League of Women Voters of the Cincinnati Area Education Fund
Hamilton County, OH November 3, 2009 Election
	Rick Bryan Answers Questions Candidate for Council Member; City of Blue Ash; Ward 3

The questions were prepared by the League of Women Voters of the Cincinnati Area and asked of all candidates for this office.
Read the answers from all candidates (who have responded).

Questions & Answers

1. What are your Qualifications for Office? (50 word limit)

In challenging times, the City needs experienced leadership. I have extensive public service as a retired Army Reserve Lt. Col. and 14 years on City Council including 2 terms each as Vice Mayor and Mayor. I also have 30 years business experience with P&G, Totes, Jergens/Kao and The Wellness Community.

2. What plans do you have to address your top three priorities? (100 word limit)

We need to keep Blue Ash moving forward in a fiscally responsible fashion. Work needs to continue on design and construction of the golf course club house, the transfer of the recently purchased portion of the Blue Ash airport property from Cincinnati to Blue Ash, and revitalization of downtown.

On council I've been active moving these projects forward. Blue Ash residents passed Issue 15 by over 65%, which allowed for these wonderful investments in our quality of life, I and the rest of the current council have kept pressure on insuring they are completed.

3. What two actions would you promote to enhance city revenue or decrease city expenditures in order to balance the city budget, given the current economic conditions? (100 word limit)

We are fortunate to have a large and healthy business community which largely funds the great amenities we enjoy and provides the revenue to maintain our infra structure in world class condition. 1) We have an aggressive Economic Development department which works to recruit new businesses and retain current businesses. The results are clear. While other governmental entities are in fiscal crisis, Blue Ash revenue through August is 98.6% of last year. 2) We are actively controlling costs by taking a fiscally responsible approach to salary increases, and looking for ways to reduce cost without curtailing services.

4. What steps should the local government take to ensure that the quality of rental property meets minimum legal standards? (100 word limit)

Municipalities have to aggressively work to ensure the quality of rental and owner occupied properties. We do that in 2 ways: 1) Invest public money to maintain public infrastructure in all our neighborhoods. Through Blue Ash Revitalization we are also able to help properties owners who need short term help find the funds they need to keep their properties up to code. 2) We have vigorous enforcement of our building and property maintenance code. Importantly, the City tries hard to work with properties owners to insure all property is at or above code standards.

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Responses to questions asked of each candidate are reproduced as submitted to the League.  Candidates' statements are presented as submitted. Word limits apply for each question. Direct references to opponents are not permitted.

Read the answers from all candidates (who have responded).

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Created from information supplied by the candidate: October 22, 2009 17:12
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