Chema answers stadium critics

Says politics not an influence

The man guiding Evansville's quest for answers about what to do with Roberts Stadium is a Harvard Law School graduate, a former Ohio Lottery Commission director and a college president.

Thomas Vincent Chema is also, by his own account, unfazed by attempts to make him the focus of a campaign against building a new stadium.

Thomas Chema, President of Gateway Consultants also heads a college

Thomas Chema, President of Gateway Consultants also heads a college

"It's not unusual at all," Chema said last week from his office in Cleveland. "You've got an election going on there."

Chema was referring to Republican at-large City Council candidate Andrew Smith's call for his firing last week while questioning his "competence and truthfulness."

Smith, leader of the "Sewers Before Stadium" campaign, has also called Chema a "major player in national Democratic politics." The Sewers Before Stadium Web site includes a link about Chema and his Gateway Consultants Group that says the company's hiring "raises serious ethical questions about the Weinzapfel administration."

Democratic connection

Chema acknowledges he is a Democrat who has contributed to Democratic candidates and whose brother ran for Congress in Ohio last year as a Democrat. He also points to his contributions to several Ohio Republican politicians, including House GOP Leader John Boehner, saying he supports anyone he deems worthy.

But the point he really wants to get across is that his politics are irrelevant to Roberts Stadium's future.

"This has only become partisan because of a particular candidate for office who wants to get his name into your newspaper," Chema said with a chuckle.

A 1968 magna cum laude graduate of the University of Notre Dame, Chema attended Harvard Law School. In June 1971, Chema joined the Cleveland law firm of Arter and Hadden. Eight years later, he was made a partner in the firm.

In 1983, Chema left to become executive director of the Ohio Lottery Commission. He moved on two years later to become director of the Public Utility Commission of Ohio.

"We had a lot of nuclear power issues in Ohio at the time, and I became somewhat of an expert in the economics of nuclear power," Chema recalls. "I assumed I would stay in that area. And then along came Gateway."

Forms Gateway

In 1990, Chema took his experience with the Ohio lottery and utility organizations and created, with several associates, a nonprofit organization called the Gateway Economic Development Corporation of Greater Cleveland.

The group's mission, Chema said, was to oversee the roughly $350 million construction of Gund Arena — now Quicken Loans Arena — and Jacobs Field in Cleveland.

Four years later, with the Gund/Jacobs Field project completed, Chema faced a choice.

"I could go back to being a utility lawyer or I could do something else," he recalls. "I chose something else, and that something else was Gateway Consultants."

Over the years, the company has assisted municipalities with an estimated 40 public assembly projects, including Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati and the MCI Center in Washington, D.C.

Chema's life and career took another dramatic turn in June 2003, when he was named the 21st president of Hiram (Ohio) College, a 1,300-student liberal arts institution. There he has overseen fundraising and groundbreaking for a new $12.2 million Sports, Recreation and Fitness Center.

Chema jokingly refers to the Hiram College presidency as his "day job."

"My work with Gateway is sort of part-time now," he said. "I have a partner and employees. Now I just do a few projects that I get interested in, like the one in Evansville."

Jim Biggar, chairman and CEO of Richfield, Ohio-based Glencairn Corporation and retired chairman of Nestle USA, was the chairman of the citizens committee that hired Chema to oversee the Gund Arena/Jacobs Field project.

"Tom is a general manager-type person," Biggar said of Chema. "He sets a goal and proceeds in an orderly way to pursue that goal. He focuses on it and makes it happen, and he's not rigid or inflexible about it. If something unexpected comes up, he can be creative."

Some friction

Biggar credited Chema with deftly managing the colorful and demanding personalities of professional sports franchise owners — but Maggie Thurber has a less charitable take on Chema's interpersonal skills.

"Mr. Chema is extremely politically astute," says Thurber, who worked with Chema last year on a new sports arena project in Toledo, Ohio, when she was the sole Republican member of the Lucas County Commissioners.

"He never made any outreach efforts to me because he didn't have to," she said. "He never called, never met with me, never provided me with an update. He already had his two votes."

Chema chuckled at the mention of Thurber's name.

"Maggie had a radio talk show, and everything that we came in and wanted to report to her, she immediately talked about publicly," he said. "We were involved in trying to acquire a parcel of real estate. To be that straightforward and open in the process of acquiring real estate is going to do one thing: It's going to cause the price of that real estate to go up.

