The questions were prepared by the League of Women Voters of the Cincinnati Area and asked of all candidates for this office.     See below for questions on Qualification, Priorities, Funding for jail, Law enforcement, Revitalize housing stock, Affordable housing, Role of County Commissioner

Click on a name for candidate information.   See also more information about this contest.

Answer from David Pepper:

I served four years on Cincinnati City Council, chairing the Neighborhoods Committee and Law/Public Safety Committee. I have served in numerous professional capacities prior to running for public office: clerking for Federal Court of Appeals Judge Nathaniel Jones, conducting my law practice, and doing economic development in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Answer from Phil Heimlich:

As a former prosecutor and city council member, and now county commissioner, I have a strong track record of supporting law enforcement, eliminating wasteful spending and taking on tough problems. I have also built an excellent working relationship with Mayor Mallory, allowing the city and county to cooperate on important issues.

Answer from David Pepper:

4. My comprehensive safety plan proposes ways to put more patrols and police officers on the streets THROUGHOUT the County--not just in Over the Rhine. It proposes steps to get repeat offenders off the street, while building a new jail. And it proposes ways to prevent crime through treatment and ending youth violence--as opposed to only reacting once crime has occurred.

My Clean Government Commitment proposes 10 steps to clean up broken County government. We will end closed door meetings, end no-bid contracts, end political games and bickering, and make sure all personnel in the Administration are hired through open, competitive processes.

My Quality of Life agenda will set up ways to ensure that County government is closely attuned to the quality of life priorities of each jurisdiction of the County. This way citizens will be listened to as much as developers and political supporters.

Answer from Phil Heimlich:

I intend to work very hard this fall for passage of the jail proposal that Sheriff Leis and I introduced, which is on the November ballot. I will continue to work closely with Mayor Mallory on issues like development of The Banks. Because of our efforts in setting up the Banks Working Group, a master developer for the project is expected to be named by Sept. 15. I will continue my support of the county's managed competition efforts, which are reviewing every county service for potential savings for taxpayers.

Answer from Phil Heimlich:

For almost twenty years county commissioners ignored our jail problem. The new jail that law enforcement experts recommend will cost $225 million to build. To raise the money, Sheriff Simon Leis and I proposed a quarter of a penny increase in the county sales tax, coupled with a property tax rollback. Because of our commission's work in reducing and eliminating property taxes, this jail proposal will not increase taxes above the rate of inflation.

In August, all three commissioners voted to place the proposal on the November ballot. If approved, the sales tax will last no longer than 10 years. My opponent has said he supports this proposal.

A sales tax increase with a property tax reduction is the most fiscally responsible way to fund a new jail because 45% of the county's sales tax revenue comes from people who do not live in Hamilton County.

Answer from David Pepper:

Citizens will have their say on whether a new sales tax will pay for the jail's construction. I will identify waste under the current regime, and look to reduce the costs of the new facility, using both steps to shorten the length of the tax as much as possible.

Rather than bickering with other governments, County should build more cooperative relationships with State, federal and the City government. Representatives of each have offered to put dollars toward solving the jail problem, and I will engage in constructive dialogues to make these offers a reality. Again, this will reduce the tax.

Finally, the current jail plan does not allocate any dollars to operate the jail--an oversight that could put taxpayers on the hook for up to $8 million per year. Should the "Earn and Learn" initiative pass this November, I will allocate the new tax receipts toward jail operations.

Answer from David Pepper:

Safety is a regional issue, and must be addressed in regional ways. As we've seen for too long in this region, bickering among jurisdictions will get us nowhere.

For this reason, in my Comprehensive Safety Plan, I propose a Regional Coordinating Council on Safety--made up of the County Commissioners, Sheriff, Prosecutor, judges, Coroner, and law enforcement and elected officials from local governments. Together, we can address and solve issues such as corrections, youth violence, enforcement, shared technology, efficiency, very high recidivism, and prevention--far better than we can with each entity going it alone.

Answer from Phil Heimlich:

First, the county can best help our police officers by building a new jail to give them the tools to get all criminals off the streets. Sheriff Leis and I have proposed a plan to do this that has been endorsed by Cincinnati Police Chief Tom Streicher and the Fraternal Order of Police.

In the short term, we have taken decisive action to stop early releases at the Justice Center by sending up to 300 prisoners a night to Butler County.

