On 10/20/2023 at 4:50 PM, ColDayMan said:

The measure seeks to increase the city income tax from 1.8% to 2.3% and spend the resulting $50 million per year on affordable housing, with about two-thirds going to help the city’s lowest income citizens.

2.3% must be a typo. It had previously been consistently reported as 2.1%

Anyone care to make predictions on the council race? My guess, in order:

 

1. Jan-Michele Lemon Kearney
2. Reggie Harris
3. Meeka Owens
4. Victoria Parks
5. Mark Jeffreys
6. Jeff Cramerding
7. Scotty Johnson
8. Liz Keating
9. Seth Walsh
10. Anna Albi

 

Despite Seth Walsh's allegations of poor workplace environment and conflict of interests between campaign and office staff, I do think he's campaigning really hard. And name recognition is half the game. I think Anna Albi has such little name recognition across the city that she will fall short of the top 9.

 

As for who I'm voting for as of right now (in no particular order)

• Reggie Harris
• Meeka Owens
• Jeff Cramerding
• Mark Jeffreys
• Liz Keating
• Anna Albi

Usually I highly recommend everyone votes for their full 9 allotment. This time I think that's less important. Limiting your votes will have the biggest impact since only one candidate can lose. I think it's important to limit your votes this time to have the most impact unless you desperately want one person to not win.

 

Liz Keating is supportive of higher density, which is important to me. I think she adds some diversity to council to get things done. I wouldn't vote for any Republican just for diversity on council, though. I didn't vote for her in 2019 (or any endorsed Republican). But I think she's fairly level-headed and a good influence on council. I've been unimpressed with Scotty Johnson and Victoria Parks overall. And Kearney's blasting of the density ordinance soured me on her. 

^ agreed.  I loved Reggie Harris' proposal to increase density and his only supporter for the motion was Liz Keating, so they definitely get my vote.  Jeffreys has been active in many areas, especially bike infrastructure, so he's got my vote too.

 

Albi mentions zoning on her website:

 

Change restrictive zoning and expand the adaption of form-based codes such as height, setback, minimum lot size, floor-area-ratio, and density, to allow more and easier housing production

Expand voluntary tax incentive contribution agreement (VTICA) program so more abatement recipients pay the 7.5% allocated to the Affordable Housing Fund and the 7.5% for the community fund

Encourage more mixed-use and mixed-income developments to foster walkable neighborhoods

Increase funding for Community Development Corporations (CDCs) and Homebase

Top donors to Cincinnati City Council campaigns include lobbyists, land owners, unions

 

Even though this year’s Cincinnati City Council race is guaranteed to reelect at least eight incumbents, the candidates have raised money at a brisk pace, with six candidates topping $100,000 in contributions as the contest enters its final days.

 

The Business Courier analyzed all 10 candidates' contributions to come up with a list of the top 20 contributors and how much they gave. The list includes contributions made only in 2023.

 

Because 10 candidates are vying for nine slots, this year’s council race has been relatively quiet two years after 35 candidates made the 2021 race in the wake of the 2020 public corruption arrests of three members. Voters sent eight Democrats and Councilwoman Liz Keating, a Republican and endorsed member of the Charter Committee, to council, a record modern number for the Democrats.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2023/10/31/top-cincinnati-city-council-donors.html

 

Looks like City Council will be 100% Democrats. 

Strategically, the GOP messed up by only endorsing Keating. With only 10 candidates on the ballot, and people vote for 9, if there were more choices (even GOP choices that would not win), Keating may have been put over the top. The reasoning is that there are still a block of GOP voters in the city. In general, voters will vote for 9 candidates and without a few other GOP candidates to act as placeholders to take some of the GOP vote, candidates like Seth Walsh, Crammerding and Albi benefit because people who like Keating will vote for her and then pick another 8. If they vote for all 9 candidates, it will likely increase the votes of the bottom 3 candidates to the detriment of the lone GOP candidate. WIth 5-6 GOP candidates running (even though the other 4 will lose) it increases the case for a person like Keating to get on council because it will decrease opportunities for people who like her to fill out the ballot for people like Crammerding, Walsh and Albi (or whomever may be in position 7,8 and 9 in a given year).

 

The Dems were smart by only endorsing a slate of 9 this year when they normally endorse 12-14 people.  

11 minutes ago, Brutus_buckeye said:

 

 

The Dems were smart by only endorsing a slate of 9 this year when they normally endorse 12-14 people.  

