FALL QUARTERLY REPORT CARD COMING IN 1 WEEK

Barb Johnson's fall quarterly report card will be out in 1 week! Has Johnson's job performanced improved? If so, by how much?

Log in next week and find out.

Developing. . . . . . . . . . .

JOHNSON MENTIONED IN SR ARTICLE

In this past Wednesday's (Dec. 23) Sandusky Register (page A-2), there was an article titled, "State Has Issues With Erie County Auditing." There really wasn't anything damning in that article. In a nutshell, the article was about how an Ohio Auditor report shows many problems with certain monetary procedures used by certain county departments including Clerk of Courts (Johnson), Treasurer (JoDee Fantozz), and Auditor (Tom Paul) offices.

The state auditor is just trying to prevent anything from happening like what happened in the Clyde-Green Springs schools where the former superintendent stole $300,000 from the school district.

However, there was one interesting sentence in the article, "Johnson has still not responded to a public records request a Register reporter submitted weeks ago. The information being sought: the clerk of court's bank statements, information the county auditor doesn't even have."

Could the Sandusky Register be investigating the estimated $700,000 in outstanding court costs and fines? We here at Clerk of Court Watch think that amount is on the low side. We are willing to bet that the cost is at around $2 million or even more.

Notice to the Sandusky Register: Do not expect to receive that public records request - EVER. Why? The answer is simple: our "NOTHING" clerk will NEVER, EVER get around to getting that information to you because she is way too busy doing. . . . . . well . . . . . NOTHING . . . . . . . . . .

FALL QUARTERLY REPORT CARD COMING IN 4 WEEKS

The Fall 2009 Quarterly report card is coming in 4 weeks! Be sure to check in to see if Barb Johnson has improved in doing her job as Erie County Clerk of Courts, or is it still the same ole' same ole'.

Be sure to check the side bar under "Quarterly Report Cards" for the Winter 2009, Spring 2009, and Summer 2009 Quarterly Report Cards to compare and see if Johnson is improving in her duties and work ethics to us the tax payers (her employers), or if she continues to go down in a flaming ball of fire!

What will the Fall Quarterly Report Card bring? And yes, we continue to keep a "watchful eye" on her work even though we (for now) are not publishing weekly articles. Is it the same "Nothingness" or is she improving?

Stay tuned!

Developing . . . . . . . . .

THE LAST OF THE WEEKLY ARTICLES

The article below (“Automated Phone System”) is the last of our weekly articles.

This is our 64th article since January 31, 2009. With about one article per week for the past 10 months, I think we have laid out very well why Barb Johnson is incompetent to have this position, especially for the past 20-plus years. As a matter of fact, we here at COC Watch have done more work in the past 10 months than Barb has done in the past 20-plus years. If Barb should choose to run again in 2012, there is enough factual evidence and information here for the voters to read and understand why she should not be re-elected for a 7th term in office. Enough is enough. Stop wasting our tax dollars and get someone in that office that knows what the hell they are doing. Get us someone in that office who can actually LEAD, WORK, and EARN their $54,000 a year!

This is not to say that we will no longer post any further articles. We will continue to post articles, just not on a weekly basis. We will continue to post her quarterly report card, and anytime something new comes up, we will post that as well. So continue to check back 2-3 times a month to see if there is anything new to read.

We WILL be posting again weekly (if not daily) during the 2012 campaign. THAT should be REALLY interesting.

But maybe we will be lucky, and Barb Johnson will retire soon. . . . .hopefully VERY soon; that would be a GREAT next article to have on this site.

AREAS OF CONCERN 11: AUTOMATED PHONE SYSTEM

This is the last in the series of “Areas of Concern” which were brought to the fore-front in the November 2008 campaign / election.

The girls that work in the two front desks are overwhelmed by the phone, the public coming in, and doing their other daily tasks. They really don’t get any of their “other daily tasks” done when working at the front desk because the phone rings almost non-stop.

From what I have overheard while in the office, it sounds like MANY of those phone calls could be avoided; it’s just an ill-informed public that calls the COC office because they don’t know who else to call. And many of those calls are for the same thing: 1) Traffic violations for Sandusky Municipal Court; 2) Traffic violations for County Court (in Avery); 3) requests to look up service; 4) requests to look up status on a case; 5) requests to do criminal checks or searches (which the COC does not do anyway); 6) transfers to the appeals division, foreclosure division, criminal division and civil divisions.

An automated phone system would eliminate numbers 1-5 above and automatically transfer the calls to the correct personnel in number 6. This would free up 2 personnel to take care of other tasks in the COC office that need attention. An automated phone system does not cost that much money to implement; it is cheap to do and would save THOUSANDS of hours every year for COC personnel to take care of other things. In an office that is so strapped for personnel, this seems to be a no-brainer.

So what has Barb Johnson done about this since it was brought up during the campaign in 2008 (a year later). . . . . . . . . . . absolutely NOTHING!

Now come on, really, would you expect anything more from our “NOTHING” clerk?

Too bad, and so sad; especially since OUR tax money is paying her to do “NOTHING” about everything.To you the voter I ask: Does this look like she is doing the job that she was elected by YOU THE VOTERS AND TAX PAYERS of Erie County to do?

AREAS OF CONCERN 10: SEND STAFF (OR INFORM STAFF) TO CONTINUING ED WORKSHOPS TO KEEP THEM ON TOP OF OHIO REVISED CODE CHANGES

Under previous Clerks (Mary Eloise Evans and Collette Crouch) the staff in the COC office would occasionally go to workshops where they would be updated in particular laws and procedures pertaining to the COC office. The clerk would also receive information from the State of Ohio that she would pass along to her staff to keep them informed and up to date in said laws and procedures.

Under the “leadership” (cough-cough) of Barb Johnson, this has not taken place. One of Barb Johnson’s greatest gifts (besides being the “NOTHING” clerk) is being the “Non-Communicator.” Well, I guess that goes along with doing “NOTHING.” It has been “years,” as one employee told me about a year ago, since they have been to any workshop or Barb has told them of any communication she has received from the State of Ohio.

Well, when you think about it, for her first 20 years in office, she was rarely in the office, so how could she send her staff to any workshop or forward any other communication that she had received. Now that she is in the office almost daily, she still isn’t doing this. I guess old habits are just hard to break aren’t they Mrs. Johnson.

Don’t you wonder how much back in the 20th century these girls are working? Having not received any of this information from the State of Ohio for years, it makes one wonder how many things they are doing that are either: 1) not necessary, 2) not according to procedure, or 3) not lawful. It isn’t the staff’s fault; they are just going by the information they last learned or received (which was back in the days of Evans and Couch).

Well, if we, the citizens of Erie County are lucky, maybe Johnson too will see the tremendous amount of damage she has done over the past 20-plus years and retire….SOON. We can only hope and pray.

Too bad, and so sad; especially since OUR tax money is paying her to do “NOTHING” about everything.To you the voter I ask: Does this look like she is doing the job that she was elected by YOU THE VOTERS AND TAX PAYERS of Erie County to do?

A VETERAN IS RETIRING

COC Watch found out last week that veteran office worker Anita is retiring at the end of December 2009.

This comes as a stunning blow because Anita has been there for 30 plus years, working in the trenches day in and day out and knows that office inside and out. If anyone has experience in that office it is Anita and not Barb Johnson.

Anita is the supervisor in the Court Dept of the Clerk’s office, but according to a former employee, she must be in title only with absolutely no decision making power what so ever.

Apparently, Johnson has known about Anita’s pending retirement since September. Will she hire someone to take her place soon enough for Anita to train this new person, or will she wait until 6 months, a year, or longer to hire a replacement? Since it has been over 5 months since Title Office Supervisor Sandra Brown abruptly quit and Johnson has not yet replaced Sandra, we here at COC Watch are wagering that it will be AT LEAST 1 YEAR before Johnson replaces Anita.

Perhaps by then the County Commissioners will tell her that she can not hire any replacements because it took her so long to ask for the hiring, so it’s obvious that she doesn’t need that extra worker in the office. This in turn will just add MORE STRESS to the already overworked and overstressed office staff to try and pick up the pieces! ! But do you think that Johnson will get “in the trenches” and help her workers out? HELL NO! ! She is known for her creating havoc and chaos, then leaving the office for her staff to fend for themselves.

Speaking of Sandra Brown’s replacement, COC Watch has received information from an anonymous source that Barb does have resumes from people who have applied for that position. The question we have is, why would Johnson hire someone off the street who doesn’t know the job to be the supervisor of the Title Department? According to our source, there is an employee in the title office now named Peggy who knows that office and how it should be run. Why doesn’t Johnson make Peggy the new supervisor? Why hire someone off the street who doesn’t know how the Title Office works, or operates to be the supervisor?

(Sigh)….It’s just another example of Johnson’s incompetence as Erie County’s Clerk of Courts.

Well we at COC Watch wish Anita a happy retirement; Lord knows she has more than earned it working in those conditions.

Just when you think, “It can’t POSSIBLY get any worse! !” Then it does!

Too bad, and so sad; especially since OUR tax money is paying her to do “NOTHING” about everything.

To you the voter I ask: Does this look like she is doing the job that she was elected by YOU THE VOTERS AND TAX PAYERS of Erie County to do?

