I think that all of these candidates for council are Democrats with the exception of Amy Murray, who is at risk of not winning reelection.

 

Nope.  Seth Maney and Jeffrey Pastor are running as Republicans.

 

Derek Baumann and Henry Frondorf have been endorsed by the Charter Committee.

Tarbell looking dapper AF.

Best I can tell, below is the current list of people running for City Council.  Am I missing or adding someone in error?  I put a + in front of those I'm voting for, X for those I'm certainly NOT voting for and the rest I'm not sure.  Anyone have any thoughts or concerns on my current picks or on those I'm uncertain about?  I've only picked six so far and would prefer to vote for nine.

 

  Theo Barnes

+  Derek Bauman

X  Cristina Burcica

  Ozie Davis III

+  Tamaya Dennard

?  Sedrick Denson

?  Michelle Dillingham

  Tonya Dumas

  Kit Earls

  Manuel Foggie

?  Henry Frondorf

+  Brian Garry

  Mary Hall

  Lesley Jones

+  Greg Landsman

X  Damon Lynch IV

X  Seth Maney

X  David Mann

X  Amy Murray

  Dawud Mustafa

  Beverly Odoms

X  Jeff Pastor

  Kelli Prather

  Laure Quinlivan

  Michael Rachford

+  Chris Seelbach

X  P.G. Sittenfeld

X  Christopher Smitherman

  Tamie Sullivan

X  Matt Teaford

X  Edith Thrower

X  Orlando Welborn

+  Wendell Young

I had a great conversation with Tamaya Dennard the other day. She has a very good understanding of transit and urban development issues that went far beyond campaign talking points. She was very much in favor of improving Metro and even mentioned wanting to look into bus only lanes. She also mentioned that she had some concerns about form based codes (we didn't really have time to get into what those concerns were) but she was in favor of modernizing our zoning codes and reshaping them based on community input. We talked about how the bike master plan wasn't being followed by the current administration. Very likely that she will be getting my vote.

I definitely support Henry Frondorf. I think he's the most level-headed candidate in the entire slate. Endorsed by the Charter Committee and he's a huge preservationist. I also think Tamaya is a great candidate and will be voting for her.

Keep in mind that Smitherman is being set up for a run for mayor in 2021.  A Cranley + Smitherman reelection is a nightmare I don't want to think about, but Yvette + Smitherman will be almost as bad.  He'll have the full thrust of COAST harassing Simpson 24 hours per day. 

I had a dream last night that I was campaigning for Tamaya. I then stepped on a piece of glass. WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

I had a dream last week that I went to the Sizzler and they were out of everything. I had a terrible time. I don't think it means anything.

I definitely support Henry Frondorf. I think he's the most level-headed candidate in the entire slate. Endorsed by the Charter Committee and he's a huge preservationist. I also think Tamaya is a great candidate and will be voting for her.

 

Frondorf is certainly worthy of considering. He was the creator of The Cincinnati Neighborhood Games. He pulled off that event when no one said he could. So he's a long term thinker, and has a way of bringing neighborhoods together instead of pitting them against one another. No basin vs outside the basin BS. 

 

Transportation and connecting schools with jobs employers have in the city are his focal points

 

He looks like he is 12 years old, but he just had child number four!  Works for a company that stabilizes historic buildings, and is doing masonry restoration on Union Terminal.  Been involved in many playground improvements around town, and he and his wife bought a house in a rough area, and have established a beachhead to help turn around their street.  Appears to have no political aspirations beyond local community development.

Any thoughts from you Urban Ohio folks on Michelle Dillingham?  She's on the bubble right now for me. 

In case you were wondering who Council Candidate Matt Teaford is, he seems to be one of these "downtown is getting too much attention, we need to focus on the neighborhoods" types and of course throws a bone to the streetcar haters in this Enquirer op-ed:

 

Instead of updating an aging and dilapidated bus system that services all of our neighborhoods, along with our neighbors who rely on public transit to make a living, our current administration opted to go for a streetcar that services an on-the-rise, wealthy neighborhood; essentially acting as a cab on rails for drunken young professionals as they hop from bar to bar.

