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The Cincinnati Beacon
Cincinnati Democratic Committee on Damage Control: Aryeh Alex Challenges Kevin Osborne’s Integrity
Monday, April 02, 2007
Posted by The Dean of Cincinnati
 Photo courtesy of here.
When the Cincinnati Democratic Committee got wind of Kevin Osborne’s recent blog post for CityBeat, Co-Chair Aryeh Alex went on the defensive—contacting The Cincinnati Beacon to discuss the alleged inaccuracies of Osborne’s article. According to Alex, the CityBeat article contained false information. “There were some major discrepancies from the story and what happened in the committee,” said Alex.
"Berding was never brought up in our discussions,” explained Alex. “We never had a chance to talk about any recommendations for anyone, especially Jeff. We needed more time, so we scheduled another meeting date.”
Alex expressed concern over several details from Osborne’s article, including that Berding allegedly told Westwood Concern that he supported Republican candidate John Eby, and that he would help Eby conduct fundraising.
“Jeff never brought up Eby,” said Alex, “so I don’t know where the reports came from. Jeff told the CDC he is a Democrat, and that he’ll only support Democrats. The issue really came out of the blue in Osborne’s article.”
Kevin Osborne disagrees. “I stand by my story,” said Osborne, “as it comes from sources who have been reliable in the past and are in a position to know about these matters.”
“Although he said he thought my post was inaccurate,” Osborne continued, “when I pressed him, he could only say to me that no one brought up the Eby stuff at the meeting. As I told him, if you read my post carefully, it describes that as among the complaints of rank-and-file Democrats, NOT a topic that came up at the meeting. In fact, as I thought the post made clear, no discussion of individual candidates occurred (except by member Dwight Tillery, who spoke up for Berding) because it was supposed to wait until Tuesday.”
Alex believes the information in Osborne’s article could be the work of a disgruntled committee member. “I think some members of the committee are not happy with Jeff and are putting things out in the media,” he said. “I don’t know who said it. What was said at the meeting, and what was given to Osborne is not accurate. If someone has a personal problem with Jeff or the process we’re using, that would be a reason to talk to Kevin Osborne.”
For Osborne, however, the facts in his article have not been disputed. “This is what my post says occurred at the meeting, per se: 1.) The group held off on its vote, although at least some members would’ve preferred to have quickly gotten it out of the way; 2.) Tillery spoke up for Berding; and 3.) The 9 candidates I mentioned by name are, indeed, the people they interviewed and who they will vote upon. When I asked Aryeh if these points were accurate, he was forced to say, ‘Yes.’”
So why is the Cincinnati Democratic Committee going on the defensive against Kevin Osborne? Why the sudden media push to discredit a report that threatens the credibility of Jeff Berding? Could that be a sign that the Committee is likely to endorse Berding, and that they are trying to calm any potential fronts against a growing faction of anti-Berding Democrats?
“I think everyone on all sides of the issue in the party have their own agendas, and that’s not unusual,” said Osborne. “I am not going to be drawn into a ‘he said, she said’ type of argument or let myself be ‘spun.’ When this all washes out and the committee votes, watch and see that it will be the 9 people mentioned in the post.”
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