Our county has been funding $100,000 per year for off-duty Cincinnati Police officers to target drug and gun crimes in Over-the-Rhine. This results in hundreds of arrests per year.

We are also experimenting with placing satellite probation offices in neighborhoods to keep better track of convicted offenders. We currently have these offices in Madisonville and East Walnut Hills and are now establishing one in Over-the-Rhine.

Answer from Phil Heimlich:

Property quality is becoming a concern in Hamilton County's older suburbs. How can the County help these communities maintain and revitalize an aging housing stock? (150 words)

To combat the deterioration of neighborhoods and promote higher quality housing for residents of all income levels, we have started an initiative called Project Impact in which our officials are working directly with leaders in the "first suburbs" to provide economic development tools for those communities. This pilot program has already begun in Cheviot. Our planning and zoning department is also working with Elmwood Place and Lincoln Heights to create master re-development plans. We intend to expand this effort throughout the county.

Answer from David Pepper:

First is enforcement. We must ensure the Housing Court is fully able to hold accountable those property owners who do not follow our quality of life laws.

Second, I propose an approach where we do with old properties what we do with new homes (Homearama). That is, take a particular area of a neighborhood where there are numerous troubled properties, and bring a concentrated effort--comprising a partnership of private and public entities--to rehabilitate that cluster of old properties at once.

Another aspect of this problem is the high rate of foreclosure we are seeing throughout Cincinnati and the "First Suburbs." Large-scale foreclosures can tear the heart out of a community--reducing homeownership, displacing long-time residents, and leaving blighted buildings in their wake. I will work with the jurisdictions involved, other non-profits, and the banks, to be sure we are doing all we can to reduce foreclosures.

Answer from Phil Heimlich:

The county can make it easier for people to build and refurbish homes in Hamilton County. Last year, we appointed a task force made up of private sector experts to determine how to best accomplish that. As a result, we have reformed our building department by streamlining their processes and cutting red tape to make it easier to get building permits approved. We are also working with the Homebuilders Association to expand sewers into undeveloped areas of the county which will open up large amounts of vacant land to build new neighborhoods with modern homes.

The commissioners recently renewed and expanded the county's Home Improvement Loan Program (HIP) which allows county homeowners to get bank loans at below-market rates to make major improvements to their homes.

Answer from David Pepper:

Today, the most important thing we can do for quality housing is to make that housing safe. Too many people in rental housing these days--and too many neighbors of rental properties--are faced with unsafe properties, and the crime that accompanies them. I will work hard with all jurisdictions to ensure that those who manage housing in our community--particularly large scale rental and public housing--are following the law, and doing all they should be doing to make sure these properties are run in a way that is safe for both residents and neighboring property owners. This includes proper tenant screening, enforcing rules diligently, evicting those who can not abide by those rules, and adequate property maintenance.

Answer from Phil Heimlich:

The residents of Hamilton County should expect a commissioner to take on tough issues and produce results, regardless of what is politically popular. I did that by working with Sheriff Leis to develop a plan to build a new jail to solve the problem of jail overcrowding that has been neglected for over 20 years. We put a stop to early releases at our current jail by signing an agreement with Butler County to send up to 300 prisoners a night there. We stopped the waste at Drake Hospital and preserved that facility by developing an agreement with the Health Alliance that eliminated over $50 million in taxes every five years.

Our citizens should expect a commissioner to keep his promises. When I took office in 2003, county spending was climbing at 2.5 times the rate of inflation. I pledged to stop that practice and have kept that promise.

Answer from David Pepper:

They should expect someone who will represent them. And good representation comes from open and accessible government; government that listens to citizens and not simply political supporters; government that pays attention to all communities, not just a few; and government that is less about politics and partisanship and more about representing citizens' concerns and solving community problems.

Next, they should expect competence and effectiveness from their leaders in getting things done. Rather than delays, bickering and extra costs, we should be delivering projects and priorities on time, at or below budget.

Finally, they should expect an interest in ALL that County government does. County government is not just about a jail and riverfront development. It also oversees foster care, adoption, the safety of abused children and seniors, health care, job development and others. County Commissioners should pay attention to these important issues ALL the time--not just after crises.

The order of the candidates is random and changes daily. Candidates who did not respond are not listed on this page.