thank you voters

gee, guess Don and ABJ were WRONG!! get some clues people!

Hey with the great leadership don has shown. He will find another Young's restaurant to invest your hard earned dollars on in no time.

He has a penchant for crappe investments lately...

Good job Ak ron. Y dew wee need two go to collage end git an edjucashun?

I guess that Idea is down the toilet... Hey don why dont you lease out the highways and bridges?

THats an avenue you should look at for revenue....

A special place in hell don? maybe YOU should start getting your ice water ready!!!!!

He is the one that has mislead from the start. The Kalamazoo project, which this charter amendment was modeled after, was funded entirely by anonymous donors. He constantly compared the two, but it was like comparing apples to oranges. The deception started with king and ended with the citizens slapping that silly amendment down.

Umm "Miss" -- how was the ABJ wrong again?

Oh. They weren't. YOU just don't know what you're talking about. As usual.

mannnnn..i was at some of the polls and those people for it were kinda amandant about it. Did I spell that right? Anyway yayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy...it didnt pass!!

yes....Thank you Akron Voters!!!

Now i can flush with PRIDE!

But you passed State Issue 3. Didn't anyone read it? As for Obama, he's got 4 years to clean up this town, we are all holding our breath. Now the gas prices will start going up again! Just watch. They know he won't drill.

I'll bet Mayor Donny Boy went out and got real drunk last night. He lost on 8 and 9 passed. This was a good vote for Akron. The whole sewer leasing program made no sense at all. Congrats to the Akron voters for their good judgement.

Congratulations to Akron's voters. I surely wish they would show the same common sense when we elect our mayor.

The downside to this is, that we won't see any movement on the Goodyear or Firestone projects until the city hall hero comes up with another way to raise money to pay for them.

Good job Akron. I only wish we knew what King Don plans on doing next to fill his pockets with some more of our money. He needs moved out to the curb...

My hat is off to the citizens from Save Our Sewers for their swift efforts to circumvent Don's effort to lease our sewers. The fact is, the sale would have been a done deal if no-one had stepped to the plate.

The absolute best part of the evening was seeing Don on television, holding a microphone, his knuckes turning white, his voice strained and cracking as he said, "there is a special place in hell ..." as he spoke about the SOS folks.

Priceless

Good news story for sure.

We need someone that can take a proposal like that to the voters and lead us to raising the $$$ to fund it without the gimmickry of selling capital assets. To accomplish that will require someone to get us over the hurdle of a lot of kids not taking advantage of the free stuff we give them anyway!

But, in the end, what the Mayor's spokesman/Merolla said was true..."it's about whether you trust us or not." Time for the Mayor to exit the political stage. It's amazing what a small group of citizens can propose and get on the ballot here in Akron. All due to the Mayor's abysmal performance in his last election to turn out voters/5500 or so.

It's funny, I didn't think this issue was about the Mayor, but about college education for our children and economic developement for our city. I guess we can continue to watch our housing values go down our city operated sewers.

I'll see all of you taxpayers who are free thinkers in Hell.....Respectfully, Don

Congratulations citizens of Akron. Lets hope your voice was heard. I have only one question. Who or Where did the massive amount of money come from to pay for all the advertising for Issue 8 ? I hope the people of Akron aren't paying that bill to.

Thank GOD it did not pass. Like I have said before why should I pay for someone elses kid to go to college. If I wanted to I would have had kids.

This means the citizens of Akron who voted Issue 8 down are NO LONGER ALLOWED to complain about the gangs of lower-income kids roaming the streets. Issue 8 would have put some of them in a college classroom.

The Mayor and ABJ were not wrong. People just disagreed with them. We take our positions based on what we believe to be the merits of that position and not on, "Will I be on the side that wins?"

Someone needs to go back to Civics 101.

who would commit to living in akron for 30 yrs , or risk paying it back? i'll get my own money.

mayor announced this morning that akron will go back to outhouses 1-2-09.
thank you,
don p.

the ABJ blindly supported this plan---they were WRONG...

i see that don's minions are still working on posting comments supporting him, the plan, and being negative against people who voted against it.

and for the commenter who thinks that hoodrats can get into college---you think they're still in high school?? they probably dropped out---how would they get into college?

give it up don and your minions....and give up the ghost ABJ....the ABJ no longer has sway with voters as it once did...

