All over the blogs Phil Kidd is touted as one of the candidates for Youngstown Mayor. Most of the media do not even consider nor mention his name, because they consider him a long shot. I'm going to put aside my past frustration with the Kidd and study his potential.
Kidd may turn out to be a wild card that just might sweep into the Mayoral seat. Think about it, McNally IMO will not be able to get a black vote turnout which all candidates need to win. For Tito Brown, it is a given. But for Kidd, he has the background of community organizing which used properly just may open that hugh door. Plus his grassroots appeal and youth is unique to only him.
Now, here is a ready made natural community project for Mr. Kidd to blast through the door of the black community. We blogged here about the Mt. Hope Cemetary insolvency and presently black churches maybe splintered in reorganizing this historic cemetary. IF Mr. Kidd were to take on this project to organize all the black churches to take control of this cemetary because funding is available (not tax funding), this project would put Kidd in the public eye and demonstrate his organizing skills. This alone will propel him right up there with the top contenders.
Me thinks you might have hit the nail right square on the cranium my friend. From everything you have told us about this cemetary it should go on the national register, and this would be a real plus for the Black community, for it would be something for them to rally around.
I think Phil runs for Council President.....negates naysayers who yell he has no experience in politics or governing....and since the position is more "pomp" he campaigns on his new vision of what he would like to see the position evolve into...and can ask what will really be the difference if Chuck and Tito switch positions?
You know this maybe just the site in lieu of FB's "Kidd for Mayor." FB format does not lend itself to this "old" style of knock down drag out debate.
How can we link this to FB for a fatter substance?
I don't believe PK will run for mayor this year.
I agree with Irishbobcat, a run for President of Council would be a better fit for him at this time. As an independent candidate, he would not run in the primary election. He could focus all of his efforts on the fall general election. As President of Council, he would have a chance to demonstrate his organizational skills and turn the council meetings into something more than the current shortcut circus. After a successful term as President of Council, he could then set his sights on the position of mayor in a future election.
Do you and Irishbob know something the rest of us do not?
I agree with many that Kidd may not have the experience at his early age but I have made suggestions that if he develops advisors around him that have TRACK record in his shortfalls, he may be one of the smartest in Youngstown, Smart enough to know he does not know. I can really see it now Kidd being advised by let's say Alex of Brilex, Judge Belingki, even Bob Barko in Youngstown historic matters. True people that know what is going on in Youngstown and have backing.
Ron, My new part-time night job is being a political consultant...a la network talking head....after watching Karl Rove's appearance on FOX
News after Obama was declared winner last November, I fugured ANYBODY can do that!
With all due respect, and I do mean respect ... all any of us know about Phil is what we read about or see on the news ... snatches here and there that tell us very little about the man, but there is much more about him that we don't know about him, not that it is any great secret, but simply because we aren't close personal friends of his.
Looking back over the history of Youngstown's Mayors, granted they all (except one) had a political track record to go on, and that may or may not count for something, but is that the end all and be all of being mayor of Youngstown?
Not to brag, but I think that based on my years of research into the city's history gives me a good insight of all the men that sat in that office, and without exception, all had their failures some huge, some so minor that they aren't even worth talking about, so obviously "experience and track record" are not as important as some would make on about.
As a community organizer, has Mr. Kidd built up a contact list of well placed people that could benefit the city? We simply don't know, and to say otherwise is foolish since Phil would never tell us about them for professional reasons.
Does he have knowledgeable people who could serve him well as advisers? Again we don't know, but where is it written that we must know absolutely everything about the man right down to the most minute detail, even the most personal details of his life?
For more years than I care to remember, some here have consistently complained about not getting new blood into city government, so here is the opportunity to do just that, and what do thy do, complain that Phil lacks experience ... that he doesn't have a track record in city government. Golly, what would it take to please these folks?
