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?
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Saturday, July 18, 2009
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.”
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.”
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
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?
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?
Saturday, July 4, 2009
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?
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?
Saturday, June 27, 2009
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! !
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! !
Saturday, June 20, 2009
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! !
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! !
Saturday, June 6, 2009
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.
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.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
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.
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.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
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?”
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.
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.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
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?”
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?”
Saturday, May 9, 2009
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! ! !
“…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! ! !
Friday, May 8, 2009
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.
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.
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.
Saturday, May 2, 2009
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.
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.
Friday, May 1, 2009
NEW ARTICLE COMING SOON
I just got back into town. I'll have the new article up either Sunday or Monday. Stay tuned! !
Saturday, April 25, 2009
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.”
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.”
Saturday, April 18, 2009
NEXT WEEKEND'S ARTICLE
This week I will be leaving on vacation. I will be going somewhere very “HOT” with my spouse……oh, come on,…….it’s the weather….the weather will be hot….get your minds out of the gutter! ! ! I will be down in the Caribbean for a little rest and relaxation. Actually, we should have done this in February, but circumstances did not permit us to go at that time.
So I will put an “Open Thread” up next weekend since I won’t have time to write an article while I'm basking in the sunny beaches and 80 degree weather. However, while the “professor” is gone, that doesn’t mean that you can act up and go wild! I have PLENTY of substitute “instructors” looking on and noting activity on this site AND in the COC office! So, Mrs. Johnson’s attendance will still be noted!
Article in TWO weeks: “Johnson’s achievements in the COC office over the past 20 years.”
So I will put an “Open Thread” up next weekend since I won’t have time to write an article while I'm basking in the sunny beaches and 80 degree weather. However, while the “professor” is gone, that doesn’t mean that you can act up and go wild! I have PLENTY of substitute “instructors” looking on and noting activity on this site AND in the COC office! So, Mrs. Johnson’s attendance will still be noted!
Article in TWO weeks: “Johnson’s achievements in the COC office over the past 20 years.”
RECORDS ON LINE: OHIO'S 88 COUNTIES: PART 5: SUMMARY OF THE STATS
Originally, I was going to use the following population scales: Small counties 12,000 – 64,999; Medium counties 65,000 – 97,999 and Large counties 98,000 and up. Then I realized that it wouldn’t be all that fair to have the Medium county population with such a narrow scale. So I changed it to what you see below. If I had kept it the way I was going to originally have it, Erie County would have been the only medium sized county that does not have records on line. So now with the change in the scale, 3 medium size counties doe not have records on line.
Here are the stats:
Largest County in Population: Cuyahoga (1,393,978)
Records on Line: Y
Smallest County in Population: Vinton (12,806)
Records on Line: N
Smallest County in population with records on line: Fayette (28,433)
29 Counties with small populations that do NOT have records on line (population 12,000-59,999): Vinton (12,806), Noble (14,058), Morgan (14,897), Monroe (15, 180), Harrison (15,856), Wyandot (22,908), Meigs (23,072), Adams (27,330), Pike (27,695), Carroll (28,836), Van Wert (29,659), Morrow (31,628), Hardin (31,945), Jackson (32,641), Perry (34,078), Putnam (34,726), Coshocton (36,655), Champaign (38,890), Holmes (38,943), Defiance (39,500), Madison (40,213), Clinton (40,543), Highland (40,875), Brown (42,285), Logan (46,005), Auglaize (46,611),
Shelby (47, 910), Darke (53,309),
3 Counties with medium population that do NOT have records on line (population 60,000-99,999): Washington (63,251), Erie (79,551), Miami (98,868)
1 County with large populations that do NOT have records on line (population 100,000 and up): Clark (144,742)
20 Counties with small populations that do have Records online (population 12,000-59,999): Paulding (20,293), Hocking (28,241), Fayette (28,433), Henry (29,210), Gallia (31,069), Lawrence (32,319), Williams (39,188), Guernsey (40,792), Union (40,909), Mercer (40,924), Ottawa (40,985), Fulton (42,084), Preble (42,337), Crawford (46,966), Ashland (52,523), Pickaway (52,727), Knox (54,500), Seneca (58,683), Huron (59,847)
11 Counties with medium populations that do have records online (population 60,000-99,999): Marion (66,217), Belmont (70,226), Hancock (71,295), Ross (73,345), Jefferson (73,894), Scioto (79,795), Muskingum (84,585), Geauga (90,895),
Tuscarawas (90,914), Sandusky (61,792), Athens (62,223)
26 Counties with large populations that do have Records online (population 100,000 and up): Ashtabula (102,728), Allen (108,473), Delaware (110,106), Wayne (111,564), Columbiana (112,075), Wood (121,065), Fairfield (122,759), Richland (128,852), Licking (145, 491), Greene (147,886), Medina (151,095), Portage (152,061), Warren (158,383), Clermont (177,977), Trumbull (225,116), Lake (227,511), Mahoning (257,555), Lorain (285,664), Butler (332,807), Stark (378,098), Lucas (455,054),
Summit (542,899), Montgomery (559,062), Hamilton (845,303), Franklin (1,068,978), Cuyahoga (1,393,978)
Total Number of Counties with records on line: 57 or 64 %
Total Number of Counties without records on line: 32 or 36 %
I have talked to a county employee who thinks the number of counties with on line records is higher than what I have posted. However, this is what I have found in my research and hopefully I will update it 2 or 3 times a year. If any of our readers find updates, please let us know so we can make the appropriate changes and corrections.
