Ben Konop
Ben Konop | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Lucas County Commissioner, Ohio | |
| In office 2007–2011 | |
| Preceded by | Maggie Thurber |
| Personal details | |
| Born | March 1, 1976 Sylvania, Ohio |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Profession | Visiting Professor, University of Toledo Law School |
Ben Konop is currently a Lucas County Commissioner. He was a candidate for Mayor of Toledo, Ohio in 2009, as well as the Democratic Party candidate in Ohio's Fourth Congressional District for the United States House of Representatives in 2004. He is an attorney and law professor at Ohio Northern University, Pettit College of Law and the University of Toledo College of Law.
Early life
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO BEN Konop BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO was raised in Lucas County. He attended Whiteford Elementary School and Ottawa Hills High School, where he played varsity basketball and baseball.[1] Konop's father is a prominent Toledo lawyer. "We talked about politics around the kitchen table," Konop told The Blade. "Obviously, I had a strong Democratic upbringing." Konop has Democratic political roots that trace back to his volunteering on the then-Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton's presidential campaign in 1992. Then at the age of 17, he was appointed by Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur to serve as a page for the Democratic Caucus in the U.S. House of Representatives.[1][2]
Konop received his Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. During his time at Emory, Konop was a varsity letterwinning basketball player.[2] He has also studied history and literature at Oxford University in England. In 2000, Konop received his law degree from the University of Michigan Law School.[1] After graduating from law school, Konop moved to Washington, D.C. to work for the law firm Fulbright & Jaworski, LLP. While he represented Fortune 500 companies in complex litigation, he also served on several volunteer legal projects and helped start a mentoring program for at-risk junior high students. He returned to Ohio to run for U.S. Congress in 2006. Konop has also taught various law courses as a visiting professor and adjunct professor at the University of Toledo Law School and Ohio Northern University. He has also been an adjunct professor of political science at Bluffton University.[1]
Political career
Representative campaign
In 2004, Konop ran against incumbent U.S. Rep. Mike Oxley (R., Findlay) in Ohio's heavily Republican Fourth Congressional District. Despite being outspent 10 to one, Konop garnered the highest vote total of any Congressional challenger in the state of Ohio. He was the first federal Democratic candidate since 1932 to carry Allen County.
Commissioner Campaign
After the 2004 election, Konop returned to Lucas County to teach at the University of Toledo College of Law. In 2006, he defeated two challengers in a Democratic primary for Lucas County Commissioner on May 2, 2006. Konop received 47 percent of the vote in the Democratic primary. His opponents, Tim Wagener, the mayor of Maumee, and Phil Copeland, a Toledo City Councilman, received 27% and 26% respectively. Konop defeated Toledo City Councilman George Sarantou by a wide margin in the general election on November 7, 2006.
After his announcement for candidacy for Lucas County Commissioner, Konop created a written pledge that is located in his office at One Government Center which includes promises that he has kept such as, being open and accessible; donating his income from teaching at the University of Toledo to a scholarship, and implementing evening meetings so working people can attend.[2]
Konop says he is proud of being a “change agent” as he has requested accountability from the Lucas County Improvement Corporation.[2]
Commissioner Achievements
Art Assist
Commissioner Konop introduced a county program called "Lucas County Art Assist." It enabled citizens wishing to buy art at galleries in Lucas County to finance their purchase with loans offered through Key Bank with a 1% interest rate. Loans ranged from $500–$2500. In order for galleries to participate in the program, they must have been located within Lucas County and must have shown an artist that also resided within Lucas County.
Cell Phones for Seniors
Konop partnered with Area Office on Aging for Northwestern Ohio and the county’s sanitary engineering department to create a 9-1-1 Cell Phones for Seniors program. The program has provided over 1,500 free, used cell phones to senior citizens to give them a greater sense of security.[3] Konop also created a plan in conjunction with the YWCA to donate used cell phones to victims of domestic violence.
Microchip Dogs
Konop has instituted microchip scanning for dogs to help return lost pets to their owners. About 8,000 dogs have been scanned for microchips. A microchip scanner has been donated by Schering-Plough.[4]
Regionalism
Konop voiced his views on regionalism, the importance of suburban government, and how it would help improve the services of Lucas County and save taxpayer dollars.[5] In August 2007, a 19 member committee assembled by Konop, called the 21st Century Government Committee, drafted an 83 page report concerning merging governments within Lucas County. The committee examined ways to make government more efficient.[6] In 2007 Konop launched a "21st Century Government Committee" made up of diverse and respected leaders from the business, labor, and public sectors, to examine the effects of proposed local government reforms.
