Akron Mayoral Debate a feast of fact versus fiction

I can honestly say that the Akron Mayoral debate between Don Plusquellic and Joe Finley won't make anyone forget Kennedy-Nixon, but it did provide some insight into the duo's ideas and some folly.

11:40 a.m. The parking lot at the Martin Center is packed. As I find a spot in an adjacent lot, I realize that seats will be at a premium but that's a good thing too. Nice to see folks are interested in the race. I see several members of Plusquellic's cabinet walking towards the door; I'm wondering how many folks Finley will bring as a cheering section.

11:55 a.m. I find a seat in the back with Jody Miller and Ed Esposito -- my tag-team partners from NewsNight Akron .. and with Jeanne Weiss, a nice lady who raised four sons on North Hill and who came today to see for herself what the candidates have to say.

Noon Joe Finley is eating with his wife and 8 of his 9 kids. Mayor Plusquellic is shaking hands. Abe Zaiden signals both to come forward for the coin toss. I can't hear what's going on, but I'm told that the two actually argued over what the toss would actually dictate. Later, our newsroom videographer Carl Bachtel says that Finley asked him where he was supposed to sit on the stage.

12:14 p.m. I see numerous community leaders looking at their watches wondering if the event will start any time soon. They all have that look of "I need to be out of here by 1 to get to a meeting." Jody Miller points out a young candidate for another local Mayor's post whose standing near the back of the room. I realize that most if not all of the county and city leaders are all in one room. Sure hope nothing bad happens to this place or a dog catcher could end up taking the oath of office.

12:15 p.m. We hear the opening music of the Time Warner Cable broadcast signalling the start of the program. Most of the 200+ in the room are chewing on their ice because their water glasses weren't refilled before the start of the one-hour debate.

12:16 p.m. Plusquellic's opening remarks are all on the high road. Leadership, results, vision, and honesty. He's talking about how national magazines love Akron. This seems very Plusquellic-esque, and while it was probably written by one of two speech writers, he's obviously rehearsed it several times .. even if just to himself.

12:19 p.m. Finley uses his opening remarks to recognize his family, to include four of his children in their military uniforms. He talks about his faith, his service in Vietnam, and his time as a ward 2 candidate. OK, he just said that "people are voting with their feet" and that's why Akron has lost 1,000 residents per year in the census. Is he blaming the mayor for people moving out? He's hitting his talking points in groups of three. For example, he says Akron is deficient in taxes, vacant homes, and crime. His opening remarks don't sound the way Finley speaks. The more he reads and glances down at his papers, the more I think his opening statement was written by someone else. Not a surprise, but not a perceived strength of Finley's either. His speech ends with big applause from the two tables of Finley supporters who are seated closer to Plusquellic than Finley.

First Question: The City's relationship with the University of Akron.

12:22 p.m. Plusquellic says that city hall used to see the U of A as a place that ate up taxable land and brought "beer-guzzling" students to town. (at this moment, I wonder if his close city hall confidants are biting their lips fearing what could come next). Plusquellic says that's still partially right today but that the U of A remains a key player in jobs and job training. Now, the Mayor is playing up the "honesty" theme again, jabbing at whether Finley's campaign statements have been truthful. Plusquellic points out other community leaders in the room and discusses deals brokered with them even during disagreements.

12:27 p.m. I can tell Finley is salivating to bite back on the beer guzzling joke. OK, there he goes. He says he doesn't like our students characterized that way and transitions into how downtown should morph to make Akron a college town. He sees bringing the students to spend their money downtown as a way to get back part of the city's investment in the U of A. He goes on to bring up the budget; he says the city is broke and it's Plusquellic's fault for pushing too much credit. He's quoting JFK and says Plusquellic's 15 cabinet members are nearly twice the eight positions that were there when he started in office and more than the Mayor of New York City. I expect Plusquellic to fight back on this point but he never does.

Second question: Budget and cuts ..

12:35 p.m. Plusquellic fires away on the city budget. He says the city's bond rating is good, and that city hall has been fiscally responsible. He points to having to cut 800 positions from 30 years ago and how tough that's been. Plusquellic says it's "beyond belief" that Finley is FOR keeping Goodyear but AGAINST the need to take the homes of some folks to make room for new Goodyear buildings.