COC WATCH IN SANDUSKY REGISTER FORUMS

There was a blogger on the Sandusky Register Forum site that criticized this website and the Firelands 411 website. The Forum thread titled “Firelands411 and the ‘Remove Johnson’ blogs” where the creator of the thread, Oliver Hardy, states On September 27, 2009, that both this blog, and Firelands411 are “dead.” He feels that he was mistreated on the 411 blog, and upset with this blog for not providing more information on “threatening emails” by Elsabeth Baumgartner (which we had eluded to briefly in a previous comment).


His first comment was in reference to the COC article “Areas of Concern 8: Have Case Files Properly Filed Away”
Mr. Hardy’s August 19, 2009 comment was:
“Anonymous said... To ‘The Editor’
I am commenting for the first time here. I am researching the Elsebeth Baumgartner case and other cases. Please provide examples of "threatening emails" to Markus.
Oliver Hardy”



To which COC Watch replied on August 20, 2009:
THE EDITOR said...
Mr. Hardy –

I want to keep this blog on topic. Since this blog is about Barbara Johnson and not Elsebeth Baumgartner I do not want to get into a discussion about Baumgartner. I would love to discuss anything about Johnson. If you are doing research on EB, then I suggest that you google "Elsebeth Baumgartner threatening emails" and I'm sure you'll get a list of what you need there for your research.

If you have any comments and/or questions about Barbara Johnson and the Erie County Clerk of Courts Office, I would be more than happy to address those issues.”



A couple of days later (9/29/09), Mr. Hardy states on the same SR Forum thread:
“I recently checked out the "Remove Johnson" blog and saw four entries by the "Editor" of the blog with no responses from the readers. Nada, zilch, zero responses in almost a month.”



October 6, 2009, we responded to Mr. Hardy’s comments on the SR Forum:
“First, I did not create COC blog necessarily for people to have a discussion on (however if they want to and stay on topic, that is fine). I created the blog to educate the voters of Erie County on how Barb Johnson is not doing her job and needs to be voted out in the next election. It was created to be an information blog, not a discussion blog.

Secondly, the COC blog is far from being "Dead." I judge the success of the blog not by how many people comment on it, but rather how many people log on and read it. According to the "website hit tracker" that I use, July had 575 hits, August had 640 and September 595. That's an average of 602 hits per month and an average of 150 hits per week. That is all with no advertisement of any kind, just word of mouth. To me, that shows a pretty good success and that the blog is not dead, nor even dying.

I would expect (and hope) that the hits will increase overtime (as they continue to do) especially as we near the 2012 election.”




As the editor of this site, I stand by our policy that this sight is about Barb Johnson and is not meant to be a forum for Elsabeth Baumgartner or anyone else. It is about Barb Johnson, period.

I also stand by the fact that this is an “INFORMATIONAL” site, and NOT a “discussion” site. If people want to discuss Johnson and the COC, great, but that is not what is expected. INFORMATION is the purpose of this site; getting the public educated on how the current Erie County COC is being run so that Johnson does not get re-elected for a 7th term in office.

So there it is folks; the hits are high and climbing. If you want to comment, keep it on topic (Erie County COC and Barb Johnson).

Next week’s article will be about personnel changing in the office.

NEW ARTICLE NEXT WEEK

Due to circumstances beyond our control, there will be no new article this week. Please check back next week for a new article.

QUARTERLY REPORT CARD: SUMMER 2009

Here is Erie County Clerk of Courts Barbara Johnson's “Report Card” which covers July - September 2009.


QUARTER: Summer 2009
ITEM GRADE
1. Attendance = 9

2. Records on line = 0

3. SSN & financial account numbers removed from hard copy case files = 0

4. Collection on estimated $700.000 in outstanding court costs and fines = 0

5. Address office understaffing = 2

6. Microfilming closed cases = 0

7. Improve customer relation skills of the staff = 0

8. Have case files properly filed away = 0

9. Monitoring program to keep cases from being illegally removed from the office=0

10. Send staff to continuing Ed workshops to keep them on top of ORC changes = 0

11. Automated Phone System = 0

12. Over all Grade = 1


Grade scale: 12=A+; 11=A; 10=A-; 9=B+; 8=B; 7=B-; 6=C+; 5=C; 4=C-
3=D+; 2=D; 1=D-; 0=F

Well, slight improvement in some areas (attendance and addressing office understaffing), but nothing to brag about. She went from an F the previous 2 quarters to a D- this quarter; 11 months after being reelected. When it comes right down to it, "NOTHING" is still being done in that office as this (and previous) report cards show. Her attendance has improved dramatically, but is she doing with her time? Too bad, and so sad; especially since OUR tax money continues to pay her to do “NOTHING” about everything.

To you the voter I ask: Does this look like she is doing the job that she was elected by YOU THE VOTERS AND TAX PAYERS of Erie County to do?

A FORMER EMPLOYEE SPEAKS OUT: PART 2

This is a continuation of last weeks article.

"6) The office was extremely understaffed. After hearing about the people that left and/or retired recently I can’t imagine the stress those girls are under now. Anyway, several years ago (before the current budget cuts) she received the OK from the County Commissioners to hire 4 more people for her office. She never hired a single person. She would continually take people from the Title Dept (which is technically run and paid for by the State of Ohio) and put them into the Court Office.

7) In all my years in that office, I think I can count on one hand the number of times she attended the Clerk of Courts Association (CCA) meetings. She rarely attended them and when she did, she did not pass the information on to her employees. Even when she received notices from the CCA about changes in the Ohio Revised Code (ORC) or other information that her office staff needed to be made aware of, she did not pass that information on to us.

8) Along the same lines, she never sent any of her staff to continuing Ed workshops (usually put on by the CCA). As a result, we were “behind the times” when it came to Clerk of Court procedures.

9) She seemed to pride herself in being “fiscally responsible.” Every year she would turn money back into the commissioners that she never used. Yet getting her to buy us basic office supplies that we needed was worse than pulling teeth. A few examples: 1) We would continually run out of Stationary, or legal forms, because she would not re-order them (and she would never let her supervisors order them either); 2) We would get a lot of paper coming into that office, and a lot of paper for one court case. We would need a special stapler that could staple a 100 (or so) pages together for a single case. We had just one of those staplers for the entire office (and this was the entire North side of the Court House) so if we needed the stapler, we would have to run around the entire office to see who had it so we could use it. I checked into the price of those staplers, and if I recall correctly, they were around $60.00 a piece. She refused to order another 1 or 2 of those for the office. Likewise, the scanner for the computer (one for the entire office) was antiquated and she would not order a new one or one for the 3 sections of the office. Knowing how Barb operates, I doubt they have a new scanner or 2 or 3 to date.

10) She would never, ever show appreciation for her employees or back them up. If someone came into the office to complain about how something was done, instead of explaining why it was done that way (according to the ORC or local rules) she would try to appease the person by doing it the way the person wanted. Most of the time, she did this because she herself did not know the ORC or the local rules well enough, and she certainly would never ask her staff because that would have made her look stupid. So she would make things up as she went along. She would rarely take any advice from any of her staff who were the ones there everyday and knew their jobs and what they were doing; at least as far as we knew with the very limited information she would give us.

11) Her supervisors are supervisors in name only. She never gave them any responsibility or authority to do anything. Her supervisors hold no more authority than any other girl in that office. She was the only person allowed to make any decisions in the office. The only problem was, she had an extremely difficult time making any kind of decision about anything and she was never in the office to know what was going on or what to decisions needed to be made. And the few times that her supervisor made a decision, she would over rule it and do the complete opposite and sometimes even reprimand the supervisor for doing what they did. I felt sorry for the supervisors because it was a lose-lose situation for the them. I was so glad that I was not in their shoes!

Anyway, like I said before, there is life after the COC office, and I hope that those girls either retire, or find another job because the job in that office is really “hell on earth” which is too bad because it doesn’t need to be that way. As I said before, there is life after the Clerk of Courts office.

These are just a few of my thoughts. I will email you any other memories or thoughts that come to mind.”

(signed)

A former Erie County Clerk of Court Employee

(and glad to be former)”

To reiterate what I wrote previously, this really backs up much of what we have said in the past…and much more!

Too bad, and so sad; especially since OUR tax money is paying her to do “NOTHING” about everything.

To you the voter I ask: Does this look like she is doing the job that she was elected by YOU THE VOTERS AND TAX PAYERS of Erie County to do?

