Congratulations to the New and Returning Council Members

I want to congratulate Maria Waltherr and Jeff Halter on their election to Village Council. The Village will be very well served by these two committed members with a fresh and relevant perspectives the key challenges.

Also, I want to congratulate Greg Hermes for his re-election. The Village will continue to benefit from Greg's commitment to the community, and his energy and purpose.

I look forward to working with the Village Council and these new members, in my role on Recreation Commission.

Thank You for Your Support

We fell short again, but improved on 2 years ago. Thanks everyone who supported my campaign, especially a small but dedicated group of volunteers who seemed to materialize at a moment's notice. And of course my family who continuously provides me a stream of positive and supportive commentary. Love All of you.

Thank You for Your Support

We fell short again, but improved on 2 years ago. Thanks everyone who supported my campaign, especially a small but dedicated group of volunteers who seemed to materialize at a moment's notice. And of course my family who continuously provides me a stream of positive and supportive commentary. Love All of you.

No Early Voting After This Friday

As a result of some last minute machinations by those opposed to Early Voting legislation, Early Voting ends this Friday!

Voting Hours In-Person at the Board office
Weekdays – October 24 through October 28 – 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Saturday – October 29– 8:00 a.m. to 12 noon
Weekdays – October 31 through November 3 – 8:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Friday, November 4 – 8:00 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Monday, November 7 – 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. – CHANGE OF ADDRESS ONLY
Election Day, Tuesday, November 8 – 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. – CHANGE OF ADDRESS ONLY

Your Sample Greenhills Ballot

Issue 14: Over-Engineered Changes will Result in Ambiguity

I have taken the liberty of reviewing the content of the Greenhills Charter, jointly with the regulations for open meetings as addressed in the Ohio Sunshine Law review published by the Ohio Secretary of State

While I see a modest benefit in revising some portion of the current Charter language in sections 2.03.B, (specific to the discretionary flexibility of meetings of committees of council) and 2.03.C (specific to the activities of the Community Investment Corporations), I believe the language in the proposed Charter Amendment as indicated in Issue 14 goes too far, resulting in some unneeded and likely problematic ambiguity given the distinction between the language in the Ohio Revised and the current Greenhills Charter language, which is more specific as to the scenarios where Executive Sessions are applicable.

The language of the Greenhills Charter clearly defines the relevant scenarios for our community for an executive session. While it is time for a modest update to this language, taken as a whole, the current language aligns sufficiently well to the current decision-making processes and priorities within our community. In order to address these needed revisions, I will support the Mayor and his call for a new Charter Commission, and will suggest that that body take up the proposed refinements to the language to address my concerns at that time. In the mean time, I will not support Issue 14.

In addition, if elected, I intend to continue to act in a manner that meets and exceeds the expectations of the electorate to assure that we follow both the letter and spirit of the law, much in the same way that the Greenhills Recreation Commission has behaved since my assuming leadership of that volunteer organization. We post our annual meeting schedule, meeting agendas and meeting minutes, and any other publicly available documents discussed in the meeting on our website. We offer opportunities for input into the process both online and in a public setting. We announce the time and place of our meetings well in advance of the time they are held both through traditional means as well as social media. We've posted budgetary detail of our decisions, and have provided sufficient detail in our minutes to provide context and rationale for the decisions we make. And finally, we provide answers to questions, if those questions are asked in a civil manner, on our website. This broad-based approach, in my judgment sets the example for open and honest government Greenhills residents expect.

My View of Issue 15: Recall Signatures

I view Issue 15, the consideration for the Reduction in the Percentage of Signatures for Recall, to be a solution in search of a problem.

While I recognize that Greenhills does not currently map to the minimum recall percentage at the state level, the difference between the current language in the Charter and the proposed amendment is 173 (based upon the 2009 election results) signatures.

