This is Crew related believe it or not. I have a project I'm working on, and need about a half hour of your time. Please PM me if you are willing to answer a handful of questions. Thanks.
There is a metric ********load of lawyers over in Politics. Don't know if they'd be able to help you, tho.
From what little I understand about the process thus far, there is a $175 fee for a permit to hold a "protest." I'll find out for sure hopefully soon. Anyone willing to contribute?
Here is a copy of what I've sent to the City Attorney, lets see what our elected public officials come up with. Hello, my name is Zak Bernardo and I'm trying to research what would be needed to hold a protest at Crew Stadium on August 21st between the hours of 5pm and 7:30pm. Myself and about 500 other Crew fans plan to congregate in front of the stadium to demand the removal of Coach Greg Andrulis. This protest will be completely peaceful as the only person in the city who believes that Andrulis should still be coach is Greg Andrulis. Unfortunately due to the amount of people we expect, I realize that it might be wise to assertain some sort of permit. If you would be so kind as to forward my email address to anyone that can help me apply for said permit, I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks very much, and I can be reached at 614-xxx-4282 between the hours of 8am thru 5pm. Sincerly, Zak Bernardo
"This protest will be completely peaceful as the only person in the city who believes that Andrulis should still be coach is Greg Andrulis." Well done.
Maybe we should have a test protest on Wednesday? You never know, it's a buck-a-brat night, which is sure to bring the more obese portion of Columbus out of hiding.
Good luck guys, it sounds fun. If I had XXX in my phone number, maybe I would be as big of a pimp as Zak.
I know that Crew are going to attempt to squash this as quickly as possible, especially since the dcu game is the "showcase" event of the summer. Pathetic isn't it? Crew rely on another team to bring people in. Totally pathetic. That is why I'm so motivated to do this.
I wonder how the Fairgrounds breaks down into "ownership." I know the company that manages CCS leases land from the state, but I wonder if the Crew control the paved lots and the stadium with the state controlling everything else.
I actually know this, and I have emailed the expo center as well. Crew only control/own what is inside of the fence, and there are even certain portions of land inside the fence that they don't own. Basically, Crew have no controlling interest in the paved lots, however, the police obviously will probably not understand that. This is why we need to have an ironclad mechanism in place where we can show our displeasure. Can I count on folks from 107 to participate?
if you are standing in front of gate five begging for Andrulis to be fired, you might get more than five hundred. Well that is if attendance isn't below that by august.
Hopefully you can get enough media attention before August 21 to get the FO's attention. In a perfect world, we would never get to Aug. 21 with Andrulis still in charge. Merz- we know you read these boards, write up a story about the displeasure of the fans. Prove to us that you salary is paid by the Dispatch, not the Columbus Crew.
if, and only if, we figure out an iron clad way to protest, so that it can't be shut down in five minutes, I plan on inviting every media outlet I can find an email for.
This just keeps getting better and better for the Andrulis Out! party, worse and worse for the One Black & Gold Blvd. party.
we're still looking for someone to join our legal team by the way. We've already had two Columbus policeman join via PM, but I'd be more confident if I could speak to a practicing lawyer.
Zak, if you need my dad's office number or cell...let me know. And yes, he is a practicing attornery (County Prosecutor, soon..)
If this is going to happen, I will definitely make sure I get out to Columbus for this match, hang, you want to ride together? I would be willing to contribute to the permit fee if needed. Maybe at the next match, you can pass around a hat at the tailgate and get people to throw in 5-10 bucks a piece to help out? I agree, if you can get an ironclad way to protest w/o getting shut down, then I would definitely call in all the media you can. In fact, I could do a write up as well for Bergin.