In an earlier article we took 20 Northern Ohio counties and out of the 20, 19 had records on line.
As you can see, Erie County is in the minority with not having records on line. So Mrs. Johnson, what’s the hold up? Oh, it’s the money, that’s right. Well, we already addressed that issue here and here.
It has become apparent over and over and over again, that she is not doing her job. Her recent report card is evidence of that. She is not doing what we elected her to do and that is to run and manage that office. How can she in good conscious, and in good faith (being the good, nice, Christian woman that she is) keep that position for over 20 years without doing any work, and yet excepting payment for work that she hasn’t done?
To you the voters and tax payers of Erie County, I ask you: Would you pay someone (say for instance an electrician, plumber, auto mechanic, etc.) for work that they never did but were suppose to have done? What makes this situation any different?
It is time that we the citizens of Erie County hold Barbra Johnson accountable for her actions (or lack there of)! ! It is time to hold her feet to the fire and DEMAND that she either start doing her job NOW or retire! ! Enough is enough! ! This tax payer for one is sick and tired of paying people in elected positions to do a job and once they get elected they just sit back and do NOTHING for an entire term. In this case, it has been SIX terms! ! Barbara either do your job, or get the hell out of the way and let someone else do it! I encourage you to contact Johnson and let her know your concerns about this matter. Her contact information is in the sidebar.
Again, voters and tax payers of Erie County I ask you: 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?
Here are the stats:
Largest County in Population: Cuyahoga (1,393,978)
Records on Line: Y
Smallest County in Population: Vinton (12,806)
Records on Line: N
Smallest County in population with records on line: Fayette (28,433)
29 Counties with small populations that do NOT have records on line (population 12,000-59,999): Vinton (12,806), Noble (14,058), Morgan (14,897), Monroe (15, 180), Harrison (15,856), Wyandot (22,908), Meigs (23,072), Adams (27,330), Pike (27,695), Carroll (28,836), Van Wert (29,659), Morrow (31,628), Hardin (31,945), Jackson (32,641), Perry (34,078), Putnam (34,726), Coshocton (36,655), Champaign (38,890), Holmes (38,943), Defiance (39,500), Madison (40,213), Clinton (40,543), Highland (40,875), Brown (42,285), Logan (46,005), Auglaize (46,611),
Shelby (47, 910), Darke (53,309),
3 Counties with medium population that do NOT have records on line (population 60,000-99,999): Washington (63,251), Erie (79,551), Miami (98,868)
1 County with large populations that do NOT have records on line (population 100,000 and up): Clark (144,742)
20 Counties with small populations that do have Records online (population 12,000-59,999): Paulding (20,293), Hocking (28,241), Fayette (28,433), Henry (29,210), Gallia (31,069), Lawrence (32,319), Williams (39,188), Guernsey (40,792), Union (40,909), Mercer (40,924), Ottawa (40,985), Fulton (42,084), Preble (42,337), Crawford (46,966), Ashland (52,523), Pickaway (52,727), Knox (54,500), Seneca (58,683), Huron (59,847)
11 Counties with medium populations that do have records online (population 60,000-99,999): Marion (66,217), Belmont (70,226), Hancock (71,295), Ross (73,345), Jefferson (73,894), Scioto (79,795), Muskingum (84,585), Geauga (90,895),
Tuscarawas (90,914), Sandusky (61,792), Athens (62,223)
26 Counties with large populations that do have Records online (population 100,000 and up): Ashtabula (102,728), Allen (108,473), Delaware (110,106), Wayne (111,564), Columbiana (112,075), Wood (121,065), Fairfield (122,759), Richland (128,852), Licking (145, 491), Greene (147,886), Medina (151,095), Portage (152,061), Warren (158,383), Clermont (177,977), Trumbull (225,116), Lake (227,511), Mahoning (257,555), Lorain (285,664), Butler (332,807), Stark (378,098), Lucas (455,054),
Summit (542,899), Montgomery (559,062), Hamilton (845,303), Franklin (1,068,978), Cuyahoga (1,393,978)
Total Number of Counties with records on line: 57 or 64 %
Total Number of Counties without records on line: 32 or 36 %
I have talked to a county employee who thinks the number of counties with on line records is higher than what I have posted. However, this is what I have found in my research and hopefully I will update it 2 or 3 times a year. If any of our readers find updates, please let us know so we can make the appropriate changes and corrections.
In an earlier article we took 20 Northern Ohio counties and out of the 20, 19 had records on line.
As you can see, Erie County is in the minority with not having records on line. So Mrs. Johnson, what’s the hold up? Oh, it’s the money, that’s right. Well, we already addressed that issue here and here.
