City Council Endorsements - 2009

Hello from the Hamilton County Young Democrats,

We would like to announce our endorsement of the nine member endorsed democratic slate for Cincinnati City Council. Beginning each short piece about the candidate is a link that will take you to their website. Please consider signing up for any GOTV (Get Out The Vote) events between now and election day, November 3rd!

Nicholas Hollan - At 29, Nicholas Hollan is himself a young Democrat.
Nicholas Hollan recently moved back to Cincinnati following working in
Dallas, Texas for the American Red Cross performing disaster relief
and supervising a damage assesment team. He is currently the disaster
services coordinator for the Cincinnati chapter of the American Red
Cross. As a city council member, Hollan proposes ending the practice
of simply reacting to problems when they arise. He also criticizes the
overuse of police, penalties, and jailing as a means to reduce crime.
He feels strongly that, in order to provide long term solutions, we
must address the root causes that lead people down a line of criminal
activity, such as lack of opportunities and education. The Hamilton
County Young Democrats support what Nicholas Hollan brings to city
council, as a young Democrat himself. Additionally, Hollan's dedication
to community service, helping communities overcome adversity through
disaster relief, his pro-active problem solving approach, and his voice
on the board of directors for the Westwood Civic Association will be a
welcome addition to Cincinnati City Council.

Bernadette Watson - Bernadette, known affectionately as "Granny Bunny"
by her grandchildren, has been a life-long Cincinnatian. Duing this
time, Watson has spent over forty years working at various levels of
city administration for many of our fellow Democrats over the years. In
addition, Bernadette has also been an active member of her own community
of Avondale. Since that time, Bernadette has also worked for the
Cincinnati Health Department in the office of community advocacy. In all
of these positions, Bernadette Watson has been a vital bridge between
the city government & its officals, and members of the community. This
experience gives her a insight valuable in the democratic system of our
city government. Her decades of experience at many levels will ensure
that Bernadette Watson enters city council as more of a veteran than a
newcomer.

Greg Harris - Greg Harris was recently appointed to the seat vacated
by John Cranley. As a city council member, Greg Harris has pursued
a progressive agenda aimed at making a better Cincinnati for all
of us. Harris has lead on initiatives aimed at making Cincinnati a
cleaner place for us to live, by supporting outgoing councilmember and
vice-mayor David Crowley's landmark Environmental Justice Ordinance as
well as co-sponsoring legislation that implements new tools to protect
families living in rental housing from potential lead hazards. He has
been a leader in helping to make sure that stimulus funds help invest
in green space and green alternatives to pavement and cement. Harris
has introduced a motion to add a dedicated bicycle lane to Spring Grove
Ave. as part of its improvement project, to provide a link between the
numerous city neighborhoods and other enclaves along that route, as
well as to help encourage more cincinnatians to commute via bike. Never
shy about being outspoken, Harris recently published a rebuttal to Jeff
Ruby's misleading advertisement in the Cincinnati Enquirer, defending
the proposal to invest in necessary maintenance to city infrastructure,
and summarily dressed-down the false claims of the restauranteur. This
defense of facts in the public discourse is a worthy cause to stand up
for, to ensure that a well-informed electorate always makes decisions
come election day. Greg Harris stands up for progressive values and also
for the principles of honesty and transparency in the public forum.

Cecil Thomas - Cecil Thomas has been a member of Cincinnati City Council
for four years. Cecil is a twenty-seven year veteran of the Cincinnati
Police Department. During that time, he worked in all 52 neighborhoods of
the city, giving him a very broad perspective in the community. Cecil
also worked as the Executive Director of the Cincinnati Human Relations
Commission, where he took the reigns of an embattled organization and
was able to turn it around, to become one of the premier human relations
commissions in the country. Since joining Cincinnati City Council in 2005,
Cecil has become chair of the Law & Public Safety Dept. In this role, he's
been the city council leader of the Cincinnati Initiative to Reduce
Violence (CIRV), the groundbreaking project of Professor David Kennedy
that has contributed to a considerable amount of the crime reduction that
has been seen since it was introduced. This program marries new
technological approaches to crime mapping with aggressive and targeted
community outreach initiatives, resulting in a surgical approach to
crime fighting. Cecil's efforts will have long-lasting effects on the
Greater Cincinnati region for years to come, his out-of-the box thinking
has a great track record and city council will continue to benefit from
it over the coming term.

