What's that? She's too busy to answer a question?

The closing days of the election madness concluded with a stark reminder that  those who play for your votes may be too busy to answer a few important questons.  The Republican state ticket, from Gov. Kasich down,  waved off any effort to  bring them into the consciousness of the voter  (excluding the Betty Crocker type TV ads fashioned to sweeten your palate).

A survey by NewsOutlet/Beacon Journal, a collaborative operation,  on whether charter school assets belong to the  private owners or to the public that paid for them, enjoyed only partial success. .

Rep. Marilyn Slaby, a Summit County Republican challenged by Democrat Tim Crawford, was among the majority of Republicans who didn't respond.  She  said she was too busy to answer the question. She said what?

The reluctance of some politicians to step up on a question about charter schools can be traced to the fact that they are well maintained in the White Hat  Management charter kingdom of its founder, David Brennan.  As we all know, he's a major GOP political financier who leaves no legislative vote that would affect his  enterprises unguarded.

And it works!   The state has channeled more than $900 million into charter schools, nearly $775 million to the Brennan domain.  The Plain Dealer reported  that Brennan has "poured more than $4 million into  the coffers of Republican candidates in Ohio during the last decade."

You won't need a calculator to see that $775 million for a $4 million investment is a damn good return.

 Not that these schools have served as  a White Hat  cure for  the ills of the public school system.  There are loads of dropouts from the charters -  more than the number of students who showed up on a average day. Indeed, there is nothing in any of the studies that would confirm charter success.

And, of course, the state's generous charter funding has to come from somewhere.  Yep.  Stretched-out  public education,  which could stand a few more dollars in its budgets.

But for now, the prophetic  words of Simon Cameron, Abe Lincoln's Secretary of War, are very much current today:

"An honest politician is one who , when he is bought, will stay bought.".

Another end run for another juvenile court judge

Talk about the elephant in the China shop! The Summit County Republican Party, in peril of being swallowed whole by the Tea Party, is staging a desperate political charade to create a second juvenile court judge.  Not that many people aside from the promoters like the idea.  It's provisioned in the proposed Republican budget down in Columbus, which makes it newsworthy even though it's not likely to be seaworthy.

It is sponsored by State Rep. Anthony DeVitis, a Republican of Green; and co-sponsored by Rep. Marilyn Slaby, a Republican of Copley Township.  They say the juvenile court system in the county  is overworked and causing long delays.  A second judge alongside Linda Tucci Teodosio, an elected Democrat, would expedite matters, which is one way at looking at justice. And, if as County Executive Russ Pry (Democrat)  and  others point out,  the county budget  is already so tight that it can't afford to have another mouth to feed  in the courts, the Republican sponsors insist the  problem could be resolved by laying off some magistrates who, quite likely, are Democrats.

In a bi-partisan vote, the Akron Bar Association unanimously passed a resolution opposing the packing of the courts.  County council voted 9-2 against it, too, with the council's two  Republicans, of course,  supporting it.

Cautiously taking the safer  ground, another area Republican,  Sen. Frank LaRose, predictably told the Beacon Journal that he will withhold judgment until he gets more information.(A tactical response on Page 7  of the survival kit on expressing the need for more information.)     And uncharacteristically, GOP chairman Alex Arshinkoff, who doubtless was in the thick of the process, withheld comment from  the BJ.

It has been widely known for years and years and years that Arshinkoff has tested the soft spots in the judicial system to appoint his people to offices.  It's his M.O.

Otherwise, the weather the past few days has been delightful.