The thing about posting all your thoughts and opinions online for attention is that sometimes those thoughts and opinions don’t age well. They highlight your hypocrisy and expose the truth.
Following the 2021 Council At Large election, Nicole Kowalski had a lot to say. While she won, she was upset that her allies had lost. She said Chris Banweg and Karen Heater deserved asterisks next to their names. A Super PAC engaged in the race and she felt that tainted the situation. But, there is a big difference between a Super PAC and dark money “nonprofit” Clocktower Collaborative. Kowalski’s collaborators appear to have broken multiple laws.
By Jane Howington’s own admission in her emails, Clocktower Collaborative was designed to keep voters in the dark about the support of their network and donors. Kowalski doesn’t take issue with this motive from the “nonprofit” that appears to be operating as a PAC.
“There will forever be asterisks next to the wins of the other at-large members’ wins.”
– Nicole Kowalski in 2021
Unless Kowalski is a hypocrite, she should also demand asterisks next to the names of Dr. Patricia Goetz and Dr. Mike Bird. After all, they are the subject of a probable cause hearing at the Ohio Elections Commission for campaign coordination with “nonprofit” Clocktower Collaborative. The dark money group, which Kowalski, Bird, and Goetz were part of at least through emails, is also the subject of its own OEC probable cause hearing for operating as an unregistered PAC. By Kowalski’s standards, Bird and Goetz also deserve asterisks.
“Unity starts with acknowledging the truth. I am telling you facts about influence in this race by a Super PAC. You can still celebrate your candidates’ wins, but acknowledging your candidate benefitted from a Super PAC is the first step towards healing and unity. And I’ll never not say it,” Kowalski wrote before she decided to stop saying it in 2023.
Kowalski’s post is an interesting read two years later. She takes issue with a Super PAC to elect her opponents, yet in 2023 she dismisses criticism of the dark money “nonprofit” that appears to have coordinated with her candidates. No matter how one feels about a 2021 Super PAC, it operated legally while Clocktower Collaborative is the subject of a number of legal issues.
Fast forward to 2023 and Kowalski is spinning the investigation into Clocktower Collaborative and the coordination evidence into Bird, Goetz, and Lepidi-Carino as “conspiracy theories.”
The difference is that Clocktower Collaborative benefitted Kowalski and this is a narrative she cannot control because of the evidence that points to illegal activity.
“Marketing professional” Kowalski could use some classes in crisis communication as she is not handling being presented with this evidence well. Bird and Goetz’s demand for a separate swearing-in with a Democratic judge has been a public relations nightmare for Team Kowalski. After they campaigned for unity, they insisted on none of it for the beginning of their terms. When confronted with this on Twitter, Kowalski did not react as the “marketing professional” she claims to be.
Kowalski has been targeting constituents who want answers to these questions. She is motivated by increasing her online clout, but she fails to recognize the more people who see her arrogant responses and questions about Clocktower Collaborative, the more it will be exposed.
Kowalski is eager to silence criticism. But, residents have had enough of the online bullying and condescension and they continue to speak out. The Clocktower Collaborative debacle has plenty of evidence that can’t be spun as a “conspiracy theory” and it won’t be going away anytime soon.
Since Nicole Kowalski posts all her thoughts and opinions, there are plenty of screenshots for many more articles to highlight her hypocrisy and double standards.
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