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Candidates for commissioner get personal: Konop bristles at Sarantou ad linking him to aunt's faux pas
(Blade, The (Toledo, OH) (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Oct. 31--Lucas County Commissioner candidates Democrat Ben Konop and Republican George Sarantou chucked crab apples at each other last night during a debate sponsored by The Blade and WTVG-TV (Channel 13) (See the video).
Guilt by association was as dominant a theme as economic development. Mr. Konop, 30, called Mr. Sarantou, 54, "sad," "childish," and "immature" after the release of a TV ad yesterday by the Toledo city councilman attacking Mr. Konop's aunt.
And Mr. Sarantou accused Mr. Konop of distorting the Republican's record on council, a claim that drew off camera eye-rolls from Mr. Konop.
The ad refers to the 2001 acceptance and eventual repayment of ethically questionable home repairs valued at $7,500 by former commissioner Sandy Isenberg, Mr. Konop's aunt. "We all know the apple doesn't fall far from the tree," the ad says.
"Unfortunately, Sandy left office very much in disgrace," Mr. Sarantou said. "Sandy's working very much in favor of Ben's campaign."
Throughout the campaign, Mr. Konop criticized Mr. Sarantou for accepting $700 in past elections from Tom Noe, a Republican fund-raiser convicted of laundering contributions to President Bush and currently on trial for allegedly stealing from a $50 million state investment in rare coins.
Mr. Sarantou has pledged to return the donations to the investment's source, the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation, or to charity.
"To attack family members is clearly different, way below the belt," Mr. Konop said.
As the half-hour debate moderated by Blade politics writer Jim Tankersley and WTVG anchor Lee Conklin continued, the jabs moved to the political vision necessary for a community roiled by unemployment and the rusting of its century-old economic engine. Mr. Sarantou and Mr. Konop each posed a question to voters.
"Do you want somebody at the helm that has experience and done economic development or do you want someone that's never done it?" Mr. Sarantou asked about Mr. Konop, a lawyer and former congressional candidate who has yet to hold office.
Mr. Konop responded with an equally hostile query, which he framed by noting that Mr. Sarantou chairs the council finance committee and Toledo ranks 196th out of 200 cities in job creation according to a recent study by the Milken Institute, an economic think tank.
That performance hardly merits a promotion, in Mr. Konop's opinion.
"Do we want that type of experience ... for the county?" he asked. "I would hope not."
Mr. Konop claims that his own background teaching corporate finance and law at universities makes him an adept student of how to manage an entire county. He has proposed a downtown incubator to foster high-tech companies, the coordination of road construction projects among government agencies, and a citizens' police academy for senior citizens.
Each of these proposals is redundant, said Mr. Sarantou, noting that the University of Toledo already has a tech corridor for new businesses, the Toledo Metropolitan Area Council of Governments already handles road repairs, and police training for retirees already exists.
"We don't have a high tech incubator as the one I discussed," Mr. Konop said. "All of my proposals, I have been very certain, are not being done."
Mr. Konop also said that he could reduce property taxes by having the region pay for arts and cultural centers, allegedly producing savings through operating efficiencies. He has yet to produce specific numbers for this proposal, which is a central part of his TV ads.
An adviser for Brennan Financial Group in Toledo, Mr. Sarantou claimed that his insight into finance would slice any blubber out of the county budget.
He promised last night to scour $500,000 allotted to social services -- less than a half of 1 percent of the budget -- for fat, in addition to reviewing personnel policies and the 150 properties owned or leased by the county.
Then the bickering started.
"That's not a program," Mr. Konop said.
"It certainly is," Mr. Sarantou answered. "Ben, tell the truth."
"I just want to point this out," Mr. Konop said. "My opponent is trailing by 20 points in the polls."
A recent poll by Zogby International has Mr. Konop leading Mr. Sarantou 48 percent to 31 percent, although Mr. Sarantou remarked last night that "the real poll will be on Election Day." That would be Nov. 7.
Contact Joshua Boak at:
jboak@theblade.com
or 419-724-6728.
Copyright (c) 2006, The Blade, Toledo, Ohio
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.
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