As far as the Don is concerned, let him find a new way to line his pockets

Had Donny Boy been honest and open about the entire leasing and loan (NOT scholarship) plan (and the Beacon as well), I'll bet this would have passed. Is there some problem with this man telling the truth? No one in their right mind is against helping deserving kids with college. But not by giving people the impression these are truly scholarships and not loans.

As it was, it just appeared as a scheme to put lipstick on the leasing of our infrastructure, stick Akron voters with a guilt trip, and make Don appear as savior. In fact, Don is again revealed as a false messiah.

First of all the abj is nothing but a propogation tool for the mayor and city hall,secondly it has NO credibility. and as for donny and his minions the citizens of akron are finally on to you and your days are numbered we will no longer be taken advantage of nor will we sit by and let you continue to waste our money supposely for the good of akron but really just a bank account for you to do what ever you feel like. you are a tyrant and like all tyrants the people eventually have enough and rise up and fight back you have betrayed the trust of the people and make no mistake about it it is still about the people and you need to realize that you are not god!!. you no longer have the judgement to decide issues without thinking about how your going to control more people and as much money as you can get your hands on GO AWAY!!!!!

I'm so glad I voted NO for issue 8! I live in Akron, I have 3 young kids... I care about my kids education but I do not expect someone else to pay for them nor do I expect to pay for someone else's college tuition!!!

I hope people remember when King Don comes up for reelection his unprofessionalism and disrespect for the citizens when he says there is a special place in hell for them. Shame on him for addressing people who took the time to analyze the issue and make an informed decision.

I guess he would rather just be able shove his beliefs down people's throats and expect them to do as his bidding without question. Well sir it is my opinion that there is a special place in hell for politicians who disrespect the voters. So I guess I will see you there.

Good job fellow Akronians for voting this thing down the drain where it belongs!

Maybe it's time we put term limits on the Mayor's office as we have for the council seats. 20 Years with the same old, same old breeds nothing but trouble.

I would be interested in seeing a new city charter on term of lenght for the Mayor's office, 2 terms (8 years) is long enough.

I find it sad to live in a city in which the people are so selfish to go out of their way to intentionally take away something that could be so great for the city and the children because they have a personal grudge against the Mayor who has cared more about Akron then any of us can ever imagine. Honestly its a little frightening to think I live among so many STUPID people who can only see one side and one small aspect and not the whole picture. I have never read or heard one good and valid reason not to have supported Issue 8. Oh well, I will be fine, but its just sad for the people this could have really benefited and for Akron's future like property values, growth of Akron schools, and influx of people committed to making Akron a stronger City.

For Don and the others implying that Akron voters missed the boat by voting this down, let me just say that there is NO, absolutely NO, obstacle to going to college. I attended the APS for 12 years and went to college on loans and a small mix of private scholarships and grants. Let's get some perspective, please and stop acting like babies.

After reading the condescending remarks by some of the pro-8 crowd here, all I can say is that if you dedicated as much passion towards getting kids (including your own, in some cases) to go to college as you do advancing excuses for their failures, we would all be better off. Issue 8's failure doesn't change access to education one bit. Excuses are the best friend of people destined to fail.

Karen - You've got to be kidding me! The "gangs of lower-income kids" are roaming the streets because they cant go to college? Last I heard high school was free and they arent going there either! Its going to take a hell of alot more than selling the sewers to get these kids in school!

Karen wrote: "This means the citizens of Akron who voted Issue 8 down are NO LONGER ALLOWED to complain about the gangs of lower-income kids roaming the streets. Issue 8 would have put some of them in a college classroom."

TERM LIMITS! TERM LIMITS! TERM LIMITS! At the next time he,s up for reelection the propaganda train will be in full effect. we need to be certain not to forget his lack of respect for the citizens he is supposed to be serving and lack of ability to entertain any critiques on his policy he has no regard for democracy and if he could anyone not in agreement with him would be bannished, after of cource he had fleeced them for every penny he could forcifully extract!. keep your eyes and ears open another scam will soon follow this one to replace all the money he is wasting. hopefully we can survive until he is gone or before he bankrups this city. he,s like a reverse robin hood stealing from the poor to give to the rich DO NOT TRUST HIM our childrens future truly is at stake only he is not going to protect them he would enslave them to bad policies horrible agreements and lack of control for years to come!!!!