"There were things I did not share with her, but it wasn't because she was in a minority; it was because of her avowed intention to share it with the world."

The City of Evansville has agreed to pay Chema's firm up to $80,000, including his expenses, for his services.

Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel cited Chema's "independence and objectivity and the breadth of his experience dealing with the challenges that communities face."

"We made the right selection," Weinzapfel said.


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Comments » 41

Perplexed1 writes:


This statement does not worry anybody?? If I was interviewing a person for a job I would hope they would be immersed in the latest and greatest in experience of the industry. I would feel better if we had a second opinion from a group like HOK( to make sure this guy knows of which he speaks.

Now the C&P has done this much research on Chema, how about an in depth study of the actual ROI on all the options. Plus it would be nice to hear some more discussion on what SMG requested upgrades are really needed??? The frustration that seems to erupt from this issue is the lack of in depth discussions of the different issues.

Perplexed1 writes:


This fits the mold! A C&P Hatchett job of Mr. Smith. Chema is a major Democrat contributor. Chema was appointed to the Ohio Lottery as a Democrat patronage job.

Exactly how many arenas has he actually been involved with? The article sites 40 for Gateway. How many were finished to fruition with Chema' help? How many times did he recomend a community not build like he claims? Partner in a law firm?

Mr. Chema's shotgun patterned resume would not induce me to use him as an arena consultant. Especially since his day job is not even in the industry. Spare us your pity Mr. Chema! I would rather have an exprienced arena construction engineer as a consultant, not a high priced lawyer! With Chema's history of major project overuns I would say Mr. Smith's doubts about Chema are valid. This puff article on Chema only raises the suspicions more of the C&P unwillingness for open discussion on this issue. FIRE CHEMA!

Sancho writes:

It appears to me that Chema is trying, via this newspaper, to rehabilitate himself in the minds of local voters.

I strongly resent the fact that this carpetbagger is injecting himself into local politics. It shows me that he is afraid of opposition from a newly elected Evansville City Council.


It appears to me that he is becoming less and less flexible. It looks as if he is becoming creative in the way he is trying to "sell" a downsized, overpriced, unneeded, redundant arena somewhere in "downtown" Evansville, whereever that is.

And how would it be paid for? IU and Purdue have building plans, but they have their goals set for ten or more years in the future, WHEN THEY CAN ARRANGE FOR PROPER FINANCING.

According to news reports and press releases, downtown is anywhere from the river front to Diamond Avenue and places inbetween, including property on the federal "superfund" listing.

Let's get realistic in this whole matter. Anyone who has read the list of "needed" improvements, etc. put out by SMG know that it is not a $47 million project. No, something closer to $10 million would do nicely. Yes, the SMG list includes unwanted, unneeded, routine maintenance items and items that have in the past been funded by the users of Roberts. I use the figure of $47 million because one line item in the SMG list shows enlarging a 17 year old floor and installing ice making equipment is $10 to $25 million. The $32 million includes the $10 million figure. Why not include the $25 million instead, what with overruns and all?

And I do not subscribe to the Sewers BEFORE Stadium theory, if a Stadium is necesssary.

lefty writes:

Nice ad for Gateway. I wonder if he had to pay for it?

What Chema said-

What Chema was thinking when he said it-
"I found some rubes in Southern Indiana that think a stadium will save their downtown by binging Kenny Chesney back. And they're paying me $80,000 to tell them that it's a good idea! Man, I love this country!"

Chema should charge Evansville double for being so gullable- a sort of stupid tax.

jones writes:

There have been tons of articles promoting Stadium in last couple of weeks.

Yet, we are still waiting on estimates of full cost of CSO corrections and meeting scheduled for this week coincidently was cancelled with no further meeting scheduled ... very little info at all of the full impact of this staggering project.

If the huge CSO cleanup would get half of the attention of the Roberts Stadium project, the communtiy would be so much better informed of the real picture.

royrogers (Inactive) writes:

Well lets just get it out in the open --You can put lipstick on a pig , but its still a pig. Mr. Chema is what he is, a Hired "Gun" hired to deflect criticisms and insulate "Mr Big" (aka Weinzapful) from taking the heat on a decision to spend $100 million of community resources on a project that increases Evansville's bonded debt to over $600 million. This is not a project that invests in the future -but only borrows from it-- to the benefit of the few. The Silver lining to all of this is a Sunken Future for "Big" John-the Dictator, There WILL be a Backlash!! Arrogance does't play so well with Evansville's "uniformed citizens".

jones writes:

If the political powers want us to buy into what they are doing, let's clean up the Stadium Advisory Committee.

