Hoping to beat the flood of candidates who will jump into the race next year, local Democratic activist Chris Seelbach announced today he will run for a seat on Cincinnati City Council in 2011.

Seelbach, 30, is an Xavier University graduate who helped lead the successful effort in 2004 to repeal Article 12, the anti-gay law that cost Cincinnati more than $25 million in lost business, according to the Convention and Visitors Bureau.

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In this week’s Porkopolis column, I wondered how Cincinnati Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls felt about “being continually used as a human shield” by City Councilman Chris Bortz on an issue of a potential conflict of interest.

Apparently, the answer is, “Not too good.”

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That didn’t take long.

Less than 48 hours after it was revealed that the Ohio Ethics Commission issued an advisory opinion last year stating Cincinnati City Councilman Chris Bortz shouldn’t take part in decisions about a proposed streetcar project, a formal complaint has been filed with the commission.

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As anyone who viewed The Enquirer’s Web site Tuesday night or read the newspaper this morning knows, Cincinnati City Councilman Chris Bortz received an advisory opinion from Ohio ethics officials last year indicating he shouldn’t participate in any decisions about the proposed streetcar project.

Although CityBeat asked Bortz last week about any potential conflicts of interest involving the project, he didn’t disclose the June 2009 letter from the Ohio Ethics Commission.

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Cincinnati’s long-discussed streetcar system is a bit closer to reality today after City Council approved spending $2.58 million on the project.

The money will be used for planning and design work for the system. Its first phase would be a loop through downtown and Over-the-Rhine, with a later segment built to the uptown area near the University of Cincinnati and local hospitals.

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Local Democrats wasted little time in trying to make some political hay out of this week’s Porkopolis column about an e-mail written by Cincinnati City Councilman Chris Monzel’s chief of staff.

Hamilton County Democratic Party Chairman Tim Burke is urging Monzel, a Republican, to fire his employee, Brad Beckett. Burke wrote that Beckett’s e-mail was inappropriate and contained gratuitous insults.

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A long-simmering dispute about how much oversight should be imposed on a contractor that doles out city money for neighborhood projects is heating up again.

Just when it looked like Cincinnati officials were about to restore a contract to Invest In Neighborhoods Inc. (IIN) to manage the city’s Neighborhood Support Program (NSP), a stumbling block has occurred.

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With a current budget proposal pending before Cincinnati City Council calling for laying off up to 112 police officers, police supervisors are working on a new plan for responding to calls for service.

The plan, dubbed the Police Differential Response Program, is an attempt to reduce the number of calls for service that the department responds to on a daily basis. Under the plan, police won’t send a patrol car for certain types of calls.

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With about 12 hours left until the polls open, CityBeat concludes its coverage of the non-incumbent candidates for Cincinnati City Council with a question about annexation.

One possible method for Cincinnati to expand its tax revenues and population is to annex smaller communities that surround the city, such as St. Bernard or Delhi Township.

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CityBeat recently asked the non-incumbent candidates for Cincinnati City Council whether the charter should be amended to change the way future councils are elected.

The question posed was, “What are your thoughts on suggestions to either expand council terms to four years, or to elect council members by districts rather than at-large?”

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