12:42 p.m. Plusquellic references his 80-year-old mother in the audience and says he'd like to be able to tell her that Rubber Companies are coming back to town but he doesn't want to mislead her. It's an obvious jab at Finley, hinting that Finley's telling voters what they want to hear and not the truth.

12:47 p.m. Finley is really on the offensive now. He calls Plusquellic's tenure an "embarrassment" when it comes to protecting homes from foreclosure. He suggests that city hall be a place folks can come to get to get mortgage advice. He says the experts in the law department should be able to provide guidance to folks for free. Wow! Wouldn't that be nice! That sounds like a great idea, but I checked with the city and I'm told that it would be illegal for city lawyers to give private advice on mortgages.

12:49 p.m. I wonder aloud, "how can I guy with nine kids possibly have enough time to be mayor of a major city?" Would he ever have time to even have dinner with these kids of his ever again?

12:50 p.m. OH NO HE DIDN'T! Finley just called Plusquellic on the carpet for calling people "wackos" and "liars". He also called the Mayor out for his parking lot attendant saga and claims he's alienating the neighbors. Ahhhhhhhh .. and just when a few folks were falling asleep.

12:51 p.m. I see Mayor Plusquellic writing a few notes. In fact, he has been taking notes during a vast majority of Finley's speaking moments whereas Finley tends to watch Plusquellic intently and just respond off the cuff.

12:53 p.m. OH NO HE DIDN'T! Plusquellic actually mentioned his relationship with Cuyahoga Falls Mayor Don Robart in SUPPORT of his role as Mayor of Akron. WOW! Plusquellic and Robart wouldn't follow one another out of a burning building -- that's what they think of one another as leaders. Plusquellic says that the recent water and hydrant deal between Cuyahoga Falls and Akron shows that he can work with people with whom he disagrees.

12:56 p.m. Mayor Plusquellic has now mentioned the Plain Dealer twice but not the ABJ. He's citing several PD articles that show Akron's financial stability as a good place to work and live.

1 p.m. Finley just held up a CD claiming that it contains a conversation in which Plusquellic threatens to fire members of the Akron Building Department. He says copies are available to the media and that it shows Plusquellic if off the reservation when it comes to bullying employees. Is this his smoking gun? hmmmmm. This seems quite staged but we'll have to take a listen and see what's there.

1:04 p.m. Plusquellic says he's not apologizing for handing building inspectors -- or any employee for that matter -- their butts if they're not living up to expectations to serve the community. Not sure if Plusquellic knew Finley was going to play Vanna White with the CD or not, but his answers are aimed right back in Finley's vowels.

1:06 p.m. Joe Finley says he's not against tearing houses down for Goodyear, but he is against doing it for the proposed BassPro Shop. Not sure you can separate the two projects, but Finley is making the distinction. He's also admitting that he misquoted job numbers from a training program he now wants to see come back.

1:12 p.m. The Time Warner Cable photographers are frantically signalling that we have one minute left in the taping. I doubt that either candidate will get to make a closing statement .. and I'm right. Finley quickly predicts a turnout of 12,000 voters for the primary. That's it! Abe Zaiden signed off the show.

OK .. taking it all in .. I'm not sure either candidate made any significant headway here. It felt like a rock-em/sock-em robots fight. Finley swinging big and broad trying to go for a knockout and Plusquellic just plugging away with body blows.

On the way out, I see fellow blogger Pho and wonder how he'll blog this one.

Back at the office, I take a look at the CD Finley handed out. It's a 12-minute conversation and sounds like it came from a recorder in someone's pocket. A Finley handout claims that five other city employees plus "other building inspectors" were there to witness the conversation on March 28, 2007. There's no way I will have time to contact all of those people to verify the validity of this tape before we go on the air. To broadcast it as "genuine" without checking it further is questionable. For that matter, Plusquellic doesn't deny making the statements so it may not be a big point of contention.

Some of you might disagree, but to air a tape without verifying who is there is a tough call. We'll see if those on the tape call me back in the coming days. Then again, it might be a mute point.