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Clermont Dems and Friends: I hope that you were able to watch the Newsmakers program on Channel 12 today. It has been years since any television newsroom has devoted that much in-depth research and reporting on any one issue in the Greater Cincinnati area. It was bittersweet to watch Jeff Hirsh's report on Union Township government and associated "questionable" business practices. It was refreshing to see the media doing its job, asking questions and informing the public. On the other hand it was embarrassing to once again see our community exposed as a cesspool of suspected corruption on the part of elected officials. Undoubtedly we will now hear a steady howling that the Hirsh report was an example of the liberal media, attacking this bastion of conservative ideals. Malarkey! This is just the latest warning sign that something is terribly wrong in Clermont County. Remember Commissioner Mary Walker who was driven from office after it was learned that she signed-off on County payments to her son’s engineering firm…How about former Union Township administrator Doug Walker, Mary's husband who was fired after questions were raised regarding Township business practices. And of course, just before the November election we learned that tax dollars were spent to purchase flowers from an out-of-county shop owned by former Union Township trustee and current Clerk of Courts Barbara Wiedenbein's daughter. I predict that the Channel 12 report just scratched the surface of business practices by Clermont County governments. And I certainly hope that law enforcement on a local, state and even federal level are now pressured to look more closely at business deals involving public funds. If Jeff Hirsh can conduct such an investigation and uncover what smells like corruption then maybe trained law enforcement investigators should do the same. Call the Clermont County Prosecutor's office, Ohio Ethics Commission, Ohio Attorney General and even the U.S. Attorney's office in Cincinnati and ask them to investigate. If you were not able to watch the report then let me know and I will do my best to provide you with a dub of the program. Best regards,
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