Did anyone catch the Henry Frondorf Dash52 on Saturday? Saw it on channel 12. 

He visited every neighborhood in one day from 6:30am to 8:15 pm. Good stunt.

 

http://www.henryfrondorf.com/video.html

I had to unfollow that guy and a few other candidates on Facebook.  Posting 50 photos and 5 videos every single goddamn day is annoying.  I went over my data plan limit last month because of the relentless Facebook Live videos posted by Yvette Simpson and the various council candidates.  We get it, you're out there meeting with community groups out in "the neighborhoods".   

FYI, you can turn off auto play on videos on the facebook app. I have an unlimited plan now but before then it helped since it really adds up when videos seem to get priority in your feed and all start buffering the second you scroll past them.

Did not know that.  I'll have to look up how to do it.  I don't think these candidates understand that marketing yourself directly via social media followers day after day creates fatigue.  If you want to reach new people, you need to get your followers to share their own posts.  Like, get your "friends" to create and share content related to your campaign. 

Council tussles over lawyer’s appointment to elections panel

 

 

The Cincinnati City Council held up the appointment of a Republican lawyer to the Cincinnati Elections Commission after Councilman Chris Seelbach objected to the nominee.

 

Mayor John Cranley appointed Brian Shrive, an attorney with Finney Law Firm, which is headed by Coalition Opposed to Additional Spending and Taxes leader Christopher Finney, to the board at the request of Hamilton County Republicans.

 

Under, Cincinnati’s municipal code, Democrats and Republicans get representation on the five-member panel along with at least one member unaffiliated with a political party. Board member Pete Witte, a Republican, resigned on July 18. The code requires the Hamilton County GOP’s executive committee to nominate three people and for the mayor to choose amongst the three. But in the case of Shrive, the Republicans only sent over one name, which would have allowed Cranley to nominate any Republican he wanted to choose.

 

On Wednesday, Councilman Chris Seelbach said Cranley should have chosen someone else, saying Shrive has engaged in “vile, dangerous personal attacks through social media.”

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2017/08/03/council-tussles-over-lawyer-s-appointment-to.html

^ Those examples they dug up are pretty tame. "World's tallest dwarf" is a common phrase, like "smartest kid in summer school." I don't think any of those Tweets were personal attacks.

I have looked at Shrive's feed from time to time and he has said some pretty nasty stuff about Council members in the past. He seems to have deleted those, possibly because of his nomination. And of course he's always ranting and raving about the streetcar and coming up with conspiracy theories about how bus funding is being diverted to the streetcar (which isn't true). However, his comment about "world's tallest dwarf" was clearly not about Cranley, it was about FC Cincinnati bragging about their attendance of 33k. I think the Republicans could've come up with someone better than Shrive for this position.

Since Chris Finney's name was brought up, I should mention that a friend of mine told me he bought a portion of a building on the streetcar line recently, at 633 Main Street. 

There are a lot of names on the city council ballot and I know the incumbents and Bauman. Any thoughts on any of the other candidates? Who supports transportation?

Do not vote for Laure Quinliven. She is a complete clown.

Do not vote for Laure Quinliven. She is a complete clown.

 

I've had a few recent interactions with her. I'll be nice and just say I'm not voting for her.

I could use some help as well.  Below with a "plus" are people I am voting for and "X" are those I'm definitely not voting for.  However, I have two left to pick from the "question mark" list.  How are these bubble folks on historic conservation and transportation?  I know I can research it, but I've found that their platforms online are often just lies they publish to get elected.  I've had much better luck when hitting up people who have actual experience with the individuals.