Oh and by the way, Jay Williams had no political experience except being the director of the CDA for a period of time, yet it was through his work that the Youngstown 2010 plan was developed, and where is Jay today? Working as Auto Czar at the White House. Most of his professional life was in banking. And he ran as an Independent.
tt i hate bust your bubble with jw was the brains behind 2010 plan. jrs was the one that brought back this comprehension plan for ytown. jw named the plan while community leaders helped him plugged in the info and the numbers for ytown 2010. as for him being the first ind black ytown mayor is half correct. jw was a closet case republican when he ran for mayor. clarence smith, the republican chair in 2005 intro jw to all the rep boe members to tell them to help jw any way they can for his bid for the mayor's office. the rep party did have a candidate in the mayor's race, bob kerchnack. as paul harvey would say, "now you know the rest of the story".
Do you know for an absolute fact that would withstand Heavenly examination that JRS was the creator of the 2010 plan and that Jay as the head of the CDA had nothing whatsoever to do with it in its developmental stages or as it was brought out for public input at the various public meetings?
If so, since there is much about this plan on the internet, please be so kind as to provide links to sites that will verify your contentions, and I will admit that I was wrong, but I must stress that without links to support your contentions, we will only have your personal views, and as good and honorable as you are, less will not suffice.
http://www4.vindy.com/content/local_regional/312753701094780.php (http://www4.vindy.com/content/local_regional/312753701094780.php)
http://www4.vindy.com/content/local_regional/314787364533400.php (http://www4.vindy.com/content/local_regional/314787364533400.php)
http://www.governing.com/poy/Jay-Williams.html (http://www.governing.com/poy/Jay-Williams.html)
http://www.cityofyoungstownoh.org/about_youngstown/youngstown_2010/news_information/releases/Press%20Release%2031604.pdf (http://www.cityofyoungstownoh.org/about_youngstown/youngstown_2010/news_information/releases/Press%20Release%2031604.pdf)
http://powershow.com/view1/1c06a1-ZDNiO/The_City_of_Youngstown_powerpoint_ppt_presentation (http://powershow.com/view1/1c06a1-ZDNiO/The_City_of_Youngstown_powerpoint_ppt_presentation)
Jay Williams is not the current auto czar.
There's one good thing about a PK candidacy. He would bring a large group of young well educated people into city government. The current group of elected politicians and their appointees have left us in a state of stagnation.
tt, jay recently posted the numbers of ytown council reps call jrs. jrs will tell you the story of the format of the ytown 2010 plan that jrs brought back from a "league of cities convention. tt did those articles go into details on how that plan was formed? did jw ever give crd to jrs about his involvement of the 2010? mckelvy did not want jrs to impliment this 2010 because he did not want jrs to use it as his success stories when he ran for mayor in 2005. quess who found the seed monies for the 2010 plan? you quess that right, jrs. tt correct me if i am wrong.
JAY
ACCORDING TO THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR, JAY WILLIAMS IS STILL WITH THAT AGENCY AS ONE OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS AS LATE AS LAST MONTH.
http://www.dol.gov/autocommunities/StaffContacts.htm (http://www.dol.gov/autocommunities/StaffContacts.htm)
http://www.dol.gov/_sec/newsletter/2012/20121004.htm (http://www.dol.gov/_sec/newsletter/2012/20121004.htm)
http://www.dol.gov/dol/media/photos/slideshows/20121115-wisconsin.htm (http://www.dol.gov/dol/media/photos/slideshows/20121115-wisconsin.htm)
http://www.dol.gov/_sec/newsletter/2012/20121220.htm (http://www.dol.gov/_sec/newsletter/2012/20121220.htm)
BUT who actually oversaw the writing of the 2010 Plan? Did JRS so much as type a single word in that plan? It's one thing to get funding ... Congressmen do that on a daily basis, BUT they do not get credit for writing the plan. Credit goes to the department that actually wrote the plan and the head of that department gets the credit.
People!
Youngstown 2000, Youngstown 2010, they were failures relative to the deindustrializion of YukTown. The City kept spiraling into insolvency, blight, uneducated state, political corruption and depopulation PERIOD.
Now let's get back to the future, you all have correct ideas.
Here is some guilt, since I may have been the one who drove Kidd away from this site where we all started, I will be the first to invite Mr. Kidd back in...............and..........most of you must POST the same, we all know this is the site for true debate.
So what's your point other than to be picky ... so Jay got a promotion within the Labor Department. That's a big deal my friend.
Here's the WYTV report:
Former Youngstown Mayor Jay Williams, who left his post to work as car czar for the Obama Administration, has been promoted.
