Fight Back Fundraiser Speech

Good afternoon.  I want to speak to you today on what makes a good citizen.  There are two different areas where we can demonstrate good citizenship.  Both are important , but I will spend most of my time today on the second. 

The first area is community involvement.  I think this is best summed up as  loving your neighbor.  All of us should be involved to some degree with making our communities better places to live.  This can range from literally helping out those who live next door when they are down on their luck to being involved in the churches and private organizations that help others and improve our communities.  I know that we have a mixed crowd here politically, but most people who know me or read my column know that I’m a conservative.  As a conservative, I believe in limited government.  I think that we as citizens have abdicated our responsibilities of caring for the poor and improving our communities to the government when it  is not the government’s job.  Government is a poor substitute for human beings helping other human beings.  We need to remember that and see community involvement as  part of being a good citizen. 

The other area of good citizenship is being involved in the public square. I think most people, if they think about being a good citizen at all, think they are doing their duty just by voting.  I thought this way for a long time.  I realize now though that good citizenship is much more than voting.  

We all know the preamble of the Constitution.  It doesn’t say, "We the government."  It doesn’t say, "We the media."  It says, "We the People. "  Our founders created a system of self government, but they intended for us to be active informed participants in that government.  We have instead become ignorant passive spectators.    I wrote  a  column recently about tyranny.  One of the commenters online said that any thinking person knows that tyranny and self governance are mutually exclusive.  That commenter is missing the point.  Self governance only works to prevent tyranny if the citizens remain informed and active.  Trumbull County is evidence of that.

 We have a health department that targets people for daring to question them.

We have the malicious ineptitude of a children’s services board (aided by commissioners who, realizing that foster children don’t vote, look the other way). 

Some of our townships are seeing their land bought up by the state of Ohio to a point where they struggle to  provide basic services to their residents.

 We are bound by a consent decree that has created septic rules in our county that are punitive and the strictest in our state.  No elected official has lifted a finger to try to get us out from under this decree. 

So what do we do?  Some look at the mess we’re in and say it is too late.  We can’t fix this.  Not enough people care.  I don’t believe that.  In the year that I’ve been writing my column, I’ve gotten to know Trumbull County much better.  While I’ve held a magnifying glass to its faults and seen those more clearly than I ever have or really ever wanted to, I’ve also seen the people here more clearly than I ever have.   When I spoke at the last fundraiser, I said that I love this county.  Seven months later, I think I love it now even more as I have met so many good decent people who are working to make this a better place to live.

But how do we do fix this?  I think we start by being the kind of citizens our founders intended.  We must educate ourselves as to what is happening locally.  Every person should know who his or her elected officials are-what they are doing right, what they are doing wrong.  Go to trustee or council meetings.  Know the issues that are facing your community.

Last year, I was speaking to someone about how people didn’t know who their state representative was.  He said, “People just don’t care.”  I replied, “I will make them care.”

I like to think that my column has done that maybe even for some of you. I can’t do it alone.  We all must work to make others care. Each of us has a circle of influence-people we can talk to and encourage to get involved and to become good citizens. 

Jefferson said, “if once the people become inattentive to the public affairs, you and I, and Congress and assemblies, judges and governors, shall become as wolves.”  We sure do have a lot of wolves here in Trumbull County.  We need an army of people willing to become good citizens, willing to influence others and get them involved.  We need people willing to run for office who want to be public servants.  Only then will we drive out the wolves and fix this county.

Precinct Committee People

I often hear people complain about the direction of the Republican Party. One thing that I don’t think people understand is that in order to change this direction, they need to get involved. The best way to do that is to become a precinct committee person. Most people have never heard of this office and have no idea what it is.


As many people know, a precinct is the lowest level government division. Counties are divided into precincts by the County Board of Elections based on population. In the cities, usually a ward is divided into several precincts. In the townships, there may only be a couple of precincts for the entire township. (My precinct is the only one in the entire township.)

Local County Parties are made up of a central committee with a representative from each precinct-the precinct committee person. In Trumbull County, these individuals are elected every four years in the primary. After the primary, the county party will reorganize and elect officers and an executive committee. The central committee plays a big role in determining the direction of the party. In some counties, they also vote to endorse candidates. (Trumbull GOP does not do this.)

One responsibility that precinct committee people have is appointing the two Republican poll workers for their precinct. This is important because we need to have good well trained poll workers in each precinct. It is certainly NOT the most important thing though and is definitely not the only responsibility that precinct committee people have.

Central Committee members should be the direct link between voters and the County GOP. They should get to know the people in their communities. Getting involved in community events is a good way to do this. With a precinct in a more densely populated area, using a walking list of all the Republicans and Independents in the precinct and going door to door to canvass the precinct can be done. In less densely populated areas, phone or mail can be used. Social media is another way to get to know those in the precinct. A Central Committee person should also know what is going on in their neighborhoods and communities. He or she should attend trustee and council meetings.

