help with income taxes! (30 April 1999)
77. Remembering Perk (23 April 1999)
78. Appraising Appraisals (16 April 1999)
79. "Glory for Sale"--but who's buying? (9 April 1999)
80. Reverse commuter blues (2 April 1999)
81. A story about race (26 March 1999)
82. How far we've come? (19 March 1999)
83. There was no Cleveland pages of 12 March 1999.
84. Cheap "Internet Journalism" at Channel 5 (5 March 1999)
85. The Euclid Shuffle (26 February 1999)
86. Sick of cheap reporting (19 February 1999)
87. Equality in taxation (12 February 1999)
88. Vice-President Voinovich? (5 February 1999)
89. There was no Cleveland pages of 22 January 1999.
90. Moran quits, and what's wrong with Council (22 January 1999)
91. Everyday people, everyday traffic (15 January 1999)
92. Jim WHO? (8 January 1999)
93. The Cleveland Pages took a little holiday break.
94. Judy on the Jennings (18 December 1998)
95. There was no Cleveland pages of 11 December 1998.
96. Coit Road shows some promise (4 December 1998)
97. The Cleveland Pages took a long break. Hey, I don't get paid for this, okay?
98. Merle Gordon on Ward 15 (6 November 1998)
99. The new downtown plan hearing (30 October 1998)
100. The new downtown plan, what's wrong (19 October 1998)
101. Civic Vision 2000, the documents revealed! (16 October 1998)
102. Civic Vision 2000, maybe some sunlight (9 October 1998)
103. Another cut at the Civic Vision process (2 October 1998)
104. Progress on vouchers (25 September 1998)
105. Paying people to move away (18 September 1998)
106. The payoff for Lerner? Nothing! (11 September 1998)
107. Return of the Big Deal (5 September 1998)
108. ¡Radio Libre Cleveland! (31 August 1998)
109. The Public's Business (25 August 1998)
110. BP moves out: the long term (14 August 1998)
111. The Process Revolution (31 July 1998)
112. STOP in the name of the law (24 July 1998)
113. A new kind of redlining? (17 July 1998)
114. Call your councilman--NOT! (27 February 1998)

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