The Office of Intergovernmental Affairs recently announced Williams as the new deputy director. He started his new job Friday.
"When Jay Williams was mayor of Youngstown, I knew he had the determination, skills and work ethic to take on great responsibility," said Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Niles. "Today I congratulate him on his promotion to deputy director of White House Intergovernmental affairs, a job that literally puts him in the White House."
Williams had been heading up the Office of Recovery for Auto Communities and Workers.
The IGA division works with elected officials from cities, towns and counties giving people like mayors and city council members the opportunity to provide input and learn more about White House operations.
"Jay Williams is a good friend, and I know that he will be a friend to Youngstown and the entire Mahoning Valley," said Ryan. "We have a great story to tell about our resurgent manufacturing sector, and although we won't be satisfied until all of our workers are employed, I know we can count on the former mayor to make sure our voice is heard."
The fact of the matter is that his new job is even more important than the old one.
my frd tt i never said jrs help write the plan but he brought this plan back to ytown to impliment by plugging in the info. people are giving jw too much credit for the 2010 as his own formula for revitalization in which there were other forces behind this plan. give credit is where credit is due when you do this it makes you a creditable ind.
My friend, and you are my friend, I am quite well aware of how documents such as the 2010 plan are drafted, and indeed staffers write the drafts, and the director approves the various components. They are then combined into the final document. I am equally aware that a member or members of City Council set the ball in motion, but again I point out that is their job that's what they are paid to do, but the final resulting product rests with the department that wrote the report, and the director of that department gets either the credit or blame. Saddly the actual authors of the various component parts of the report receive little credit for their work unless they are called upon to explain it either at public meetings or to City Council.
JRS brought back an idea not a final plan, and it garnered international attention once it was written so I will give him credit for that, but that was only being a part of what a City Councilman worth his salt is suppose to do, but again, the final result was produced by others after much input at public meetings that were held to get public input.
Did JRS have input during the writing of the report? I simply don't know, I wasn't there,but I seriously doubt that he followed the day to day writing of it. [Note that I didn't say that you said that he did, so we need not go there.]
iwasthere FYI JRS wasn't in City Councilwhen the 2010 Plan was written so how could he have been the father of the plan?
SOURCE: The plan itself at the acknowledgement section at the beginning of the report.
City Council Members when the 2010 Plan was produced:
James Fortune, Sr. – Council President
Artis Gillam, Sr. 1st Ward
Rufus Hudson 2nd Ward
Richard Atkinson 3rd Ward
Carol Rimedio-Righetti 4th Ward
Michael Rapovy 5th Ward
Paul Pancoe 6th Ward
Mark Memmer 7th Ward
Well, I took the liberty to formaly ask Defend Youngstown on their FB to lead the turn over of the Mt. Hope Cemetary.
tt this plan was given to the mck adm at the jrs's term. i strongly suggest that you call jrs on the 2010's history.
After attending a NLC convention in 1997 where I researched plans from Loveland and Red Wing Colorado. I then convinced the CDA Committee of council (Fortune,Atkinson,Swierz) to set aside $125K as seed money over three years($375K). RFP was put out and a committee was picked to interview the respondance. I sat on that committee and we selected Urban Strategies from Ont.
Canada. I also sat in as one of the several COY individuals that was first interviewed by U S . I then sat in with the first 200 stalkholders that was invited by Urban Strategies. As a member of the CDA committee of council we were always updated.
I attended all the community meetings. Reality is that Mayor McKelvey put Jay Williams in charge for his administration. Yes Jay Williams often mentioned my name as the driving force for the comprehensive plan. Finally check the Vindy political review of my interview in1995. Now , I don't say this to feed my ego, but reality is that Urban Strategies drafted the plan and council approved it.
Finally , yes I had a very important part in getting the process started and the plan approved
Nice to see you back on this site Councilman Swierz.
With due respect for all of you, please get back to the subject here.....I believe I own this thread.
John, given your history of service to our city which is indeed one to be proud of both with the fire department and city council, as the child of a fireman myself, I would never consider deminishing your history.
What I do not understand is that the 2010 plan does not mention your name in the acknowledgments at the beginning of the final report, and given what you've said, it should be there.