Those who failed to attend the last meeting or failed to ask a question in the meeting are booted (including the Mayor).

Let's put folks on the committee that will attend and will ask questions and let's include folks who aren't totally sold on the concept already.

sewersbeforestadium writes:

I invite anyone who has an opinion on the subject to visit our website at:

You can vote in our online poll and--most importantly--SIGN THE PETITION, which will be presented to the mayor before the final advisory board meeting.

Best regards,
Andrew Smith
City Council At-Large Candidate

sewersbeforestadium writes:

I should add that the mayor's office has apparently organized an effort to skew the poll results on our website.

The more legitimate votes we have in the poll, the more accurate it will be.

pressanykey writes:

Chema has a gift for stating the obvious. Yes we do have an election coming up and Andrew Smith has stated that he believes that restoring the city's infrastructure is more important than spending $100 million dollars on a single entertainment facility.

I, and many others, happen to agree with Smith. We have enough government owned entertainment facilities now, and as far as I know they are all losing money, and local taxpayers have to make that up.

Chema needs to get a real job instead of living off of the no bid contracts offered by political partisans who may be seeking certain suggested results from his company.

Smith's "Sewers Before Stadium" slogan is right on the mark and defines the issue very well.

candyapple writes:

Evansville taxpayers voted Lloyd out of office because of his downtown baseball stadium. Since that time, our population has aged, the gap between middle class wages and poverty has shrunk and the quality of jobs gone down the tubes. There is a national recession, exorbitant taxes, fuel and energy price hikes and our military resources and dollars are out of this country. The stadium idea is wrong (simply put) on a variety of levels. Mr. Smith did not create the sewer or stadium issues, he is talking about them and giving voice to thousands of Evansvillians. He is running for office, he would like to be elected, he is talking about issues. How is that unlike our Presidential candidates? Chema sounds arrogant throwing his Ivy League education in our faces. Guess what, Mr. Smith is an Ivy League grad yet I have not seen him boast of that. He is here in Evansville getting involved in issues and trying to make a difference for many who have been overlooked for years. Do the math, we cannot afford a new stadium just because we want one. I'd like a new car, but the one I have still runs and who knows...maybe I can save enough to buy a new one without going into debt. WHAT A CONCEPT

hmorgan#4112 writes:


What evidence do you offer to document "a national recession"?

How about "exorbiant taxes"?

hmorgan#4112 writes:


I should add; Thank you in advance.

Howey writes:

At least since the middle 1970s, EVV has acted like a little sister to Indianapolis, just having to have everything our capitol city had.

The stadium is no different,

Unfortunately, since that time, Evansville has lost more than 16% of its population while Indianapolis has significantly grown.

In 2002, HNTB another well paid consultant for the city estimated that it would cost EVV taxpayers a whopping $494 million simply to comply with the Clean Water Act that was passed by Congress in 1970.

Shortly after that, EVSC taxpayers went to a special vote and overwhelmingly rejected school corp efforts to increase our local indebtedness by another $100 million or so and that was done without any public information about the pending sewer bill. It was almost as if it was not a reality as long as we intentionally kept it quiet.

Thanks to the efforts of the Vanderburgh County Taxpayer Association, these issues have finally emerged and we are getting a clearer picture of the immense indebtedness we have incurred locally while we watch our population and tax base dwindle.

Our answer always seems to be to grant yet another bogus tax abatement to some company based on their generally empty promises for employment. Too bad those abatements often fail to achieve anything except place a grearter tax burden on the backs of those of us who continue to call Evansville our home.

And we still do not completely understand just how we will comply with the Clean Water Act that we have known would affect us for nearly forty years now.

Frankly, I doubt that we will find corporate sponsorship for our sewer needs since the prospect of "Vectren Slough" or Old National Sludge Storage" seem rather remote.

Perplexed1 writes:

Maybe its tinme for a referendum on the stadium??

The article today on the riverboat stopping at Grandview, Henderson speaks volumes on how this administration blew it with the LST dock(not a proposed pier). The city should cancel the contract with Riecken and apply the rest of the lease payments to purchasing the old Mead Johnson Terminal.