 

+  Derek Bauman

+  Tamaya Dennard

+  Henry Frondorf

+  Brian Garry

+  Greg Landsman

+  Chris Seelbach

+  Wendell Young

 

?  Erica Black-Johnson

?  Ozie Davis

?  Michelle Dillingham

?  Tonya Dumas

?  Lesley Jones

?  Kelli Prather

?  Laure Quinlivan

 

X  Cristina Burcica

X  Manuel Foggie

X  Seth Maney

X  David Mann

X  Amy Murray

X  Jeff Pastor

X  P.G. Sittenfeld

X  Christopher Smitherman

X  Tamie Sullivan

Do not vote for Laure Quinliven. She is a complete clown.

 

Don't get me started on personal interactions with her.  Let's just say nobody should invite her to a community council meeting unless they want a massive headache.  However, she often votes on issues I agree with which may force me to vote for her if I can't fill out my nine.

^ Even if she aligned with you on all the issues, based on your chart, you have like 6 others to choose from. Give one of them a shot.

 

I have to say I had a good laugh when she championed 4 year terms for council and then lost after that.

I am not voting for 9.  You are better off voting for the candidate you fully support than filling out your ballot with "meh" candidates. From the middle section of your list, I will say that I am voting for Dillingham and Quinlivan. I understand that people may have some issues with Quinlivan but I was in agreement with the way she voted probably 90% of the time when she was on council before, and she was only a few hundred votes away from being on council instead of Amy Murray in 2013.

I could use some help as well.  Below with a "plus" are people I am voting for and "X" are those I'm definitely not voting for.  However, I have two left to pick from the "question mark" list.  How are these bubble folks on historic conservation and transportation?  I know I can research it, but I've found that their platforms online are often just lies they publish to get elected.  I've had much better luck when hitting up people who have actual experience with the individuals.

 

+  Derek Bauman

+  Tamaya Dennard

+  Henry Frondorf

+  Brian Garry

+  Greg Landsman

+  Chris Seelbach

+  Wendell Young

 

?  Erica Black-Johnson

?  Ozie Davis

?  Michelle Dillingham

?  Tonya Dumas

?  Lesley Jones

?  Kelli Prather

?  Laure Quinlivan

 

I like most of your list. As with you, I'm most concerned with historic preservation, transportation, and also zoning/development issues. I think I'm also voting for Michelle Dillingham. I think she has a good shot of winning, and I agree with most of her stances, even though her priorities seem to be social issues (drug epidemic, schools, etc).

 

I'm also likely going to vote for Quinlivan, because she almost exclusively votes in my direction. I've heard a lot about people having bad interactions and not liking her, but as long as she votes 90%+ of the time with me, and has a chance of finishing in the last 2-3 spots, I think I'll vote for her.

 

If Yvette loses in November, I want a super majority on council who will override Cranley's veto on important issues. People like PG Sittenfeld and David Mann are huge question marks on so many issues, that I won't vote for them (plus, who are we kidding, they will win anyway, so why waste a vote). I don't trust them to stand up against Cranley. I also want more council members who will deny board appointments for sketchy nominations, not just be a rubber stamp.

(plus, who are we kidding, they will win anyway, so why waste a vote)

 

That is exactly my strategy. There is no reason to cast a vote for the people that will likely end up in the top couple of positions. You are better off casting all of your votes for the candidates you fully support who are likely to end up in the 5 thru 9 positions.

I am not voting for 9.  You are better off voting for the candidate you fully support than filling out your ballot with "meh" candidates. From the middle section of your list, I will say that I am voting for Dillingham and Quinlivan. I understand that people may have some issues with Quinlivan but I was in agreement with the way she voted probably 90% of the time when she was on council before, and she was only a few hundred votes away from being on council instead of Amy Murray in 2013.

 

I think your strategy is hugely flawed. If conservatives vote a solid 5 or 6 candidates then stop, those candidates can win if a few things happen:

 

1) Liberals spread their vote too thinly. If there are too many progressive candidates on the ballot, and liberals are too divided on who to choose, the votes may add up so that 4 or 5 conservatives make it onto council (imagine a council with Maney, Murray, Pastor, and Smitherman).