Now I know that George has a huge ego as big as the planet Jupitor, but fair is fair.
You're absolutely right Ron ... sorry about getting sidetracked ... and it's wonderful having you back John.
Update:
Mr. Kidd led on this subject by pulling out one of his major contacts on the Eastside (Glenda house). He says that their group Northeast Youngstown Community Organization should be perfect fit for this project. I put in a call to Glenda House and left a message.
Forum members, we need some helpful volunteers here. The owners of the cemetary have worked hard on cleaning up the title and the taxes are now current. It is now up to the community to take it to the next step. If some of you can communicate with the eastside community we can get this project packaged just right. Please do your part for the community.
TT, from where you sit, you could produce the archives of the cemetary. IWT , you can be the representative at all the meetings coming up on the eastside. Rowlands, your museum is around the corner. Jay, perfect one for annoucements. Irishbob, the cemetary is green. And Stewie, you can keep lurking in the shadows :)
Lyndz? ahhhh, might be too political. If you really want to change Youngstown, now is the time, funding is already here albeit from the energy companies.
Sounds like a great plan Ron. Rest assured you will be fracking, timbering, or shrimpin there in no time. I am sure that having a fine member of the community like yourself steeped in a rich history of being a helpful law abiding citizen on team Kidd will help him immensly. Perhaps he will consider you to be his campaign manager? In the meantime I will continue to lurk in the shadows waiting for the proper time to expose myself.
Quote from: Youngstownshrimp on January 13, 2013, 10:09:55 PM
Update:
Mr. Kidd led on this subject by pulling out one of his major contacts on the Eastside (Glenda house). He says that their group Northeast Youngstown Community Organization should be perfect fit for this project. I put in a call to Glenda House and left a message.
Forum members, we need some helpful volunteers here. The owners of the cemetary have worked hard on cleaning up the title and the taxes are now current. It is now up to the community to take it to the next step. If some of you can communicate with the eastside community we can get this project packaged just right. Please do your part for the community.
TT, from where you sit, you could produce the archives of the cemetary. IWT , you can be the representative at all the meetings coming up on the eastside. Rowlands, your museum is around the corner. Jay, perfect one for annoucements. Irishbob, the cemetary is green. And Stewie, you can keep lurking in the shadows :)
Lyndz? ahhhh, might be too political. If you really want to change Youngstown, now is the time, funding is already here albeit from the energy companies.
The eastside especially the Sharon line is different. Spent some time on the phone with a representative of the Reeds Chapel, the same Chapel which is the depository of the archives of the Mt. Hope Cemetary. Their approach is spearheaded by families who have kin buried at the cemetary. This of course is a strong approach and spiritual at that, I respect this. So I am more confidant now than before that reorganization can happen for the cemetary. I was also told that a nonprofit corp. is being set up to tie the whole community together.
With TT's research, it appears in the recent past that the cemetary has been mismanaged and this is my only fear. Hopefully the community with our help can make the historic cemetary an icon for decades to come. An interesting point though was when I asked the community representative if they knew Phil Kidd, her quick response was "I know Phil Kidd he even aint from here."
At this point it doesn't seem like Mr. Kidd's potential to court or lead the black vote on the eastside is in motion.
Last week had the meeting at Reeds chapel, first questions was why don't I shrimp in Poland? I stood in front of the crowd and took it like a man, and stayed on the path of setting up Mt. Hope. Feedback is that it is moving forward and another meeting is planned.
Strange, I learned that Kidd and the community organizers are really insignificant over on the eastside. Jimmy Hughes, Kitchen, Andersien, Annette Brown, Gillam, they were all there. Doesn't seem like Kidd is upheld as a leader by the any significant amount of the population. Seems like a brand is trying to get on everyones radar without substance.
436 hits, more than Kidd for Mayor FB.
Now that we experimented with Kidd for Mayor, let's move onto finding a true leader and forget the brand name and community organizing attempt. We should watch out for that movement, because it does work, Obama is an example of this. The MVOC,YNDC, MYCAP and the other nonprofits many times are just that, vehicles to organize voting blocks in Urban areas.
Someone suggested tossing out Louie B Free for Mayor ... young ... young ... young ... er young. But he has a cult following.
