Monday, August 20, 2007

Vice Mayor Crowley

Mayor Mallory has accounced Councilman David Crowley will become Vice-Mayor as Jim Tarbell leaves office. The press announcement:
Cincinnati – At 1pm today, Mayor Mark Mallory announced that he will appoint Council Member David Crowley as Cincinnati's next Vice Mayor. In Crowley, Mayor Mallory chose a principled leader who shared his vision for Cincinnati and would be a strong advocate to carry out that agenda on City Council. Crowley, who has served on Council for almost six years, will replace Jim Tarbell whose resignation is effective September 3rd.

“David is the perfect choice for Cincinnati,” Mayor Mallory said. “He is a man of principal who is unafraid to stand up for what he believes. Crowley will be a strong partner in advancing my vision for Cincinnati.”

Crowley is running for re-election for his fourth and final term and is eager to begin working in his new role. "I have big shoes to fill, Jim Tarbell has done a fantastic job as a Council Member and as Vice Mayor. I am however, truly excited about the opportunity to continue to serve our great city in this expanded capacity,” said Crowley.

“I want to thank Mayor Mallory for his confidence in me and this opportunity to further serve the citizens of Cincinnati. I intend to work closely with him—as a team—on an agenda that continues the resurgence we are seeing in Cincinnati. I have a lot of experience with this town, I know the great potential we have because I’ve seen it first hand,” he added.

Crowley looks forward to continuing the close working relationship he has had with Mayor Mallory over the last two years. Highlights include working together on a budget that preserved funding for swimming pools, health centers, human services programming, and the Human Relations Commission. Additionally they combined to create the Office of Environmental Quality, which recently hired a new director and began work on strategies to reduce the City’s energy usage.

Council member Crowley intends to be a Vice Mayor who projects the positive. He acknowledges there are problems but will recognize the efforts of the many good people throughout the City who volunteer their time and work on a daily basis to make Cincinnati better. “I want to let them know that their efforts are appreciated. It is not always those who get the attention who are making a difference—I want to work closely with those who are making a contribution and making a difference.” He said.

Mayor Mallory and soon to be Vice Mayor Crowley will focus on issues that strengthen and grow Cincinnati, including improving public safety, investing in our neighborhoods, expanding economic opportunities for all, and ensuring a healthier environment.
I'm not clear if Crowley will retain the title after the November election.

Saturday, August 18, 2007

Cincy Brew Ha-Ha: August 24 & 25

Yet Even More Bar News

In what will shock virtually no one, alchemize/decibel lounge is closing its doors. Hipsters are a mighty fickle bunch.

In Other Drinking News

Crowley's celebrates 70 years of drinking. This has been my favorite bar in Mt. Adams since I first starting going up the hill in the mid 1990s. I look forward to 70 more years of drinking and singing along with with Frank songs on the Jukebox.

Fifth & Vine Has Its Own Brew

Check out the Conveyor for my take on the new beer from Christian Moerlein.

Thursday, August 16, 2007

Polling Council Races

Polling for Cincinnati City Council is often like reading tea leaves. This week's CityBeat digs into one such poll which shows a weak spot for at least a couple of incumbents.

I think this poll is going to lull some candidates into a false sense of security. Cole and Winburn top that list. They both appear to be trying to appeal to both the Black community and the Westside. You can win if you get votes from both camps, but those camps make for conflicting positions on issues.

I wonder who paid for this poll. The article indicates it was paid for by certain candidates. That would logically indicate that the results would be skewed to prior election results and demographics as well as to the voter base of the candidates paying for it. Since Ghiz appears to have confirmed her campaign was one of those paying for it, I would surmise this is a GOP poll. This is why I think Winburn did so well.

The article points out that this poll was conducted prior to the Qualls appointment, so the details of the poll are moot, but the trend of vulnerable incumbents is still likely valid.

As of now I only see two locks and one near lock on council seats: Cranley and Qualls are locks, with Crowley nearly a lock. The other six seats are not locked in the least. There are many candidates who could slide into one of those six spots. It is possible that Cole and Winburn fall short. They more than likely will win, but they will both need to campaign for it, not just go through the motions. Winburn will have the money to, will Cole?

Ghiz, Monzel, Berding, Bortz and Thomas all could easily lose. I would say at least two of the three will. Who else gets on council? Here is where the candidates who run the most vocal and solid campaigns get the edge. Harris, Bates, and Kaup have the potential. Smitherman likely will fade from his attention in this poll. Cooper could ride her name into office if the turnout goes her way. It will be a big fight and I see it getting nasty.

If there are campaign staffers out there reading this, please make sure you provide sources when you "lead" dirt on your opponents. What ever blog or journalist you give them will most likely not post anything about it without some support for its validity.

The Banks Going Bust?

Kevin Osborne from CityBeat has the latest on the Banks project and to no one's surprise, the developers want more money and more time to finish the project.

OK, I am ready to give up on it. I want the park to be built, but I don't see that there will be any benefit to building a new neighborhood from scratch. It will not be done for decades. Let's take that money and build up Downtown, Over-the-Rhine and the rest of the urban core that can be restored quickly. Buildings and entire blocks of OTR can be restored for far less money in a matter of a couple of years. Give the Money to 3CDC to bring more residents to existing neighborhood blocks. More residents bring more retail which brings more jobs. The people pushing for the Banks at this point are exurbanites who want a place to go spend a few hours before and after the Bengals/Reds games. It is not worth millions of public dollars to give non-county residents a twice a year place to drink beer.