Guess who wants uni-gov?

Actually, they'll probably tell you that the move to change Lucas County to a charter form of government isn't 'technically' uni-gov, but when you're trying to make government larger and less accountable and consolidate more power into the county structure, uni-gov is what it is.

The Blade, like a drug pusher, has touted this idea for decades - that we know. A group with the friendly-sounding name of 'Better Lucas County' is the organization behind the campaign.

Their campaign finance report, turned in yesterday in compliance with Ohio law, tells us who else wants a larger, less accountable government. And it might surprise you.

The committee reports donations of $56,850 and expenditures of $50,128.32 - primarily on gathering signatures, something they didn't do very well. They have $6,721.28 on hand as of the end of June.

Here are the listed donors and the amounts:

* $5,000 from Buckeye CableSystems, owned by Block Communications, parent company of The Blade. Joseph Zerbey, President and General Manager of The Blade, served on the Advisory Panel for the study which - surprise - recommended the change to a charter form of government.

* $10,000 from Catholic Health Partners

* $10,000 from ProMedica, one of the sponsors of the study

* $5,000 from 5/3 Bank, a sponsor of the study

* $5,000 from Key Bank, also a study sponsor

* $5,000 from Health Care REIT and $1,000 each from two of the companies executives, Frederic Wolfe and George Chapman

* $10,000 from the Alliance of Construction Professionals

* $1,000 from Paul Ormond, Chairman, President and CEO of HCR Manor Care

* $1,000 from Richard Rupert, retired, a member of the Study Committee

* $500 from Marna Ramnath, an employee of the Toledo Zoo and chairman of the Study Committee

* $500 from Olivia Summons, an employee of Sunoco and co-chair of the Advisory Panel

* $500 from The Mosser Group Good Citizenship fund

* $250 from the following:

> Dustin Shively and Cathy Sheets, employees of Plante Moran
> Tom Palmer, attorney and member of the Advisory Panel
> Findley Davies, a human resources consulting firm. The entry includes the name Scott Hamner.
> Melissa Hamner, wife of the above Scott Hamner

* $100 from Marlene Bell, attorney and member of the Advisory Panel

These are the people and organizations who think creating a larger county government with the ability to tax you and impose laws (like living wages) is a good thing.