First off, the good stuff. We hope it turns out to be good stuff anyway… If you have been keeping up with this column you might know that Dayton, Ohio was searching for a new chief of police. The area NAACP was applying pressure for the new chief lawman to not merely be another representative of the status quo of failed policing which demonstrably results in favorable dispositions toward affluent white folks and studied ambivalence, suspicion, even hostility toward everyone else. This writer cynically speculated the nationwide search was for show purposes only, and that the interim Chief Matt Carper, who has been with the D.P.D. since graduating from the academy in 1992, would surely be installed as a matter of course. Not so. Instead, Dayton City Manager Shelley Dickstein announced in October, that she would appoint Kamran Afzal to the top cop spot. Afzal was chief of police in Hopewell, Va. as well as Durango, Colo. Afzal is originally from Pakistan. He holds degrees in economics and public administration. In both posts in Virginia and Colorado, he employed a relatively more progressive model of policing with greater community interaction and a more compassionate stance toward homeless populations. Afzal will take the helm on December 20, 2021.
Back in high school as a wrestler, Jim Jordan amassed and amazing 156-1 win-loss record. He was also a two-time NCAA Division One Champion before becoming an assistant coach at Ohio State. In 2018 allegations surfaced that OSU wrestling team doctor Richard Strauss had been sexually abusing OSU wrestlers both before and while Jordan was an assistant coach there. As many as 177 male students from 1979-1998. Six student wrestlers went on record saying Jordan knew about the abuse and took an active role in covering it up. Richard Strauss committed suicide in 2005 and to this day Jim Jordan is associated with enabling the horrific sexual abuse to continue.
Jordan has emphatically denied he knew about the allegations and has never taken any responsibility for covering it up despite numerous eyewitness accounts of him being present when students came forward about Strauss’ sexual abuse. During his time at OSU as a coach, Jordan even gave out a grossly inappropriately annual award called “King of The Sauna,” to the wrestler who had the “best banter” in the team showers, the place where much of the sexual abuse took place.
In 2018, Jordan’s campaign paid Shirley & Banister Public Affairs $95,000. The PR firm built a website in defense of Jordan and distributed statements on the matter.
Jim Jordan is a fighter. That’s for sure. And what a record the man holds. Trouble is, after his stellar wrestling career ended Jim Jordan has become well known for fighting for mainly the most deplorable of causes.
You may remember Jim Jordan as the loudest Trump defender during the Mueller hearing preceding DJT’s first Impeachment. And then again Jordan came to Trump’s defense during the twice impeached former president’s attempts to resist the peaceful transitions after he lost to President Biden.
Jim Jordan’s current congressional term ends in January of 2023. He has said he will not run for a vacant senate seat but will run as incumbent to maintain his rep. seat. Jordan is the favorite to win re-election of his house seat in the Nov. 2022 election.
If, as the house of representatives stands a very good chance of becoming a Republican held majority after the midterm elections, Jordan stands well-positioned to become speaker of the house as majority leader. As, unsurprisingly, perhaps the staunchest Trump loyalist, with demonstrably no will to stand up to evil, Jim Jordan as house majority leader could very well mean the end of Democracy in America as we know it.
Democratic mayoral candidate Jeffrey Mims Jr. handily defeated Republican Rennes Bowers with a whopping 67 percent of the vote to Bowers’ 33 percent. Mims is a current Dayton City Commissioner, a well-known former school board member, and Dayton Education Association leader, coach, and teacher. Mayor elect Mims says that safety, education and recreation, “are the keys to a foundational city.”
With a new Black Mayor with strong ties to the community, and a police chief with a track record for forward thinking the near future looks promising for Dayton, Ohio.
An evening of Hawaiian hospitality for friends and supporters of Mona Maertens to enable her to live the rest of her life where SHE wants to be at home with her son Michael Odegaard.
Muscial Entertainment provided by Keahi Rozet, www.keahimusic.com - Venue hosted by the Muramid Art & Cultural Center www.muramid.com -
6:30 - 9:30 pm on Friday, December 3, 2021 at the Muramid Art & Cultural Center 480 North El Camino Real, Oceanside, CA
Tickets $35 (suggested donation) on Eventbrite https://www.eventbrite.com/e/let-mona-come-home-an-evening-of-hawaiian-hospitality-for-mona-maertens-tickets-214505039347
Michael Edmund Malulani Kamehameha Maertens-Odegaard is the Hawaiian kupuna (respected elder) currently living in Oceanside who started the Hawaiʻi Bilingual/Hawai’i lelo P’lua campaign and wrote the first urban design curriculum for Hawaiian Language Immersion Schools to end the apartheid relationship between the indigenous and colonial languages. Indian Voices will cover more about Michael’s jand his journey as the story develops in the Dec. issue .
Perhaps a surprise, perhaps not! The long awaited announcement is finally here.
I am pleased to announce that Cynthia Paes has been appointed to the position of Registrar of Voters for San Diego County. Cynthia has been with the County for nearly 20 years, with over 10 years of that time dedicated to the Registrar of Voter’s office. She began with the County in 2002 with the Health and Human Services Agency and in 2011 transitioned to the Registrar’s office as the Chief Deputy of the Election Services Division. Two years later she was promoted to Assistant Registrar of Voters and on January 8, 2021, she became the Interim Registrar of Voters.
I know she will take the office to new heights ... she already has. Please join me in congratulating Cynthia on her new role and do share the news with your respective teams!
Fondly, L. Michael Vu
Assistant Chief Administrative Officer