 

The Democratic Party has never endorsed more than 10 candidates, and they only endorsed 10 candidates once (which was boneheaded)

Keating likely lost because other unendorsed Democrats/progressives and third party Charterites didn't run. When people like Michelle Dillingham and Brian Garry and Kevin Flynn run, they pull votes from the worst performing Democratic endorsed candidates (like Walsh) and that puts Keating into office.

 

Endorsing 2+ Republicans likely wouldn't have helped at all.

11 minutes ago, ryanlammi said:

Endorsing 2+ Republicans likely wouldn't have helped at all.

why wouldn't it? The vast majority of voters will vote all 9 candidates. If you tend to vote the GOP slate, you would theoretically vote a keating, goodin, sunderman (if they ran). Now Goodin and SUnderman have no chance, but if that voter would vote for 6 more candidates, which candidates do not get the vote, this would naturally narrow the margin for Keating that she would have to overcome. It does not matter if it is the GOP slate or Charterite slate or even more Dems on the ballot, the more candidates, the better it would have been for Keating.

18 minutes ago, Brutus_buckeye said:

why wouldn't it? The vast majority of voters will vote all 9 candidates. If you tend to vote the GOP slate, you would theoretically vote a keating, goodin, sunderman (if they ran). Now Goodin and SUnderman have no chance, but if that voter would vote for 6 more candidates, which candidates do not get the vote, this would naturally narrow the margin for Keating that she would have to overcome. It does not matter if it is the GOP slate or Charterite slate or even more Dems on the ballot, the more candidates, the better it would have been for Keating.

Do you know for sure the vast majority of voters vote for all 9?  Maybe they do.  I think a better strategy would have been for the Keating camp to widely advertise that Rs should vote for her and only her.  That may have been off putting to some of the electorate but probably would have been worth a shot.  I know this went on in the background but I cannot remember it being widely distributed.

 

At the end of the day you are probably right that a lot of voters just take the D sample ballot and go down the line voting for all 9.

31 minutes ago, Brutus_buckeye said:

why wouldn't it? The vast majority of voters will vote all 9 candidates. If you tend to vote the GOP slate, you would theoretically vote a keating, goodin, sunderman (if they ran). Now Goodin and SUnderman have no chance, but if that voter would vote for 6 more candidates, which candidates do not get the vote, this would naturally narrow the margin for Keating that she would have to overcome. It does not matter if it is the GOP slate or Charterite slate or even more Dems on the ballot, the more candidates, the better it would have been for Keating.

 

I don't think most people who voted for Keating voted for a full slate of 9. It would be necessary to get some exit polling to figure this out. But we'll likely never get good data on this. Most people voting for Keating IMO didn't vote for the full 9, and often voted for some of the bigger names on the ballot in addition to Keating.

 

I don't think having 2-3 additional Republicans would hurt Keating, but I think the biggest impact would come from a splintered Democratic block. The city is very heavily Democratic now. DeWine won Hamilton County by a very slim margin in 2022, but Nan Whaley took 70% of the vote in the City of Cincinnati.

Having more Democrat-aligned candidates on the ballot would reap much more for Keating than having additional Republicans. Breaking up the 70%+ Democratic city would have a much bigger impact than trying to get the small proportion of voters who chose Keating and placed a vote for the 9th place finisher.

6 hours ago, ryanlammi said:

I don't think most people who voted for Keating voted for a full slate of 9. It would be necessary to get some exit polling to figure this out. But we'll likely never get good data on this. Most people voting for Keating IMO didn't vote for the full 9, and often voted for some of the bigger names on the ballot in addition to Keating.

 

I don't think having 2-3 additional Republicans would hurt Keating, but I think the biggest impact would come from a splintered Democratic block. The city is very heavily Democratic now. DeWine won Hamilton County by a very slim margin in 2022, but Nan Whaley took 70% of the vote in the City of Cincinnati.

Having more Democrat-aligned candidates on the ballot would reap much more for Keating than having additional Republicans. Breaking up the 70%+ Democratic city would have a much bigger impact than trying to get the small proportion of voters who chose Keating and placed a vote for the 9th place finisher.

Our form of election is also referred to as block voting. The block of voters with the highest loyalty to their list, will get oversized representation. Simple ways to fix this would be to switch to limited voting, or cumulative voting. We could also switch to an actual PR system like STV, SPAV or STAR-PR but those would require a little bit more education and costs.

Most voters do not vote the full 9. The average over the last 3 decades is around 6.5. The typical person is just not going to form a complex opinion about that many candidates because it's just too much information to process for someone who isn't obsessed with local politics like us. As the highest winner, Kearney got the lowest share of votes (37%) in the last 32 years, which is all the data that's available on the BoE website. EDIT: I was looking at the day-of results, not vote totals. 7 of the candidates got selected on over 50% of the ballots cast. Walsh was on 46.53% of ballots so that's the highest amount of people that could have straight ticket voted.