It has become apparent over and over and over again, that she is not doing her job. Her recent report card is evidence of that. She is not doing what we elected her to do and that is to run and manage that office. How can she in good conscious, and in good faith (being the good, nice, Christian woman that she is) keep that position for over 20 years without doing any work, and yet excepting payment for work that she hasn’t done?
To you the voters and tax payers of Erie County, I ask you: Would you pay someone (say for instance an electrician, plumber, auto mechanic, etc.) for work that they never did but were suppose to have done? What makes this situation any different?
It is time that we the citizens of Erie County hold Barbra Johnson accountable for her actions (or lack there of)! ! It is time to hold her feet to the fire and DEMAND that she either start doing her job NOW or retire! ! Enough is enough! ! This tax payer for one is sick and tired of paying people in elected positions to do a job and once they get elected they just sit back and do NOTHING for an entire term. In this case, it has been SIX terms! ! Barbara either do your job, or get the hell out of the way and let someone else do it! I encourage you to contact Johnson and let her know your concerns about this matter. Her contact information is in the sidebar.
Again, voters and tax payers of Erie County I ask you: 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?
Saturday, April 11, 2009
AREAS OF CONCERN 1: ATTENDANCE
Here it is ladies and gentlemen, the EASTER WEEKEND SPECIAL! ! Two articles for the price of one! !
Even though this was listed as number 1 in the “Areas of Concern,” we wanted to wait and see how the attendance would be over a several month period before we wrote an article about it.
Before the November 2008 election, Barbara Johnson was RARELY in the office. In my 20 years of being in that office several times a week (and while she was clerk), I rarely saw her in the office. Whenever I would ask her staff where Johnson was or when she would be in, and most of the time they would shrug their shoulders and say, “I don’t know.” She was like former Cuyahoga County Sheriff Gerald McFaul that I talked about in these two articles.
So, not only was she not in the office, she didn’t bother telling anyone where she was or when she would be in. Wow! That’s good communication. But that is what she is known for….NOT communicating.
So here we are as Erie County tax payers, paying her for a job and she isn’t even in the office! DOUBLE WOW! ! ! ! What a waste of our money! ! ! !
Well, since the election her attendance has gone up substantially! ! ! ! ! GREAT! ! I have a couple ways of knowing when she is and is not in the office; even on days when I do not go into the COC office. Since the election, she was sporadic at first, but is more and more on a consistent basis in the office. One would think, “YEAH! ! This is good! !”
Well, think again ladies and gentlemen. If you look at her recent Quarterly Report Card, NOTHING is getting done in that office……well…..ok……..She now has a dollar amount on getting court records on line AND she did go to a meeting to try to get more staff hired (but she came to the meeting completely unprepared…but she did actual show up to it)……so we’ll change it from nothing to…….VERY, VERY LITTLE. I have noticed (by being in the office several times a week and other ways) that she is in the office almost everyday! This should be a good thing. However, as I said, NOTHING……um….I mean…VERY, VERY LITTLE is getting done.
After 5 months (since the November 2008 election) the records STILL are not on line. And I am willing to bet my first born male child that they will not get on line while she is the clerk (even though she now has a dollar figure to get the job done – see the article here).
Also, NOTHING (and here I really do mean NOTHING) has been done in any of the other 4 “Areas of Concern” that we have covered so far: 1) SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS & FINANCIAL ACCOUNT NUMBERS REMOVED FROM CASE FILES; 2) COLLECTION ON ESTIMATED $700,000 IN OUTSTANDING COURT COSTS & FINES: 3) ADDRESSING OFFICE UNDERSTAFFING; 4) MICROFILIMG CLOSED CASES
And you will soon see that nothing is being done in the other “Areas of Concerns” that we will be covering here in the future:
1) IMPROVE CUSTOMER RELATION SKILLS OF THE STAFF: 2) AUTOMATED PHONE SYSTEM; 3) MONITORING PROGRAM TO KEEP CASES FROM BEING ILLEGALLY REMOVED FROM THE OFFICE: 4) HAVE CASE FILES PROPERLY FILED AWAY: 5) SEND STAFF (OR INFORM STAFF) TO CONTINUING ED WORKSHOPS TO KEEP THEM ON TOP OF OHIO REVISED CODE CHANGES.
So really, what has changed? NOTHING…..oops….I mean….VERY, VERY LITTLE! She is in the office everyday – BIG DEAL, but VERY, VERY LITTLE is getting done. So, as a blogger on the SR web site put it during the campaign, she still continues to steal from the tax payers because she is getting paid for a job that she is not doing! Who among us could hold down a job like that?
As I said in this article, we the citizens and tax payers of this county would like to see some actual work and achievements come from her during this term because there hasn't been ANY achievements in her prior 5 terms (more on this in a future article). For all the money we are paying her to do this job that is not too much of us to expect from her. Otherwise she should retire and let someone else put that office into the 21st century.
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?
Even though this was listed as number 1 in the “Areas of Concern,” we wanted to wait and see how the attendance would be over a several month period before we wrote an article about it.
