League of Women Voters of the Cincinnati Area Education Fund
Hamilton County, OH November 3, 2009 Election
	Leslie Ghiz Answers Questions Candidate for Council Member; City of Cincinnati

The questions were prepared by the League of Women Voters of the Cincinnati Area and asked of all candidates for this office.
Read the answers from all candidates (who have responded).

Questions & Answers

1. What are your Qualifications for Office? (50 word limit)

During my four years on Council, I have established a reputation for being a straight-talk, common sense leader who is fighting to make Cincinnati a better place to live, work and play. I will continue to work tirelessly to increase public safety and reduce spending and taxes.

2. What plans do you have to address your top three priorities? (100 word limit)

• Public Safety: I plan to ensure our police department has the resources (including street strength) necessary to reduce crime in our City. This means not laying off any police officers in 2010.
• Create/Retain Jobs: I will continue to support policies and programs that empower businesses in our City. Since 2007, we have created and/or retained over 1,800 in Cincinnati through such policies.
• Fiscal Watchdog: To balance the City's $40 million, we have to prioritize how tax dollars are spent. I will push for cuts to non-basic services and will work to find efficiencies to save money.

3. What two actions would you promote to enhance city revenue or decrease city expenditures in order to balance the city budget, given the current economic conditions? (100 word limit)

1. Cut unnecessary, non-basic programs. The City delivers several programs that are duplicative and that Cincinnatians do not directly benefit from. We need to get back to a "bare bones" budget that focuses on the delivery of basic services.

2. Find efficiencies to reduce the cost of how we as City government do business. This means implementing programs like managed competition, where our departments compete against the private sector to deliver services.

4. What steps should the local government take to ensure that the quality of rental property meets minimum legal standards? (100 word limit)

I think City Hall can work with the Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority and apartment-related trade associations to accomplish this.

5. What actions should Cincinnati take to ensure a range of housing choices for residents, including affordable housing? (100 word limit)

By continuing to monitor our zoning and land-use regulations, we can ensure single-famil, rental and affordable housing. Again, I believe there are also opportunities to work with agencies like CMHA to make sure this happens.

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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.

Read the answers from all candidates (who have responded).

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Created from information supplied by the candidate: September 27, 2009 14:53
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