City Council Candidates

Here's the list (pdf) of the candidates of for Cincinnati City Council that have filed:

Melanie Bates
Jeff Berding
Chris Bortz
Laketa Cole
Minette Cooper
David Crowley
John Cranley
John Eby
Pat Fischer
Andre Harper
Greg Harris
Brian Garry
Leslie Ghiz
Justin Jeffre
Joan Kaup
Sean Robert Lackey
Sam Malone
Chris Monzel
Mitch Painter
Michael Earl Patton
Steve Pavelish
Roxanne Qualls
Cecil Thomas
Charlie Winburn
Wendell Young
George Zamary

So Malone filed as did Jeffre. There are 6 independents. I'll be collecting websites for each candidate as I locate them.

[Via the Enquirer Politics blog]

Smitherman, Not Councilman

NAACP President Chris Smitherman did not file for City Council today:

Chris Smitherman, the head of the Cincinnati NAACP chapter and a former city councilman, did not file to run for city council.

The Enquirer had that as a sidebar to the additional announcement that Jim Tarbell did file his petitions to run for Cincinnati School Board. That had been rumored previously and seems a little bit strange. I guess I dont' see Jim having the drive from schools that he did for the City. I'll be interested in his platform.

Also, in yesterday's Enquirer Politics blog post about who had or was going to file to run for council there was one name they did not mention: Child Beater and Republican endorsed candidate Sam Malone. Did he file his petitions?

Dream a Different Dream

Club Dream is closed. Great news for Main Street. The promoters and club owners did not do a good job of programming and attracted the murders.

What I would like to know most, is there evidence that the murders of the two men outside of the club actually were inside. I would say all evidence points to a clear answer of yes. If the owner doesn't see why he was running a bad club, then he deserves to have it shut down.

The negative on this is for Midpoint. This is slated to be a venue for the late September music festival. As of now it is still listed as a venue. Will it be able to open up under new ownership for the festival?

Local Programming Survey

In case you've missed the obvious, Cincinnati has little local programming on our broadcast outlets. What's left? On local TV and Radio, why specific programs are actually local? If you have a list or a few programs you regularly listen to that are locally based AND the topics are locally based, post your list. Note: Sports shows count, if they cover local teams. Local talk radio counts, if they talk about local issues. I'm interested in putting together a list to see how bad it has gotten. I fear we are facing the same problem in all areas of business, where the nation corporation takes over local markets. Here the problem is that we lose out on our local culture when we have no local programming.

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.

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.