A FORMER EMPLOYEE SPEAKS OUT: PART 1

We at Clerk of Court Watch, received the following email from a former employee of that office. This really backs up much of what we have said in the past…and much more! This article stems from a comment left by this former employee in this article, and the request I made to this person here. This email really speaks for itself:

“I worked in the Erie County Clerk of Courts office for many years. I left the office before the 2008 election. During that time, I continually witnessed the office spiral out of control due to Barb Johnson’s lack of caring, lack of motivation, and lack of experience. I would like to make the following points about the COC office and how it is run under Barb Johnson:

1) According to State Law, a public official only needs to be in their office 1 day out of 90. Barb Johnson is paid $55,000 a year, and she was hardly ever in her office. There were many, many times where she would call the office shortly after we opened for the day and say that she would be in around 10:00, or 11:00 and wouldn’t come in until 3:30 or even 3:50 just so she could say she was in that day (Editors Note: the office closes at 4:00). She was hardly ever in the office. I realize that during a portion of that time that she was the sole care-giver of her ailing dad, and husband. I heard her say numerous times something to the effect, “I’m so glad I have this job that allows me to stay at home and care for him,” which I wanted to respond, “Yeah, would you allow any of us girls to do the same? I don’t think so!” As you have mentioned on your web site in the past, she has robbed the tax payers, because who among us could work so little and still get paid their full salary? Why is it OK for her to do that and still receive a full salary, but not OK for any of the other office workers? My feeling was, if she needed to stay at home and take care of her ailing father and husband, she should have retired to do so – she definitely had the years in to retire. According to your website, she is in almost everyday, but not getting any work done (why doesn’t that surprise me).

2) It also seems from your web site that her attendance record is much improved, yet she still is not doing anything to “manage or lead” (as you have stated in the past) the office. This sounds like Johnson, because she was out of the office so much, when she was there, she had no idea what to do about anything. Due to her poor attendance record, she did not run the office very effectively and with virtually no supervision, leaving her staff to fend on their own. She did not even have a Chief Deputy Clerk position authorized in her staffing to manage and supervise her office. She did have a supervisor and an assistant supervisor in the office, but they were there in name only because they had absolutely no power to do anything. There were a few times where I saw that she had reprimanded a supervisor over something that the supervisor had handled correctly, but it seems that Barb wanted to exert her “power” and belittle the supervisor. As a result, the supervisor eventually stopped supervising because she never knew when she would be reprimanded for doing something correctly.

3) Because of her poor attendance record, she never got things done, nor did she follow through with things that were strongly encouraged by commissioners or her staff such as: 1) automated phone system; 2) employees sick and vacation time; 3) hiring more help or replacing help that has left; 4) reconciling the checking account with outstanding cases; 5) collect court costs that are owed (estimated to be at $750,000 or more); 6) ordering basic supplies for the office; 7) getting the dockets on-line (she’s been talking about doing this since 2000); 8) getting old records/cases either scanned into the office computers, or microfilmed). 9) Better security measures for the office. I believe that some of these have already been covered on your website.

4) She had a problem keeping accurate records of her employees sick and vacation time. When I left the office a couple of years ago, none of her employees knew how much sick and vacation time they had. As a result, some of her employees had taken more sick and vacation time than they were allowed possibly costing the tax payers thousands of dollars.

5) She usually showed up to county meetings late (if at all), and when she did show up, she sat in the back of the room and usually did not participate in the meetings.”


This article will be continued next week.

AREAS OF CONCERN 9: MONITORING PROGRAM TO KEEP CASES FROM BEING ILLEGALLY REMOVED FROM THE OFFICE

One of the 11 Areas of Concern that were brought up in the Fall 2008 campaign for the Erie County Clerk of Courts was the fact that there is no monitoring system in place to keep cases from being illegally removed from the office. This simply is a case of putting in place a system similar to what public libraries, stores, or movie rental places have in place to keep books, movies, or unpaid store merchandise from leaving the premises without first proper checking out and / or paying for said goods.

There have been numerous times over the years where there have been files that have come up missing. Most of the time (but not all of the time) the files have been found either in the Judge’s office, or Mrs. Johnson’s home (Tsk, Tsk, Barbara, you know those files are suppose to stay in the Court House). I have heard over the years that there were a few files that (last I heard) were never found. Right now, it is very easy to walk into that office, find the file that one wants, slip it into their brief case and walk out with no one having any knowledge to what just happened. Not only is it bad policy to let files out of that office, it is against the law; with the exception of Judges who are allowed to have them in their office.

If a monitoring system was put in place, this would never be a problem again; even the Judges offices would have to “sign out” files. But then why would you expect our “NOTHING” clerk to do anything about this problem? After all, over the past 20 years, she has done “NOTHING” about everything.

She either has no clue as to what to do, or where to begin, or she is just completely overwhelmed by how bad that office has gotten over the past 20 years that she has been in charge, and she really doesn’t know where to start or how to begin cleaning up her own mess.

Too bad, and so sad; especially since OUR tax money is paying her to do “NOTHING” about everything.

To you the voter I ask: Does this look like she is doing the job that she was elected by YOU THE VOTERS AND TAX PAYERS of Erie County to do?



Next week’s article will be about another possible devastating blow to that office. Stay tuned folks; it just keeps getting worse and worse.

NEW ARTICLE NEXT WEEK

Due to circumstances beyond our control, the next article for this site will appear next Saturday, September 19.

Feel free to comment on any of the MANY already existing articles. After all, over the past 7 months, we have done more work on this web site, than our "NOTHING" clerk has done over the past 20 years in office.

DOWN THREE PERSONNEL AND COUNTING

There have been numerous times over the past several months of this blog site’s existence that we have mentioned how over – worked and understaffed the COC office has been over the past several years. Let’s fast forward to 2008.

In the first half of 2008 there were 3 employees in the Clerk of Courts office who retired. Now when one retires, a good leader would hire someone 2-3 weeks BEFORE the person retires so that the retiree can train the rookie.

Not in the COC office.

Three employees retired in the first half of 2008, and Johnson hired 2 people to replace the retirees a few months AFTER the retirees retired. The third employee to have retired has never been replaced.

So that puts the office staff down by one.

Then, as was mentioned in this article, the supervisor of the Title Dept., Sandra Brown, abruptly quits sometime in May 2009. As of the end of August 2009, there has been no replacement for Mrs. Brown.

That puts the office staff down by two.

The past several weeks I have noticed that another employee has not been in the office. I was told that she too has resigned from her position with no one hired to replace her.

That puts the office staff down by three.

So here we are down three with no replacements. They are dropping like flies in that office! ! ! Now the question is whether she has not replaced these employees because the commissioners won’t allow her to do so due to budget cuts, or she has not replaced these employees because she has never gotten “around to it” or (as the age old joke states) “a round Tuit.” Knowing her “NOTHING” attitude, I’m willing to bet that it’s the latter.

IF Barb Johnson had been a good manager/leader and in the office everyday for the past 20 years and learned the ins-and-outs of the office, she would have known how to handle situations like this. This is just proof how she has absolutely NO EXPERIENCE what-so-ever in managing that office even though she has been placed in charge of that office by the voters for the past 20 years! !

Well, now the overworked and stressed office is already down by three with no relief in sight. There are 2-3 girls in that office that are surely eligible for retirement (one in particular who has been there for over 30 years). The question is: will Johnson hire some new faces or wait until well after these 2 or 3 girls retire to let the office staff drop to 5-6 before she begins to even think about what is best for the office. With Johnson seemingly being disinterested in hiring replacements, that sends a message to the County Commissioners that she really doesn’t need the help, so why should they give her the green light to hire replacements? After all, there is a budget to cut and she brings the “perception” that she can do with less help.

This drop in office staff personnel, along with records not being on line, is a cause for great concern for Erie County tax payers who pay her salary. She is NOT doing her job, and yet she still gets paid……for doing “NOTHING.” How many of us can do that at our jobs?

Too bad, and so sad; especially since OUR tax money is paying her to do “NOTHING” about everything.

To you the voter I ask: Does this look like she is doing the job that she was elected by YOU THE VOTERS AND TAX PAYERS of Erie County to do?

LEADERSHIP: DOES JOHNSON HAVE WHAT IT TAKES?

Anyone in an elected position is suppose to be a leader. From the President of the United States all the way down to a city council member or a city commission member. This is also true of our county elected officials. So that puts Barbara Johnson in this category since she is an elected official. Barbara Johnson – leader. She leads the Clerk of Courts office.

What is a definition of a leader? According to Mr. Webster, a leader is “a guide, a commander. Someone who shows the way; to direct; to persuade; to tend to….”

The February 2009 Reader’s Digest (pg. 180) has some excellent quotes on LEADERSHIP. Some of them are:



Doris Kearns Goodwim: “Good leadership requires you to surround yourself with people of diverse perspectives who can disagree with you without fear of retaliation.”

Well, Barbara Johnson is surrounded by people with diverse perspectives. Can they disagree with her without fear of retaliation? Or does she just not listen to them?




Rev. Theodore Hesburgh: “You have to have a vision. It’s got to be a vision you articulate clearly and forcefully. You can’t blow an uncertain trumpet.”

From what I’ve seen, Johnson has no vision. If she does, she obviously does not articulate it clearly and forcefully. She is blowing an uncertain trumpet.



Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm (Michigan): “Sometimes leadership is planting trees under whose shade you’ll never sit.”

Forget about Barb planting trees….or planting ANYTHING for that matter. Remember, she is our “NOTHING” clerk because in the past 20 years, she has (and continues to do) “NOTHING!”



Gen. Bruce Clarke: “When things go wrong in your command, start searching for the reason in increasingly large circles around your own two feet.”

Well, Johnson doesn’t have to look at increasingly large circles around her own two feet; she just needs to look at her own two feet! !



