Rooster in Review: Big Buck Hunter
Plus, the Hilltop Husband reveals her 2025 Sloopys Ballot.
As The Rooster reported on Nov. 24, Value City scion Jay Schottenstein was selling his squalid shanty in Bexley to Vivek Ramaswamy for $15 million.
The property at 445 N. Parkview Avenue sits steps from the governor’s mansion, currently occupied by my old friend, Governor Sleepy Tea.
The Rooster learned this afternoon that Schottenstein’s property is officially on the move, as he’s transferred ownership to a newly formed entity, “Parkview Property Owner LLC.”
Thanks to Franklin County Recorder Danny O’Connor, we know that Schottenstein is the force behind the new LLC:
This is nothing short of a tax scheme to ensure that Schottenstein pays as few taxes as possible on his impending $15 million windfall.
According to property records, Schottenstein acquired the 3,300 square-foot residence for $475,000 in 1986.
As The Rooster reported on Nov. 26, the realtor in line for the expected $450,000 commission is none other than Tina Husted, the wife of Ohio junior Senator Jon Husted, who has frozen pineapple where his brain is supposed to be.
If an alleged billionaire like Ramaswamy were interested in paying his political rival to take an appointment to the United States Senate and clear the gubernatorial field for his own candidacy, that would be a “legal” avenue to do so, if that’s what he were interested in doing.
The Rooster will have more as this story develops, and I’ll sit in a canoe on Alum Creek with a high-powered camera if that’s what it takes to nail Ramaswamy to the Cross (figuratively speaking, of course).
In the meantime, I’d be honored if any of you free-loading hogs in the parking lot helped sustain the operation by purchasing a subscription. We’ve got a big week ahead of us next week, and you’ll want a front-row seat for what’s about to unfold.
Thank you for your attention to this critical matter.
The Hilltop Husband reveals her 2025 Sloopys ballot
It’s that magical time of year, folks. Voting for cleveland.com’s annual Sloopys is open!
Voting is open until 11:59 p.m. Sunday, and you can cast your ballot over here.
On Thursday, I revealed my ballot, which you can consult for reference over here.
Hilltop Husband is casting a vote this year. Originally, I hoped to include a couple of her deranged sentences with her picks, even if it would have exposed me as the second-best writer inside my marriage.
Unfortunately, life got in the way of that. So her picks will have to suffice, though she did manage to include this entry for Governor Sleepy Tea for Most Effective Statewide Lawmaker:
This is a pretty obvious answer—this man has the institutional political knowledge and shrewd cunning instincts to get it done.
I regret “having to hand it to him,” but on some of his vetos and refusals to bend to the rest of his party, I do.
He “got covid” in August 2020 just before a planned meeting with Trump, but miraculously tested negative later the same day. In September 2022, he met Trump at the airport, then rushed off to his granddaughter’s cross-country meet rather than attend Trump’s rally.
DeWine hasn’t allowed a death penalty execution since he took office as governor, in stark contrast to the deep desire to see people suffer that forms the basis for most of his party’s actions. For being smart enough to succeed professionally in that environment, he earns the vote.
Here’s the rest of Hilltop’s ballot, even if it includes me as the biggest troll.
Biggest Windbag: State Rep. Brian Stewart (R-Ashville)
Biggest Self-Promoter: State Senator Casey Weinstein (D-Hudson)
Funniest Politician: State Rep. Dan Troy (D-Willowick)
Republican Rising Star: Senator Susan Manchester (R-Celina)
Democratic Rising Star: State Rep. Beryl Brown Piccolantonio (D-Gahanna)
Best Use of Social Media: D.J. Byrnes aka “Hilltop Wife”
Worst Use of Social Media: Ohio Senate Communications Director John Fortney and “The President’s Podcast”
Biggest Troll: D.J. Byrnes aka “Hilltop Wife”
Most Savvy Lawmaker: Senator Bill Reineke (R-Tiffin)
Most Arrogant Lawmaker: Senate Minority Leader Nickie Antonio (D-Lakewood)
Most Power-Hungry Lawmaker: House Speaker Matt Huffman (R-Lima)
Nicest Lawmaker: State Rep. Mark Sigrist (D-Grove City)
Most Bipartisan Lawmaker: State Rep. Sean Brennan (D-Parma)
Biggest Political Surprise: Jim Tressel appointed lieutenant governor but opts not to run for governor next year.
Hardest Working Lobbyist: John Esterly, Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen
Best Capitol Square Restaurant: Ringside Cafe
Most Popular Bar for Democrats: High Beck Tavern
Most Popular Bar for Republicans: Axis
Maybe next year, The Business Line will go crazy enough that I can hire her as a business partner. That’s the dream, anyway.
This week in The Rooster…
It was another brisk week of business for Rooster Worldwide LLC:
“There’s no answer that makes him look good.” The curious case of Vivek Ramaswamy’s 728 refunded donations.
The hunt for Leslie Wexner. In 15 minutes this week, The Rooster got more Central Ohio politicians on the hook about Leslie Wexner, than has happened in 40 years in this god-forsaken city.
The Rooster’s 2025 Sloopys ballot. Here’s how I voted in the Slooopys, the Ohio Statehouse’s more prestigious and sexier version of the Oscars.
The machine’s death rattle. Mayor Suburbs and Speaker of the House Matt Huffman are old-school machine-styled politicians. And that’s coming at a cost to both their future ambitions.
We’ll do it at the same time and place next week.
Until then… stay frosty, my friends!
THOSE WMDs. The unraveling of a secret Libyan empire… Why China and America are the world’s only great powers… Trump’s DOJ secretly pressured lawyers to “find” evidence that UCLA had illegally tolerated Antisemitism… The oilman who pushed Trump to go all-in on fossil fuels… How the “Crypto Godfather” grew a fortune and a criminal conspiracy.