Before the November 2008 election, Barbara Johnson was RARELY in the office. In my 20 years of being in that office several times a week (and while she was clerk), I rarely saw her in the office. Whenever I would ask her staff where Johnson was or when she would be in, and most of the time they would shrug their shoulders and say, “I don’t know.” She was like former Cuyahoga County Sheriff Gerald McFaul that I talked about in these two articles.
So, not only was she not in the office, she didn’t bother telling anyone where she was or when she would be in. Wow! That’s good communication. But that is what she is known for….NOT communicating.
So here we are as Erie County tax payers, paying her for a job and she isn’t even in the office! DOUBLE WOW! ! ! ! What a waste of our money! ! ! !
Well, since the election her attendance has gone up substantially! ! ! ! ! GREAT! ! I have a couple ways of knowing when she is and is not in the office; even on days when I do not go into the COC office. Since the election, she was sporadic at first, but is more and more on a consistent basis in the office. One would think, “YEAH! ! This is good! !”
Well, think again ladies and gentlemen. If you look at her recent Quarterly Report Card, NOTHING is getting done in that office……well…..ok……..She now has a dollar amount on getting court records on line AND she did go to a meeting to try to get more staff hired (but she came to the meeting completely unprepared…but she did actual show up to it)……so we’ll change it from nothing to…….VERY, VERY LITTLE. I have noticed (by being in the office several times a week and other ways) that she is in the office almost everyday! This should be a good thing. However, as I said, NOTHING……um….I mean…VERY, VERY LITTLE is getting done.
After 5 months (since the November 2008 election) the records STILL are not on line. And I am willing to bet my first born male child that they will not get on line while she is the clerk (even though she now has a dollar figure to get the job done – see the article here).
Also, NOTHING (and here I really do mean NOTHING) has been done in any of the other 4 “Areas of Concern” that we have covered so far: 1) SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS & FINANCIAL ACCOUNT NUMBERS REMOVED FROM CASE FILES; 2) COLLECTION ON ESTIMATED $700,000 IN OUTSTANDING COURT COSTS & FINES: 3) ADDRESSING OFFICE UNDERSTAFFING; 4) MICROFILIMG CLOSED CASES
And you will soon see that nothing is being done in the other “Areas of Concerns” that we will be covering here in the future:
1) IMPROVE CUSTOMER RELATION SKILLS OF THE STAFF: 2) AUTOMATED PHONE SYSTEM; 3) MONITORING PROGRAM TO KEEP CASES FROM BEING ILLEGALLY REMOVED FROM THE OFFICE: 4) HAVE CASE FILES PROPERLY FILED AWAY: 5) SEND STAFF (OR INFORM STAFF) TO CONTINUING ED WORKSHOPS TO KEEP THEM ON TOP OF OHIO REVISED CODE CHANGES.
So really, what has changed? NOTHING…..oops….I mean….VERY, VERY LITTLE! She is in the office everyday – BIG DEAL, but VERY, VERY LITTLE is getting done. So, as a blogger on the SR web site put it during the campaign, she still continues to steal from the tax payers because she is getting paid for a job that she is not doing! Who among us could hold down a job like that?
As I said in this article, we the citizens and tax payers of this county would like to see some actual work and achievements come from her during this term because there hasn't been ANY achievements in her prior 5 terms (more on this in a future article). For all the money we are paying her to do this job that is not too much of us to expect from her. Otherwise she should retire and let someone else put that office into the 21st century.
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?
RECORDS ON LINE: OHIO'S 88 COUNTIES: PART 4
As I mentioned in the previous 3 parts in this series, over the next several weeks, we will take a look at all 88 Ohio counties in alphabetical order to see which counties have records on line and which do not. We will do this in a 5 part series. The first 4 parts will be a listing of the counties (see the sidebar for the link to the previous articles), 22 at a time, and the last part will be an analysis of all this information.
Also, there are three websites that provide some good information on Ohio County Clerk of Courts:
Ohio Clerk of Courts Assoc.
Government Court Records.com
Ohio Clerk of Courts on line records
I have put these sites links in the sidebar.
Some of the information on the counties was obtained here.
