Mayoral Candidates in the Weeklies

ThisWeek has mini-bios on each of the eight mayoral candidates, along with each of the five council candidates (for a more amusing take on the candidate list, read Introvert's observations below this earlier post). More important than the two list articles, perhaps, are the two lead articles which tout projects (1,2) of the Bexley Technology Commission, the entity that Tech Director and mayoral candidate Bill Minckler resurrected this year.

How do you combat that kind of incidental media exposure? With a letter to the editor, it would appear. Bill Harvey has a letter in the Bexley News reminding seniors to apply for the expanded Homestead Exemption, and Travis Irvine has a letter right across from Mr. Harvey's, touting Green Building initiatives.

The Bexley News has not yet started putting the majority of its content online, so I can't link to the Harvey LTE, but I received an electronic copy of Mr. Irvine's letter (the electronic version has the advantage of clickable links):

Dear Editor,

I was happy to read the recent article about the possibility of the new police facility going ‘green.’ Since I launched my mayoral campaign in June, I have advocated for the city to look into ‘green’ building for facilities, and I commend Development Director Bruce Langer and City Council for looking into this option.

Whether or not City Council decides to pursue the LEED rating (I say go for it, we make up the money in the long run) LEED’s parent organization, the U.S. Green Building Council, has a website www.usgbc.org, that is loaded with links and information.

I personally recommend city officials check the links in the Local Government Initiatives section, to Issaquah, WA, and Scottsdale, AZ, to see what cities close to Bexley’s size are doing to go ‘green’. Closer to home, Cincinnati has started its own local chapter of USGBC, which can be viewed at http://chapters.usgbc.org/cincinnati/.

Bexley homeowners, particularly those with older houses, should check the information about making your home more energy efficient, while http://www.energytaxincentives.org/ is a website for a non-profit organization that offers tax incentives for doing so.

All citizens should also check these Central Ohio ‘green’ projects: the OSU 4-H Center at http://www.osu.edu/features/2006/greenbuilding/, energy efficient homes being built around the city with www.undergroundhomes.com, and developer Joe Recchie’s efforts with www.jeffreyplace.com. More recently, Recchie has begun a project with former boxer Buster Douglas just down Main Street.

A greener image should be pursued full heartedly by Bexley in the next four years, including giving tax incentives for businesses that build green and for home owners who make their homes more energy efficient. The advantages last well into the future, set an example for our children and the surrounding communities, and attract more young house buyers to the community.

Travis Irvine

According to this Bexley News article, Council is taking the month off, so candidates Jones and Lampke won't be in the papers so much over the next few weeks.

Finally, council candidate Ben Kessler (the one who isn't currently on the council) has a website up at benkessler.org. For some reason the construction process over there has involved linking to BB and then removing the link after I responded to the request to email him info on other candidates links. Unless he really only does want Matt Lampke's site listed, and despite the invitation doesn't actually care about the Minckler or Irvine pages, you can color me perplexed. As for me, I really do want to know if other candidates have websites, so as always please let me know as they come online.