In this election, Keating needed a crowded field to water down the democratic ticket.

 

Edited November 9, 20231 yr by Dev

Thanks for that info @Dev! Where did you get the data for the votes per ballot?

4 hours ago, ryanlammi said:

Thanks for that info @Dev! Where did you get the data for the votes per ballot?

I compiled the data from the BoE website 2 years ago. The results are all available as Excel files. From there it's just simple arithmetic. They only list total ballots, total votes, undercounts and over counts. They don't list specifically how many filled out 9, 8, 7, etc.

Here's the overall turnout, of just the city council race. EDIT: The current data is all ballot cast within the city and does not exclude people who skipped the city council race.

Edited November 9, 20231 yr by Dev

2 hours ago, ryanlammi said:

 

I don't think most people who voted for Keating voted for a full slate of 9. It would be necessary to get some exit polling to figure this out. But we'll likely never get good data on this. Most people voting for Keating IMO didn't vote for the full 9, and often voted for some of the bigger names on the ballot in addition to Keating.

 

I don't think having 2-3 additional Republicans would hurt Keating, but I think the biggest impact would come from a splintered Democratic block. The city is very heavily Democratic now. DeWine won Hamilton County by a very slim margin in 2022, but Nan Whaley took 70% of the vote in the City of Cincinnati.

Having more Democrat-aligned candidates on the ballot would reap much more for Keating than having additional Republicans. Breaking up the 70%+ Democratic city would have a much bigger impact than trying to get the small proportion of voters who chose Keating and placed a vote for the 9th place finisher.

I dont disagree with you.

However, if you were the GOP and the Dems or Charterites are not going to overstuff the ballot with options, it would probably be at least somewhat strategically beneficial to them to get more people on the ballot. 

It was really only a matter of time

 

That Cincinnati managed to keep at least one R council member decades longer than either of the other 2 C's is what's surprising to me

Mark Samaan made support maps for each candidate. I think it really shows how turnout is much higher is wealthier parts of the city, although it does make it pretty clear there were a lot of straight party votes for the Dems.
 

 

Edited November 10, 20231 yr by Dev

Would love to see a map showing percentage of votes cast each candidate got, too. Might show some additional info about where candidates underperformed 

Attorney said city broke the law before it rushed hearing on new downtown parking lot

 

An attorney for a major downtown landowner accused the city of Cincinnati of breaking the law by not holding a hearing on his client’s request to build a new surface parking lot at a former bus station. His letter came weeks before the city could consider fresh restrictions on such projects.

 

The city added the application to the Cincinnati Planning Commission agenda for its Friday, Nov. 17, meeting, just 16 hours before the hearing was set to start. At that meeting, commissioners declined to take a vote.

 

Sean Suder, representing Chavez Properties, wrote a Nov. 13 letter to the city solicitor’s office alleging the city violated its statutes and the state and federal constitutions when the commission did not schedule a hearing prior to Nov. 11 on the company’s request to demolish the former Greyhound bus station on Gilbert Avenue and turn it into a parking lot.

 

As soon as Dec. 1, the city planning staff is expected to propose an overhaul of the city’s zoning code when it comes to new surface parking lots downtown. The changes could ban new surface lots in some parts of downtown, make them more expensive to build in other parts and, in the places where they are permitted, allow them for only a temporary period. Cincinnati City Council would consider any new rules as well.

 

Deputy Solicitor Marion Haynes denied the city broke the law, but “to avoid an unnecessary legal dispute, the commission took up the Chavez request. After more than two hours of testimony and discussion, commissioners voted to continue the hearing until Dec. 2.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2023/11/20/downtown-cincinnati-parking-lot-rules-sean-suder.html

Property tax bills will rise after City Council sets property tax rates for 2025

 

Cincinnati City Council voted Wednesday, Dec. 13, to keep the property tax rates city government charges property owners steady for 2025, which means bills will increase and the city could potentially collect millions of additional dollars because of increased property values.

 

The city’s property tax is different from countywide or school district levies, which, under state law and depending on the type of levy, can be reduced when property values increase to keep tax bills steadier. The amount collected by the city rises as property values increase.

