CincyAlec

I'm no expert, but does anyone know what kind of renovation US Bank would need to make it a state-of-the-art modern arena? Obviously luxury boxes, widened concourses, and increased seating capacity. Sounds like a lot to me. It might be cheaper to tear it down and start from scratch on the same location?

Wanted to revive this with the recent scuttlebutt about UC moving to USBA. I'm personally a fan of putting an arena in Uptown bound by WHT and Corry to the north and south and Jefferson and Euclid to the East and West. It would be on the streetcar line, walking distance to UC, and would accelerate the development along Short Vine and make it a powerhouse in terms of a regional entertainment district. Perhaps some deal could be worked out with Nederlander (who owns USBA and the Cyclones), Pres. Ono and the UC BoT, the developers in Uptown, and the owners of the Corryville land in which Nederlander sells the USBA land to the city for 3CDC or private developers and a new arena gets built with UC and the Cyclones as the primary tenants. Thoughts?

Enquirer endorsements: http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/artikkel?NoCache=1&Dato=20131027&Kategori=EDIT01&Lopenr=310270034&Ref=AR Flynn Landsman Murray Mann Quinlivan Simpson Sittenfeld White Young Only four streetcar supporters on this list, though Councilman Seelbach did get a nice shout out as someone they didn't endorse, but 'deserves mention'

Enquirer article about where candidates stand on parking and streetcar: http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20131023/NEWS0106/310230267?gcheck=1&nclick_check=1

I got Smitherman, too.

My point is more about balancing candidates that have a great chance to get elected versus their supportiveness of the streetcar. Another poster listed the streetcar supporters by likelihood of winning and Landsman is the only one in the 'top tier' of challengers who is supportive. That's why I find this particular conversation interesting. I supported Flynn in 2011 and obviously won't be doing that this time. The biggest difference between 2011 and 2013 is the number of viable streetcar-supportive challengers.

I've gone back and forth on this issue. I think that it's a good thing to have some pragmatists who acknowledge the streetcar is going to happen and are committed to making it work. Unlike Murray, Mann, and Flynn (the other strongly competitive challengers), Landsman seems like he wants to do the responsible thing and see it succeed. It might require some elected leaders like that to get the opponents on board or help bring us in the PR battle. I've got 9 votes, Landsman is getting one of them.

Apparently COAST or their sympathizers are taking down signs of Dem and progressive candidates. Just this morning, I've heard friends working with a couple candidates say that they have had signs stolen off supporters' properties. Some one from Landsman's team even said one of their large 4x8 signs was stolen off of private property on Kellogg. It seems like COAST is reverting back to their childish ways and loser antics.

John, I can understand the distinction. Like many of you, I'm a supporter of Mike Moroski and when I reached out to him about Greg he seemed to support his candidacy and said they are friends. That's another reason I feel comfortable supporting him. To the previous poster's point, if we're able to replace two non-supporters with Greg and Mike, I think city council will be much better and more effective.

Greg wrote to tell me that he would not have voted for the $17.4 million needed to complete the project. That would have killed the project. On the other hand, he wrote that he would never vote to kill the project. Until we read in a news account that he supports the streetcar, I'll continue to count him as a non-supporter. I asked him about the $17.4mil. He told me he would have voted against it, as well so I don't think he's trying to play both sides of the coin. Rather, he says he would have looked for 4 other votes to place the money in escrow until an operating plan and plan to connect to Uptown was in place. I don't think it's fair to categorize him as a non-supporter. He's given us the same answer. He'll primarily have my support because he seems like a leader. Regardless of the outcome of the mayoral election, council will need an 'adult' who will be able to pull people together and care about issues rather than just ideology. He doesn't seem to have aspirations to move up, it seems as though he just cares about Cincinnati. He gave me his card and I emailed him for more information and he promptly responded with more information and his opinion which I believe to be thoughtful and rational. I've never had this happen with any of the candidate, which really impressed me. Like you, I'll be eager to see what he says when the Enquirer and/or other outlets ask him the streetcar question. I have faith in him, though.

Long time reader. Never had much to contribute but I just created an account. Greg Landsman was door-knocking in my neighborhood this weekend and I had the chance to talk with him. I figured I'd post what he had to say here since there doesn't seem to be too much info about him. - My first question was obviously about the streetcar. He IS a supporter. He said that he will never vote to repave streets or kill the project. He wants to see it get done, and get done well. He is, however, disappointed with the leadership of the project and says that the city and council have not been pro-active about selling the project to the city. - He is working with many of the current incumbents to secure a plan for the Uptown Extension by January 1, 2014. He says we must keep progressing and capitalizing on momentum. By the time the first phase opens in 2016, shovels should already be in the ground to take it up the hill. - I read somewhere that some people think he's like P.G. That was my initial thought until I met him. Unlike P.G., he has a great background (he worked for Strickland, I think, and now runs a non-profit in town). He also answered every policy question I threw at him and didn't dodge or equivocate. I didn't agree with him on every single thing, but I appreciate his candor and honesty. - I rarely use my compliment of 9 votes, but Landsman earned one of my votes. He seems to have a great leadership dynamic that seems to be missing from council. He seems like a humble guy and a hard worker. I don't think we can have too many of those. I'll go back to lurking now!