Sharon Coolidge

scoolidge@enquirer.com

Should Cincinnati residents elect council members by district?

A group working to re-write parts of Cincinnati's Charter – the city's constitution – is considering offering voters a chance to change the way city council is elected.

Currently, all nine members are elected "at large," which means they run citywide, rather than in districts. But the Charter Review Task Force Elections subcommittee is mulling a proposal that would tie some of the seats to districts.

Whether some Cincinnati Council members should be chosen from districts instead of at-large is an issue under review by a subcommittee of the Charter Review Task Force; one of the biggest issues emerging from task force.

Council's nine members have been elected at-large since 1935. But before that the city had 32 council members: six at-large, 26 tied to wards. There are arguments for both systems:

Committee Chairman Jeff Berding, a former city councilman and director sales and public affairs for the Bengals, presented the advantages of both systems at a meeting Wednesday.

Advantages of at-large districts include:

• Members represent everyone in the city, not just a few.

• No battles over how to draw district lines.

• Voters can choose from a broader base of candidates.

Advantages of district elections include:

• Encourages personal campaigning.

• Encourages attention to neighborhood concerns.

• It's easier for new candidates to win.

• Campaign costs are lower.

• It enhances shared policy views/ideology.

"We have a lot of good things happening in our city right now and some good leaders in and out of the city are making them happen," Berding said. "But many believe that our form of government inhibits progress across the city and our ability to tackle long entrenched problems like poverty and poor neighborhood conditions."

Cincinnati has the only form of government in the country where the mayor has the power to control the city administration and city council, with little checks and balances.

The elections subcommittee will make a recommendation to the larger task force. That task force – which is headed by Councilman Kevin Flynn – will then make a series of recommendations to the city.

"A charter review hasn't been done in 90 years; the basic law of our city is out of date," Flynn said.

This November voters are being asked to make a series of minor charges to the charter to remove outdated information – nothing that could be construed as controversial.

Bigger changes to the how the city runs are not expected ahead of this election, meaning any changes wouldn't happen until 2015 at the earliest.

Another discussion emerging from the Balance of Power subcommittee is whether the city should move to a strong mayor system. Now the mayor controls both his office and council, the legislative branch. Changing it would give council more power over their own agenda.

Changes can be put on the ballot by six members of council or by a ballot initiative, which would need about 6,000 signatures.

A review of 15 cities comparable to Cincinnati showed no uniform system, but it's rare for all of council to be elected at-large. Only two of the 15 – Portland, Oregon and Columbus – have all at-large council seats.

Berding said there is no appetite for more than nine council members, so the committee will start there. It could be five at-large seats and four district ones or three at-large seats and six districts. Districts could also mirror the city's police districts, Berding said.

Committee members agreed drawing districts is no easy task. Attorney Janaya Trotter pointed out African-Americans would be leery of district lines. Berding agreed, saying any district map would have to be presented to people before a vote.

The committee agreed it would make sense, but the districts should not be drawn to split neighborhoods.

So, how did Cincinnati voters choose council in the past?

Up until 1925: there were 32 members of council: 6 at-large, 26 from wards.

1925: The city goes to 9 members, all at-large. Council chose the mayor out of the nine who were elected. People vote for the 1st choice; through 9th choice. The City manager held all the power.

In 1955: The city ditches ranking choices. The top nine vote-getters are elected.

In 1987: Instead of council choosing the mayor, the top vote-getter becomes mayor.

In 1999: city voters approve a strong(er) mayor system. Council districts had been part of the initiative, but the idea was dropped before it went to the ballot for approval.

In 2001: Charlie Luken was elected the first mayor under the new system.

Have your say

* Attend a meeting

A public discussion about what city residents perceive to be the successes, shortcomings and dysfunction in Cincinnati city government and how these issues relate to city charter reform is scheduled for Oct. 20 at 6:30 p.m. at the Clifton Cultural Arts Center, 3711 Clifton Avenue.

* Use the Enquirer's Talk to Your Government tool at Cincinnati.com

* Go to Facebook.com/charterreviewtaskforce