 

Council and Mayor Aftab Pureval last year ended a city policy of rolling back the city’s property tax rate for operations so the city collected only $29 million. That policy and dollar amount persisted over the past 24 years. Critics said by freezing the property tax at that level for decades and allowing inflation to eat away at it, the city deprived itself of needed revenue.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2023/12/13/cincinnati-property-tax-bills.html

City Manager Sheryl Long's review warns about ‘lack of housing projects'

 

Overall, Cincinnati City Council is satisfied with City Manager Sheryl Long’s job performance, according to a review completed by members, but they also sounded the alarm about the lack of real estate projects moving through the city.

 

The seven-page review was released by Councilwoman Liz Keating and Councilman Jeff Cramerding Dec. 13 and included input from all nine members. Keating said Dec. 11 that Long could receive a raise next year but that no ordinance had yet been prepared. Council must approve any raise.

 

“Council stands behind City Manager Sheryl Long as the leader of this city,” the review concluded. “Long is the right person to lead the city of Cincinnati. Ms. Long brings much needed stability and positive energy following several tumultuous years at City Hall, including high turnover in the city manager’s office, a global pandemic and corruption charges and additional allegations.”

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2023/12/14/city-manager-sheryl-long-performance-review.html

 

Nearly every Cincinnati council member mentioned gun violence as they took office

 

Nine Cincinnati City Council members, including one new to the fold, took office Tuesday, Jan. 2, at a ceremony at Music Hall, and almost all of them mentioned the same issue in their inaugural remarks: gun violence.

 

“Our most basic duty is to make sure Cincinnati is a safe community for everyone,” said Councilwoman Anna Albi, the newest member. “It truly breaks my heart that we have become a city of gun violence survivors.”

 

Councilman Scotty Johnson, who chairs council’s public safety committee, said the city had 71 homicides in 2023. That is five fewer than the 78 the city had in 2022 and down from the 94 murders seen during the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021. It's also below the 2019 total of 73. Still, it’s too many, said Johnson, who knew Hannah Leath-Smith, 18, the final victim of 2023, since she was a toddler.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2024/01/02/new-city-council-sworn-in-gun-violence-top-concern.html

 

On 10/2/2020 at 7:37 AM, cincydave8 said:

Part of Reading Road to be renamed President Barack Obama Avenue

 

https://www.wlwt.com/article/part-of-reading-road-to-be-renamed-president-barack-obama-avenue/34240720

 

From downtown before Central Parkway to the edge of the city right at Galbraith Road, Reading Road will be renamed President Barack Obama Avenue.

"We're announcing it now and City Council has approved it. It'll take a while for the change to happen," said Councilwoman Jan Michele Kearney.

Is this still happening?

1 hour ago, cincydave8 said:

Is this still happening?

 

Probably not. JMLK said she was going to find private funding for it and I don't think she's even made an attempt. It was just a publicity stunt. 

Councilman Mark Jeffreys proposes millions in property tax relief

 

The city of Cincinnati has $50 million stashed away to pay potential refunds to people working from home whose city-based employers deduct income taxes from their checks. After a favorable court ruling, Councilman Mark Jeffreys wants to look at tapping part of it to provide property tax relief to homeowners facing steep bills after this year’s reappraisal.

 

At a news conference in Mount Auburn on Monday, March 4, Jeffreys announced a task force would study the issue and make recommendations.

 

“The systemic solution to this is not in the city,” Jeffreys said, but in the state General Assembly. “It’s not clear when they will solve it. We do have a short window.”

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2024/03/04/councilman-mark-jeffreys-funds-property-tax-relief.html

The state can quickly solve it, and should. ASAP  

Cincinnati administration has ‘grave concerns’ about property tax relief idea

 

Cincinnati’s administration is doubtful about a potential idea to provide some property tax relief to city residents in the wake of rising bills.

 

On March 4, Councilman Mark Jeffreys floated the idea of using some of the $50 million the city has stashed away to pay potential refunds to people working from home whose city-based employers deduct income taxes from their checks. Ohio cities recently got a favorable Ohio Supreme Court ruling that said they would not have to pay refunds to such workers during the height of the pandemic in 2020.

 

But in a March 20 memo to Mayor Aftab Pureval and council, City Manager Sheryl Long said the idea “raises grave concerns for the administration.”

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2024/04/01/cincinnati-property-tax-relief-proposal.html

Cincinnati council floats finding $1 million for property tax relief

 

Cincinnati residents owe $3.2 million in overdue property taxes, and City Council is looking into tapping into a fund to pay off about $1 million of it.

 

Mayor Aftab Pureval, Vice Mayor Jan-Michele Lemon Kearney and Councilman Mark Jeffreys have sponsored a motion asking the administration to draft an ordinance taking the money from a housing stability capital account.

