A judge’s ruling that Cincinnati Park Board Chair Dianne Rosenberg’s term ends Feb. 1 has yet to cool the fight over her spot on the five-member board. Will council go along with Mayor John Cranley’s suggested replacement, appointed Jan. 24, or hold out?
Cranley, who wants Rosenberg out, says his push for a new board member has to do with financial transparency. He’s appointed Jim Goetz, a retired vice president and chief financial officer at the David J. Joseph Company, to fill Rosenberg’s spot. But Rosenberg’s supporters say she should be on the board until 2021 and that her removal is about politics. The park board chair is a well-respected community leader who also leads the Greater Cincinnati Foundation Board. She backed Cranley’s mayoral opponent in last year’s election.
A state audit last year suggested that the city oversee park funds currently controlled by a private foundation. Over the last couple years, reports of questionable spending habits on bonuses, travel perks and car allowances by the foundation and board have dogged the organizations.
The park board would like to retain control of that money, saying it is in the best position to decide how the money is spent and citing the city charter’s provision that it is an independent entity.
Cranley late last year moved to replace Rosenberg, saying that the unexpired term of an outgoing board member she was appointed to fill was ending. That was a surprise to Rosenberg, who says she was under the impression that she was slated to serve six years— the standard length of a park board term.
Information on the city’s website and original paperwork when Rosenberg was appointed backs up her claim. But Cranley and city administration say that was due to a clerical error.
Those moves have led Rosenberg’s supporters to claim that her ouster is political. Rosenberg was a supporter of Cranley’s opponent, former Councilwoman Yvette Simpson, in his bitter re-election fight.
“Elections have consequences,” attorney Jim Burke, who has worked as a lawyer for other park board members, wrote in a filing related to Rosenberg’s lawsuit. “Dianne backed Yvette Simpson and she should have offered her resignation after the election… if she really tries to hold onto her position by working through city council it will be a war and I will destroy her in the press.”
Cranley denies making that statement.
Now, after Mayor John Cranley officially appointed Goetz again, Cincinnati City Council must decide what to do.
If that sounds familiar, it’s because Goetz’s nomination went before council last December. Council members approved him 5-4. But Rosenberg filed a lawsuit and Judge Charles Kubicki Jr. ruled that the 2017 appointment and council vote were illegal, since Rosenberg’s term wasn’t up. Kubicki also ruled that Rosenberg should stay in her position until a replacement is approved.
That wouldn’t be complicated, except that council’s last vote was before three new council members were sworn in. Two of those three — Tamaya Dennard and Greg Landsman — joined P.G. Sittenfeld, Wendell Young and Chris Seelbach in signing a motion saying they wouldn’t approve a replacement for Rosenberg. The five represent a majority that could sink Cranley’s appointment.
Now the moment of truth is coming. Council is set to vote on Goetz Jan. 30. Among potential swing votes, Dennard says she hasn't decided yet.
“My goal is to help us get to a positive resolution on Wednesday," Landsman said via email, "one where we lift Dianne Rosenberg up for her very good work, ensure that the Parks Board maintains control over spending decisions, and puts us on the path to getting the messiness of all of this behind us.”
Meanwhile, Cranley is pushing hard for his appointee.
“It is my hope that Council will not treat Jim Goetz like Mitch McConnell treated Merrick Garland,” Cranley tweeted this week, referring to the Obama-era Supreme Court Justice nominee Republicans effectively stalled out of a seat. “Goetz is more than qualified, will reform accounting practices and bring much need transparency to the Park Board.”