H. Ross Perot: “Inventories can be managed, but people must be led.”

It is obvious that Johnson has no idea how to lead. That office is like a ship without a captain / an army without a general: there is absolutely NO leadership in that office whatsoever. One would think that one of the supervisors would at least step up to the plate and lead, but that has not happened. Why? It must be for one of two reasons: either they are not able (which I find hard to believe) or they are not allowed (which I would suspect to be the case).

If she were a true leader, she would have put one of her seasoned veteran employee into a position to “Manage the office,” so that she could actually then have the time to “Lead” the office. But anyone who is in that office on a regular basis will see that is not the case. She has proven over the past 20-plus years that she doesn’t lead, and she has no idea how to lead. After all, why would the “NOTHING” clerk want to do anything about anything, especially leading a county office that she was elected to be in charge of.

Too bad, and so sad; especially since OUR tax money is paying her to do “NOTHING” about everything.

To you the voter I ask: Does this look like she is doing the job that she was elected by YOU THE VOTERS AND TAX PAYERS of Erie County to do?

STOP THE TRAIN ! ! WE NEED TO CHAT ! !

To the person who left the comment below from last week’s article:




“As a former employee in the COC office, I can say that the information on this website is not only accurate, but it is just the tip of the iceberg. I will write more at a later date because I don't have the time right now. All I can say is that life is much better since I left that place. There is life outside of the COC office! I urge the girls in there to either retire or find another job because when you do, your life will be so much better and stress free! !

Former COC employee”




Please email me at votejohnson.out12@yahoo.com because we need to chat! !

OPEN THREAD

I thought it would be good to have an open thread where you can comment on anything pertaining to this web site, or Barbara Johnson and her work as Erie County Clerk of Courts. After just under 7 months time, there has been A TON of information posted on this site (and more to come!). I think that after 7 months time, I have done more work on this site than Johnson has done in her 20+ years as Clerk! I will respond to comments within a week or so.

So, what do you think? Do you agree with the information on this site? Do you disagree with it? Why do you agree or disagree? Do you think Johnson is doing a great job, a good job, an ok job, bad job, or not doing her job at all, and why. Especially for you Johnson supporters, let's hear from you. Here's another chance for you to take the floor. I know there are other "Watchdogs" out there as well (people who know Johnson and do not like how the office has fallen apart over the past 20 years). This is your time to talk about your experiences with that office.

So let's hear it. Your thoughts please………………………………….

AREAS OF CONCERN 8: HAVE CASE FILES PROPERLY FILED AWAY

I hate to sound like a broken record, however, it looks like our “Nothing” Clerk, Barbara Johnson continues to do “Nothing” about everything including having case files properly filed away. Our “Nothing” Clerk, Barbara Johnson, has done “Nothing” about this because “Everything” is the same.

How’s this for starters. If you are going to the COC office to look up a particular case, there are three different locations in which to do your “hunt.”

First, start in the main COC office. If it’s a more “current” case, you can check where the files are kept in the office. If you have no luck there, check the many, many boxes filled with case files sitting all over the office. If THAT doesn’t work, then ask one of her staff; perhaps one of them have it on their desks. You can also have one of her already overworked staff call around to the judges offices to see if any of them have it. Though this was very common when former Judge Anne Maschari was in office (she had case files in her chambers dating back to 1979), this is not so common any more.

Still no luck?

Well, never fear, because if it is an older case, the case file you are looking for could be over in the Hedges Building on Columbus Ave., across the street from the library. Just ask one of the already over worked staff to take you across the street to help you search for it. Hey, maybe you’ll be lucky and the weather will be nice for your little jaunt to the Hedges Building. If not….Oh well…..It sucks to be you I guess.

Now if you’re looking for a REALLY, REALLY old case (for historical research), just ask one of the already over worked staff to take you up to the 3rd floor of the Court House to the offices of Judge Tone (which was the former COC office).

Speaking of former and current COC office, why would Barbara Johnson (our COC who is soooo qualified to have this job) sign off (basically saying it’s OK) to move her office from the 3rd floor (where they were bursting - at - the – seams for space) to a SMALLER office space on the 1st floor without having a sensible plan for ALL the case files? If she had any experience, listened to others, or even asked other COC in other counties, she could push for a “Records Retention Center.” But no, it’s just easier to have the citizens (which she prides herself on her “customer relations”) go chasing around on a wild treasure hunt.

WAIT! ! THAT’S IT! ! While searching for a particular case file, if you think of the entire experience as a “Treasure Hunt,” then this could actually be a really fun experience! And just think how good you would actually feel about yourself once you found your “treasure! !” See it could be a “feel – good – about – yourself” exercise. And these days, everyone needs to have those!

Seriously, she has had about 4 years since the move from the 3rd floor to the 1st floor and since the Nov. 2008 election (where she was called out on this) to correct this problem. Unfortunately, our “NOTHING” clerk has failed at doing her job yet again.

Too bad, and so sad; especially since OUR tax money is paying her to do “NOTHING” about everything.

To you the voter I ask: Does this look like she is doing the job that she was elected by YOU THE VOTERS AND TAX PAYERS of Erie County to do?

COMMENTS ON COMMENTS: 5

Before we get to a comment that someone left, I would like to point out that after a week, not one Johnson supporter left a comment after last week's article. Why? Could it be that they could not find any facts or evidence to back up what they say? Or, could it be that they have come to their senses and realize how bad the COC office is and that it is all Johnson's fault?.....................NAW, I think it's the former. At any rate, it's interesting that not one supporter commented (not even Johnson herself disguised as a supporter).

Now, onto this very interesting comment that an anonymous poster left in last weeks article:

August 1, 2009, 11:48 PM:
"I found this site while trying to find a link to online records for the Erie County Clerk of Court. There are no online records for the Erie County Clerk of Court's office!! WOW! Even in Stark County, where the unemployment rate is 12.1% and we're losing large businesses left and right, we STILL found the money to put our records online and our Clerk of Court Nancy Reinbold does a fantastic job in keeping with the duties of her office. Wouldn't it be fantastic if some Clerks of Court from other counties were required to form a peer review board in order to evaluate their counterparts in other counties? I think that is an idea worth pursuing. Good luck with this! Something in Erie County is certainly fishy with regards to this office."

The first line that jumped out at me was: "Even in Stark County, where the unemployment rate is 12.1% and we're losing large businesses left and right, we STILL found the money to put our records online and our Clerk of Court Nancy Reinbold does a fantastic job in keeping with the duties of her office." Yes, Erie County's unemployment is right up there as well. The BIG difference is that Stark County clerk Nancy Reinbold does the job that she was elected to do, and she no doubt knows how to manage and lead her office. She does what ever it takes to acquire the funds needed to get the records on line.

Whereas Johnson does not have a clue how to manage or run her office. She has proved that time and time again over the past 20-plus years. If she did know what she was doing, that office would not be in the chaotic mess that it is in today. Johnson would have investigated in how to acquire the funding needed to put records on line by talking to other COC in the state; but no. Perhaps she thinks that if she did that, she would appear to her piers as being weak and not knowing her job which would not be the case at all; it would simply prove that she is investigating her options. It would also show that she is truly working towards the goal of getting records on line. She would be actually doing some "INVESTIGATIVE WORK" to obtain much needed information.

That information certainly won't come to her in the middle of the night in a dream.............well, OK, MAYBE it will, but I seriously doubt it. But then....she and her other supporters claim that she is a "Good Christian Woman," so who knows, perhaps God will speak to her in a dream and give her all the information she needs to get the job done. I mean, maybe, just maybe she's been waiting for an answer from God for the past 20-plus years! ! ! Maybe we just need a little more time! ? ! ?

Then the commenter goes on to say, "Wouldn't it be fantastic if some Clerks of Court from other counties were required to form a peer review board in order to evaluate their counterparts in other counties? I think that is an idea worth pursuing." Now that is one of the best ideas I've heard in a LLLLOOOONNNNGGGG time! ! ! Can you imagine the pressure Johnson would come under if she was reviewed by her own peers? And then that information can be made public at election time! ! ! GAWD, I LOVE THIS IDEA! ! ! !

Now Johnson supporters, it's not too late to leave your comments. Actually, you can leave your comments anytime. I really look forward to reading them.

CALLING ALL JOHNSON SUPPORTERS

Over the course of this website (the past 6 months) we have had a few Johnson supporters leave comments. Some of the articles which they have left comments are: "Web Traffic Increase," "Open Thread," and "Quarterly Report Card: Winter 2009" just to name a few.

I am opening this up to any and all Johnson supporters. This is YOUR chance to voice your opinion. Leave a comment as to what we have put up on this site that is wrong...but be prepared to back your statements up with facts!

Some Johnson supporters in the past have said that everything on this site is a lie. Well, explain why (supported of course by evidence to the contrary). There are 48 articles so far on this site. Let's here from you, Johnson supporters. Show your true support for Barbara Johnson and state your case in the comment section at the end of this article. WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! !

I know you are out there and log on this site; now speak up and be heard! !

ANOTHER GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL WHO DOESN'T LIKE TO WORK ! !

A reader sent this article to me several weeks ago about Cleveland Municipal Clerk of Court Earle Turner. It looks as though Barbara Johnson and Earl Turner have something in common: neither likes to work!