Here is the fourth and final set of 22 counties: Portage County – Wyandot County:
COUNTY / WEB ADDRESS: Portage (in Ravenna, OH)
http://www.co.portage.oh.us/
POPULATION: 152,061
AREA: 492.39 sq mi
CLERK OF COURTS ON LINE: Y
COC WEB ADDRESS:
http://www.co.portage.oh.us/clerkofcourts.htm
COUNTY / WEB ADDRESS: Preble (in Eaton, OH)
http://www.preblecounty.com/
POPULATION: 42,337
AREA: 424.80 sq mi
CLERK OF COURTS RECORDS ON LINE: Y
COC WEB ADDRESS
http://www.preblecountyohio.net/
COUNTY / WEB ADDRESS: Putnam (in Ottawa, OH)
http://www.putnamcountyohio.com/
POPULATION: 34.726
AREA: 483.87 sq mi
CLERK OF COURTS RECORDS ON LINE: N
COC WEB ADDRESS: No web site found
COUNTY / WEB ADDRESS: Richland (in Mansfield, OH)
http://www.richlandcountyoh.us/index.htm
POPULATION: 128,852
AREA: 496.88 sq mi
CLERK OF COURTS ON LINE: Y
COC WEB ADDRESS:
http://www.richlandcountyoh.us/coc.htm
COUNTY / WEB ADDRESS: Ross (in Chillicothe, OH)
No web site found
POPULATION: 73,345
AREA: 688.41 sq mi
CLERK OF COURTS RECORDS ON LINE: Y
COC WEB ADDRESS http://co.ross.oh.us/ClerkOfCourts/
COUNTY / WEB ADDRESS: Sandusky (in Fremont, OH)
http://www.sandusky-county.org/
POPULATION: 61,792
AREA: 409.18 sq mi
CLERK OF COURTS ON LINE: Y
COC WEB ADDRESS
http://www.sandusky-county.org/Clerk/Clerk_of_Courts/default.asp
COUNTY / WEB ADDRESS: Scioto (in Portsmouth, OH)
http://www.sciotocountyohio.com/
POPULATION: 79,195
AREA: 612.27 sq mi
CLERK OF COURTS RECORDS ON LINE: Y
COC WEB ADDRESS http://www.sciotocountyohio.com/clerk.htm
COUNTY / WEB ADDRESS: Seneca (in Tiffin, OH)
http://www.senecaco.org/
POPULATION: 58,683
AREA: 550.59 sq mi
CLERK OF COURTS ON LINE: Y
COC WEB ADDRESS
http://www.senecaco.org/clerk/default.html
COUNTY / WEB ADDRESS: Shelby (in Sidney, OH)
http://www.co.shelby.oh.us/
POPULATION: 47,910
AREA: 409.27 sq mi
CLERK OF COURTS RECORDS ON LINE: N
COC WEB ADDRESS: http://www.co.shelby.oh.us/ClerkofCourts/index.asp
COUNTY / WEB ADDRESS: Stark (in Canton, OH)
http://www.co.stark.oh.us/internet/HOME.DisplayPage?v_page=scMain
POPULATION: 378,098
AREA: 576.14 sq mi
CLERK OF COURTS RECORDS ON LINE: Y
COC WEB ADDRESS http://www.starkclerk.org/
COUNTY / WEB ADDRESS: Summit (in Akron, OH)
http://www.co.summit.oh.us/
POPULATION: 542,899
AREA: 412.72 Sq mi
CLERK OF COURTS ON LINE: Y
COC WEB ADDRESS:
http://www.cpclerk.co.summit.oh.us/welcome.asp
COUNTY / WEB ADDRESS: Trumbull (in Warren, OH)
http://www.co.trumbull.oh.us/
POPULATION: 225,116
AREA: 616.48 sq mi
CLERK OF COURTS RECORDS ON LINE: Y
COC WEB ADDRESS http://clerk.co.trumbull.oh.us/
COUNTY / WEB ADDRESS: Tuscarawas (in New Philadelphia, OH)
http://www.co.tuscarawas.oh.us/
POPULATION: 90,914
AREA: 567.58 sq mi
CLERK OF COURTS RECORDS ON LINE: Y
COC WEB ADDRESS http://www.co.tuscarawas.oh.us/ClerkofCourts/index.htm
COUNTY / WEB ADDRESS: Union (in Marysville, OH)
http://www.co.union.oh.us/GD/Templates/Pages/UC/UCPageDefault.aspx?page=1
POPULATION: 40,909
AREA: 436.65 sq mi
CLERK OF COURTS RECORDS ON LINE: Y
COC WEB ADDRESS
http://www.co.union.oh.us/GD/Templates/Pages/UC/UCDetail.aspx?page=359
COUNTY / WEB ADDRESS: Van Wert (in Van Wert, OH)
http://www.vanwertcounty.org/
POPULATION: 29,659
AREA: 410.09 sq mi
CLERK OF COURTS RECORDS ON LINE: N
COC WEB ADDRESS: No web site found
COUNTY / WEB ADDRESS: Vinton (in McArthur, OH)
http://www.vintoncounty.com/
POPULATION: 12,806
AREA: 414.08 sq mi
CLERK OF COURTS RECORDS ON LINE: N
COC WEB ADDRESS
http://www.vintoncounty.com/Clerk_of_Courts.htm
COUNTY / WEB ADDRESS: Warren (in Lebanon, OH)
http://www.co.warren.oh.us/
POPULATION: 158,383
AREA: 399.63 sq mi
CLERK OF COURTS RECORDS ON LINE: Y
COC WEB ADDRESS
http://www.co.warren.oh.us/clerkofcourt/
COUNTY / WEB ADDRESS: Washington (in Marietta, OH)
http://www.co.washington.oh.us/index-1.htm
POPULATION: 63,251
AREA: 635.15 sq mi
CLERK OF COURTS RECORDS ON LINE: N
COC WEB ADDRESS
http://www.co.washington.oh.us/cl-clerkofcourts.htm
COUNTY / WEB ADDRESS: Wayne (in Wooster, OH)
http://www.wayneohio.org/
POPULATION: 111,564
AREA: 555.36 Sq mi
CLERK OF COURTS ON LINE: Y
COC WEB ADDRESS:
http://www.wayneohio.org/clerkofcourts/index.php
COUNTY / WEB ADDRESS: Williams (in Bryan, OH)
http://www.co.williams.oh.us/
POPULATION: 39,188
AREA: 421.74 sq mi
CLERK OF COURTS RECORDS ON LINE: Y
COC WEB ADDRESS
http://www.co.williams.oh.us/Clerk_Courts/default1.htm
COUNTY / WEB ADDRESS: Wood (in Bowling Green, OH)
http://www.co.wood.oh.us/
POPULATION: 121,065
AREA: 617.32 Sq mi
CLERK OF COURTS ON LINE: Y
COC WEB ADDRESS
http://clerkofcourt.co.wood.oh.us/
COUNTY / WEB ADDRESS: Wyandot (in Upper Sandusky, OH)
http://www.co.wyandot.oh.us/
POPULATION: 22,908
AREA: 405.61 sq mi
CLERK OF COURTS RECORDS ON LINE: N
COC WEB ADDRESS
http://www.co.wyandot.oh.us/clerk/index.html
The final article in this series will be an indepth list of statistics so that you can easily see how all this stacks up compared to Erie County. Stay tuned for this article next weekend.