2009 Municipal Election Ballots Cast: 1735
Current Recall Requirement (25%): 434
Proposed Recall Requirement (15%): 261
Difference: 173

I've worked petition drives in the community, and frankly, for an issue where there is broad support, an additional 173 signatures (at approximately 15 signatures / volunteer petitioner / hour) as specified in the current charter, might be an additional weekend of effort, especially if a modest sized group works the community events during the summer and fall. For the hypothetical scenario suggested by the Committee supporting the charter amendments, an under-performing or incompetent council person would seem to represent an instance where the current percentage requirement would be more than an adequate benchmark, since one would have to assume his/her incompetence would be broadly acknowledged within the community to trigger an energetic recall effort in the first place.

In addition, recall referenda have a real cost. Although the question of cost was raised during the issue forum on Waycross last week, it was largely glossed over, other than an acknowledgment of a real cost for a recall election. From my standpoint, this is a key consideration for the Charter Referendum Committee to address. By definition, the change to the Charter will increase the likelihood of recalls. Consideration of the cost of a recall is insight the Greenhills electorate might benefit from understanding, since a recall might in fact be taxpayer funded.

Do you agree? Let me know what you think.

Early Voting Starts Tuesday!

By all accounts, early voting will follow the same rules as a result of the HB194 petition Repeal drive. Below is an excerpt from the Enquirer last week which provides details on the schedule for those in Hamilton County:

Here is the info on how to vote by mail-in or in person at boards of election starting Tuesday:

Hamilton County: Elections director Sally Krisel said in-person voting will initially be from 8 to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, except for Tuesday, Oct. 11, the last day to register to vote, when the board office at 824 Broadway downtown will be open from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. The board office will be open on two Saturdays – Oct. 22 and 29 – from 8 a.m. until noon. Beginning Monday, Oct. 24 through Friday, Nov. 5, the board office will extend weekday hours until 6 p.m. For information on obtaining absentee mail-in ballots, go to www.votehamiltoncounty.org or call (513) 632-7000

Greenhills Journal Q&A

The Greenhills Journal requested that I and the other council candidates respond to a question for publication in the October Journal. I've taken the liberty of publishing the question and my response below, which was limited to 350 words.

Cuts in federal and state funding has impacted the budgets of many municipalities, including the Village of Greenhills. If elected to council, what measures will you propose (e.g. cuts, revenue generation, etc.) to help offset the decrease in federal and state funding?

I believe the Village must take a balanced approach, leveraging all of the options we have available. The approaches we consider will likely mean that we must continue to make some difficult budget decisions, while looking to other revenue generating options -- some perhaps obvious, and others previously unleveraged -- to close the gap on the funding shortfalls.

Bringing more businesses and jobs to Greenhills should be a primary focus. And the rule of thumb is that 80% of the net job growth will emanate from the entities already within the community. Recognizing that, let's start with the most obvious choices we have. Let’s work with Superintendent Nasbe and the School District on the concept of an expansion of their footprint in Greenhills. Let's engage the Alois Alzheimer's Center to identify other health care service providers who are willing to serve their same constituency within a few blocks of their facility. What options might we have to engage MobilComm on a business expansion?

And although it sits empty right now, the Johnny's Toys location might be the best option for jump-starting the shopping center development, allowing for a "quick win" if we were to bring ina retail / entertainment draw that more appropriately maps to the middle class market that is Greenhills, rather than the unfortunate mismatch that was Grandview Outlet.

Our Village Manager previously worked for the Hamilton County Development Company (HCDC), one of the quasi-public-private entities that facilitate business development in the region. Could we look for them, the Chamber of Commerce or the Port Authority to help facilitate an opportunity, to mitigate risk, and keep Greenhills out of the property investment business?

On the other side of the equation, we must continue to consider belt tightening options. And although those efforts have been underway with the downward trend in property and income tax revenue over the past 2-3 years, further tough decisions will likely need to be made. With everything on the table, including the outcome of the levy renewal,we will need to consider cost cutting options with limited budget flexibility after November 8th.

Do you agree? Let me know your thoughts on this question.

Greenhills Council Forum Video Available

Be sure to check out the video of Monday's Greenhills Council Candidates Forum: http://bit.ly/p3H0Lc