It was a short-lived, if splashy, foray into electoral politics.
Cincinnati Fraternal Order of Police President Sgt. Dan Hils announced yesterday he will withdraw from his bid to challenge Democratic Hamilton County Commission member Denise Driehaus for her seat next year just a week after jumping into the race.
Hils, who was running as a Republican, says he can't continue to serve as FOP president and run what would likely be a challenging campaign.
“I recognized that I could not give the campaign the effort it would require while still performing my duties as FOP president,” Hils said in a Facebook post last night. “My first priority is and will remain the members of my union.
"I had wished to use the platform of the campaign to elevate the discussion of jail overcrowding and its detrimental effect on the justice system in Hamilton County. The overpopulated and dilapidated justice center weakens the ability of judges and prosecutors to do their jobs effectively and keep the community safe. I will do everything possible from my current position to educate county residents of the imperative nature of our current situation."
The Hamilton County GOP now has one week to find a replacement for Hils before the Dec. 18 filing deadline for the race. Whoever steps into the role will face a challenge — currently, Democrats hold a three-member sweep on the commission, and the county has trended bluer in recent years.
Hils has often drawn controversy with his pugnacious style from Democrats, the city's black police group and others. He's known to be highly outspoken when it comes to his conservative politics, recently warning that a Cincinnati City Council ordinance designed to aid immigrant families would lead to "socialist rule."
Driehaus and the other two Democrats on the three-member board of commissioners, meanwhile, have drawn conservative ire for a recent move instituting a .25-cent sales tax to replace an expiring tax voters approved in 2014 to renovate Union Terminal. Republicans say that tax should be approved by county voters. Republican commission candidate Andy Black, who is running for a seat vacated by retiring commission member Todd Portune, led a ballot initiative to repeal the tax, though that effort didn't gather enough signatures to get the repeal before voters.
Driehaus, first elected in a 2016 upset victory over incumbent Dennis Deters, previously served in the Ohio State House. She's from a well-known political family — her brother Steve Driehaus served a term representing Cincinnati's 1st Congressional District.
Driehaus' campaign quickly began fundraising off Hils' entry into the race earlier this month.
"Simply put, Dan Hils is a Trump supporting member of the Tea Party," the Driehaus campaign said in a fundraising email. "Republicans will do everything they can to try and reverse the progress Denise has made. There's no doubt they'll also try and drag this county down with Trump-style politics."
