Carty Finkbeiner, the jerk mayor of Toledo, 诅咒 on live radio when asked about his anti-Marines stance.

He’s always got excuses. This time he says he was “tongue-tied.”

More likely: Brain-tied.

电台主持人 玛吉瑟伯 writes about how The Jerk’s stand could cost the city $57.7 million:

Though there are a few who agree with his decision, I don’t think there’s anyone who agrees with the way the decision was carried out, or with the public relations nightmare Carty started because of his last-minute order to prohibit the exercises.

Adding insult to injury, he refused to meet with an officer of the company to see if any alternatives could be worked out, contributing to the indignation over the way the U.S. Marines were treated.

So what is a citizen to do? As there was a failed recall effort last year, another cannot be undertaken for 12 months, which means late this summer.

And that’s where the .75 percent payroll income tax comes into play. This temporary tax, which generates $57.7 million for the City of Toledo, is on the March 4 primary ballot. Since the city’s announcement this would be on the ballot, there have been calls to defeat it.

But with the most recent embarrassment foisted upon the citizenry by Mayor Finkbeiner, the calls to vote “no” have grown louder.

Toledoans know that serious cuts would have to be made if the city were to lose that much revenue. The mayor and council are counting on their claims of loss of police and fire to “scare” the people into voting yes.

But Toledoans, already close to rejecting such pleas, may have been pushed over the edge by this latest mayoral fiasco. And without any other readily available means to express their dissatisfaction, they may decide to vote “no” on the .75 percent tax in a couple of weeks.

Council, hoping to avoid such fallout, passed a resolution apologizing to the Marines. But Council — and the city — has nothing to apologize for … unless it’s for keeping Carty as the mayor.

Members of council are now doing damage control, pleading with citizens to not penalize everyone in the city for the poor decisions of the mayor. But Toledoans may not heed such pleas, understanding that the only thing that seems to get the attention of elected officials is when their available funds are cut.

And if voters take out their frustration at the ballot box, Carty’s arrogance and stubbornness may end up being a $57.7 million mistake.