Mayor Bell And Crystal

Jesse the Body and the Terminator were governors, for what it's worth.

Not worth much. Those two were actors. My concern is a national audience may think Toledo's Mayor dresses like that all the time. We know better, but......

I was there as well and my coworker made comments of a similar nature regarding Mayor Bell's appearance. I mean, I understand the whole motorcycle thing, but he could have at least put on jeans without holes.

How far we've come:

We used to worry that our mayor was making national news because he kicked marines out of downtown toledo and planning to move all the deaf people to the airport.

Now we worry about our mayor's clothing.

Nothing wrong with it at all.

I'd rather have him (Bell) be his self than be some fake in a suit. I care much less about how he looks than I do about what he does. I mean Carty usually dressed nice but was ineffective as a mayor. If he could have been sane and effective in bib overalls I wouldn't have minded.

He would have looked real stupid in a suit riding his Harley in... Come on people.

right on, roy. it was a relaxed occasion, no big deal.

Why the Harley at all ? Very short walk from 1 Government Center. He must be heading to El Camino's or Venturas later.

I mean Carty usually dressed nice

No, he didn't. He dressed like a retiree who was on his way to drink coffee at McDonald's: turtlenecks, sweater vests, etc. The Mayor is Toledo's CEO, so he should dress like one.

But I don't have a problem with Bell dressing like he did for the Bowersox Parade. He was leading a parade for an American Idol contestant, not meeting with a contingent of foreign dignitaries. At least he wasn't wearing a shirt that said on the back "If you can read this, the bitch fell off."

I thought it was neat. A down to earth Mayor giving the Key to a down to earth artist. The only problem I had was his invoking of Marcy Kaptur in the prelude.

Ace - funny as hell. Well put.

Ace missed the small sticker on the Harley,"Ass,Grass,and Gas...Nobody rides for free."

Funny !!!

I love the fact Mayor Bell was dressed like that. Crystal is a very mellow and relaxed person. It's only fitting that mayor be dressed just as relaxed since this parade was for Crystal and her fans, not the Mayor.

Did he dress appropriate to the venue? My nephew boxed at the Toledo Club a couple of weeks ago. A tall black man in a nice suit told him he had a great "jawbreaker" (referring to his dominant hand). He then handed him his business card. My nephew, who is from Michigan, thought he had recognized the guy. It was Mayor Bell. It was a minor thrill, but the whole family thought it was good to recognized by a man of his stature.

I love how eccentric he is with his appearance. And i think to the people across the country that see this toledo footage will end up thinking this is a pretty cool place to be. thank god we finally have some good press for toledo.

I don't see the clothing thing as being a problem. If he were giving a policy speech or introducing the Governor then I could understand the complaint. When you see pictures of other leaders participating in non-official events, they are generally dressed casually/appropriately for the activity. The Mayor has a different style than most, but that doesn't mean that he should wear suits every time he is involved in a public event.

I have a problem with Bell committing to speaking at the firefighters graduation tonight, then skipping out to be close to her and the cameras for the rest of the day. Thanks a lot jerk.

Whatever Bell did tonight he would have been wrong. Speak at the firefighters graduation, and he is too close to the department he succeeded in. Spend time with Crystal and he's sniffing where he shouldn't. The man cannot succeed whatever he does. Might as well take a day off, and enjoy himself.

Someone is bitter. Don't worry, be happy. When you worry your face will frown, and that will bring everybody down. LMAO.

I have no problem with Bell dressing in biker garb and being part of the celebration. I have no problem with him at the firefighters graduation.

While I'm a little confused by the entire Bowersox Blitz going on, it is nice to see some celebration in Toledo. Let's just try to take it in and enjoy. People are excited, the buzz is all around town and the weather's nice.

The apparel did strike me as an odd choice for a national TV, but I'm not going to lose any sleep over it I guess.

At least the overall publicity for the event was positive!

Yep, you're a prude. Mayor Bell is rad. Wish I had that cool mustache!

Thanks Joel, I will bask in my prudishness. I agree the statement is prudish,and I know The Mayor is a cool guy...my point is a concern that a national tv audience might think we have a full time gangbanger for a Mayor, if all they see is him on the stage and not leading the parade on his Harley. Carty has a Schwinn.

No matter what Bell did, said, or how he dressed, just the fact that he wasnt Carty showed the city in a better light. Carty would have done SOMEthing to end up on the Soup or Tosh.0...

This thread is useless without a picture !!

I wish I had a picture..but, you can see the Mayor in the Blade video. He is the guy with his hat on backward, in a leather vest and blue jeans to her right on the stage. Again, I know The Mayor isn't a gangbanger, but the national audience sees what they will see.

And if they don't get it that is their problem.

A gangbanger on a Harley? Never heard of that one.

A gangbanger on a Harley? Never heard of that one.

I suppose it depends on what your definition of "gangbanger" is....

Yep. Don't find hippies gangbangers either.

Can't be as bad as the real "gangbanger" Detroit had as mayor.