Also, there are three websites that provide some good information on Ohio County Clerk of Courts:
Ohio Clerk of Courts Assoc.
Government Court Records.com
Ohio Clerk of Courts on line records
I have put these sites links in the sidebar.
Some of the information on the counties was obtained here.
Here is the fourth and final set of 22 counties: Portage County – Wyandot County:
COUNTY / WEB ADDRESS: Portage (in Ravenna, OH)
http://www.co.portage.oh.us/
POPULATION: 152,061
AREA: 492.39 sq mi
CLERK OF COURTS ON LINE: Y
COC WEB ADDRESS:
http://www.co.portage.oh.us/clerkofcourts.htm
COUNTY / WEB ADDRESS: Preble (in Eaton, OH)
http://www.preblecounty.com/
POPULATION: 42,337
AREA: 424.80 sq mi
CLERK OF COURTS RECORDS ON LINE: Y
COC WEB ADDRESS
http://www.preblecountyohio.net/
COUNTY / WEB ADDRESS: Putnam (in Ottawa, OH)
http://www.putnamcountyohio.com/
POPULATION: 34.726
AREA: 483.87 sq mi
CLERK OF COURTS RECORDS ON LINE: N
COC WEB ADDRESS: No web site found
COUNTY / WEB ADDRESS: Richland (in Mansfield, OH)
http://www.richlandcountyoh.us/index.htm
POPULATION: 128,852
AREA: 496.88 sq mi
CLERK OF COURTS ON LINE: Y
COC WEB ADDRESS:
http://www.richlandcountyoh.us/coc.htm
COUNTY / WEB ADDRESS: Ross (in Chillicothe, OH)
No web site found
POPULATION: 73,345
AREA: 688.41 sq mi
CLERK OF COURTS RECORDS ON LINE: Y
COC WEB ADDRESS http://co.ross.oh.us/ClerkOfCourts/
COUNTY / WEB ADDRESS: Sandusky (in Fremont, OH)
http://www.sandusky-county.org/
POPULATION: 61,792
AREA: 409.18 sq mi
CLERK OF COURTS ON LINE: Y
COC WEB ADDRESS
http://www.sandusky-county.org/Clerk/Clerk_of_Courts/default.asp
COUNTY / WEB ADDRESS: Scioto (in Portsmouth, OH)
http://www.sciotocountyohio.com/
POPULATION: 79,195
AREA: 612.27 sq mi
CLERK OF COURTS RECORDS ON LINE: Y
COC WEB ADDRESS http://www.sciotocountyohio.com/clerk.htm
COUNTY / WEB ADDRESS: Seneca (in Tiffin, OH)
http://www.senecaco.org/
POPULATION: 58,683
AREA: 550.59 sq mi
CLERK OF COURTS ON LINE: Y
COC WEB ADDRESS
http://www.senecaco.org/clerk/default.html
COUNTY / WEB ADDRESS: Shelby (in Sidney, OH)
http://www.co.shelby.oh.us/
POPULATION: 47,910
AREA: 409.27 sq mi
CLERK OF COURTS RECORDS ON LINE: N
COC WEB ADDRESS: http://www.co.shelby.oh.us/ClerkofCourts/index.asp
COUNTY / WEB ADDRESS: Stark (in Canton, OH)
http://www.co.stark.oh.us/internet/HOME.DisplayPage?v_page=scMain
POPULATION: 378,098
AREA: 576.14 sq mi
CLERK OF COURTS RECORDS ON LINE: Y
COC WEB ADDRESS http://www.starkclerk.org/
COUNTY / WEB ADDRESS: Summit (in Akron, OH)
http://www.co.summit.oh.us/
POPULATION: 542,899
AREA: 412.72 Sq mi
CLERK OF COURTS ON LINE: Y
COC WEB ADDRESS:
http://www.cpclerk.co.summit.oh.us/welcome.asp
COUNTY / WEB ADDRESS: Trumbull (in Warren, OH)
http://www.co.trumbull.oh.us/
POPULATION: 225,116
AREA: 616.48 sq mi
CLERK OF COURTS RECORDS ON LINE: Y
COC WEB ADDRESS http://clerk.co.trumbull.oh.us/
COUNTY / WEB ADDRESS: Tuscarawas (in New Philadelphia, OH)
http://www.co.tuscarawas.oh.us/
POPULATION: 90,914
AREA: 567.58 sq mi
CLERK OF COURTS RECORDS ON LINE: Y
COC WEB ADDRESS http://www.co.tuscarawas.oh.us/ClerkofCourts/index.htm
COUNTY / WEB ADDRESS: Union (in Marysville, OH)
http://www.co.union.oh.us/GD/Templates/Pages/UC/UCPageDefault.aspx?page=1
POPULATION: 40,909
AREA: 436.65 sq mi
CLERK OF COURTS RECORDS ON LINE: Y
COC WEB ADDRESS
http://www.co.union.oh.us/GD/Templates/Pages/UC/UCDetail.aspx?page=359
COUNTY / WEB ADDRESS: Van Wert (in Van Wert, OH)
http://www.vanwertcounty.org/
POPULATION: 29,659
AREA: 410.09 sq mi