Really, when you think about it, a big part of what a Central Committee person does is just basic good citizenship.

During campaigns, the precinct committee people are the boots on the ground in each precinct for the candidates. The relationships they form with the Republicans in their precincts will help them recruit others to work in campaigns.

This seems like a lot of work, and it can be. The hardest part is forming relationships with your fellow Republicans. Once that is done, you can draw on others who want to be involved to help you.

There are 210 precincts in Trumbull County. Many of these precincts do not currently have a precinct committee person. 2014 will be our next election in Trumbull, but if you live in an open precinct, you can be appointed. If you live in Trumbull County and are interested in serving as a precinct committee person, please contact me at mcyoder@aol.com.

Election and appointment of precinct committee people varies from place to place, but they are needed everywhere.

If you are concerned about the direction of our party and want to change it, get involved. I encourage my friends who want to get more involved to contact their local county GOP.

The Perfect Example

Trumbull County Commissioner Frank Fuda is a perfect example. He is a perfect example of what’s wrong with Trumbull County. Fuda is smooth. I will give him that. I’ve seen him in action as the consummate politician- nicely dressed, the big toothy smile, glad handing, campaigning every place imaginable. I’ve been told he is quite charming, but the charm is a veneer. The veneer is thin in some places, and if you look closely, you can see what Frank Fuda really is-guardian of the status quo of arrogance, corruption and ineptitude that is Trumbull County government.


I got a glimpse of this about a year ago when I attended the public hearings on the court consolidation. I questioned the commissioners about the fact that they had delayed recommending the consolidation knowing there was a small window of opportunity to accomplish the consolidation. I pointed out that they had been asked to consider the proposal back in October and waited until April to have public hearings. Mr. Fuda became quite angry and insisted, in spite of documentation to the contrary, that he not known until February that Judge Rice would not be seeking another term at Eastern District Court thereby opening a window for consolidation without displacing a sitting judge. Aside from the fact that Central Court Judge Tom Campbell had relayed this information to the Commissioners in his initial proposal for consolidation in October, Judge Rice had also filed petitions to run for Common Pleas Court in December 2011. When Mr. Fuda doesn’t like the facts, I guess he creates his own.

Mr. Fuda’s background is in education. I think sometimes that he forgets that we are citizens and thinks, instead, that we are children to be controlled. Those who attended the Board of Health hearing on the revocation of Berry Meadows’ septic installer’s license also got a front row seat to Mr. Fuda’s real personality. The hearing was held in the County Administration Building. When the hearing was abruptly halted, it became somewhat heated. Things were calming down when Mr. Fuda reportedly entered the room and shouted that he wouldn’t have yelling in HIS building. Mr. Fuda apparently doesn’t realize that the building doesn’t actually belong to him, but it does belong to the tax payers who are his employers. Later, when a constituent tried to talk to him about the Health Board, commenting that although he didn’t have governance over the board, he could have some influence on them. He brushed her off, telling her to talk to his attorney.

One of the most disturbing things that I’ve heard any public official say is something Mr. Fuda reportedly said to Attorney David Engler. Attorney Engler was talking to Mr. Fuda about the inordinate number of murdered children in Trumbull County’s foster care system. Mr. Fuda’s response was “these sorts of things happen to kids in Children’s Services.” This quote not only betrays an acceptance of the status quo, but it also demonstrates Mr. Fuda’s true callousness and indifference to the most vulnerable in our community. How a society treats those who are the “least of these” is an indication of its character. Mr. Fuda’s comments reveal his character as well. Mr. Fuda, children in foster care are not expendable simply because their parents can’t or won’t take care of them. They deserve public officials who will fight to make sure they are safe, not accept the status quo of ineptitude and corruption in the agency charged with protecting them.

Mr. Fuda is a very good politician, but he is certainly not a very good public servant. I’m not so sure he’s a very good person, either.

Something in the water

Is there something in the water in this area that makes people continue to elect public officials whose transgressions range from the inept to the criminal?


Let us go back in time and visit a few ghosts of politicians past. Jim Traficant is well known throughout the country, and not in a good way. Infamous, not famous, is what he is. Traficant faced charges of racketeering for accepting bribes while Sheriff of Mahoning County. He defended himself, saying that he accepted the bribes as part of an undercover operation. He was acquitted, but in any other place, those charges would have resulted in a complete retreat from public life. Not here, though, no, the Valley elects those people to Congress.

His career as a Congressman ended only when he was convicted of ten felony counts including bribery, racketeering, and tax evasion. After his expulsion from the House in 2002, he ran as an independent. In spite of the fact that he was in prison, 28,045 people still voted for him! Beam me up, Scottie!

