FOOD RAISER

The Salvation Army Food Pantry was bare Thursday morning

Join us in a “Food Raiser” event

Sat., Sept. 1, 9:00 am to 1:00 pm

Martial Arts Center Parking Lot

5122 Heatherdowns Blvd; (at Reynolds Road)

Fill a pick up truck with food!

Needed items: Primarily canned goods, boxed goods such as:

Canned fruit, Canned vegetables, Canned beans. Canned meats, Canned soups; Small packs of chips, Small packs of cookies, Crackers, Rice, Dry pasta, Canned spaghetti; Instant noodles, Instant potatoes, Box cereal, Peanut butter, Boxed dinners, Instant milk

No glass containers, frozen foods, perishables

News Release: "Accentuate the Positive" in District 2

Toledo, Ohio. Karen Shanahan, second-level white belt martial arts student and Democratic candidate for Toledo City Council - District 2, announces release of her third video on YouTube.com. This video accentuates the many positive aspects of District 2 and how negative aspects need to be eliminated.

Shanahan promotes preserving our parks, repairing the rough roads, fostering a small business alliance, encouraging block watch and securing our streets, “canning” the trash tax and advocating for senior citizens.

The video was created for her campaign by Dan Adams, and may be viewed at Accentuate

News Release: Self-Defense for Senior Citizens

Toledo, Ohio. Karen Shanahan, second-level white belt martial arts student and Democratic candidate for Toledo City Council - District 2, announces that she will host the second in her series of self-defense demonstrations for senior citizens. Sempai Shelly Blanco, of the Martial Arts Center, located at 5122 Heatherdowns and 7430 West Central, will be the instructor. There is no charge for these demonstrations; the second one will be held.

Date: Thursday, August 16, 2007

Time: 11:00 - 11:30 a.m.

Place: Common Space Center for Creativity

1700 N. Reynolds Road, Toledo

(3 blocks north of Dorr Street)

Small Business Alliance

I've been working with a few of the Small Businesses in District 2 who have expressed an interest in instituting the Small Business Alliance if it will be active and not just a "coffee clutch" as it had become in past years. As a council person, I'll work with the small businesses to define issues which block growth; once define, action items will be assigned to specific committees and results in resolution will be discussed at the following meeting. It will be necessary to prioritize the issues and work through each one. As a member of council, I'll be challenged to resolve government issues which are identified as blocking progress. District 2 is a thriving, progressive area which will move forward with the active participation of small businesses in our District.

Budget - To Balance or not to Balance in Nov, That is the Question

Should the Mayor present a balanced budget to City Council in November to? Balanced budgets have previously been presented in November, which Council then disassembled and reassembled to better serve the community. It was a coordinated effort and it was effective, but would it have been any less effective if the budget presented in November was not balanced?

If a budget is presented in November that is not balanced, Council is given an opportunity to look at the requests of city departments not just the requests as adjusted by the Administration. If a balanced budget is presented in November, Council is still expected to review and adjust the budget, not just rubber stamp a balanced budget.

On a much smaller scale, I’ve worked on budget committees, though smaller, the process was the same: departments submitted their budget requests to finance; finance calculated expected income; department budgets were returned and given another opportunity to make their own adjustments. Finance then submitted the budget (usually not balanced) to the council who then recommended adjustments to departments so the budget would balance.

For the benefit of the City, it is essential that the City Council and Administration work together to provide the most effective balanced budget possible each year. On council, I’ll work through either process with other council members and the Administration knowing the requirement is to balance the budget by March of each year

Self Defense and Seniors

The demonstration of self-defense methods held at the Margaret Hunt center was such a positive event! The Seniors and the staff thoroughly enjoyed the program and it offered realistic methods to prevent attack. My Mom, Pauline, Grandson, Henri (Mom was taking care of him Thursday) and Mom's friend, Maxine, attended and participated. Henri, 9, gave a demonstration of an "elbow strike" (he's been taking martial arts for 4 years now) and everyone applauded at his technique. It was a huge plus that media came and was willing to focus on the need for such training for Seniors. Several mentioned that it never occurred to them to use any of the techniques we demonstrated. I have another class schedule for Sept. 5 at the Eleanor Kahle Senior Center and hope it will be as informative and well received by the next group of Seniors.

Many thanks to Shelly Blanco for generously giving her time to teach self defense at the event, she willingly gives of her time for demonstrations throughout the city. Working with her has been a privilege and totally positive experience!

Accountability

Letter to the Editor posted in the Toledo Free Press:

I'm concerned with the ethics of elected officials, not only those who commit the violations, but also those who stand aside and ignore criminal activity. In recent years, elected officials who were aware of violations by Mr. McCloskey remained mute until the violations were brought to the attention of authorities by businesses in the community.

The ethics laws are irrelevant if violators are not reported. Tightening ethics laws, making them more stringent is of no value if no one speaks up and reports the violators. It is as though there is a code of silence or a fear of embarrassment or retribution if the truth is brought forward. It is difficult to report peers for violations, but we elect officials to make difficult choices.

There were no repercussions for the silence of our elected officials in the McCloskey incident; in fact, those who chose silence were re-elected. We should expect and demand higher standards of the elected leaders of our community, they should set the example, not explain away the lack of action. Those who remain silent and allow the ethics violations to continue enable criminal conduct. There should be sanctions imposed on elected officials who elect to remain silent.

Karen Shanahan, Toledo City Council Candidate, District 2

Come for a Visit

This is an open invitation to any of the bloggers to "Meet the Candidate" at any of 3 separate events. The invitation is extended by Ellen Critchley and Shelly Blanco:

Karen Shanahan –Democrat for Toledo City Council District 2

Karen is my client. When we first started working together, I didn’t know her well. It didn’t take long to realize that Karen is bright, hard working, a logical thinker, has great ideas and follows through – in other words, she’s sensible and stable. I’m proud of her and her many stances on issues that affect her district and all the citizens of Toledo.

Here are a few casual opportunities to meet her and discuss the issues. If you choose to contribute to her campaign at any of these events, that’s fine, too. Checks should be written to: Committee to Elect Shanahan. No corporate checks, please.

Thursday, August 9 7-9 pm

Pauline Kurschat’s home (Karen's Mother)

1532 Claybourne (west of Byrne, south off Glendale)

Toledo

They will serve hot fudge sundaes!

Saturday, August 11 2:30-4:30 pm

Shelly Blanco’s home (co-owns Martial Arts Center in District 2)

6105 S. Chanticleer Drive (across from Wolfcreek YMCA off Holland-Sylvania)

Maumee

They will serve coffee & desserts.

Thursday, August 23 7-9 pm

Pauline Kurschat’s home (Karen's Mother)

1532 Claybourne (west of Byrne, south off Glendale)

Toledo

They will be serving hot fudge sundaes!

I endorse Karen Shanahan for Toledo City Council – District 2. Please take an opportunity to meet Karen soon so that you, too, will know she is the best choice in the upcoming election. You may also learn more about Karen on her website - http://shanahanselect.com/ , or contact her at 419-380-0244 or kesjr@bex.net.

Thank you for considering Karen Shanahan. I hope you will meet her and that, if you live in District 2, you will vote for her in the Primary on Tuesday, September 11, and again in the General Election on Tuesday, November 6.