CLERK OF COURTS RECORDS ON LINE: N
COC WEB ADDRESS: No web site found
COUNTY / WEB ADDRESS: Vinton (in McArthur, OH)
http://www.vintoncounty.com/
POPULATION: 12,806
AREA: 414.08 sq mi
CLERK OF COURTS RECORDS ON LINE: N
COC WEB ADDRESS
http://www.vintoncounty.com/Clerk_of_Courts.htm
COUNTY / WEB ADDRESS: Warren (in Lebanon, OH)
http://www.co.warren.oh.us/
POPULATION: 158,383
AREA: 399.63 sq mi
CLERK OF COURTS RECORDS ON LINE: Y
COC WEB ADDRESS
http://www.co.warren.oh.us/clerkofcourt/
COUNTY / WEB ADDRESS: Washington (in Marietta, OH)
http://www.co.washington.oh.us/index-1.htm
POPULATION: 63,251
AREA: 635.15 sq mi
CLERK OF COURTS RECORDS ON LINE: N
COC WEB ADDRESS
http://www.co.washington.oh.us/cl-clerkofcourts.htm
COUNTY / WEB ADDRESS: Wayne (in Wooster, OH)
http://www.wayneohio.org/
POPULATION: 111,564
AREA: 555.36 Sq mi
CLERK OF COURTS ON LINE: Y
COC WEB ADDRESS:
http://www.wayneohio.org/clerkofcourts/index.php
COUNTY / WEB ADDRESS: Williams (in Bryan, OH)
http://www.co.williams.oh.us/
POPULATION: 39,188
AREA: 421.74 sq mi
CLERK OF COURTS RECORDS ON LINE: Y
COC WEB ADDRESS
http://www.co.williams.oh.us/Clerk_Courts/default1.htm
COUNTY / WEB ADDRESS: Wood (in Bowling Green, OH)
http://www.co.wood.oh.us/
POPULATION: 121,065
AREA: 617.32 Sq mi
CLERK OF COURTS ON LINE: Y
COC WEB ADDRESS
http://clerkofcourt.co.wood.oh.us/
COUNTY / WEB ADDRESS: Wyandot (in Upper Sandusky, OH)
http://www.co.wyandot.oh.us/
POPULATION: 22,908
AREA: 405.61 sq mi
CLERK OF COURTS RECORDS ON LINE: N
COC WEB ADDRESS
http://www.co.wyandot.oh.us/clerk/index.html
The final article in this series will be an indepth list of statistics so that you can easily see how all this stacks up compared to Erie County. Stay tuned for this article next weekend.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
$37,000 TO PUT RECORDS ON LINE
In this past Sunday's (April 5) Sandusky Register on page A2 in the article “Creative Cash Quest: Erie County officials look everywhere, anywhere for money,” Barb Johnson states that she is seeking outside funding to cover the $37,000 that it will take to get the COC records on line. FINALLY! ! ! This shows she is trying to do something about this. At least she now has a dollar amount; unless of course she just pulled those figures out of the air. Now the big question is, will she continue the hard work and follow through with this, or will she let it slip into the cracks?
I can think of one way to get the $37,000 needed to cover this price tag. How about collecting on the over $700,000 (see that article here) (which I firmly belive is MUCH higher than that) in outstanding court costs and fines? That way she can kill two birds with one stone; collecting on all that money that is owed to the county AND at the same time getting the money to get the records on line! ! ! I mean, I'm just thinking a little out of the box here and trying to give Barb some helpful advice.
Well, it makes sense to me anyway. How about you? Your thoughts / comments please.
I can think of one way to get the $37,000 needed to cover this price tag. How about collecting on the over $700,000 (see that article here) (which I firmly belive is MUCH higher than that) in outstanding court costs and fines? That way she can kill two birds with one stone; collecting on all that money that is owed to the county AND at the same time getting the money to get the records on line! ! ! I mean, I'm just thinking a little out of the box here and trying to give Barb some helpful advice.
