Having been to many candidate forums and political events, I can tell you that it is extremely rare to see a candidate for City Council or any other elected position for public office get a standing ovation. Perhaps he had an advantage with the audience because he owns rental property in Walnut Hills.  He has had many different experiences renting to Section 8 and he has also worked with non-profits that deal with housing issues for fifteen years. 

As a media reform advocate, I like the idea of a pop quiz for candidates to get past the stump speeches. As a candidate, I can tell you that getting random questions thrown at you from all over the city in front of a live audience can be a challenge.

Candidates were brought up in groups and different groups were asked different questions. The moderator wound up pitching a question about copper pipe thefts and what council could do about it to Patton’s group. Laketa Cole’s answer informed the audience that she’s not a police officer and that council members can’t go around arresting people. Even a policy wonk like Greg Harris said he didn’t know and hadn’t thought about it yet, but he said he would think about it. (This was a better answer than most of the candidates gave.)

Patton stepped up to the plate saying; “this is a big problem.  Virtually any empty house gets broken into and thieves cut out the copper pipes.  They tear holes in the walls to get at the pipe.  They cause far more damage than what the costs of the pipes are actually worth.”

Patton continued; “the problem is not just the theft of the pipe, but the fact that there are scrap metal dealers who buy this stuff even though they know it is stolen.” Though it was a simple answer, its common sense appeal got a big round of applause prompting Harris to grab the microphone and say, “that’s what I meant to say” which scored him some laughs and maybe a few points.

This growing city wide problem has hit the west side particularly hard. Some police officers are encouraging people to use PVC pipe instead of copper because the problem has gotten so bad and they say they have assigned an officer to specifically deal with this issue. Obviously, there are fences buying and reselling stolen goods in the area and while getting rid of them might not completely solve the problem, it will go a long way towards reducing the problem. (PVC pipe has been called the poison plastic and I don’t recommend using it for drinking water.)

When asked how council could encourage small investors like the REIA membership to buy property and fix it up in Cincinnati, Patton said “the population decline and crime problems must be addressed.  Patton also said that the granting of property tax abatements to just the favored hurts the small investors, who can’t compete.

Patton really connected with the audience when he took on the ordinance that Jeff (Gerald) Berding has been running around town touting as his big accomplishment.  Patton said, “I’m insulted by the city’s Chronic Nuisance Ordinance.  This ordinance makes the landlord responsible for many crimes that happen in and next to their property.” The audience burst into applause and many rose to their feet before he finished describing how foolish this ordinance is.

Some of the crimes that fall under the Chronic Nuisance Ordinance range from a tenant’s kids being truant or out past curfew, to drug sales on the corner by the building.  The landlord faces fines and even jail if the quota of police calls is exceeded. The ordinance states that the police do not have to arrest any criminal before they arrest or fine the landlord.

In a corrupt election system where the undue influence of big money stifles real debate on the issues of the day, Michael Earl Patton is a breath of fresh air to many frustrated citizens that know they aren’t getting a fair deal from their government. Patton knows the issues, does his homework and has shown an unwavering commitment to our community. Patton worked to beat the last failed jail tax and was a top signature gatherer in the effort to give the voters of Hamilton County a choice on this massive and regressive jail tax. Patton has worked as a leading citizen watchdog for the Cincinnati Beacon and I applaud his efforts.

It is unfortunate that an engaged citizen like Michael Earl Patton is considered to be such an underdog in an undemocratic political system where candidates are judged based on name recognition and their ability to dial for corporate dollars. This gives an advantage to those with big family names and their rich family’s rolodex. We end up with too many corporate candidates that were born on third base and think they hit a triple.

If you are tired of City Hall being corporate occupied territory, I urge you to vote for Michael Earl Patton for City Council. He not only throws a good pitch, but he can knock them out of the park too. More importantly, he’ll prevent more foul policies and sweep up the mess at City Hall. Cincinnati shall win with Patton!

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