 

2) Liberals stop short and only vote for 6 candidates or so. This course of action only exasperates issue #1. If 2/3 of the city votes liberally, and each stops short of voting for a full council and only vote for 5 (spreading out those votes among 13 potential candidates), while conservatives, representing only 1/3 of the electorate, vote a solid slate of 5 candidates, it isn't hard to see how more conservatives could end up on council.

 

3) Liberals don't show up to the polls. This exasperates issues #1 and #2 for obvious reasons.

 

The difference between a 6 council majority that you like, and a 5 council majority that you love, is a huge difference. Please don't stop short of voting a full 9 if you are a progressive/liberal. It only hurts the chances of the candidates who are most vulnerable to securing the last 3 seats on council. Like you said, if a few hundred progressives who had bad interactions with Quinlivan (or heard that others had those bad interactions) had voted a full slate of 9 and included Quinlivan, these last 4 years would have been completely different.

 

The reason conservatives stop short is because they are outnumbered in raw numbers, and need to focus their votes on specific candidates to win against the liberals who have higher numbers, yet more candidates to choose from.

So here's another way to look at it. In 2013, the Hamilton County Democratic Party foolishly endorsed 10 council candidates, more than the 9 that people can vote for. If you only wanted to vote for endorsed Dems, you had to pick which 9 of the 10 you supported, which diluted the vote. How many Dems chose to drop Quinlivan from of their list, which resulted in her getting a few hundred fewer votes than Murray, which totally swayed the makeup of council for the last 4 years?

 

This year, the Dems only endorsed 9, but they didn't endorse Derek Bauman, who I think has a pretty solid chance of getting on council as he is going to be supported by most progressives. Therefore, progressives are going to have to choose which of the 9 endorsed Dems to vote for, further diluting those votes.

 

If I was going to fill out my ballot with 9 instead of the 7 that I currently plan to vote for, I guess I would add Brian Garry or Ozie Davis, candidates that are likely to come in low down the list... that way my vote actually has a chance of boosting them over the line into 9th place.

The problem is that with so many "Democrats" running, there will inevitably be a dilution of the vote.  That won't happen on the "Republican" side.  The average registered Republican voter is going to show up and vote for the three or four endorsed Republicans + Chris Smitherman. 

 

The question is if there is some unseen issue that is going to compel casual Republicans to show up to the polls.  Right now I don't see a formal ballot issue or invented controversy that is going to motivate many beyond the hardcores to show up. 

 

So the Democrats could end up sweeping this thing, even with dilution of their ranks. 

I hope everyone on this forum shows up and votes for Derek Bauman[/member] . He has been fighting for the urbanist cause for years and deserves our support.

So here's another way to look at it. In 2013, the Hamilton County Democratic Party foolishly endorsed 10 council candidates, more than the 9 that people can vote for. If you only wanted to vote for endorsed Dems, you had to pick which 9 of the 10 you supported, which diluted the vote. How many Dems chose to drop Quinlivan from of their list, which resulted in her getting a few hundred fewer votes than Murray, which totally swayed the makeup of council for the last 4 years?

 

This year, the Dems only endorsed 9, but they didn't endorse Derek Bauman, who I think has a pretty solid chance of getting on council as he is going to be supported by most progressives. Therefore, progressives are going to have to choose which of the 9 endorsed Dems to vote for, further diluting those votes.

 

If I was going to fill out my ballot with 9 instead of the 7 that I currently plan to vote for, I guess I would add Brian Garry or Ozie Davis, candidates that are likely to come in low down the list... that way my vote actually has a chance of boosting them over the line into 9th place.

 

I agree that the Dems endorsing 10 candidates was a huge problem, and may have cost Quinlivan the seat and given it to Murray. None of what you said justifies voting for fewer than 9 candidates, though. Ultimately, you don't know who will show up on election day, so you may as well vote for a full 9 to give people you like a chance to break into the top 9 even if they aren't your absolute favorite, or expect them to win. Voting for fewer than 9 just dilutes your voice in a highly unpredictable race.