Well, it makes sense to me anyway. How about you? Your thoughts / comments please.
THE PURPOSE OF THIS BLOG....AGAIN
A reader recently left the following comment:
Anonymous said...
"you people who say all this stuff bout barbara johnson on this website are cruel! i know barbara personally and she is one of the nicest people i know. not only is she a good christian woman but she also works very hard and does a fine job as erie county clerk. you people should be ashamed at what you are doing!"
Let me reiterate what I wrote in an earlier article: "Barb Johnson is a very nice person. Her "likeability" is not what is in question. What is in question are her management skills (or lack thereof) which has cost the citizens and tax payers of Erie County hundreds of thousands of dollars over her past 6 terms of over 20 years. This evidence will be gathered during the next 4 years and will be made available to the public for the 2012 election."
Barb is a nice person - a good Christian woman. Great! I get it! I even agree 100% with that statement. I am not arguing that point.
However, when you say things like, "she also works very hard and does a fine job as erie county clerk," THAT is what I will debate with anyone at anytime because there is sooooo much evidence to prove otherwise!
First, if she did work hard at her job, things would have gotten done over her past 20 year reign as Clerk. Unfortunately, sad to say, nothing has gotten done. Secondly, if she did a fine job as Clerk, then that office would not be in the utter chaotic mess that it is in at the present time. I can remember when the previous Clerk (Collette Crouch) retired, that office was in VERY GOOD shape. Over the past 20 years under Johnson's 6 terms, things have spiraled out of control. So no one can tell me that she is doing a fine job as Clerk, because all the evidence shows the contrary - the evidence that I have produced so far, and the evidence that I will produce in the future.
Remember, being a nice, good, Christian person does not automatically make you a good manager.
Anonymous said...
"you people who say all this stuff bout barbara johnson on this website are cruel! i know barbara personally and she is one of the nicest people i know. not only is she a good christian woman but she also works very hard and does a fine job as erie county clerk. you people should be ashamed at what you are doing!"
Let me reiterate what I wrote in an earlier article: "Barb Johnson is a very nice person. Her "likeability" is not what is in question. What is in question are her management skills (or lack thereof) which has cost the citizens and tax payers of Erie County hundreds of thousands of dollars over her past 6 terms of over 20 years. This evidence will be gathered during the next 4 years and will be made available to the public for the 2012 election."
Barb is a nice person - a good Christian woman. Great! I get it! I even agree 100% with that statement. I am not arguing that point.
However, when you say things like, "she also works very hard and does a fine job as erie county clerk," THAT is what I will debate with anyone at anytime because there is sooooo much evidence to prove otherwise!
First, if she did work hard at her job, things would have gotten done over her past 20 year reign as Clerk. Unfortunately, sad to say, nothing has gotten done. Secondly, if she did a fine job as Clerk, then that office would not be in the utter chaotic mess that it is in at the present time. I can remember when the previous Clerk (Collette Crouch) retired, that office was in VERY GOOD shape. Over the past 20 years under Johnson's 6 terms, things have spiraled out of control. So no one can tell me that she is doing a fine job as Clerk, because all the evidence shows the contrary - the evidence that I have produced so far, and the evidence that I will produce in the future.
Remember, being a nice, good, Christian person does not automatically make you a good manager.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
COMMENT SECTION FIXED
Someone sent me an email to let me know that they tried to leave a comment but were unable to do so. I looked into the problem and I think it's fixed.
So go ahead and leave comments. We encourage comments as part of the dialogue and a very important part of this blog. Just remember to follow the "Commenting Guidelines" in the sidebar.
So go ahead and leave comments. We encourage comments as part of the dialogue and a very important part of this blog. Just remember to follow the "Commenting Guidelines" in the sidebar.
Saturday, April 4, 2009
QUARTERLY REPORT CARD: WINTER 2009
Here it is as promised, Erie County Clerk of Courts Barbara Johnson's first “Report Card” which covers January – March 2009.
QUARTER: Jan.-March 2009
ITEM GRADE
1. Attendance = 7
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 = 1
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 = 0.7
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
1. I am not in the office on a daily basis, however, I do see her in the office almost every time I’ve been in there. Even on days that I am not in the office, there are ways to determine if she is in or not. So these figures are fairly accurate. Jan. Attend = 70%; Feb. Attend = 86%; March Attend= 100%
As you can see, though she is in the office much more than before the November 2008 election, nothing seems to be getting accomplished. She has an overall grade of “F.” Not good. I touched a little on this in yesterday’s article here. More on this in a future article.
QUARTER: Jan.-March 2009
ITEM GRADE
1. Attendance = 7
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 = 1
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 = 0.7
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
1. I am not in the office on a daily basis, however, I do see her in the office almost every time I’ve been in there. Even on days that I am not in the office, there are ways to determine if she is in or not. So these figures are fairly accurate. Jan. Attend = 70%; Feb. Attend = 86%; March Attend= 100%
As you can see, though she is in the office much more than before the November 2008 election, nothing seems to be getting accomplished. She has an overall grade of “F.” Not good. I touched a little on this in yesterday’s article here. More on this in a future article.
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