 

Council could cast an initial vote on the idea Wednesday, April 3.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2024/04/03/cincinnati-council-funds-property-tax-relief.html

 

Mayor Aftab Pureval, Cincinnati council members react to Futures Commission's all-or-nothing recommendations

 

The Cincinnati Futures Commission’s lengthy report contained dozens of recommendations on how to overhaul the city’s finances, strengthen its balance sheet and set the stage for decades of growth.

 

It also gave elected officials the permission slip some of them have sought for a decade to take an income tax increase to the ballot for the first time in 40 years. But with it came a catch: They’d have to cut spending and unload the costs of some city assets or transfer them outright too in order to get the business community’s backing for a tax hike.

 

Given the enormous logistical and political task ahead, it’s unclear just how much wiggle room Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval and City Council members have.

 

In an interview with the Business Courier April 10, Procter & Gamble CEO Jon Moeller, chairman of the Futures Commission, said city officials do not have a menu in front of them where they can pick and choose the stuff they like and discard the rest.

 

“We believe the city must do all of them, including the most difficult ones. We make a strong case that all of this is needed in concert to get to the outcomes that we’re desiring,” Moeller said.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2024/04/12/futures-commission-mayor-aftab-city-council-react.html

 

The Cincinnati Futures Commission Report is interesting, and while its weird to have big corporate players seemingly tell the city what to do, I agree with many of it's points but I'm confused why they are talking about increasing income taxes and increasing fees on things like trash, ticket sales and parking but then lamenting that some of our peer cities give 100% property tax abatement while we give a maximum of 52% abatement. They mention the lack of dense development and the potential of rezoning and the connected communities plan, but for that increase in housing density to pay off why would we be giving out 100% tax abatements to all that new housing?

Quote

Between the VTICA and the Cincinnati Public School’s PILOT payment, Cincinnati’s base incentive is at maximum 52% and this is before the City’s own incentive policy reduces the abatement for certain neighborhoods. Again, this does not make sense if the City wants to compete for private housing development.

 

I'm not normally a "reduce red tape and regulations" kind of person, but this report also gets into how time consuming and difficult the processes are for getting these tax incentives, getting a project approved and how it's hurting outside developers from coming into our market. Between the Connected Communities and this report I really am hopeful that the City has finally realized that the best way to get more housing IS TO ALLOW MORE HOUSING. I'm not going to pretend to understand the pension fund crisis, but I know that more people, more density and more taxes are good for the city budget. 

 

The only other thing in the report that stood out to me is how our city is only 50% white people, yet all our diversity and income equality is at the very bottom among the other 10 peer cities. That's pretty embarrassing and I think also goes to why we are dead last when it comes to percentage of housing that meets 30% of household income. We are on average poorer but have more expensive housing due to having the largest wealth gap of any peer cities, even places like Nashville and Columbus having better affordability is crazy because of how expensive those cities have seemingly gotten but that also just goes to prove that the cities building the most housing supply are also bringing down the overall housing costs. 

 

Lastly this image hurts me. The vast majority of the city has less housing units than it did 10 years ago, including OTR which has seemingly grown and been revitalized in the same 10 year window. It's absolutely crazy to me that OTR actually has less housing units after all the money that 3CDC, Model and others have invested into the area. That feels like a major failure in what is supposed to be our densest neighborhood outside the CBD. 

 

 

 

City of Cincinnati funding for Forbes Under 30 event draws fire

 

Three Cincinnati City Council members criticized a plan to allocate up to $400,000 for the Forbes Under 30 Summit set for September and voted against an overall package of changes to the proposed budget, which is set for a vote this week.

 

Vice Mayor Jan-Michele Lemon Kearney and council members Scotty Johnson and Victoria Parks questioned whether the event would do much to help ordinary citizens.

 

Parks said she was concerned that the city was appropriating money to an event that can pay all of its own costs.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2024/06/11/city-council-budget-funding-forbes-under-30-summit.html

Cincinnati set to change 'quick strike' program to boost neighborhood redevelopment

By Chris Wetterich – Staff reporter and columnist, Cincinnati Business Courier

Jun 12, 2024

 

Cincinnati City Council is poised to alter the way a nascent program aimed at helping spur neighborhood redevelopment works, loosening the reins with the aim of allowing more access.

 

The motion sponsored by Councilman Seth Walsh would change what money in the city’s “quick strike” program can be used for and boost reporting requirements.

 

The initiative is set to get $1 million in the city budget expected to pass June 12. Walsh’s proposed changes also could be approved. It was first funded in 2023.