The main thing to remember is FIRE CHEMA!

Perplexed1 writes:


Is there a way we can get the petition offline and into the community. Maybe at the next meeiting and the area convenience stores, or into the neighborhoods that were flooded? I find virtually no one who believes the Stadium is a good idea. Can we get a hard copy that we can take around and have everyone sign.

lefty writes:

I like the photo of him feeding a line of bull, too

HiKeeba writes:

What a total piece of fluff. The headline says "answers stadium critics." He didn't answer anything...this was just a fluff piece on

"How great a guy Chema is!"

There is a sales tactic at car delearships. It's to make build the owner up as a hero/community leader. So as to make you feel like you are doing something great for the community by supporting a great man when you buy a car from that dealership.

While they screw you on a new car.

Sounds like the same process doesn't it?

81VETT writes:

How has the fact that Chema is a Democrat effected his work so far?

How many phony names is Andrew Smith posting comments under today? I notice he hasn't used his "Factchecker" disguise since he exposed himself?

randella (Inactive) writes:

remember building sand castles on the beach when you were a kid? andrew smith is the fat uglie kid running down the strip and trying to kick it down. he will never achieve any level of success and he knows that, which is why he behaves the way he does. a political hack at best.

and btw, perplexed. do you know the difference bewteen a consultant and an architect? if not i would suggest you quit posting your dribble. hok is a fine architecture firm, one the city would do well to court for the project. but they are not a consultant. (now watch perplexed post five times in a row screaming the sky is falling.)

81VETT writes:

Grasping for straws in that analogy weren't you BB, bow ties and penguins?

Sancho writes:

When the LST dock was proposed, the City of Evansville should have used their power of eminent domaign and purchased the land and built the dock. Then it would be city owned.

But no, hizzonor did not want to be in the recreation business, which we were already in. Now he wants to build a third rate, smaller, downtown arena for the benefit of who? The only ones I can think of are USI and Aztar. But Aztar is building its own auditorium to go into competition with The Victory and The Centre. They are already competing for conventions, etc.

Aztar wants an arena near where they are located in the hopes that people will stop off at Aztar before or after their separate event.

A EC&P unscientific poll resulted in the people saying that whether it is a new arena or a remodel of Roberts, they want it at the present Roberts site. The total of remodel or rebuild was about 2/3 in favor of the present site.

Do you hear that, Jon & Tom?

Sancho writes:

I am posting this again, so voters can see what SMG has on their "wish" list.

Roberts Stadium
Improvements Needed to Remain Competitive
2010 Projection

Replace Chillers $300,000
Replace Boilers $300,000
Repair Air Handlers $25,000
Replace Pumps $150,000
Replace Motors $75,000
Replace Cooling Tower $100,000
Replace/Repair Rooftop Equipment $100,000
Replace Control Systems $90,000
Install Energy Saving Controls $500,000
Replace Fire System $100,000

Replace Retractable Seating $750,000
Replace Permanent Seating $1,300,000

Interior Improvements
Seal Concrete & Add Concourse Floor Covering $1,750,000
Sound System Upgrade $425,000
Concession Upgrades $500,000
Carpet/Wallpaper Replacement $125,000
Suite Improvements/Upgrades $100,000
Replace Equipment (Forklifts, Trucks, etc) $100,000
Kitchen Upgrades $250,000
Add Video Scoreboard System $850,000
Replace Basketball Court/Goals $120,000
Enlarge Arena Floor/Add Ice System/Add Seats $10,000,000 to $25,000,000
Increase Power Capacity $100,000
Restroom Renovation/Modernize Plumbing $1,000,000
Replace Elevators $950,000
Enlarge Concourses $4,200,000
Replace Generator $350,000
Upgrade Signage $100,000
Add Handicap Seating $500,000
Add Ancillary Pre-Function Space $1,200,000
Add Rigging Capacity to Roof $2,000,000
Upgrade/Expand Box Office Facilities $150,000
Expand Backstage Storing Area $750,000
Upgrade Dressing Rooms $500,000

Exterior Improvements Parking Lot Re-surfacing $275,000
Replace/Repair Parking Lot Lighting $100,000
Replace Boeke Marquee $350,000
Parking Lot Fencing Replacement $100,000
Increase Power Supply for Festival Events $125,000
Replace Video Boards/Lloyd Marquee $400,000
Façade Improvements $750,000
Landscaping Improvements $65,000

GRAND TOTAL: $31,975,000

Note: 1990 Renovation was $17 Million

candyapple writes:

do you not read anything but C& the national news? Buy groceries and fuel?? Own property in Indiana? Receive a paycheck that is reduced to very little because of city, county, state, federal and Medicare taxes?
You are welcome

hmorgan#4112 writes:

Allow me to please repeat one point that has been made earlier on these blog(s):

It takes two, three or even four years for the riverboats to change their current docking and tour schedules.

