A Better City Council

Voters shake up council | Cincinnati.com | cincinnati.com

Now that Mayor Mark Mallory has a new City Council, made up of 7 Democrats, people will be watching to see how he governs the city. Will he make the same mistakes President Barack Obama made when Democrats held majorities in the Senate and House of Representatives. Some say they overreached, some say they ruled & reigned without consulting the minority Republicans, and some say they didn't do enough. Will Mallory and the Democrats try to balance the budget on the backs of the poor and middle class or will they finally take steps to make everyone sacrifice and pay their fair share. The people are watching.

The 2012 election season has already started. There's very little talk about the congressional race in Cincinnati, but our sources tell us the Democrats are going to run Mayor Mallory against Steve Chabot. There probably won't be an Issue 2 on the ballot to drive turnout next year, but we hear President Obama and organized labor have pledged to help make sure he has enough money to compete. The Council faces many of the same issues faced by Congress, chief among them being how do you balance the budget, deal with debt, stimulate the economy, and increase jobs. The voters have said they want progressive leadership. We hope Mayor Mallory heard them. No matter what, Mallory has little time to get the new members of Council up to speed.

If Mallory moves to Congress, we hear Vice Mayor (and top vote getter) Roxanne Qualls will be appointed to take his place. State Senator Eric Kearney or Robert Richardson, Jr. will be appointed to Council (increasing the Black majority to 6). If Kearney gets tapped, Alicia Reece will move from State Representative to State Senate. Y. Laketa Cole would be offered Reece's seat.