Reece grooves on Vibe

Vice Mayor Alicia Reece always gets good press from the national black media. The September issue of Vibe magazine (the one with Jamie Foxx on the cover) puts her among "a cadre of emerging politicos expanding the political discussion."

"As the youngest woman elected to Cincinnati City Council, the former Miss Grambling State University helped diffuse the city's bubbling racial tensions by negotiating with the Justice Department and others to combat racial profiling," said a capsule profile that ran alongside a longer story about Illinois Sen. Barak Obama.

Reece, 34, is the youngest politician on the high-powered list, which also includes Cory Booker, a candidate for mayor in Newark, N.J., (and former law school classmate of Reece rival David Pepper); Rep. Kendrick Meek, D-Fla.; Rep. Artur Davis, D-Ala.; Rep. Harold Ford Jr., D-Tenn.; and Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., D-Ill.

Reece cites the article as evidence that she's best equipped to improve the city's national reputation. "One of the issues for the city is to turn around our image, not only locally but nationally," she said. "Any time we can have positive stories on leadership in Cincinnati, I think that's good for our city."