Actually if one does a search on the Cleveland Plain Dealer web site, it looks as if Turner is just as bad as Barb Johnson, if not (maybe?) worse. There are a whole slue of articles on his mismanagement of that office.

It’s really too bad that the Sandusky Register and the Morning Journal don’t follow Johnson more closely like the Plain Dealer follows Turner. It's not that tough to do. If I can do it, so can they!

Where as Johnson is voted into office, Turner is appointed to office. I would say too bad, but then look at how the “blind” voting for Johnson has been here in Erie County for the past 20 years!

The good news is that I can say that Johnson’s attendance has improved since the election. The bad news is that “NOTHING” continues to get done in that office and that is why she is and remains today as our “NOTHING” Clerk! Take a look at her quarterly report cards so far for Winter 2009 and Spring 2009 and the only thing that has improved since the 2008 election is her attendance; although, the past few weeks have been slipping. Will she go back to her old ways and be like her “colleague” Earl Turner with her attendance? Only time will tell. But knowing that she is being watched and being held accountable for her “NOTHINGNESS,” you would think that she would straighten up and start to get things done. But, unfortunately, its the same crap just a different day.

What would happen to you or I if we performed the duties of our jobs in this same way?

Too bad, and so sad; especially since OUR tax money is paying her to do “NOTHING.”

To you the voter I ask: Does this look like she is doing the job that she was elected by YOU THE VOTERS AND TAX PAYERS of Erie County to do?

COMMENTS ON COMMENTS: 4

I was going to respond to Julie R in the comment section, but again it was too long. Also, this way I can leave web page links.

Julie R left a comment at the end of last week’s article claiming that recently during her probate issue she contacted Jo Dee Fantozz (county treasurer), Tom Paul (county auditor), Sheriff Terry Lyons, another official at the Sheriff’s Dept., and Barb Johnson. Some of these individuals either blew her off by refusing to speak to her, were out of the office and never returned phone calls, or were very unhelpful and “belligerent.” She claims that Barb Johnson is the only person that took the time to help her and get back to her.

First off, I would like to point out that it’s about time Barb did SOMETHING in that office. I have seen a “few times” over the “years” where she will bend over backwards for people that come into the office with a problem or complaint. But that’s all she ever seems to do because she definitely doesn’t seem to get anything else done, not does she seem to help other county officials or even her own staff.

Then, Julie R goes on to say, “The point I am trying to across here is----BARB JOHNSON IS THE ONLY ONE THAT MADE ANY ATTEMPT TO HELP AND TO GET TO THE BOTTOM OF WHAT WHEN ON HERE BETWEEN THE COMMON PLEAS COURT, (BINETTE) SHERIFF LYONS AND A DIRTY ATTORNEY FROM CLEVELAND TO COVER UP FLAT-OUT FRAUD ON PROPERTY. And you think Barb Johnson is the PROBLEM in this County? I don't. But I sure can tell you the names of the people that ARE! And the Erie County Probate Court is included.”

As I have mentioned before on this site, (also in response to one of Julie R’s comments) about holding other elected officials accountable, “I couldn’t agree more! I too think that web sites should be done to ALL elected officials to hold them accountable.”

As I have also mentioned before, I have chosen to “watch” the Clerk of Courts office because this office has a particular effect on my life / business. Is she the only lousy elected official? HELL NO! But, as I said, she has a direct effect on my business, so that’s why I chose her. Perhaps after she looses the 2012 election, I’ll choose another government official to watch and start a blog about that office.

Julie R, I can see where you may be having a problem with some of these elected officials. I have strongly encouraged and suggested numerous times to start a blog about it. If your story is as accurate as you claim, then the citizens need to know ALL the details from beginning to present. This would be helpful to the “intelligent” voter (the ones who actually do their homework before elections and vote with their brains instead of party line) come election time. In the comment section on this article , you wrote, “This is why I have decided to take your advice and start a blog about the unfair legal abuse that is going on this county.”

Have you done so yet? If so, email me the link so that I can take a look at it.

In closing, I just want to reiterate that I think ALL elected officials need to be watched and their job performance should be continually monitored and reported to the citizens/tax payers WHO ARE THEIR EMPLOYERS. I have chosen Johnson to monitor, I would hope others will choose other elected officials to monitor as well. We need to take back OUR government one elected official at a time, not all at once. Someone else tried to take on everyone at once and they crashed and burned. As another blogger said, “we need to fight this war, one battle at a time,” and Johnson is the one “battle” I have chosen. I hope other “employers” will choose others to “battle.”

AREAS OF CONCERN 7: IMPROVE CUSTOMER RELATIONS SKILLS OF THE STAFF

Well, it looks like our “Nothing” Clerk, Barbara Johnson continues to do “Nothing” about everything including improving customer relation skills of her staff. Our “Nothing” Clerk, Barbara Johnson, has done “Nothing” about this because “Everything” is the same.

This is confusing (besides all of the “Nothing” about “Everything” bit) but if I recall correctly, didn’t she say during the 2008 campaign that “Customer Service” was “the most important challenge of the Clerks Office”? More on this in a minute. Let’s take a look at another one of her quotes.

In the SR article “Q & A Live: Clerk of Courts candidates answer your questions” on October 29, 2008, she said, “I am quite concerned that the attitude of my staff has been questioned!” If she was so concerned, why didn’t she do something about it? Because she is the “NOTHING” clerk!

Then in this SR article on October 14, 2008 she states, “The most important challenge the clerk's office faces is GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE. Good customer service includes knowing the job and doing it right.” It's quite obvious that she never has been, and never will be up to the challenge of providing good customer service to the citizens of Erie County; not only is the customer service not good and done wrong, if she did know the job, she would be doing it right.

Well, in this area of concern, as in all the previous ones we have written about, she again has fell far, far short of this goal.

I rarely deal with the Title Dept. but I think the attitude of that place is much worse than the Court Dept. Can you say S L O W ! ! My God, I’d love to light a match under some of their butts to get them going. My dead father can move faster than those people! ! ! And their attitudes are piss-poor at best and this was before as well as during Sandra Browns reign as Supervisor over there. I know a few people in the car business who deal with that office on a regular basis and it has been like that for years. A couple of car dealers take their title work to other counties because they don't want to deal with Erie County's Title Dept.

It’s interesting to notice that when I walk into the COC office (the Court Dept) while they put up a good attempt to act like everything is “Hunky-Dorey,” it’s obvious that it isn’t and some of them can be a bit short with the customers.

So I asked myself, “Self, what would I do to improve customer relation skills in the court house and why is there such a range of emotions within her staff?”

Well, let’s take a look at the attitudes of her staff. I noticed that there are those who are way over worked and over extended while others are sitting around chatting with each other or even on the phone chatting with (what appears to be) friends (personal phone calls). To make matters worse, it usually seems to be the same individuals doing the chatting and the same ones doing the work. Another cause of bad attitudes is the deplorable working conditions that they have to deal with. From what I have observed, the working conditions in that office make the working conditions in Sinclair’s novel “The Jungle” look like Utopia. Perhaps I might hang a sign over the COC office door that reads “The Jungle”….and I’m willing to bet our “Nothing” Clerk, Johnson will do “Nothing” about it. So, improve the working conditions and you have better customer relations within your staff.

Another way to do this is to send them to workshops about customer relations. But then again, “nothing” will happen here either.

A couple of no-brainers, but unfortunately, Barb doesn’t have the knowledge, ability, or care (and it is obvious that she does not care in the least for her staff, otherwise she would not have let things get this bad – with the burden falling directly on her staff) to do, so she does “Nothing” and knowing how Barbara the “Nothing” Clerk is, “Nothing” will ever be done about this either.

Too bad, and so sad; especially since OUR tax money is paying her to do “NOTHING” about everything.

To you the voter I ask: Does this look like she is doing the job that she was elected by YOU THE VOTERS AND TAX PAYERS of Erie County to do?

QUARTERLY REPORT CARD: SPRING 2009

Here it is as promised, Erie County Clerk of Courts Barbara Johnson's “Report Card” which covers April – June 2009.

ITEM GRADE
1. Attendance = 8

2. Records on line = 0

3. SSN & financial account numbers removed from hard copy case files = 0

4. Collection on estimated $700.000 in outstanding court costs and fines = 0

5. Address office understaffing = 0

6. Microfilming closed cases = 0

7. Improve customer relation skills of the staff = 0

8. Have case files properly filed away = 0

9. Monitoring program to keep cases from being illegally removed from the office = 0

10. Send staff to continuing Ed workshops to keep them on top of ORC changes = 0

11. Automated Phone System = 0

12. Over all Grade 0.6


Grade scale: 12=A+; 11=A; 10=A-; 9=B+; 8=B; 7=B-; 6=C+; 5=C; 4=C-
3=D+; 2=D; 1=D-; 0=F


Johnson is the "Nothing" clerk because "NOTHING" has changed. Well, what else is left for me to say? How about some thoughts from you, the readers?

OPEN THREAD

I thought it would be good to have an open thread where you can comment on anything pertaining to this web site, or Barbara Johnson and her work as Erie County Clerk of Courts. After just under 5 months time, there has been A TON of information posted on this site (and more to come!). I think that after 5 months time, I have done more work on this site than Johnson has done in her 20+ years as Clerk! I will respond to comments in 2 weeks...or maybe sooner.