I thought Louie lived in Boardman?
:) He could always move to the west side garden district. I hear that it's one of the swankiest parts of town.
He sure looks like he'd fit right in.
Quote from: Towntalk on February 02, 2013, 08:52:06 AM
:) He could always move to the west side garden district. I hear that it's one of the swankiest parts of town.
It is one of the city's great neighborhoods!
I agree, but can it compare to upper Fifth Avenue or the Crandall Park district. Remember my friend, I spent my high school years living on Halls Heights, so I do know a little about that area and they had some very nice people there, but lets face it mansions the houses weren't.
Let me get back on topic here, in my store yesterday some Youngstowners stopped by to kibbits, here is the pulse of Youngstown and Kidd.
Many felt that Kidd's defense of Youngstown and the frustration of the youth when Kidd dropped into town resulted in this movement of defending a City spiralling into a wasteland. Even Williams got a free entrance into Mayorship promising he knows how to fix it. Today, it is all different, Youngstown no longer needs defending and "money' is only starting to pour in, we have not seen but a trickle yet. This year will start the massive economy that we are ground zero in, and energy knowledge will be the name of the game for the new generation, not defending Youngstown. Therefore our children and heirs are now secure once again. Community organizing and protesting anti-frackers are the remnants of once upon a time.........Phil Kidd is older now and he is being pushed aside by the new energy nerds coming out of college.
Quote from: Towntalk on February 03, 2013, 09:57:48 AM
I agree, but can it compare to upper Fifth Avenue or the Crandall Park district. Remember my friend, I spent my high school years living on Halls Heights, so I do know a little about that area and they had some very nice people there, but lets face it mansions the houses weren't.
We're getting off-topic, and I apologize for that. This will be my last post on the subject.
They are different neighborhoods. I'm moving to the Wick Park neighborhood largely because I like the architecture better. But, I'm not aware of anything on the north side that compares to Fellows Gardens, either.
Back to Mr. Kidd... Apparently City Council listens to Phil given the number of times he's addressed them, but so far we haven't heard anything from him personally so how do we know if he's really interested in running. Could someone actually approach him and get a definitive answer? We do a lot of speculation pro and con, but until we have that definitive answer from him personally all it is is pure speculation with no substance.
Quote from: Towntalk on February 03, 2013, 10:43:22 AM
Back to Mr. Kidd... Apparently City Council listens to Phil given the number of times he's addressed them, but so far we haven't heard anything from him personally so how do we know if he's really interested in running. Could someone actually approach him and get a definitive answer? We do a lot of speculation pro and con, but until we have that definitive answer from him personally all it is is pure speculation with no substance.
Phil has said a number of times he doesn't want to run for mayor. But I think he would consider doing so, if enough people show support for the idea. I have talked with him personally about this.
A very short window is open for him to file ... but ... if his supporters were to start calling all the local talk shows ... and I mean all ... especially 570 Radio WKBN which has a larger listener base than louie-b-free, we might just see how much support he could get, and if enough did call, it might inspire Mike, Rivers or Verb to have him on as a guest so we could voice our view.
Independents I believe have until August to file......and he'll need a few hundred signatures.....
Suggestion
Lets get a bunch of folks to demonstrate in front of Phil's store with signs ... WE WANT PHIL FOR MAYOR ... RUN PHIL RUN ... PHIL FOR MAYOR ... GIVE PHIL A CHANCE
The more the better. The media will bring their camera and insist on interviewing Phil. It will be great ... it will be wonderful. We can also hold a Phil For Mayor fundraiser at the Pig Iron Press.
And joy will reign supreme in the hearts and souls of the people.
And in the event he says no, no, a thousand times no, the money can be turned over to Save the Pig Iron Press.
I live in Austintown, but I am supporting McNally for Mayor and expect he will win handily.
This mayor's race is shaping up to be as exciting as watching paint dry. :laugh:
LOL ... We need to spice things up a bit, and a "Run Phil Run" rally might just do the trick ...
Why goad someone into doing it? Even if you succeed, how much effort will they put towards something they don't really want to do?
Who would run the store? I think Phil has plans to expand Youngstown Nation, and if he runs for office he would have to give up on that dream.