One trial docking has been accomplished at the LST and it was a positive trial. Another had to be cancelled due to high water on the trial day.

You may expect to see paddlewheel riverboats begin to stop in 2008 and 2009. If the stops are interesting to the tours then they will continue and increase.

There are no other tie-off facilities in Evansville for the big riverboats.

Did this help to clarify the stopping of the riverboats at Evansville?

hmorgan#4112 writes:

blah, blah, blah, democrat.

You provide no answer to my query just your "feelings".

I am 72, retired, live on my savings and SS and frankly, I have never had it so good.

And, yes, I have the usual things, car, home, grandkids, bills, health concerns that most of us fortunate Americans have – I do know where my blessings come from, unlike so many do not.

I truly believe God has given me a gift that I did not earn. You pap statements and slogans will not change my giving of thanks.

I will repeat - I never had it so good and I thank God for that.

candyapple writes:

I offered no "feelings" nor slogans... You are fortunate to have savings and SS. SS likely won't be around when I am eligible though I have sure paid my share. Lots of folks do not have savings or jobs over 10 bucks an hour. The issue is whether it is wise for a city to go into debt and/or add taxes for something unnecessary, an "extra" if you will rather than repair crumbling stinking flooding streets and sewers in the face of a diminishing population and a reduction in quality jobs.

jones writes:

Agree with Democrat2006.

Community can't afford Stadium project when we are facing hundreds of millions in CSO corrections and 40-50 million in flooding repairs.

Simply can't have it all and those who keep pushing it down our throats are simply not facing reality.

If the corporations have so much excess funds for Robert Stadium project, why do they all request tax abatement and why do our elected officials grant it?

bopper67 writes:

Your taxes are going up because the federal government, under the Republicans in office of President for the last 7 years and congress for the last 13 years stopped revenue sharing causing the state and local governments to pick-up the slack. The Bush administration would rather give the money to the corporations and the rich, and fight a useless war costing the tax payers a Trillion dollars. So don't blame the state or the local government for your tax increases. You people are so mindless you don't even know what goes on under your nose.

Sancho writes:

e10116 wrote in part:

"Let's hear an advertisement for the firm Taxzapfel hired to INVESTIGATE AZTAR."

TRUTH: JW is not fire a firm. He asked the Indiana Gaming Commission to investigate Aztar.

"Let's hear an advertisement for the firm Taxzapfel hired to SUE the Evansville Insurance providers."

TRUTH: Never heard of this one.

Let's hear an advertisement for the firm Taxzapfel hired to SUE the company that provided the new ballot machines.

TRUTH: JW had nothing to do with this. This is a Vanderburgh County problem.

"Let's hear an advertisement for the firm Taxzapfel hired to INVESTIGATE making Hamilton's Golf Course a "park"."

TRUTH: This is a groundless accusation. The property where Hamilton golf course is owned by Vanderburgh County. Someone is just stirring up the manure on this. Is it you, e......?

Andrew, It seems your making good progress here. Where can Taxzapfel go from here????

Do you mean "'re..."

"Demagogues [Ala Taxzapfel]" and e....., "they just don't last..."

Perplexed1 writes:

Did you know that the city does own land on either side of the pigieon creek bridges. There is a pumping station to the East. Mulzer rents this land from the city for a barge tie up. On the other side of the creek ths city land butts up against the mead johnson terminal property.

Before we even had a commitment for the LST, several raised questions about locating the LST there. The city said that we could locate the moveable pier to that site at a later date, but we could not get the permits in time. That was the plan. Then Greg LaMarr did the great bait and switch from a moveable pier to the permanent dock in Kentucky waters.

The LST was to be moored to a pier in line with an area to moor visiting river boats. This would create a city iamage that people could affix to their mind's eye. They would say oh Evansville that is the city with the Casino, Riverboats and the LST on the riverfront.