 

MORE

Cincinnati City Council acts on city budget: ‘We need to pick up our game’

 

Cincinnati City Council approved a $1.3 billion spending plan for the next fiscal year Wednesday, June 12, the last budget that contains millions in federal pandemic relief, with one member warning that the city needs to improve how it crafts next year’s financial plan.

 

Most of the budget passed unanimously, with the exception of an ordinance with council members’ changes, which included a slew of funding for outside groups that was not recommended by the administration, plus $400,000 potentially for the upcoming Forbes Under 30 Summit.

 

Council members Jeff Cramerding and Victoria Parks voted against that ordinance. Vice Mayor Jan-Michele Lemon Kearney and Scotty Johnson voted for it after being against it in a June 10 committee vote.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2024/06/12/city-council-passes-2025-budget-forbes-vote-rushed.html

 

City of Cincinnati grants to private groups may come with a new string – a board representative

 

Cincinnati spends millions every year helping outside organizations, and City Council wants to know whether it’s feasible to have a city representative on their boards.

 

Council unanimously approved a motion June 12 asking the city administration to study whether council could make a board seat a requirement for funding.

 

“The report should consider a funding threshold for the requirement, term length, voting abilities and the process for appointment,” the motion said. “It can be difficult for the city to ensure an organization’s success without such oversight.”

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2024/06/14/city-council-fund-nonprofit-grants-rep-board-seat.html

Cincinnati Councilman Reggie Harris resigns

 

Cincinnati Councilman Reggie Harris is resigning to take a job with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Business Courier has learned.

Harris is in his second term.

 

A Chicago native, Harris has designated Councilwoman Meeka Owens to select his successor. Under the city's charter, council members select one or more colleagues to pick their replacement in the event of their resignation, removal or death.

How will Reggie Harris be replaced on Cincinnati City Council? It's unclear so far

 

When Greg Landsman resigned from Cincinnati City Council in 2022 to become a U.S. House member, Councilman Reggie Harris, who was designated to tap Landsman’s replacement, held an open, written application process in which anyone could apply.

 

But it’s unclear now how Harris himself will be replaced by his designee, Councilwoman Meeka Owens. Harris, as the Courier reported Sept. 24, is resigning to take a job with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

 

Owens told the Business Courier Sept. 25 that those details will be announced later.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2024/09/25/reggie-harris-council-replacement-meeka-owens-pick.html

 

You know Cincinnati has had a bad few years when you see that headline and assume wrongdoing, but good for him getting a federal gig. Hopefully he sends some of that HUD money back to Ohio and Cincy 

We'll know Friday who will replace Reggie Harris on City Council

Council member Meeka Owens says she will announce the city's next Council member Friday, Oct. 11. Owens is tasked with choosing someone to complete the term of former Council member Reggie Harris, who resigned last week to take a job with the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development.

 

Here are all 27 people who expressed interest:

Stacey Wright Barleston

Antonio Sanders (also applied to replace Landsman)

Shaqunna Sardin

Berteena Rollins

Victoria Vogelsang

Renika Smiley

Marye Ward

Michael Binder (also applied to replace Landsman)

Joshua Rothstein

Daniella Beltran

Caleb Mickler

Kyle Dallman

Lydia Stec

Ryan James

Audricia Brooks

Alandes Powell

Adam Hyland

Laura Sullivan

Nate Banzhof

Mark Ventura

Briana Moss (also applied to replace Landsman)

Sol Andrew Kersey

Patrick Daffin

Phil O'Neil

Gwen Summers

Ken Schnider

Ericka Copeland

https://www.wvxu.org/politics/2024-10-08/who-could-replace-reggie-harris-city-council

 

Replacement named for Cincinnati City Councilman Reggie Harris

By Tom Demeropolis – Editor, Cincinnati Business Courier Oct 11, 2024

 

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Evan Nolan replaces Reggie Harris on Cincinnati City Council
• Harris resigned for a U.S. Department of Housing job
• Nolan previously served as Mayor Aftab Pureval’s campaign treasurer

 

 

Cincinnati City Councilwoman Meeka Owens has selected attorney Evan Nolan to replace exiting Councilman Reggie Harris.

 

Nolan will step in for Harris, who is resigning to take a job with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Nolan currently is an attorney with downtown-based law firm Katz Teller. He had an eight-month stint working in the city solicitor’s office as chief counsel for special projects and policy initiatives.

 

Nolan has been active in city politics, including serving as now Mayor Aftab Pureval’s campaign treasurer when Pureval was running for U.S representative.