Y. Laketa Cole - A three term member of Cincinnati City Council, Laketa
Cole is now running for her fourth (and final) consecutive term on city
council. Laketa currently serves as the chair of city council's Finance
Committee. Under her three terms on city council, Laketa has founded the
Neighborhood Business District Support Fund, spearheaded implementation
of the LEED initiative, helped to create programs to increase city
homeownership, and also helped to increase citizen access to city hall,
through many resident-considerate initiatives. During the recent budget
debate, Laketa stood up for the pool and recreation centers and the
valuable role they play for Cincinnati families. Laketa has fought the
past six years on Cincinnati city council to make sure that we can
continue to fund the institutions that our great city offers. This
commitment to important social institutions will be a valuable point of
view for the upcoming year of difficult decisions that we all share.

Wendell Young - Wendell Young has spent his entire aduly life giving his
all back to the city, and the country, that he grew up in. Young spent
four years in the U.S. Air Force, thirty-two years in the Cincinnati
Police Department, and many years of dedicated service in various
departments of the city. Today, he currently teaches at Aiken High School
in College Hill, helping to preparing young minds who are on the cusp of
entering college or the workforce. In addition to this work, Wendell Young
has been a active community leader. On city council, Wendell Young wants
to help solve the funding problems currently plaguing the Cincinnati city
pension system, to ensure retirees are secure in their benefits. Wendell
Young also wants to invest in the progress that will attract new residents
and new business to the city.

Laure Quinlivan - Many long-time Cincinnati residents are already familiar
with former WCPO I-Team reporter, Laure Quinlivan. As a reporter for WCPO,
she provided in-depth reporting on stories ranging from post-2001
Over-the-Rhine, to safety concerns on old Fort Washington Way, to regional
cooperation (and lack thereof) across the Ohio River. Quinlivan pledges
to fight for increased transparency and public access to city operations
and meetings. She wants to work with the rest of the team to build upon
Cincinnati's great assets today to make a greener and cleaner city,
hopefully catapulting Cincinnati to the front lines of the green revolution
and clean energy. Since leaving WCPO-TV, Quinlivan has started her own small
consulting business, LQ Consulting. As a small business owner, she also
is a voice for small business in the community. All of these traits will be
put together for us to welcome Laure Quinlivan and her insight and ideas to
city council this coming election.

Roxanne Qualls - Roxanne Qualls has been a fixture in Cincinnati
politics for most of the past two decades. During the 1990's she was
three times mayor of Cincinnati, and was on city council for four
consecutive terms, prior to her recent two terms on city council. As
mayor in the 1990's, she planted the seed for many of the projects
that today we see coming together. She had the foresight to build
the Riverfront Transit Center beneath Second Street during the Fort
Washington Way reconstruction project. Qualls helped initiate The Banks
project, which today you can see beginning to emerge from the flood
plain beside Great American Ballpark. She was also pivotal in making
sure that money was set aside for the new riverfront park system that we
can all enjoy today. As mayor, she also established Mayor's Night In, a
program continued by Mayor Mark Mallory to better connect the citizens
of Cincinnati with their leadership. Her efforts have also spawned many
nationally recognized programs such as Citirama and the real-estate
Ambassadors Program. Roxanne Qualls was one of three who founded
ArtWorks, a youth employment program which teaches and encourages local
youth through public art projects. Qualls has a resume that extends much
further than this endorsement can provide for, and today we can see that
the projects and initiatives she sparked are coming to fruition.

Tony Fischer - Madisonville resident Tony Fischer is a life-long resident
of Cincinnati. Upon graduating from the Cincinnati Public Schools, he went
on to receive a degree in Foreign Service from Georgetown University. After
this, he joined the army and spent five years fighting in Iraq. More
recently, he dedicated much time last year campaigning for President Obama
and other local Democrats. Tony was recognized for his dedication by being
picked to ride on the Whistle-Stop Tour to Washington. This dedication to
our city and our country, and the eagerness he displays in actively working
to improve them are great reasons for bringing Tony Fiscer onto Cincinnati
city council.