Don't look for too many riverboats to tie up parallel to the LST. We are the laughing stock of the crafts that navigate the river. With the remaining lease payments we could purchase theMead Johnson Terminal. what happens when our lease on the dock runs out. We are being ripped off! The Corp of Engineers told me the LST could be located by pigeon creek, but the city never really asked them about putting the LST near where they were built.

We could have the LST at Mead Johnson terminal for less than half of what we paid for the useless dock, and owned a large area to start a river walk.
Now the same group wants us to trust them with a stadium we do not need? I don't think so! FIRE CHEMA!

Perplexed1 writes:

Randella: I can answer your question in one post. I am aware what a consultant team is! Usually there are an architect, planner, finance person, real estate specialist, and a lawyer that churn out the data of all the proposed option. All we seem to be getting is Chema.

Yes, HOK is an accomplihed building firm. HOK I am sure has a staff of consultants to work with customers, that would include all of the professionl listed. A second opinion on such a large operation would prove wise!

hmorgan#4112 writes:

Perplexed - don't be so upset.

The only thing that can not be relocated at the LST would be the in-the-ground concrete structures. (The only cheaper than concrete is dirt - really.)

River cells are the big round tall things. These are filled with sand and/or crushed stone. They are frequently removed and relocated to other locations.

As a matter of fact if you recall, during the construction of the Newburgh Dam, there were many river cells and cofferdam structures that were installed, moved and finally "pulled" and moved away.

The entire LST mooring facility can be simply pulled and reinstalled. This is not a real cheap item but not a budget breaker.

Here is a little secret, I was not totally in favor of the chosen site but the US Corps of Engineers was adamant that the present site was the only permitable location at that time. Let me repeat, they were adamant.

LST-325 is a little more difficult to access but there are some advantages – think here in terms of the Normandy Invasion reenactment weekend and the upcoming WWII equipment show and reenactment scheduled for 2009 (I believe that is the year).

hmorgan#4112 writes:

What would make you believe that Mead Johnson Nutritionals or Kinder-Morgan Terminal would sell or lease their property to the city or some agency of the USS LST Memorial?

That is OPM (Other Peoples Money) we are talking about.

pressanykey writes:

"PANEM ET CIRCENSES" J. Weinzapfel, circa 2007

sewersbeforestadium writes:

Thanks to everyone for voting in our online poll! The results are now a little more reflective of actual community opinion.

What do you think is more important--fixing the sewers or building a new stadium?

If you haven't voted yet, please visit our website at:

Best regards,
Andrew Smith
City Council At-Large Candidate

81VETT writes:

Factchecker, is that you??

Perplexed1 writes:


You offer some good insights. The river cells are not the design that I would choose. A pier design would be better. We still could use the cells like Aztar has in front of the riverboat to protect the Riverboat.

The former Mead Johnson terminal is up for sale for 5.8 million dollars. 17 acres available west of the pigeon creek bridge. I bet the city could acquire the Terminal for around $4 million.

The permits for pigeon creek would have taken another year. Like I said I spoke with the corp also. Also. like I said they were planning on moving it later. Greg Lamar added about $5 million more to the cost. We could have the full Mead Johnson Terminal for $5.8 million vs the $12 million we will have in the Reicken dock at lease end. We could cut our losses and have a more sensible use of other peoples money.

moo we saw he was a lawyer, thats is what is bothering us. We want someone who is a building expert.

sewersbeforestadium writes:


I've been going door-to-door on the Southeast Side with the petition. So far, we have around 1000 signatures.

If you'd like to help out, email me at:

Even if you just get 100 signatures or so in your neighborhood, it could make a big difference.

Best regards,
Andrew Smith
City Council At-Large Candidate

pressanykey writes:

"... Already long ago, from when we sold our vote to no man, the People have abdicated our duties; for the People who once upon a time handed out military command, high civil office, legions - everything, now restrains itself and anxiously hopes for just two things: bread and circuses"


hartig#26999 writes:

The thing that irks me most about Chema is that he would willingly hold information from an elected official of the entity he's serving.

That's absolutely outrageous. Frankly, Smith's reasons that he should resign don't resonate with me. I don't care that he's an active Democrat and it doesn't look like he's incompetent in this sort of thing.

But this Cleveland councilwoman was duly elected by the people to represent them. If Chema was withholding vital information from her, then that is something that is simply unforgivable.