 

My current 9 are:

 

Derek Bauman

Henry Frondorf

Tamaya Denard

Wendell Young

Greg Landsman

Chris Seelbach

Michelle Dillingham

Laure Quinlivan

*Either Ozie Davis or Lesley Jones

 

I think the first 8 all have a real chance of winning, and I like their opinions/positions. The last two I don't see as winning, but I may as well vote for one of them to give them a better chance. It will probably be based on who has the better chance of winning in November (if I can even identify that).

I think David Mann has done a good job IMO, and also he has stood up to Cranley on a lot of things least of which was the Streetcar.  He seems pragmatic and looks at an issue thoroughly.

 

Same thing with PG Sittenfeld.  I don't get all the hype with PG though because it doesn't seem he makes a whole lot of proposals like Seelbach or Yvette Simpson or even Wendell Young, he kind of glides (plays it safe) but is mostly all on the progressive side.

 

Mine would be right now:

 

Derek Baumann

Wendell Young

Chris Seelbach

Greg Landsman

PG Sittenfeld

David Mann

***I need to figure out the rest

 

 

I get the temptation to vote for Quinliven because she may represent your interests even though she is beyond a horrible councilman and I personally feel she is kind of a b*tch, but why not give your vote to a fresh face and cultivate someone who may actually promote ideas without the drama that you can get behind. Sure, there is a chance they may let you down, but there is also a chance they would exceed your expectations. You are talking about the final seat on council, what do you have to lose?

I think David Mann has done a good job IMO, and also he has stood up to Cranley on a lot of things least of which was the Streetcar.  He seems pragmatic and looks at an issue thoroughly.

 

Same thing with PG Sittenfeld.  I don't get all the hype with PG though because it doesn't seem he makes a whole lot of proposals like Seelbach or Yvette Simpson or even Wendell Young, he kind of glides (plays it safe) but is mostly all on the progressive side.

 

Mine would be right now:

 

Derek Baumann

Wendell Young

Chris Seelbach

Greg Landsman

PG Sittenfeld

David Mann

***I need to figure out the rest

 

 

 

Mann is so unpredictable. On some issues he will stand up to Cranley and do the right thing. However, don't forget about the Central Parkway Bike Lane incident, where he threatened to vote against the bike lanes because one property owner complained. As a result, we spent an extra $100k building "Mann's Bend" (so that the one property owner wouldn't lose their convenient parking) in order to get Mann's yes vote on the project.

He also totally screwed over Megabus riders who wanted to stop downtown as well by putting the stop in the dead middle of nowhere.

 

If I were in Cincy I'd probably vote Quinlivan, even though she's got issues she stands up for the right things.  I'm not surprised that the Dems were not endorsing Bauman...  Probably too good for them :/

Everyone in politics has a screw loose.  Nice people don't win and if they do get elected they are bullied and are completely ineffective. 

 

If Simpson is elected she will be endlessly harassed by COAST, the establishment media, etc.  She won't be able to get much done and they'll do everything to sully her reputation and make sure this is the last office she holds. 

 

Plus, everything is about priming Smitherman for a 2020 run.  A Simpson-Smitherman race will be horrible to watch. 

Everyone in politics has a screw loose.  Nice people don't win and if they do get elected they are bullied and are completely ineffective. 

 

If Simpson is elected she will be endlessly harassed by COAST, the establishment media, etc.  She won't be able to get much done and they'll do everything to sully her reputation and make sure this is the last office she holds. 

 

Plus, everything is about priming Smitherman for a 2020 run.  A Simpson-Smitherman race will be horrible to watch. 

 

I kind of think Mallory was an exception to this rule, unless you have arguments otherwise?  IMO Mallory was effective by generally being very low key about things not causing a lot of ruckus and working behind closed doors when he could which was good for a town where the whole media apparatus is against you...  (I don't think Simpson will be as effective as he was IMO).

Mallory was always known as someone to sit quietly in the corner and let people argue out an issue and then come in at the end to provide his opinion and try and find a little common ground. I was not a huge Mallory fan as mayor but this was a very effective leadership style.

