As long-serving Hamilton County Commission member Todd Portune looks toward retiring due to a battle with cancer, the race to replace him in 2020 is already shaping up.
Portune, a Democrat, announced yesterday during a Hamilton County Commission meeting that he will end his 27-year political career and step down no later than the end of December.
Today, former Cincinnati vice-mayor and one-time state rep. Alicia Reece, also a Democrat, has pulled petitions to run in 2020 and will launch her campaign Sunday for Portune’s seat.
Expect a big fight, though. Democrats have a three-member sweep of the board since current commissioner Stephanie Summerow Dumas won a surprise victory against incumbent Republican Chris Monzel last year. That’s a big change of fortunes for Republicans, who controlled two of the three commission seats as recently as 2015.
Reece will face a challenge from Republican Andy Black, who announced his candidacy earlier this year.
In the meantime, Hamilton County Democratic Central Committee must appoint a replacement for Portune to fill out the rest of his term.
This article appears in Oct 30 – Nov 12, 2019.