As a local attorney, Marc Dann was reprimanded in 2004 for failure to prepare for handling a 2002 alimony case without proper preparation. He was appointed to the State Senate when Tim Ryan was elected to Congress in 2002. He won election to a full term in 2004.

In 2006, Dann was elected to the position of Attorney General , ironically, in large part due the Coingate scandal of the Taft administration.

After his election, Dann pushed for Capri Cafaro to be appointed to take his place in the State Senate. But it wasn’t because her family had donated over a combined $56,000 to his campaigns. After all, she was an experienced public official……oh, wait, nevermind. Cafaro was a twenty something who had run for Congress twice in two different districts and worked as president of her daddy’s company. By the way, her father pleaded guilty to bribing Jim Traficant to push for legislation to benefit that company.

Dann then tried to make Columbus “just so Trumbull County.” Epic Fail! He started right off the bat by missing a filing deadline for Ohio to join in an appeal of a Medicaid related case. It also soon became evident that Attorney General’s office had become a frat house for Dann’s friends who were now his employees. Amid allegations of sexual harassment against his Communications Director Leo Jennings and another employee/friend Anthony Gutierrez as well as the revelation that he himself was having an extra marital affair, Dann resigned in May, 2008.

He only did so, however, when it became clear that he would be impeached if he did not. In the days before his resignation, he first blamed the problems of his office on his lack of preparation for the job. He also said that his admission and punishment were enough. That might be so in the alternate universe that is Trumbull County, but it isn’t in Columbus.

In addition to the allegations for sexual harassment, a report by the then Ohio Inspector General Thomas P. Charles, cited 25 specific acts of wrongdoing including improperly using money from the state, a transition corporation, and campaign funds.

“Regrettably, Marc Dann used his position as attorney general to indulge himself, his family and his friends,” the report reads. Among the questionable purchases made from Dann’s campaign and transition funds was $12,263.47, paid to a dinnerware sales company owned by his wife. In the end, Dann reached a plea deal where he admitted to one violation of misusing campaign funds and was fined $1000. Recently, the Ohio Bar Association suspended his license for six months as a result of that conviction.

What about the present in Trumbull County? We still have public officials who don’t seem to realize they’re public servants, and we still reward them by reelecting them.

The City of Warren Law Director Greg Hicks rents office space from Robert Crager, a bail bondsman, and says there is no conflict of interest. Apparently, if he says there is none, there is none, right? Meanwhile, charges have not been filed in a case of a man who is reportedly an employee of the bail bondsman. There have also been delays in a hearing of the shutting down of the Sunset Lounge, which is housed in a building owned by another of Cregar’s employees.

We have our State Representative from the 64th District, Tom Letson, who has insisted that he has paid his back taxes, but has not provided any proof of that. As of this writing, a lien is still on his property for those unpaid taxes.

Then there’s Teflon Tim Ryan. Nothing sticks to him. During the time he was a student at Bowling Green State University, Ryan faced three different charges of disorderly conduct. He was actually found guilty of one charge in 1993 for having a fake ID, but the two other charges were dismissed. He worked in Jim Traficant’s office after graduating from Bowling Green. With this resume, he ran successfully for State Senate in 2000. He reportedly told audiences during that campaign that he had a law degree, but he actually obtained that degree sometime later in the year 2000. Ryan was young, handsome, and charming. This seemed to make people blind to the fact that he had a record; and he had never had a real job, something he reportedly bragged about when he was campaigning. Ryan faced an opponent who was intelligent, had more life experience, was a business owner, had actually worked a real job, and had no criminal record. That didn’t seem to make a difference.



In August, now Congressman Ryan was arrested for public intoxication in Virginia. The public was never made aware of this arrest until December 4, after his reelection, when the charges were dismissed. Ryan had refused to take a breathalyzer test, and it is very hard to prove a case of public intoxication without that test. I would think taking a breathalyzer would be a way to show conclusively that one is innocent, preventing an arrest; but Ryan refused.

When the story finally did come out, Ryan kept coming up with different stories: It was after a wedding reception, but the wedding didn’t take place till the next day. He was taking medication for his back, but wait, no he threw his back out, and that’s why he was walking funny. I don’t know about you, but every time I throw my back out, I always take walks at 2AM. My thirteen year old comes up with better excuses than these.

Ryan is talking about running for governor. I don’t think Ohio is ready for another Trumbull County politician Hopefully, they will remember what we’ve given them in the past and not fall for Teflon Tim.

In my last column I wrote that hope would not be found in political parties or candidates. I believe that, however, I do think one of the causes of hopelessness in this county is the corruption and ineptitude of some of our public officials. We need to wake up, realize that we deserve better, and do something about it.