League of Women Voters of Ohio
Hamilton County, OH November 6, 2001 Election
	Cassandra N. Brown Answers Questions Candidate for Council Member; City of Norwood; Ward 5

The questions were prepared by the LWV Cincinnati Area and asked of all candidates for this office.

Read the answers from all candidates.

Questions & Answers

1. How would you implement your top priority?

Norwood is at a critical time in its history. Like many other cities, Norwood is moving from an industry-based economy to an office/service-based economy. That can be quite a challenge! Norwood was off to a good start with Rookwood Pavilion and Commons. However, our tax base has recently been eroded by reduction in staff at some Norwood employers, such as Seimens, and others moving out for various reasons. We must be proactive, not reactive! Norwood needs to attract more jobs! Small businesses are a large driver of our economy. If you look at other downtown corridors, such as Montgomery and Mariemont, you will see small businesses driving their success. Recently, Gattle's moved from Hyde Park to Montgomery! Montgomery has acquired the ability to attract small businesses from areas they are already successful in to their downtown. We are fortunate to have the Hamilton County Small Business Incubator here in Norwood. But according to their director, most of these businesses leave Norwood after they graduate from their program. I feel that one of the ways we can help make our Montgomery Road successful is through business incentives to attract and keep these small businesses. We need to partner with the Chamber of Commerce and the incubator to work on these incentives. I need to stress that we are in an economic downturn, so that makes our efforts to attract and keep successful businesses even more important. Building our tax base allows us to achieve success as a community. This is something we need to commit to!