Mallory was a bully. He just wasn't always as overt as John is. He bullied people to take his side and only introduced legislation he wanted to pass and knew would pass. Shrewd politician. But definitely a bully.

During the forum blackout, the Enquirer had a few interesting pieces on various races in Cincinnati. This one, calling out Cincinnati City Council candidates with tax liens was popular:

 

Cincinnati City Council candidates faced tax liens

 

More than a third of those running for Cincinnati City Council faced tax liens in the past, an Enquirer review of court records found.

 

Among those still paying back outstanding liens: Councilman Wendell Young.

---

 

In addition to Wendell Young - Kelli Prather, Tonya Dumas, Tamaya Dennard, Ozie Davis III, Lesley Jones, Brian Garry, Michelle Dillingham, and Erica Black-Johnson also have faced recent tax trouble.

 

^Isn't that the article the NAACP called a "smear campaign" for putting a photo matrix of only the black candidates from the article on the front page? In most of these cases that the Enquirer "dug up" it appears that all the back taxes were already paid off or the person is on a payment plan anyway.

^Isn't that the article the NAACP called a "smear campaign" for putting a photo matrix of only the black candidates from the article on the front page? In most of these cases that the Enquirer "dug up" it appears that all the back taxes were already paid off or the person is on a payment plan anyway.

Yes, and the Enquirer published a very visible apology for that smear campaign, and said that as a result they would be reviewing and modifying their internal procedures for how they communicate in code to their white suburban audience.

 

Less than a week until the election... any recent revelations on the council candidates come out while the forum was offline? I'm still leaning towards a slate of:

 

 

 

1 Derek Bauman

2 Tamaya Denard

3 Michelle Dillingham

4 Henry Frondorf

5 Brian Garry

6 Laure Quinlivan

7 Chris Seelbach

8 Wendell Young

9 Potentially Lesley Jones or Greg Landsman

 

1 Derek Bauman

2 Tamaya Denard

3 Michelle Dillingham

4 Henry Frondorf

5 Brian Garry

6 Laure Quinlivan

7 Chris Seelbach

8 Wendell Young

9 Potentially Lesley Jones or Greg Landsman

I voted the other day. My only difference was Ozie Davis instead of Brian Garry. I also chose Greg Landsman over Lesley Jones since I think he has a better chance of winning.

I think Bauman has good intentions and will advocate for the things that most urbanists care about, but I find him very hard to like. He is confrontational and acts like he is an authority on everything he talks about. Granted, it's been several years since I've interacted with him, but I was decidedly not a fan. But maybe we need a bullish figure like him to carry the flag for progressive causes?

We've been getting a surprising number of Republican mailers, several a day. They are all very specific in that they want people to only vote for the 3 endorsed council candidates and no one else. They do not mention the mayoral race at all but a few of them did point out that "Democrats" tried to kill all of our children (in so many words) by extorting Children's Hospital, which I took as a subtle hint that Republicans should vote for Cranley.

a few of them did point out that "Democrats" tried to kill all of our children (in so many words) by extorting Children's Hospital

 

Crap. They're on to us.

Below is a list of who I've calculated is likely to win the council election. The list was compiled using traditional metrics (fundraising, incumbency, party endorsements, other endorsements) so it could be spot on or totally off. List as follows:

 

 

Top 9 Elected

 

P.G. Sittenfeld

Chris Seelbach

David Mann

Amy Murray

Wendell Young

Tamaya Dennard

Chris Smitherman

Greg Landsman

Derek Bauman

 

6 on the cusp

 

Michelle Dillingham

Leslie Jones

Ozie Davis

Laure Quinlivan

Jeff Pastor

Henry Frondorf

 

Not Competitive

 

Brian Garry

Seth Maney

Tamie Sullivan

Manual Foggie

Tonya Dumas

Beverly Odoms

Christina Burcica

Hershel Chalk II

Kelli Prather