Vote With Your Mind Not Your Party

One of the many reasons I love living in this country is because we can share our opinions, without fear of retribution. You will find in this Blog, I will be sharing my opinion quite often. In the first week of May 2010 we will be heading to the polls. I feel I would be remiss, if I didn’t share my opinion on this election. You may ask, “What does this election have to do with downtown Lorain?” I can answer by saying; this election will affect all downtown's all across American.
I’ve been reading a lot of articles, and a lot of ‘Letters to the Editor’, in the last few weeks. Everyone wants you to support their candidate, and there is nothing wrong with that. The thing that does make me nervous, however, is people voting mindlessly. If you are a registered Democrat or a registered Republican and you go into the polls and vote strictly down party lines you are voting mindlessly. I know there are a lot of people out there that don’t want to hear that, but it is true. I can assure that if you are a Republican, not every Republican is out for your best interest, and the same goes for the Democrats.
If you intend to vote you need to be educated about the issues and the candidates. Going into a voting booth and voting exclusively for your party can be a dangerous vote. For instance, if you are Pro-Life and you typically vote Republican, you can very easily vote for a Pro-Choice Republican, or visa-versa. There are many more examples like this.
A few weeks ago I caused my email to be bombarded when I made a statement about voting on my radio talk show. I simply said; “I think that if you are going to be registered to vote in this country that you should have to take a test.” How was I to know that I would be called Un-American for that statement? I stand by the statement. I truly feel that there are some people that should never be allowed in a voting booth. If you can’t tell me who the Vice President is, you need to stay away from the booth. If you live in Ohio and don’t know the Governors name, once again, stay away from the booth. I could go on and on.
People, who know me, know that I am very liberal in most of my beliefs. So it would probably surprise them to know that I voted for both George Bush’s. Having said that, the very first presidential candidate I voted for was Jesse Jackson. My two favorite presidents were Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan.
In every period of American history we, as a country, have gone through different stages. We need a certain type of government based on what is going on at the time. A case in point is after 9/11. I truly feel George W Bush was the right person for the job. When he stood on the pile of rumble at ground zero in New York City, his approval rating was 90%. He was able to rally America together for a war that we needed at the time. I believe that as strongly as I believe that President Obama is the right person for the job, at this point in our history. In 2012 or 2016 we may need an entirely different kind of leader.
The old slogan of the United Negro College Fund was, “A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste.” That was never truer than when you walk into a voting booth. The future of Lorain depends on you doing your homework.

A Little About Myself

I feel since this is my first Blog, I need to tell you a little about myself. I was born in Summersville, West Virginia. I grew up in Lorain County, specifically, Elyria. I’ve done a little bit of everything in my life. I started out my career in restaurants, I worked at a newspaper, a sandstone quarry, a pipe wrench factory, I got in trouble with the law; I ran away and was homeless, I worked as a Lumper for a truck driver, I joined a carnival, and hitchhiked across the country to find my mother in Texas. I worked on a farm in Texas driving a grain truck; I got married and divorced in Texas for the first time. I worked as a DJ in Guymon Oklahoma, and I got in trouble in both Texas and Oklahoma, and spent time at the gray bars hotel. I left Texas, and hitchhiked back to West Virginia, and then I hitchhiked to North Carolina; I met a woman 16 years my senior and I married her the following week. I got a job as a DJ, car salesman, volunteer EMT, worked in a hospital as a CNA, store manager, pest control sales person; moved to Ohio, got a job as a hotel manager and got divorced. I then married my boss who had 4 small children, and I helped her raise her kids, and worked as a restaurant manager, car salesman, factory worker, and store manager. I moved to Arizona to help take care of her mother, and I took a job in a factory, she told me she wanted a divorce I flipped out and was committed to an INTITUTION, found out I had Bi-Polar disorder(who didn’t see that coming). After being crazy I moved back to Ohio got a job in a factory, flipped out again, took a bus to Charlotte; I was homeless again, I decided I didn’t like that, so I moved back to Ohio and met someone on line and moved to Parma; I worked for the world’s largest retailer. I decided to go in to business with my now fiancé and we have a store in Lorain, where we donate 25% of or proceeds to the homeless. I also do a weekly radio talk show on 91.5 WOBC out of Oberlin College…….. I’m doing much better now.
Now that you know about me; let me tell you what this Blog is going to be about. Back before the ‘Light up Lorain’ event in Lorain we were ask by Joe Skodny to come and sell our Christmas supplies to the public, for the event. We moved in to the old Reith Insurance building at 737 Broadway. Before the first Light up Lorain event, a story was published about me in the Morning Journal. The word had gotten out that we were donating 25% of our proceeds to the Haven Center for the homeless in Lorain County. That story began the snowball effect. Channel 5 in Cleveland read the story and decided they wanted to hear more, and they gave me the opportunity to tell my story. I was then featured in several other publications and radio. We became an instant success in downtown Lorain.
This experience has caused me to fall in love with downtown Lorain. I have the advantage of looking at the area with new eyes. The potential in downtown Lorain is unlimited. Back in January I wrote a letter to the Editor that pretty much summed up my feelings. Here it is again:

“To the Editor: I have a business in downtown Lorain and there are things that need to be said. I came to Lorain to be a part of something that I felt in my heart was going to be a great thing. When I started learning the history of Lorain and how great it once was, I knew I wanted to be a part of a Lorain that will be great again. I see a major problem in this great town — negativity. Being negative will never fix anything. I know for a fact that Mayor Krasienko has nothing but the city's best interests at heart. He and his administration are doing a great job attracting new businesses to come to Lorain, I am one of them.

The mayor has a great man in Rey Carrion who works tirelessly trying to better the situation in Lorain. Another person deserving recognition is Joe Skodny of the Downtown Lorain Christmas Decorating Council. He is a true blue Lorainite, who wants nothing more than to see Lorain great again. His vision of Lorain as a Disneyland-type tourist destination is exactly the kind of thinking we all need.”

After that appeared in the paper on the website I reluctantly read the comments posted. Unfortunately, it was mostly negative, which I expected. In these economic times, I do understand where that comes from. However, one thing is certain, complaining and moaning will never fix anything. So this Blog is going to be about the positive things that are happening and are going to happen in downtown Lorain.
I truly believe when people work together as one, there is nothing that can’t be accomplished. I’m amazed everyday as I look out my big window on Broadway just how many pass by. So many people live in this city that only drive through downtown Lorain to get to another destination. They don’t realize that they are driving by the answer to fixing the economy in Lorain. When you patronize our businesses the money goes into the city of Lorain with the taxes we pay. We are then able to hire employees and put people back to work. Those people will then buy products and we will put more money in the economy. When you spend money with us the city is then able to afford to put public servants back on the job. If you want more police and fire fighters the answer is right in front of you.
I am what some people would call a contradiction. I am a very socially liberal in my politics but I still believe in a Mayberry type town. (By the way, The Andy Griffith Show is the greatest show ever made) We have the opportunity to turn our downtown into a retail destination. It is going to take all of us to make that happen.
I am going to share my Ideas on this Blog, as well as, sharing with you all the good stuff going on down here. You will hear about businesses that you didn’t know were here or maybe you didn’t know they were still here. I also want you to share with me your ideas. This is about mobilizing the citizens of Lorain. We need to make businesses want to come to downtown Lorain. Come on Lorain, let’s build this city together.
You can contact me several ways. Of course you can respond to this Blog but you can also contact me at my email:
Ksalisbury42@hotmail.com or you can “Friend me on Facebook