Berkeley East; Toledo Mayor Finkbeiner Kicks The Marines Out
Screw Toledo. There's a reason it's called the "arm-pit" of Ohio. I was going to Toledo for the Kid Rock concert, but I would rather wait and see if he goes to Cleveland instead. The only time I go to Toledo anyway is to drive through on my way to Cabela's.
A company of Marine Corps Reservists received a cold send-off from downtown Toledo yesterday by order of Mayor Carty Finkbeiner.
The 200 members of Company A, 1st Battalion, 24th Marines, based in Grand Rapids, Mich., planned to spend their weekend engaged in urban patrol exercises on the streets of downtown as well as inside the mostly vacant Madison Building, 607 Madison Ave.
Toledo police knew days in advance about their plans for a three-day exercise. Yet somehow the memo never made it to Mayor Finkbeiner, who ordered the Marines out yesterday afternoon just minutes before their buses were to arrive.
***UPDATE 02/09/08 7:40PM***
Apparently some have not read the entire article. They think it's to defend against Canada or a show of force by the "Military Industrial Complex". It must be too complex of a thought to associate it with Global War on Terror that was AUTHORIZED BY CONGRESS. In their fantasy world, they believe wars are being waged on battlefields, instead of the reality that they are being fought in cities, with buildings. This person thinks we should take money from troops on the ground to build a mock city for the exercises. I bet they complain about government waste too.
Members of the 1st Battalion, 24th Marines have trained periodically in downtown Toledo since at least 2004 and most recently in May, 2006.
Past exercises have involved mock gun fights, ambushes, and the firing of blank ammunition.
[...]
The Reservists' visit was no surprise to Toledo police, who Tuesday issued a news release to media outlets on behalf of the Marines that asked Toledoans not to be startled by the sight of camouflaged soldiers toting M16 rifles.
Police officers were awaiting the Marines' arrival yesterday afternoon and had set up a roadblock at Madison Avenue and Huron Street.
[...]
A pair of Marines spent the better part of yesterday setting up the Madison Building with generators, heaters, radios, and food to become the unit's overnight headquarters.
[...]
Lance Cpl. Brandon Bukrey-McCarty, 22, recalled taking part in the company's 2006 urban patrol exercise in downtown Toledo.
He said he learned skills during that exercise that proved useful during the unit's deployment to Fallujah, Iraq, in 2006-2007.
"It was extremely helpful," Corporal Bukrey-McCarty said.
The training "got me used to looking up on rooftops, looking around every alley, every open door."
Sergeant Davis and other company leaders estimated the total cost of the aborted training exercise, including travel, at roughly $10,000.
***UPDATE 02/10/08 10:45AM***
The Fink is getting hammered. He has not only disgraced himself to Ohioans, but to Americans as well. I had seen yesterday that this story had made LGF and Drudge.
***UPDATE 02/11/08 12:29AM***
You can email the Fink at mayor.toledo@toledo.oh.gov or you can call, (419) 245-1001. If you call, remember to be polite to the person that answers the phone.
It's interesting to note that the mayors website is no longer working. *UPDATE* It's working again
***UPDATE 02/12/08 2:00PM***
Five Toledo city councilmen have called this an embarrassment and have demanded that Mayor Fink apologize.
Councilmen Frank Szollosi, D. Michael Collins, Joe McNamara, Michael Ashford, and Mike Craig spoke to reporters yesterday at Government Center and presented a proposed resolution apologizing to the Marines.
[...]
Mr. Collins, a Marine from 1963 to 1969, said the situation is an embarrassment for the city.
"The city signed-off on those plans or they wouldn't have embarked on this trip," he said. "I sincerely hope that our reputation throughout the United States isn't reflective that this is the value system that Toledo, Ohio, has."
[...]
Mr. Ashford challenged Mr. Finkbeiner's statement from the previous day that people downtown would be frightened by warfare exercises and said he was doubtful the mayor was completely unaware of the planned visit.
"If you have ever been downtown on a weekend in February, there is no one downtown," Mr. Ashford said.
Mayor Fink feels the wrath of college basketball fans.
There was much disdain for Mr. Finkbeiner when he competed in a free-throw shooting contest during halftime of yesterday's men's basketball game between the University of Toledo and Bowling Green State University at BGSU's Anderson Arena.
Mr. Finkbeiner, who competed against Bowling Green Mayor John Quinn, was showered with boos by fans from both teams. The mayor responded by cracking a faint smile.
Mayor Fink says he would do it all again. On top of that, he addresses the USMC incorrectly.
Mayor Carty Finkbeiner was unapologetic yesterday and said he would do it all over again and cancel another Marine Corps warfare training exercise on the streets of downtown Toledo, despite the backlash for his decision last week.
However, the mayor tried to make good with the Marines and last night e-mailed a “formal invitation” back to the city to several officers. The invitation incorrectly spelled the U.S. Marine Corps as U.S. Marine Corp.
“I have further stated my desire to have the U.S. Marine Corp. conduct training exercises in the city of Toledo, wherever appropriate, with the probable exception of the central business district,” the letter stated.
If you question the Mayor's loyalty, you're a baboon.
“Anybody who suggests that this man is in some way, shape, or form not loyal to this country or not loyal to the military of this country, well that person is just a plain baboon who doesn’t know me in any way, shape, or form and what I stand for,” Mr. Finkbeiner said.
City commissioners and the visitors bureau is trying to make amends.
The commissioners and the convention and visitors bureau are offering the Marines a free, one-night stay at a hotel, a $50 gift certificate to a restaurant, and free family admission to the Toledo Zoo.
Marines who take advantage of the offer have to stay at a hotel and eat at a restaurant that are convention and visitors bureau members.
They will receive the offer in the form of gift certificates and a “Do Toledo” card, which will help direct them to the bureau’s member restaurants and hotels.
***UPDATE 02/13/08 10:55AM***
City council has unanimously approved a resolution apologizing to the Marines.
Toledo City Council yesterday attempted to quell the controversy surrounding Mayor Carty Finkbeiner’s order to cancel a Marine Corps warfare training exercise downtown with a unanimous vote of apology.
Without discussion, the 12-member council approved a resolution apologizing to Company A, 1st Battalion, 24th Marines, based in Grand Rapids, Mich., for the mayor’s action Friday afternoon.
Mr. Finkbeiner, who has refused to apologize and has defended his decision, yesterday declined to say whether he would sign the resolution or if he believed the controversy would hinder the city’s attempt to renew the 0.75 percent income tax on the March 4 ballot.
