Hanging in the balance: a progressive vision for a more collaborative approach to the county’s relationship with Cincinnati and other municipalities and emphasis on regional priorities like transit, economic development, creative responses to the heroin crisis and other huge issues.
Two seats are up for grabs this time around — one currently occupied by interim commissioner Republican Dennis Deters that was vacated last year by party mate Greg Hartmann and another occupied by long-time incumbent Democrat Todd Portune. Deters, a former two-term Colerain Township trustee, is facing an experienced, energetic foe in State Rep. Denise Driehaus, D-Clifton. Portune, who has also held a seat on Cincinnati City Council, is facing small businessman Andrew Pappas, who has no political experience.
Deters has done reasonably well keeping things under control during his time as interim commissioner. His stint serving as head of the Hamilton County Heroin Coalition has been especially commendable. But his experience, and his political savvy, pale in comparison to Driehaus.
Deters has done little to show he is interested in moving the county forward and building economic prosperity and interconnectivity here. In the meantime, some of his campaign’s more bush-league moves are embarrassing — including Deters borrowing his high-profile brother Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters’ name. You won’t find a Dennis “Joe” Deters on any other documents, but you’ll see it on November’s ballot. It’s a regrettable stunt that made Deters look small, even as the state Republican Party pours money into his campaign coffers.
In contrast, Driehaus has big ideas about development in neglected places like Queensgate, wants to work on regional approaches to dealing with Hamilton County’s transit problem and endorses increasing treatment options to deal with our region’s heroin crisis. These include Hamilton County Sheriff Jim Neil’s proposal to put an addiction treatment clinic in the county’s justice center to stop the revolving door of addicted inmates.
Beyond that, Driehaus has the state-level experience to really work with big decision-makers as she advocates for our county. She has served admirably representing Ohio’s 31st State House District, where she would no doubt pick up another term if she weren’t facing term limits. That’s the kind of asset voters shouldn’t pass up as we face huge questions about infrastructure funding for things like the Western Hills Viaduct.
Portune, meanwhile, has another set of assets — a deep well of experience in local politics and a rock-solid record handling business as the lone Democrat on the commission. He has served well as the lone voice of reason while the commission’s Republican members have gone on Tea Party-esque budget-slashing sprees. He has also made moves toward establishing more city-county cooperation in recent years, something the region sorely needs.
Portune’s opponent, Pappas, has tried to hang the continuing controversy over contracts handed out by the city-county run Metropolitan Sewer District over the Democrat’s head. But it’s clear that if Portune has any responsibility for the mess at MSD, his Republican counterparts do as well. They’re the ones who have been steering the ship on the county commission — all the more reason for a new approach.
Pappas has run some slick ads referencing 1980s television classic Knight Rider, and those were cool. But running a good ad doesn’t mean someone is good at helping to run the county, and we’ve seen scant little evidence that Pappas has the experience necessary to do so.
CityBeat Endorses:
• Hillary Clinton for President
• Hamilton County: Alan Triggs, Seth Walsh, Aftab Pureval, Jim Neil and Lakshmi Sammarco
• Congress and State House: Brigid Kelly, Catherine Ingram and Alicia Reece
