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The questions were prepared by the League of Women Voters of the Cincinnati Area and asked of all candidates for this office.
See below for questions on
Qualification,
Priorities,
Accessiblity,
Recycling,
Housing
Click on a name for other candidate information. See also more information about this contest.
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1. What are your Qualifications for Office? (50 word limit)
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Answer from David Pepper:
I'm not a career politician, but in my short time on Council, the Enquirer called me "one of council's most forceful and effective members." (10/26/03) My record of accomplishments includes: adding more police to the street while working to improve police-community relations, economic growth and reform, and improving our neighborhoods.
Answer from Mark L. Mallory:
Cincinnati needs new leadership, and leadership is my main qualification. The current city leaders fight with one another instead of leading. As a state legislator, I have a 10 year record of consensus building. I will bring my leadership and an ability to work with everyone to the mayor's office.
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2. What plans do you have to address your top three priorities? (100 word limit)
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Answer from David Pepper:
Safety + We must reclaim our historic place of being one of America's safest major cities. I have released a comprehensive plan, Reclaiming our Streets from Crime, http://davidpepper.com/images/new/public_safety_plan.pdf, detailing the key steps, including more police on the streets where the crime is, strategic policing and improved partnerships with citizens.
Youth Opportunities + Our youth are failing at far too high a rate. In my plan, Building a Path to Success for our Kids, http://davidpepper.com/images/YouthPlan.pdf I outline how the Mayor can help improve education and increase opportunities for youth
Economic Growth and Opportunity -- I have laid out a plan to 1) grow our economy and 2) ensure that we open up real opportunities for all of our citizens by connecting those citizens to good jobs, good education, and 21st century job training. Please review my plan, Growing the City Economy, Bridging the Economic Divide, at http://davidpepper.com/images/new/Economic_Plan.pdf
Answer from Mark L. Mallory:
Our current leadership at city hall simply isn't working. City leaders fight with one another and there is too little communication between the mayor's office and the council members. Before anything else can change, the way Cincinnati's leaders work with one another has to change. I will bring a new style of leadership to the mayor's office, one based on respect, openness to citizens' concerns and working to build consensus.
Our policy focus will be on making the city safer and improving our neighborhoods, our riverfront and our downtown. We will take guns off the streets, create programs to keep young offenders from becoming career criminals, and build upon the city's assets such as historical neighborhoods, the arts and parks to expand the economic vitality of our city.
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3. What steps would you take to ensure that all public facilities are accessible to people with disabilities? (100 words limit)
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Answer from Mark L. Mallory:
Passing the Americans with Disabilities Act was a tremendous step forward, helping to bring an entire class of Americans into the mainstream. I support both the letter and the spirit of this law. As mayor, I will assess all city-owned public buildings to be sure they are fully accessible to citizens with disabilities. I will direct code inspectors to pay extra attention to accessibility issues when they inspect new or remodeled buildings. During my first 100 days in office, I will convene a task force on accessibility that will include representatives from groups like the Inclusion Network.
Answer from David Pepper:
I've been taking several steps to increase accessibility. I've worked for several months with The Inclusion Network, ACCESS and taxi cab owners to increase accessibility on taxi cabs. I also led a successful effort to improve signage in the city's Skywalk which points to the most accessible paths. I will continue to work with interested persons to increase accessibility throughout our City.
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4. What specific steps will you take to expand recycling services in your community? (100 words limit)
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Answer from David Pepper:
I am a strong recycling supporter. In fact, I brought the motion forward several years ago that pushed the administration to rethink the proposed cut to recycling, based on the experience of New York City--where they saw that cutting recycling actually cost more than it saved. At this point, the top thing we can do to expand recycling is to convince all citizens to take a recycling bin--meaning better marketing and public communication.
Keeping Cincinnati clean and environmentally conscious is very important to me both as a Councilman and as a private citizen. For more information, please review my neighborhoods plan Strengthening Cincinnati Neighborhoods, Making our Communities Safe, Clean, Livable http://davidpepper.com/pplan.php
Answer from Mark L. Mallory:
I support recycling and I don't think it should be considered some kind of luxury city service. Some cities run recycling programs that make money. Ann Arbor recycles more than half of its household waste, one of the highest rates in the country. They do it through a nonprofit reuse and recycling agency. Ann Arbor also runs a huge reuse center that collects and then sells household goods, scrap lumber, household fixtures, furniture, plumbing and countless other products. Ann Arbor uses a huge outreach and education effort with the introduction of recycling in each neighborhood. We can move Cincinnati in the same direction.
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5. What steps would you take to provide affordable housing for all residents of your community? (100 words limit)
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Answer from David Pepper:
As Mayor, I will do everything in my power to increase homeownership and encourage the development and rehabilitation of high quality affordable, "workforce" and middle-class housing in Cincinnati. This is critical to stemming our city's population loss.
I will bring together many of the City's current housing programs to reduce blight and restore abandoned buildings and land for affordable housing developments.
Through the Mayor's appointments to the Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority Board, I will demand accountability and ensure that Cincinnati's public housing developments are worthy of the working families who inhabit them and contribute to the communities around them.
Answer from Mark L. Mallory:
As a state senator, I have already begun taking steps to provide more affordable housing in Cincinnati, and I have worked to keep seniors in their houses by cracking down on predatory lenders. But we have to do more. As mayor, I will provide incentives for private developers to renovate apartments and single family homes. I will provide further incentives to make residential structures +rental and owner-occupied + more energy efficient, which will make the cost of utilities less and reduce the number of bankruptcies. Finally, I will ensure that vacant buildings are maintained so they can be reused as soon as possible.
Responses to questions asked of each candidate
are reproduced as submitted to the League.
Candidates' statements are presented as submitted. Word limits apply for each question. Direct references to opponents are not permitted.
The order of the candidates is random and changes daily.
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League of Women Voters of Ohio Education Fund
