Important News from Cincinnati:
Please vote NO ON ISSUE 22, the rail sale is a massive fraud and follows in a long line of lobbyist generated schemes (scams) to cash the City of Cincinnati out of her assets at pennies on the dollar..
In Summary here are the highlights:
- The City of Cincinnati has not responded to Public Record Requests for the finances of this transaction; issues around open meeting laws as well. And they lost or settled a case with former Ohio State Senator Tom Brinkman on this very issue for $100,000, it is my understanding. And so they are guarding the information very closely before the vote which includes all the payoffs.
- The Cincinnati Rail Commission, called the "Cincinnati Southern Railway Board of Trustees," is the City entity that set the price for this transaction is a "Captured Agency." Charlie Luken (a lobbyist & former Cincinnati Mayor) is on the Commission, and he has likely stacked the Commission on behalf of his lobbying clients. Further he is representing the Commission in this transaction as a member of the Executive Committee as the "Vice President of the Cincinnati Southern Railway Board of Trustees." Again, he and his prodigy John Cranley have made a number of appointments to this body. Additionally, the Commission received $5 million dollars to spend on the valuation et al BEFORE the sale; and was promised another $20 million to spread around AFTER the sale closes, if it closes. RADIO INTERVIEW LINK: Cincinnati Edition; "Should Cincinnati sell ..the railroad.." https://www.wvxu.org/show/cincinnati-edition/2023-10-16/should-cincinnati-sell-railroad-issue-22.
- The Valuation (which was paid for by the Commission with money from Norfolk Southern) of $1.6 Billion is at least $1 Billion too low, probably at least $3 Billion low with a good chance that the valuation should be over $6 Billion based on the numbers, see attached spreadsheet pdf.
- This follows in a long line of schemes to cash the City out of her assets at fractions of their value which include schemes to defraud the public by selling the following assets @ substantially below market values; Parking Meters, the City Health Insurance Fund (Anthem deal), Cincinnati Water Works, & now the 150 year old RR. These have very real deleterious effects on Municipal budgets.
Finally, there is a lot of slick salesmanship on the financial returns front, the spreadsheet (attached below) with all the Net Present Values highlights some of it. It's important to keep in mind that the purchasing power of $1 in the year 2000 is only worth 57 cents today, which highlights that any money invested would have to earn 2.49% interest just to maintain its value over time (that's the average rate of inflation since then).
By owning the rail we have two assets essentially that are increasing in value over time, the lease payment increases 1% per year & the value of the Real Estate itself, the land with the tracks & bridges, appreciates over time as the cost of building rail right of way increases exponentially with time.
It's also important to keep in mind the effects of an Economic Recession on this scheme, as it is now, it historically has provided stable consistent income in down years. That is not the case with investments in the stock market, greater returns directly correlate with greater risk. And there are substantial risks right now even in owning Treasury Bills where yields are at a multi year high of about 5%, these risks relate to rate changes.. (see Bloomberg attachment, notice there is a typo in the last column header it should read 300bpFALL). 90% of Hedge Funds lost money in 2022, to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars.
THERE ARE PROBABLY SOME SEC VIOLATIONS IN HERE AS WELL.
Any assistance you can provide in seeing that there is some public accountability for this rampant corruption scheme by voting it down is genuinely appreciated !!!!.
Thank you,
Professor Howard M. Konicov
Our final endorsement for November 7, keep Jan-Michele Lemon Kearney, on Cincinnati City Council. Appointed to Cincinnati City Council on March 18, 2020, in the middle of a pandemic, Jan-Michele got to work for her fellow citizens. She has prioritized community input at City Hall, increasing homeownership, advocating for affordable housing, small businesses, and our arts communities during this crisis, and eradicating food deserts in our neighborhoods.
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Vote YES on Issue 1 to keep government out of our personal decisions
This November 7, 2023 we are faced with a critical choice to stand up for our personal autonomy. We firmly believe that personal decisions should be made by individuals and their families, free from intrusive government oversight.
Read the full amendment here
This is about who makes personal decisions for yourself and your family – YOU or the GOVERNMENT. Voting Yes on Issue 1 puts Ohioans back in charge of their families' personal medical decisions and stops the government from making these decisions for us.
This is what we are up against: https://www.politico.com/news/2023/10/11/conservatives-ohio-abortion-referendums-00120837
Talk to your family, friends and neighbors and stop the misinformation and lies that are being spread. Make sure they know to vote YES on Issue 1.
2023 GENERAL ELECTION | NOVEMBER 7, 2023
Early In-Person Voting: October 11 and includes the Saturday and Sunday before Election Day.
Absentee Voting By Mail: Begins October 11
Election Day: November 7 (Polls Open 6:30 a.m. - 7:30 p.m.)
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OCTOBER
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Remember, local elections matter! Get involved, donate and spread the word. We can stop extremists if we support great candidates.
.In Cleveland, we encourage everyone to vote yes on Issue 38. City Council had a chance to include Participatory Budgeting but refused. There was some strong support, but not enough and the Mayor did support it.
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On November 7, Cleveland voters will vote on whether to adopt a charter amendment that would give residents the ability to decide how 2% of the city budget is spent using participatory budgeting, or a People's Budget. A People's Budget process has been used in hundreds of cities across the country. The People's Budget would privilege everyday Clevelanders over the wealthy and well connected who have had outsized sway in City Hall for far too long. The People's Budget emphasizes streets over stadiums, the creativity of residents, and deepening the participation and leadership of marginalized communities in our city.
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