Yea! the mayor's plan to give a "free ride" to teenagers to attend local universities is defeated. Akron students already have a free high school education and many do not take advantage of it. Instead, they fight in school, skip their classes, do not do their homework, dress like thugs and cuss out their teachers. Why would anyone want to spend money to send these kids to college?! Sorry U of A, you loose too. The ducks were all in line behind the mayor, but they were shot down by the voters. Good job Akron!

U of A wins, actually, the students there don't want every piece of trash from Akron in their classes, we already have enough disruptive, and disrespectful students and its already crowded. Usually though they are gone after one semester.

So, maybe this was a loss for Proenza, but not the current students.

Posted by Karen 08:07 AM, 11/05/2008
This means the citizens of Akron who voted Issue 8 down are NO LONGER ALLOWED to complain about the gangs of lower-income kids roaming the streets. Issue 8 would have put some of them in a college classroom.

This is the stupidest post of the day. As if gang members would be going to college if it was only paid for. Maybe Karen should be thinking about going back and getting her GED.

The only reason Dirty Don isn't already in Hell is that Satan has been filibustering to keep him out.

Term limits are for those who don't respect the decision of the voting public.

Well said, Greg. The problem with Akron has always been Akronites.

If you all hate this city so much, and hate the mayor so much----why are you still here? So many people are ready to shoot the messenger and hot listen to the message. I don't understand those who want new and "outside the box" thinking and them go balistic when someone (whether you like them personally or not) comes up with an idea. I appreciate that our ELECTED mayor is willing to take the personal venom that is so often directed at him and continue to do what is good for this city. What has he done that is so bad?

I cannot believe that all the supporters posting for issue 8 here don't get it. Citizens listened to both sides and decided the plan WAS A BAD IDEA. We don't hate the Mayor. Maybe we should, though, when he basically calls us stupid, foolish, or deserving of a trip to hell, as he did last night. If you thought the plan was a good idea, great. The problem was the funding source. Maybe the city can start a fund we can all contribute to and raise enough local money to fuel a revised plan.

i thought that scholarship money was money given to a student with no strings attached! So why was this promoted as you have to stay in Akron for 30 years or pay city taxes if you move away or pay back any money that the city gives towards your education. Just how stupid did the Donald think we were?

The people of this city could see 8 was a bad idea. There are plenty of student loans available to those who need them. The city's loan scheme was just that - a scheme.

Thank you Akron! So many people worked so hard to educate their friends and neighbors about the fraud perpetuated by the Mayor and the Beacon Journal. The lease plan was just a way to reduce the city's overall debt and a LOAN program for students. Nevertheless, a scholarship plan is not a bad idea. Let's start working on one that is actually modeled on the Kalamazoo plan. Funded privately, no residency requirement, no repayment.

Logic said:

"As for Obama, he's got 4 years to clean up this town, we are all holding our breath."

Clearly you have NO logic. We didn't elect Obama to be Mayor. It's not the President's job to "clean up this town." That's why you elect a Mayor and LOCAL officials.

Miss continued to show her cluelessness by saying:

"the ABJ blindly supported this plan---they were WRONG..."

Do you always speak so ignorantly? First of all, ABJ's EDITORIAL BOARD supported the plan. That's what editorial boards on papers EVERYWHERE do during election years. They support or don't support issues/candidates, etc. That doesn't make them wrong. Editorial = opinion. Clearly you're not smart enough to know that.

Secondly, they did not "blindly" support it. They used THE FACTS PRESENTED TO THEM to support it in their editorial. When you use FACTS to support your editorial, that is not "blindly" supporting it.

Again "Miss" -- like I told OMG on another thread -- you really shouldn't try to argue with people like me who are clearly more educated than you and who can ACTUALLY read AND comprehend.

With that said, I was against the plan the Mayor proposed.

Akron Voter Test:

Test #1: Defeat Sewer
Test #2: Defeat Don

I sincerely hope Akron voters will dump Don during the next election. He certainly isn't helping Akron but he is sure trying to help his friends.