CityBeat’s continuing coverage of non-incumbent candidates for Cincinnati City Council today features a question about the city manager’s position.
We asked the candidates, “Do you believe the city manager’s position should be abolished in favor of giving executive authority to the mayor, as has been suggested in the past?”—-
Anitra Brockman (Green): “I do believe that while we have the city manager position in place, we must ensure that the individual in the position is being held accountable and responsible for their role by the mayor and the City Council.”
Tony Fischer (Democrat): “I believe there are liabilities and benefits to both positions.”
Nicholas Hollan (Democrat): “I do not support abolishing the role of city manager as his position provides for many of the day-to-day functions throughout city departments. While the mayor could certainly oversee the daily operations of the city, it would serve to diminish his effectiveness as an ambassador of the city that has succeeded in bringing more jobs and economic development.”
Amy Murray (Republican): “I do not favor abolishing the city manager’s position. The city manager is a professional who has years of experience running cities from an operational standpoint. A mayor doesn’t always have those skills. However, I would support a more inclusive interview and evaluation process for the city manager position.”
Laure Quinlivan (Democrat): “No. The mayor has plenty to do, and we need a city manager who is not a politician to run day-to-day operations.”
LaMarque Ward (Independent): “No, checks and balances are fine for me. There has to be a fair and honest debate on the issues.”
Bernadette Watson (Democrat): “Not abolished, but some reform to give the mayor more executive authority – I am in favor of a ‘strong/executive mayor’ form of government.”
George Zamary (Republican): “No.”
