Category: The Road To Mayor

   I finished up Mark Maron’s interview of Barack Obama today.  Obama was talking about the importance of being succinct in politics.  He said that it’s not that people can’t understand the complexity of political situations. It’s that they don’t have time to analyze all the ins and outs of things.  He then referenced the…

   I’m listening to a podcast with Barack Obama.  He did an interview with Mark Maron.  Mark is a comedian who does a podcast in his garage.  This is interesting on many levels: Garage Comedian  Sitting president  Podcast  Even 6 years ago, when Obama started his presidency, those 4 things coming together would have never…

One out of every four people living in the U.S. dont have Internet at home. One in four. The White House wants to change this through its new ConnectHome initiative. Its mission: Every child should be given the same opportunity to build a brighter future and to achieve their dreams. This was the very first…

   I know people don’t like change.  It disrupts our lives. It’s uncomfortable. You never know what will happen on the other side.  There’s no reason to change for change sake.  But I’m here to tell you: We live in a world full of change. One thing is primarily responsible for this: the Internet.  Today…

   I just got back from the Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield.  We’re spending the weekend camping at the Shelby / Mansfield KOA.  The movie Shawshank Redemption was filmed there.  Look at this graph from CNN on how much money we spend per inmate versus per student.     From here: For FY 2012, the average…

 I had a great conversation today with a resident of Cuyahoga Falls.  She said that their mayor suggested everyone in Cuyahoga Falls go meet their neighbor.  What a great idea! She told two stories where by doing that she and her neighbors were able to counteract two potential criminal scenarios.  Working together with your neighbors…

   I just got back from Eddie Sipplen‘s fundraiser event.  (For the record, those trying to keep me off the ballot, I didn’t donate to him. So you can’t try to corner me as a Republican in Independent’s clothing. I’m definitely not a Republican.) I’ve gotten to spend a bit of time with Eddie. I…

   In the drug world there is something called Suicide Tuesday.  It typically happens after a wild Saturday night of partying.  Tuesday is the day when it all comes crashing down around you.  The strongest drug I’ve taken since 2003 is Diet Coke and hot tea (not at the same time, that’s crazy). The drug…

   Based on this blog, you might be surprised to know that I actually run several businesses.  SageRock is my bread and butter. It’s a digital marketing agency that my wife, Rocky, and I founded in 1999. We moved SageRock from Medina to Akron about 11 years ago. We ran it out of our house,…

   When I started this journey my position was to give the people of Akron an alternative to the status quo. To the good-old-boy club of Akron Democrats.  But saying, “If you don’t like this then we have something else,” isn’t great. Just because it’s different doesn’t make it better.  But today I feel much…

   That was my niece’s response when I asked her if they still made juice boxes.  “How can you be mayor if you don’t know if they still make juice boxes?” I get that question every so often about various things.  It’s usually in a statement that feels like I’m not smart enough to be…

I’m not sure what I thought other candidates would be like when I got into this race. But I’m pretty sure it’s not what I’m finding. From what I can see, there are 2 types of people that run for mayor: Ego-maniacal, self-righteous narcissists.  Lifers. People that made a career out of politics. I guess…

   If you’ve been following along you probably know I’ve been spending an increasing amount of time in front of Angel Falls Coffee Shop here in Akron.  I spend a couple hours nearly every day standing in front of my truck talking to people. Sometimes I go 2 or 3 times a day.  I’ve got…