So, what do you think? Do you agree with the information on this site? Do you disagree with it? Why do you agree or disagree? Do you think Johnson is doing a great job, a good job, an ok job, bad job, or not doing her job at all, and why.

Your thoughts please………………………………….



Coming article in next week: “JOHNSON’S QUARTERLY REPORT CARD FOR SPRING 2009,” and it ain’t lookin good for Barbara folks! !

COMMENTS ON COMMENTS: 3

I wanted to address this earlier in the week in the comment section, but the comment section would not accept my comments because it was too long. Go figure.

This is response to two anonymous posters in the article “Web Traffic Increase.”

To Anonymous poster on June 13 @ 11:59

You make many assumptions that are incorrect that I would like to clear up.

You said: “I stumbled upon this site while looking for something else. I find it very sad that you have put so much energy into victimizing this woman.”

I say: First of all welcome and I hope you return often. I don’t put all that much time or energy into this site. I write an article once a week (which takes me less than a half hour to do) based on my experience with the COC office. I usually log on the site 3-4 times a week to check any comments that have been left by readers.….hardly much energy or obsession there. I spend more time volunteering for my church than I do with Barb Johnson. Does that make me obsessed with my religion? Barb Johnson is hardly the victim here. The voters and citizens of Erie County are the victims because of all the “MILLIONS” of dollars that she has literally thrown out the window and not doing her job over the past 20 years. If you would read the articles in the side bar, you would see for yourself because I have all the information there. Articles that are probably MOST important are: “Attendance,” “Records on Line: Parts 1-4,” “Records on line: Ohio’s 88 Counties – Parts 1-5” and “Is Johnson Robbing the Tax Payers.” All of those links can be found in the side bar.

You said, “What about YOUR job?! How can you accomplish anything else while being obviously obsessed with Barb Johnson?”

I say: I do my job very well. I do not receive complaints from people about me not doing my job. I continually receive compliments and praises from people for my job performance; but then (unlike Johnson) I’m at my job all day, everyday, doing my job. When was the last time an attorney, title company, elected official or a records research company told Barb what a good job she was doing and how well organized her office is? There are MANY attorneys, title companies, other elected officials, and records researchers who feel the same as I do about the COC office. As far as being “Obsessed with Barb Johnson,” I addressed that above.

You said: “Surely there are other elected officials in your county, why single out this woman? Are all the other officials doing their jobs. If your main concern is making sure the tax payers are being served, why not blog on all the officials?”

I Say: I’m sure that there are other elected officials that are incompetent and / or corrupt. The reason I chose Barb is because I know that office well enough to do this. If I were to have a web site on, say the commissioners, I would have to be “obsessed” (because according to your definition of that word) I would have to spend a lot of time in order to investigate and “dig” out all the information that would be needed. I don’t have to do that with the COC office since I am in there several times a week. It is my hope that others will take up their civic duty to “watch” other government offices (both city and county). Huron2009 and Firelands 411 (both links in the side bar) seem to be doing that with the city right now and I don’t think those individuals are “obsessed” with Huron or Sandusky government officials. Huron2009 and Firelands411, like I, are just getting information out to the public.


You said: “The only things I can think of are:

1. You're still sore that your candidate didn't win 2. You want to run for the office in 2012 and feel the only way to win is to smear Barb for the next 4 years instead of winning on your own merit or 3. Perhaps you're a past/current employee of the COC office or an employee from another county office with an axe to grind or 4. You really just don't have anything better to do with your time/life, which is truly sad.”

I Say: 1) Nah, I’m not sore that Schaefer didn’t win, just disappointed because he had a very well laid out plan to clean up that office that Johnson has turned into a chaotic mess over the past 20 years. Click on this article “How Did Johnson Win?”
2) I have no intention what so ever to run for that office in 2012; that office is too far gone for me to want to go in and try to clean it up. 3) I am not a past or current employee of that office. Nor am I employed by the county in any way, shape, or form. I just use that office several times a week and for that reason it does effect my business (as well as the businesses of attorneys, title companies, other elected officials, and records researchers. 4) I do have a life and have much better things to do. That is why I am not obsessed with nor putting much energy into this site. However, to show how little Johnson has actually done in 20 years, I have put more time, energy, and creativeness into this site in the past 5 months than she has in 20 years into the COC office. It’s obvious the she just doesn’t have the knowledge, or skill to do what she was elected to do.

You said: “It's easy to sling dirt under the cloak of being anonymous. God bless you.”

I say: It shouldn’t make any difference who I am as long as I am putting out nothing but true facts and not slinging dirt. Why did you remain anonymous when you posted? Slinging dirt would be if I had written something that is not true. What have I written that is not true?

God bless you too, and have a great day.




Anonymous on June 14, 4:39

You Said: “I'm afraid I have to agree with some of the points made in the above comment. Why just Barb Johnson? Are the other elected officials doing their jobs?”

I Say: (Julie R?), I addressed that above with my reply to the previous anonymous poster.

You Said: “I also believe that even if Johnson is not re-elected next time around it isn't going to change one dam* thing in Erie County because Barb Johnson is NOT the PROBLEM and never was.”

I Say: If Johnson is not reelected in 2012, it won’t change all of Erie County as you imply; just the Clerk of Courts Office. Barb IS the problem in that office, and we need to start somewhere. Why not start “at the bottom” and work up? After Johnson gets voted out in 2012, wouldn't it be fun to watch other elected officials start to squirm because it could happen to them as well? I agree 100% with you that there are many other problems in Erie County as well. However, each elected official is responsible for their “office” and Johnson’s is a chaotic mess. If you think there are problems in other offices, then start a blog to lay out all the information as I have here; don't leave it up to just a few citizens. EVERYONE needs to get involved! ! Get the voters educated as I am doing here. Perhaps, when Barb gets voted out in 2012, I’ll start a blog on another government elected official. It’s the only way I know of to educate the people so they don’t vote “blindly” in the elections.


Remember citizens of Erie County, we are here to “hold our elected official (Barbara Johnson) accountable for doing NOTHING for the past 20 plus years.” As a result of her “Nothingness,” she has wasted “MILLIONS” of our tax dollars. We, the citizens and tax payers of Erie County are the victims here, NOT Barb Johnson!

Coming article in 2 weeks: “JOHNSON’S QUARTERLY REPORT CARD FOR SPRING 2009,” and it ain’t lookin good for Barbara folks! !

TITLE OFFICE SUPERVISOR ABRUPTLY QUITS

Unfortunately, this article has more questions than answers.

This is rather old news since it happened about 3-4 weeks ago. A friend of mine that works in the car business was having some title work done in the Title Office. They had noticed that the Clerk of Courts Title supervisor, Sandra Brown, had not been in the office for sometime and asked the person waiting on them if Sandra was on vacation. The COC employee told them that no, Sandra had all of a sudden one day up and quit with no explanation.

WOW! Now I could be completely wrong (but I doubt it) but to quit suddenly with no explanation points to real frustration over something. What put Ms. Brown over the edge? Was it a customer? Health reasons? Family reasons? A fellow co-worker? The County Administration? Or Barb Johnson? Could she no longer take Johnson's lack of leadership and managing skills that she just had had enough? What was the reason that made Sandra Brown quit so suddenly?

We need some help on this one from you the citizens of Erie County! Does anyone out there have any further information on this? If so, please post it in the comment section at the end of this article. Your help to clear this up for me and the citizens / tax payers of Erie County would be greatly appreciated.

IS BARB JOHNSON ROBBING THE TAX PAYERS?

Is Barb Johnson robbing the tax payers?

In this article we showed you how Barb Johnson has not done a damn thing while she has been in office for the past 20 years. That’s NOTHING, NADA, ZILCH! ! And to top it off, she herself could not even name 3 accomplishments that she has done in those 20 years in office!

Now if that’s not bad enough, take a look at how much money Erie County has paid Johnson over the past 20 years to do NOTHING! ! Her salary is $53,214 per year. Multiply that by 20 and you get a whopping $1,064,280 that Erie County has paid her over the past 20 years for doing……NOTHING! ! ! (SIDE NOTE: It's been 7 months since the election and she still has done.....NOTHING! ! END SIDE NOTE). Now add on these next 4 years and you would add on another $212,856 to that $1,064,280 price tag (or $1,277,136). Now grant it, this figure might be a bit high because I’m pretty sure she wasn’t paid $53,214 twenty years ago, but that figure is pretty darn close.

Here’s another idea; for fun let’s add in the $700,000 in uncollected court fines and fees (personally, I have good reason to believe that amount is closer to 1.5 – 2 million...or even higher than that, but I’ll investigate that sometime in the future) and she has cost Erie County tax payers a WHOPPING $1,764,280! ! ! That’s almost TWO MILLION DOLLARS thrown out the window. If you would include her salary at the end of this present 4 year term, that would end up at $1,977,136.