 

Cont

Cincinnati NAACP excoriates Meeka Owens on Reggie Harris replacement

 

A major political dispute brewing behind the scenes burst out into the open Tuesday, as the Cincinnati NAACP lit into Councilwoman Meeka Owens for replacing her former colleague, Reggie Harris, who is Black, with attorney Evan Nolan, a white man.

 

Ever since Owens told political insiders she was appointing Nolan to replace Harris on Oct. 10, Black Democrats have objected privately among themselves and to others that he was not replaced with another African American.

 

The local branch of NAACP – which is led by Joe Mallory, a member of the storied Cincinnati political family that includes former Mayor Mark Mallory and their late father, Ohio House Majority Leader William Mallory Sr. – described the appointment as “deeply disappointed and profoundly disheartened,” adding that it is “disrespectful and cannot be overlooked.”

 

“Her choice sends a harmful message – that the importance of Black representation, particularly Black male representation, can easily be disregarded,” the statement said. “At a time when our nation is grappling with the legacies of institutional and systemic racism and striving for equity and inclusion, this decision is a step backward.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2024/10/15/cincinnati-naacp-meeka-owens-reggie-harris-nolan.html

 

New Cincinnati City Council member Evan Nolan takes office

 

Attorney Evan Nolan was sworn in as the newest Cincinnati City Council member on Thursday, replacing Reggie Harris amid a storm of racial division.

 

Nolan described his appointment by Councilwoman Meeka Owens as an honor.

 

“It’s something I’ve dreamed about my whole life,” Nolan said. “I know it was not an easy decision. I think the process for an appointment is challenging anytime it’s thrust upon someone who didn’t ask to be in that position.”

 

In his remarks, Nolan alluded to the controversy over his appointment. Critics, led by the Cincinnati NAACP, which issued a scathing statement Oct. 15 blasting Owens for not appointing a Black man, say the appointment reduces Black representation compared with the 2023 election, when Cincinnatians elected a majority African American council.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2024/10/17/evan-nolan-sworn-in-city-council-amid-controversy.html

 

As chorus of criticism builds, Mayor Aftab Pureval suggests reforming replacement process for city council

 

Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval said City Council needs to rethink how it fills vacancies as two members added their voices to those criticizing Councilwoman Meeka Owens’ decision to pick the mayor’s former campaign treasurer to replace departed Councilman Reggie Harris.

 

In a statement, Pureval said he was not involved in Owens’ selection of attorney Evan Nolan. Nolan’s appointment has led to a firestorm among some Black leaders and citizens. Critics, led by the Cincinnati NAACP, which issued a scathing statement Oct. 15 blasting Owens for not appointing a Black man, say the appointment reduces Black representation on City Council compared with the 2023 election, when Cincinnatians elected a majority African American council.

 

“I’m confident that Evan Nolan will be a great council member and strong public servant,” Pureval said. “It’s a big deal to flip the majority representation of council. While I was not involved in the pick, folks have voiced frustration and asked legitimate questions about how that decision happened.

 

“These concerns have made it clear that we need a conversation about reforming how replacements are made," he added. "And I intend to lead that in partnership with council. Building real equity and strong representation has been a priority in City Hall since taking office, not just through rhetoric but tangible decisions.”

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2024/10/17/mayor-aftab-pureval-council-replacement-process.html

 

This city is absolutely obsessed with "reforming" every piece of the process of how the Mayor and City Council members are elected, how long they serve, whether or not their terms are staggered, how they're replaced if they resign, etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. etc.

 

Maybe citizens would benefit if some of the effort that is constantly being put into "reforming" the way our officials are chosen was instead put into things that would make a difference in the lives of citizens.

Yeah when people ask what led to Jerry Springer being mayor you get to explain that was like 7 reforms ago.

Councilwoman Meeka Owens had pointed observations on potential Harris replacements, records show

 

When it came to the candidates Councilwoman Meeka Owens considered to replace Reggie Harris on Cincinnati City Council, she made some blunt comments in documents she and her staff used as they vetted the contenders.

 

They include a remark from Owens that one candidate, longtime Avondale community activist Ozie Davis, was “inappropriate in public with his treatment of women,” something Davis, who is considering a bid for council or the Cincinnati Board of Education next year, vehemently denied.

 

The city released public records Nov. 19 related to Owens’ search, which included a packet of information to prepare Owens and a panel of community leaders she called her “wise counsel” for interviews with each – Davis, attorney Gabe Davis (who is not related to Ozie Davis), lobbyist Colleen Reynolds, real estate agent Darrick Dansby, Democratic activist and Hamilton County Board of Elections employee Storm Boyd, and the eventual pick, attorney Evan Nolan.

