Life in "Progress" City - Thomas the Tank Engine edition

From the city of Cincinnati where blowing money on a trolley system in the city takes priority over shoring up the city's pension fund.......

Last year, Cincinnati City Councilman Chris Bortz asked the Ohio Ethics Commission whether his family's property interests on and around the proposed streetcar route posed a conflict of interest that could prevent him from voting on the issue.

The answer that came back was an unequivocal yes, with a state ethics attorney advising Bortz to not vote on the streetcar project or even discuss it with city officials. The Enquirer obtained the letter Tuesday.

Yet last week, when a council committee recommended that $2.6 million be spent on streetcar planning - the biggest commitment of local dollars to date - Bortz sided with the majority in the 6-2 vote.

At Wednesday's council meeting, Bortz intends to not only vote for that $2.58 million allocation, but also to push for Cincinnati to proceed with plans to issue $64 million in bonds for the streetcar, provided the city secures about the same amount in state and federal funds needed to complete the project's $128 million first phase.

In doing so, Bortz is relying on a city solicitor's opinion that finds no conflict and that clears him, at this stage, to participate in streetcar decisions.

By the way, Bortz is a Charterite, basically a "progressive" democrat with a cooler name.

Wow a politician lining his pockets with taxpayer money! Now that's "progressive"!

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