Youth Leadership
In October 2007, Konop partnered with Toledo City Councilman Joe McNamara to hosted a day-long workshop for fifty area high-school students. The students were also members of Youth Leadership Toledo. The purpose of the workshop was to focus on youth services and to assist students in becoming effective community leaders.[7]
SweatFree Ohio
Konop introduced a policy forbidding Lucas County officials from purchasing products made in sweatshop conditions with taxpayer money. In June 2008 Lucas County became the first member of the State and Local Government Sweatfree Consortium, which aims to form a bloc of government purchasers with enough clout to impact the practices of companies making apparel such as prisoner uniforms.[8]
Mobile Meals of Toledo
A $5,000 donation to Mobile Meals of Toledo was facilitated by Konop from the Midwest Retailers Association in July 2008. The donation helped deal with rising fuel costs and continue the service of over 600 people throughout Lucas County.[9]
VITA and EITC
In 2007, Konop assisted in preparing tax returns Lucas County for county residents as a part of the county's Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program. "The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is avaluable resource for thousands of working families in Lucas County," stated Commissioner Konop. There was a $300,000 increase from 2007 to 2008 for Lucas County tax refunds. In July 2008, there were still over 7,000 Lucas County Seniors and Veterans who had still not taken the necessary steps to receive their economic stimulus payments. In response to this, Konop reached out to nursing homes, the American Legion Post and VFW posts to encourage residents to file their 2007 tax returns.[10]
Four Square 4 Toledo
This free four-square tournament was organized by Konop to help highlight and support the UpTown arts and entertainment district near downtown Toledo. All proceeds from sponsorships benefited the Toledo-Lucas County Police Athletic League.[11]
Million Pound Weight-Loss Challenge
Konop recruited corporate sponsors to promote a program urging Lucas County residents to shed one million pounds before the end of 2009. Around 1,600 citizens participated, tracking their progress online.[12] With help from The Blade, Mercy Health Partners, ProMedica Health System, and the YMCA, the 1,600 participants lost an average of 10.2 pounds.[13]
Scholarship Plan
Konop proposed a plan to create an $80 million scholarship fund. The program would allow Lucas County high school graduates and displaced workers to attend the University of Toledo. The money would come from privatizing EMS, turning down the temperature in county buildings, and creating a four day work week for some county employees.[2]
Dog Warden
Konop pushed for Tom Skeldon, Toledo's Dog Warden, to resign due to what Konop viewed as questionable practices. Skeldon retired in January 2010.[14] In November 2009, Konop made a successful motion to adopt a moratorium that would ban the Dog Warden from killing puppies, including Pit Bull puppies, at least thorugh 3 months of age.
Despite his advocacy for animals, Commissioner Konop has not sought the position of Dog Warden.
Children’s Wonderland 2009
Konop and radio personality Andrew "Z” Zepeda worked to preserve Children’s Wonderland, an animated children’s display that has been operated in Toledo for 45 years. It had always been funded by Lucas County, but the County chose not to do so in 2009. Upon hearing the decision, Konop worked to keep it running for its 46th year. The display generated $1,900 worth of proceeds that went to benefit the Toledo Seagate Food Bank. Over five tons of canned goods were also collected for the Food Bank.[15]
Mayoral campaign
In April 2009, Konop announced his candidacy for Mayor of Toledo. Within two weeks after his announcement for candidacy, Konop started a Facebook page on the social networking site where 1,500 people provided support.[2] Two amateur videos on YouTube drew attention to his campaign.[1] In one of the videos, he is being heckled and booed during a news conference in a video that "went viral" and has over 250,000 views on Youtube.[1] In the second video, Konop confronts and wrestles with a heckler, and an American flag accidentally falls to the ground.[16] His campaign continued on. With the intention of improving the quality of life in Toledo, Konop proposed an “Economic Development From the Ground Up” platform which protects workers’ wages, jobs, and safety.[17] Konop lost his mayoral bid, finishing fifth out of six candidates, beating only Opal Covey.
Personal life
Konop, who is known to have an "outspoken persona", is a bachelor who lives in a condominium in the Warehouse District of Toledo. He is fan of the Detroit Tigers.[1]
Konop has also taught various law courses at University of Toledo Law, Ohio Northern University Law, as well as political science at Bluffton University.[18]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Toledo Blade: "Summer as congressional page ignited Konop's political passion". August 17, 2009.
- ^ a b c d e f Toledo Free Press: "10 ways Ben Konop can save Toledo if he is elected mayor". May 28, 2009.
- ^ Toledo Blade: "Konop unveils cell phones for seniors program". February 21, 2007.
- ^ Toledo Blade: "Lucas County to scan lost dogs for microchip". March 10, 2007.
- ^ Glass City Jungle: "Media Release: Konop to discuss regionalism with local governments". June 4, 2007.
- ^ Toledo Blade: "Konop panel to make 'rough draft of future'". August 21, 2007.
- ^ Glass City Jungle: "Youth Leadership of Toledo to Offer Input to Local Government". October 15, 2007.
- ^ Toledo Blade: "Lucas County mulls policy on sweatshop apparel". June 2, 2008.
- ^ Glass City Jungle: "Midewest Retailers Association donates $5,000 to Mobile Meals of Toledo". July 28, 2008.
- ^ Glass City Jungle: "Thousands of local seniors & Veterans have not filed tax returns...". July 29, 2008.
- ^ Toledo Blade: "Toledo set for first go round with four square". August 1, 2008.
- ^ Toledo Blade: "Toledo area residents urged to team up, slim down". February 8, 2009.
- ^ Toledo Blade: "Summer as congressional page ignited Konop's political passion". August 17, 2009.
- ^ Toledo Blade: "'Pit-bull' pup freed from Lucas County Pound". December 15, 2009.
- ^ Toledo Free Press: "Children's Wonderland raises 5 tons of food". December 29, 2009.
- ^ WTOL: "Ben Konop: In or out?". August 16, 2009.
- ^ Toledo Blade: "Konop vows to improve quality of life in Toledo". September 9, 2009.
- ^ Lucas County: "Ben Konop Biography".