 

Owens spoke with all the candidates before the community panel had its interviews with them.

 

The appointment has led to continued controversy among some African American leaders who believe Owens, who was chosen by Harris to pick his replacement, should have filled the seat with a Black man instead of Nolan, who is white. Former Mayor Dwight Tillery and former Councilman Charlie Winburn have sought to make political hay over the situation, blaming Mayor Aftab Pureval. Owens and Pureval have said the mayor had nothing to do with the pick of Nolan, who is Pureval’s former campaign treasurer. Owens previously said her top priority was someone who was ready to be a council member on day one.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2024/11/20/owens-harris-replacement-public-records-ozie-davis.html

Cincinnati’s budget deficit ticks upward as it sets 2026 property tax rates

 

Cincinnati faces a larger deficit for the coming fiscal year than anticipated back in June when the current year’s budget was approved.

 

The estimated budget deficit for fiscal year 2026, which begins July 1, 2025, has risen from $6.5 million to $16 million or about 2.8% of the estimated general fund spending.

 

While the deficit has increased, it still is low historically, both as a percentage of the budget and a raw dollar figure. Nevertheless, the Cincinnati Futures Commission, a group of civic and business leaders appointed to scour the city's finances and make recommendations, has predicted much steeper deficits in the coming years and issued a set of recommendations aimed at righting the city's fiscal ship. The city has yet to move forward on any of the heaviest political lifts in that report, including creating a regional water commission that likely would result in increased rates, making a slew of cuts and asset sales or increasing the city's income tax.

 

Before the pandemic, it wasn’t out of the question to see a budget deficit of $25 million to $30 million when the city was spending less money overall, Andrew Dudas, the city’s budget director told City Council Dec. 9.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2024/12/13/city-budget-deficit-increases-futures-commission.html

 

Councilman Seth Walsh balks at higher development fees in Cincinnati

 

The city of Cincinnati is proposing higher application fees that would hit developers, with the administration saying it needs to recover its own development costs, but Councilman Seth Walsh said the city needs to reconsider its proposal.

 

The city administration proposed hiking five development fees related to the Cincinnati Planning Commission, which it says have not been increased in 10 years.

 

If City Council approved the proposal, four of the fees would rise between 50% and 67%, with one fee increasing 150%.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2024/12/17/city-higher-development-fees-proposal-seth-walsh.html

Cincinnati City Council squashes development fee hike for now

 

Cincinnati City Council held off increasing certain fees paid by developers who have to take their projects to the city’s planning commission.

 

Council unanimously passed a motion by Councilman Seth Walsh Dec. 18 holding the fee increases, which were set to range from 50% to 150% more than what is charged today.

 

Walsh wants to know more about why the city administration believes the fees need to increase, how Cincinnati’s fees compare to other cities and what the impact will be on smaller developers that the city hopes to see do more projects in the coming decades.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2024/12/23/council-pauses-planning-development-fee-increase.html

Mayor Aftab Pureval said he will end public comment at City Council after 30 minutes

 

After more than a year of lengthy, hourslong City Council public comment sessions often focused on the Israel-Palestinian war, Mayor Aftab Pureval said that he will now halt the sessions after a half hour.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2025/01/08/mayor-aftab-city-council-public-comment-time-cut.html

Charter Committee wants Connected Communities repealed in bid to regain City Hall foothold

 

Cincinnati’s Charter Committee plans to make repealing the Connected Communities zoning overhaul the center of its campaign to win seats on City Council this year, attempting to reverse the Democratic shutout that happened in 2023’s election.

 

The Charter Committee is a civic organization and quasi-political party that bills itself as a bastion of good government policies and the preservation of the city manager as the city’s chief executive. It led the 1925 reforms to force Republican Boss George Cox from power and change the city’s form of government to one in which a city manager professionally managed the city with supervision by City Council. In recent history, Charter has included Democrats, Republicans and independents who either shed their national partisan loyalties or co-mingle during city elections.

 

The committee’s current leader, known as its convenor, is former Councilman Steve Goodin. He was appointed by Hamilton County Probate Judge Ralph “Ted” Winkler to replace suspended Councilman Jeff Pastor in the wake of 2020 corruption scandals that embroiled City Hall.

 

The Charterites issued a news release on Friday, Feb. 7, calling for the repeal of Connected Communities, which Mayor Aftab Pureval and a City Council majority consider to be a major accomplishment aimed at increasing density, population growth, transit use and slowing the increase of housing costs in the city. The mayor and all nine council members are Democrats.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2025/02/11/charter-committee-connected-communities.html