Hippies? Those are SF Hell's Angels!

From when, the 70's? Who cares? How many gangbangers rise Harley's nowadays?

"The full requirements to become a Hells Angel are the following: candidates must be male, white, have a valid driver's license, have a working motorcycle and cannot be a child molester or have applied to become a police officer or prison guard."

Sounds alot like Mayor Bell huh?

Here you go CharlesBronson. From Fox Toledo

Lauren Emerson is 'BOOming! :^D

I'm not saying that Mayor Bell would be mistaken for an outlaw biker, I just think that not all gangbangers are wearing baggy pants and their baseball hats tilted off to the side. There are plenty of motorcycle gangs out there still dealing meth and killing people.

http://listverse.com/2009/08/18/top-10-notorious-american-biker-gangs/

judging from the posts above, i was expecting bell to look dangerous and menacing - he is dressed just fine for such an occasion: not too officious, not too slackered.

is that photo of hells angels a leibovitz? very well done!

Max, a reporter is interested in talking to you about your post here. Email me at glasscityjungle@gmail.com if you want her contact information and I'll pass it on.

Is that a mock turtle neck he's wearing? Hoodlum.

In all seriousness though, I agree with the original poster. He should have dressed a little differently. Perhaps a little less gay.

No. That wasn't serious either. I just can't be serious on this one. Not newsworthy. Next!

Kind of looks like a young Aaron Neville.

OK, I'll admit that I'm 100% oblivious to American Idol, Crystal, Toledo concert, Carty Bell's attire, etc. After all, Fri, May 14, 2010 was Kirtland's Warbler day at the Magee Marsh east beach trail. Hundreds or maybe a few thousand people saw one of the rarest songbirds in the world in migration, which is a really special sighting, since seeing them on their nesting territory in central Michigan is relatively easy.

Anyway, I'm only posting here, max, because like psyche777, I too received an e-mail from the reporter asking to contact you about your concerns on Bell's concert appearance last week.

max, if you wish to be interviewed, contact me at admin@toledotalk.com and I'll give you the reporter's e-mail address.

I just did a simple Google search on 'toledo mayor harley Crystal Bowersox'

A blogger fan of American Idol wrote :

So it won't be until tomorrow when the rest of the Idol fans may see Carty "Harley" Bell on TV, correct?

"What the hell are those big yellow things?" The amusing-looking Mud Hen mascots may get more attention than Bell if they all make it on the Idol show this week.

After reading a couple articles here about Bowersox, I see that Crystal sings "Me and Bobby Mcgee." Really? Since I've never heard Crystal sing, I was a bit suspicious. This is the only song I've heard Crystal sing, and she should win because of this. It's not as good Janis Joplin's version, but it's close, and that's impressive.

Watch the first Police Academy. Mike Bell = Captain Reed.

jr, thats the song that got me too, only i heard it on 94.5, not the tv show.

Max, I've been trying to track you down. Can you please e-mail me at wtvg.news@abc.com Thanks!!

As an aside, why does a 'journalist' want to spend time tracking down an anonymous internet poster about their opinion on the Mayor's attire at the Bowersox event? No kittens stuck in a tree to report on?

Looked like a member of the Village People?

Okay, that was funny. I'm not going to be able to look at that photo without "Macho Man" running through my head. lol

I wondered that also. As another aside, Max ain't bitten.

I would get in touch just to harangue them. You know that it is probably a junior employee just trying to do their job, but local news is simply awful these days. Just give us local news, sports and weather and be done in 10 minutes.

I wish they would release her "Holy Toledo" single on iTunes :) been on 92.5 a lot though.

I wonder who payed for the parade and concert. FOX? The city?

I recall Crystal giving credit to all the private sponsors from the Levis stage. No tax dollars were spent.

Bowersox makes Drudge Report!

http://www.drudgereport.com/

The story

After watching the episode of Idol tonight, she did the hometown proud. Definitely some positive images of Toledo. Also some positive comments that people need to start using more when speaking of their home.

Odds to win American Idol Season 9 All wagers have action.
Crystal Bowersox 3/2
Lee Dewyze 1/2

Lee has the momentum thanks to Simon’s wink and song assignment that is well within Lee’s limited range. Now the stage has been set Hollywood style to create a close popularity contest. Casey’s voters may switch to Lee further spreading the odds but, according to one article, Crystal gets twice the number of Internet hits as does Lee.
If this were truly a talent contest, contestants would be able to express their own original music and Crystal would have a slam dunk!

No matter who wins next week, Crystal still has one hell of a career ahead of her! Nice to see a local make it big. Good news for a change.

Mayor Bell was communicating to the greater Toledo area that a positive tone helps Toledo. Too many in the local media are jumping on the hate radio band wagon. Nothing is being solved and our national image suffers.

dogboy - when's the last time you posted anything that didnt go negative toward local media or republicans? ever?

there are a lot of grumpy people in toledo

There ARE a lot of grumpy people in Toledo!