Now I know some people will say that during those 20 years, Johnson first took time away from work to take care of her ailing father, then after he passed away, her ailing husband until he passed away. Well, how many of us would have the luxury of not going to work for that long while taking care of sick relatives and still get paid? Why didn’t she just retire (or quit) so that she could take care of her sick relatives instead of collecting her weekly pay check while not doing any work for so long? After all, that’s what the rest of us would have had to do. But no, instead, we the citizens and tax payers of Erie County paid for her to take care of her sick relatives. That was awfully nice of us to do, don’t you think? DAMN, I wish I had a job like that! !

So back to my original question: Is Barb Johnson robbing the tax payers? My answer is an emphatic YES, YES, YES! ! ! And if you disagree with me, I’d love to hear from you as to why.

To you the voter I ask: Does this look like she is doing the job that she was elected by YOU THE VOTERS AND TAX PAYERS of Erie County to do?

I’m not sure what next weeks’ article will be (there is just soooo much to choose from), but I can guarantee that it will be worth the time to read.

HOW DID JOHNSON WIN?

Here at Clerk of Court Watch we have analyzed how Barbara Johnson won a 6th term after having such a dismal 20 years in office. How could this happen? She had an opponent in Steven Schaeffer who had a very well thought out and planned course of action of what he would do to fix that office (to bring it into the 21st century) if he were elected. Unfortunately, his election to that office did not happen.

Why?

Well, there are several reasons and hopefully future opponents will heed this analysis to promote their campaigns.

Johnson is a very difficult person to beat because:

1) She’s an incumbent: This is nothing new, but incumbents are VERY difficult to unseat. This seems to be true the longer they are in office (Remember former Judge Anne Maschari?). So with Johnson’s 20 plus year reign, this was a very big hurtle for any opponent to jump over.

2) She’s a woman: People tend to be more sympathetic and forgiving towards a
woman and when you have a man running against her, this becomes a reality.

3) She’s black: blacks who were previously not registered voters turned
out in droves to register and vote in the 2008 election. Why? One name: Barack
Obama. As a result, these voters (who normally would not be out voting) also voted for Johnson.

4) Johnson is a democrat and Erie County is a highly democrat county. The truly sad part of that is the fact that Erie County is so democrat, that many of them vote strictly party line; going into the voting booth and just looking for the big “D” instead of voting for the person who is the best for the job. This kind of “blind voting” hurts the citizens and the government, because these voters do not vote for the best candidate. This “blind voting” is not what our founding fathers had in mind because they thought that we would vote with our brains, not our “party.”

5) Name Recognition: She does seem to have name recognition. This goes hand in hand with being an incumbent. However, before the 2008 election, if you ask the average Joe Schmoe on street to name the current Erie County COC, probably only about 1% of the population would be able to do so. If you ask anyone by the end of this year who the current COC is, even those 1% probably won’t be able to tell you. The same holds true for County Auditor, Treasurer, Recorder; they just are not high profile offices like Commissioners or the Prosecutor are. Anyone who runs against Barb will need to get their name out EARLY & OFTEN. This includes, but not limited to getting in as many parades and other public events as possible.

One more interesting thought that our friends at Firelands 411 touched on in their article on May 11, 2009 “Getting Ahead of the Campaign Curve.”

In the article, Firelands 411 makes the following excellent point, “An election turn off (for me anyway) in local elections is feeling like I don’t really know the candidates. This is ironic because you’d think that because it’s a local election we’d be more familiar because the candidate is from our area……locally if you don’t personally know the candidate, chances are you’re casting a vote because you were hooked by name recognition, campaign literature or one of their friend’s obligatory letter-to-the-editor. (Do I really care what his friend says? I don’t know him either.).”


6) Campaign stradegy: While other candidates that run against Mrs. Johnson put their campaign signs out 2 months before the election, it seems that Johnson need only put her signs out 2-3 weeks before (being the procrastinator that she is), and she still wins! To some extent, this has to do with name recognition that we mentioned above. I must say, that her procrastination did help her campaign in a HUGE way when she sent out a mailing (her campaign brochure) to every home in Erie County the Saturday before the election. This probably did a lot to keep her name fresh in the voters mind. For once, her procrastination paid off!


There are a few other points to consider as well:
1) Just because the Sandusky Register and the Morning Journal endorsed Schaeffer and wrote other articles in favor of him, this really didn’t mean anything to the voters. I don’t know if it’s because people reading these newspapers don’t value (or don’t care about) their endorsements, or that the people of Erie County don’t really read politics in the paper.

2) There was a lot of blogging going on in the comment section on the SR articles. I have a suspicion that many of those bloggers posted comments under different names numerous time making it look like it was many different individuals. However, in reality, I don’t think that many people read the comment blogs on the SR web site.

I have a few other points as well that I would be willing to share with any individual that would be running against Johnson in 2012. If interested, contact me at votejohnson.out12@yahoo.com . I don’t want to share too much information with Johnson as I am sure she or her campaigners read this blog to get as much information as possible.

This is not an insurmountable task. After all, Judge Tygh Tone defeated long term incumbent and woman, former Judge Anne Maschari. However, to do that, Tone implemented many of the tactics mentioned above and more.

Next weeks article: “Is Johnson Robbing the Tax Payers?”

WHERE HAVE THE JOHNSON SUPPORTERS GONE?

I would like the readers to know that it has been 1 week since I continued the debate with the Johnson supporter in this article where they challenged me.

To date, that person has yet to respond to what I wrote. I guess they just can’t come up with any evidence to back up what they say like I do. Actually, their silence alone speaks volumes! ! What else can I say? when I'm right, I'm right, and when the Johnson supporters are wrong, they just can’t come back with anything to the contrary.

COMMENTS ON COMMENTS: 2

Here are a few more comments on good comments that were made while I was on vacation and didn’t have the opportunity to address them at that time.

Anonymous "ERIE COUNTY PROSECUTOR SUES THE SANDUSKY REGISTER":
”She really is a lazy person.”

I have thought this out over the past week, because in last week's post I stated the same; that she was lazy and not a good manager. Now, perhaps the anonymous poster above was stating that she is a lazy person because they knows Johnson personally. But the more I think about this “laziness” issue, I don’t think that she is at all lazy.

I think she is overwhelmed by that office. I don’t think she can handle it especially after she herself let it get so out of hand over the past 20 years. She is overwhelmed and doesn’t know where to start to clean up that office. I don’t think she is lazy, however, I still think that she is a horrendous manager and has ZERO leadership skills. Otherwise, she would know how to clean up her own mess. Her opponent in the November 2008 election, Steve Schaeffer, not only had management and leadership skills (his service in the U.S. Army and his working EVERYDAY in the court house), he had a plan to clean up Johnson’s mess. So this doesn’t have anything to do with laziness, but has everything to do with zero management and leadership skills.

Anonymous on "OPEN THREAD":
”I'm a Johnson supporter I think she is doing a great job as COC. She is definitely more qualified than that Schaeffer guy was! And she had alot more experience than he did too. The voters of Erie County knew what they were doin when they re-elected Barbara. She for sure is the right person for that job hands down! Mr. Editor, I'll debate that with you (as you say), "anytime, anywhere."

One more thing, this site is crap because of all the LIES you are putting up about Barbara. Somebody needs to get a life when they get back from the ‘Carabean.’”

To this anonymous poster I want to ask: May I have some of that stuff you’re smoking to be in your fantasyland? Johnson has no experience in that office. Oh yea, she has been clerk for 20 plus years, but what has she accomplished? Remember this article?

Also, for those 20 years, she was rarely in the office, so where does all this experience come into play that you are so eager to jump on?

More qualified than Schaeffer? I addressed this above.

The voters of Erie County had NO IDEA what they were doing when they re-elected her. I will have an article posted next week about how and why she got re-elected.

If you think that, “this site is crap because of all the lies,” then please tell us what I have posted that is a lie. I have a ton of information up here, so pick one and tell us why it’s a lie. Just be sure to have facts to back up what you say. Or, are you going to be like Barb was when she was asked to name 3 accomplishments in 20 years, and “dance” around the “lies?” Or, are you just going to ignore this all together because you have no facts to back up your accusations of lies? I have taken you up on your offer. The debate is on. If you truly want to debate me, then we’ll be waiting for your reply.


Anonymous "ERIE COUNTY PROSECUTOR SUES THE SANDUSKY REGISTER":

”I believe that she should be removed from office for dereliction of duty. She is just as corrupt and inept as Maschari is.”

I agree that she is just as inept as former Judge Anne Maschari was. However, I don’t think neither Maschari nor Johnson are corrupt. I know that neither has (or had in the case of Maschari) a clue as to how to run the office that they are (were) in. The voters finally wised up to Maschari. Now it’s time for the citizens of Erie County to wise up to Johnson.

To you the voter I ask: Does this look like she is doing the job that she was elected by YOU THE VOTERS AND TAX PAYERS of Erie County to do?

Next weeks article: “How Did Johnson Win?”

COMMENTS ON COMMENTS: 1

An anonymous poster on “Next Weekend Articles” article said,

“…why ‘insiders’ are eager to basically ‘rat on Johnson’….”

I get VERY LITTLE information from “Insiders.” I get 99% of my information from just being in the office several times a week and carefully observing. And when I’m on vacation, I have others (NOT from "inside" the office) that can do the same while I’m gone. I don’t use “Inside” information because I don’t want to put anyone’s job in jeopardy.



In the article “Areas of Concern 1: Attendance” ANOTHER anonymous poster wrote:
“…but I'll bet she never did anything illegal or went along with conspiracies to do cover up anything illegal. She just doesn't seem the type.”

You are absolutely correct, I do not believe that she did anything willingly or knowingly illegal or went along with conspiracies to cover anything illegal. You’re right again, she isn’t the type. She is just lazy and a horrendous manager.

ANOTHER anonymous poster wrote in the same article:
“I think this blog is excellent but I would like to make a suggestion.

I think this should be done to ALL the elected public officials in Erie County. Is the Prosecutor doing HIS job? How about the Assistant Prosecutors? How about the Common Pleas Court Judges? How about the Probate Judge? Are they doing THEIR jobs? How many vacations do they get a year? Are they in the office everyday? Are they following the laws that they took an oath to uphold or are they using their power to their own dishonest advantage? How about the Sheriff, the Auditor, the County Engineer and the Recorder? Are they doing their jobs? Are they in the office everyday? Are permanent records disappearing from the Recorder's office like records disappear from the COC's?

I THINK IT'S TIME TO START MONITORING ALL OF THESE ELECTED PUBLIC OFFICIALS.”

Thanks for the compliment Julie R.

I couldn’t agree more! I too think that web sites should be done to ALL elected officials to hold them accountable. However, the Assistant Prosecutors position that you listed is hired by the prosecutor; it is not an elected position.

How many vacations do they get and/or take a year and are they in the office everyday? Well, according to the Ohio Revised Code, an elected official only needs to be in the office one day out of 90. Yep, 1 day every three months! ! ! Well, elected officials USUALLY do not take advantage of that law except for Johnson in her first 5 terms when she was RARELY in the office. Now as for other elected officials (at least in Erie County), I know that they do not take advantage of that law because they actually want to do a good job and show “achievements” while in office; something Johnson was never interested in doing.

Are they doing their jobs? I must say that they are doing a much better job than Johnson because there are so many complaints about how her office is run. I don’t hear those complaints about other elected officials except from Julie R.

Julie R also commented,
“In addition, we might want to start monitoring one or more of the employees in the COC office.......”

Well, first of all, they are doing the best job they can with ZERO leadership. I give those girls a ton of credit for doing their job as well as they do (being soldiers in the field with no General to lead them). Let’s face it, Johnson has never been a manager or a leader for that office. Those girls are there fending for themselves. I don’t see what good monitoring Johnson’s employees will do when frankly, she doesn’t give a damn. That office will only be as good as it’s leader and for the past 20 plus years, they have had NO leader.


ANOTHER anonymous poster commented in the same article:

“5 prior terms and she has had no achievements? I think she should retire NOW! If not, that office will be in an even WORSE MESS by the time this term is over nobody will want it! Disgusting......”

I agree, she should have retired YESTERDAY! As a matter of fact, she shouldn’t have even run for reelection! What was the purpose of that? Of having the “prestige” in holding that office? Yes, the longer she is in office, the worse the mess will be. However, I’m sure there is some good-hearted soul out there somewhere that would be willing to take that office and turn it around. After all, her opponent Steve Schaeffer was willing to do it if he had won.

To you the voter I ask: Does this look like she is doing the job that she was elected by YOU THE VOTERS AND TAX PAYERS of Erie County to do?

Side Note: There are 5 “anonymous” comments in this article. As you can see, it’s hard to put an identity to these comments as I mentioned in this article. It just makes it a lot easier to ID posts if people would put a name to them; even if it’s a factious name (such as John Doe, Julie R, Cross, Buff, or the many others that post on the Sandusky Register web blogs). End of Side Note.

Well, ladies and gentlemen, we have gone a bit long with this article, so I’ll stop here. But we will continue where we left off next week, so stay tuned! ! !

LET'S GET SOME ID ON THE COMMENTS

Most people have been posting under "anonymous" in the comment section which is fine. The only problem with that is that it's impossible to have an "ID" (or associate an individual) with the post, especially if one person posts about a particular topic. I am hoping that with future posts, instead of clicking on "anonymous," that people will make up a name, or URL and post under that name every time. This will give each poster an "ID" much like on the Sandusky Register website, so we have a particular individual attached to comments rather than a mass of random "anonymous." And you can do this without having to register to post comments (unlike on the SR site)! ! !

To do this, after you've finished writing your comment, 1) click on "Comment As" arrow; 2) Click on "Name/URL;" 3) under "Edit profile" type in either your name or URL; 4) Click on "Continue;" 5) Then continue as you would normally to finish posting your comment.

Just a reminder to follow the 3 rules in the "Commenting Guidelines" in the sidebar. I have had to delete some comments because they were off topic.

NEW NAME: SAME SITE, FORMAT, & INFORMATION

A reader suggested to me that I change the name of this site because the "Remove Barb Johnson From Office" sounded a little to.....well....harsh or hostile, or something that should be done now. So, after much thought and consideration, I think they were correct. This site is so that she does not get reelected in 2012. We are not necessarily trying to get her removed now with a recall petition (but if she were to retire now, that would be perfectly fine with us).

This site is to "watch" her; to keep an eye on her; to hold her accountable for not doing her job. Then if she does decide to run for reelection in 2012, her opponents(democrats and republicans) can use any or all of the information on this site against her. With her track record, after 20 years of not doing anything in the COC office, I'm willing to bet my first born male child that she won't do anything these next 4 years either.

So here it is; New name, but the same site, with the same format, and the same never-ending flow of information and insight.

JOHNSON'S ACHIEVEMENTS OVER THE PAST 20 YEARS

Well, I got this up sooner than I thought.

If you were at the same elected important government job for 20 years, I bet that you could list several, if not many achievements that you did in those 20 years. Well......read on.........

I was at one of the community candidate forums where a VERY interesting question was asked, “ Excluding moving the office from the 3rd & 2nd floor to the 1st floor, please Name 5 accomplishments that you have done in that office in the past 20 years.” (I wish I could take credit for THAT one!).

Well, she NEVER answered the question! ! She “hoe & hummed” and said a lot of “flowery – puffy” things, she even talked about moving her offices from the 2nd & 3rd floors to the first floor (which she was asked not to talk about), but she COULD NOT answer the question! ! (she also did not use a microphone – I think on purpose so that people could not hear her answers). How sad is that? Being in office for 20 years, and you don’t have any accomplishments that you can brag about! ? ! ? ! ?

It doesn’t stop there. There were times, during the campaign, on the SR blogs, that bloggers posted the same question (perhaps by the same person?). First they started with 5 accomplishments, but then they took it down to 3 (THREE) accomplishments, and neither Johnson nor her supporters could list any accomplishments.

If you can’t name THREE accomplishments in 20 years in office, what the hell are you getting paid for? Oh, that’s right, I forgot, for the first 20 years, she was RARELY in the office, so she couldn’t have made any accomplishments! Now, she’s in the office everyday and she STILL isn’t accomplishing ANYTHING! ! ! It is now the beginning of May, 2009, and what has she accomplished since she was called out on this in October & November of 2008? That’s ok, I’ll wait………[crickets chirping]……………..[crickets chirping]…………….[crickets chirping]………….that’s correct NOTHING! ! !

If you want to see some of the blogging on this, go here.

One blogger “John R.” seems to have a real grasp on things! I suspect he is either an attorney or works for a title company. His really good posts are Oct. 10 at 3:36 and Oct. 14 at 7:46 AM

There is also an “interesting” post on Oct. 10 at 11:12 that I think we pretty much de-bunked in our series “Records on Line: Ohio’s 88 Counties.”

How sad. Twenty Years of receiving tax payer money, and not a single achievement to show for it. I suspect the reason why the person asking that question at the candidate forum did not want to include the moving of the offices is because that was such a dismal disaster! Moving those offices from a small office where they were literally "bursting at the seams" to a SMALLER office! I think the person asking the question was trying to cut Johnson some slack...but then she went on to talk about it anyway! And in turn slit her own political throat. Unfortunately, it was only a flesh wound because most of the public did not pick up on it and voted her in again anyway!

I’m not sure what next week’s article will be. But I can guarantee that it will be worth reading! Perhaps, I will comment on the comments while I was on vacation.

NEW ARTICLE COMING SOON

I just got back into town. I'll have the new article up either Sunday or Monday. Stay tuned! !

OPEN THREAD

While I’m wrapping up my vacation down here in the Caribbean, I thought it would be good to have an open thread where you can comment on anything pertaining to this web site, or Barbara Johnson and her work as Erie County Clerk of Courts. After just under 3 months time, there has been A TON of information posted on this site (and more to come!). I think that after 3 months time, I have done more work on this site than Johnson has done in her 20+ years as Clerk! (I’m EXHAUSTED – that’s why I had to take this Caribbean vacation). I will respond to comments when I get back.

So, what do you think? Do you agree with the information on this site? Do you disagree with it? Why do you agree or disagree? Do you think Johnson is doing a great job, a good job, and ok job, bad job, or not doing her job at all, and why.

Your thoughts please………………………………….



Next week’s article: “Johnson’s achievements in the COC office over the past 20 years.”