'Chaos at City Hall' meets the 'mess in Columbus'

To hear the candidates lately, the campaign for Cincinnati mayor could come down to a referendum on this question:

Which is more of a mess? Cincinnati City Hall? Or the Statehouse in Columbus?

From the beginning, state Sen. Mark L. Mallory has painted Councilman David Pepper as "part of the chaos at City Hall." But Pepper launched his counterattack today, linking Mallory to what he called "the mess in Columbus."

The brainstorm hit Pepper after a mayoral debate today at the Christ Church Cathedral undercroft -- a lunchtime forum of liberal Christians who usually discuss issues like campaign finance and electoral reform. Pepper walked up to his campaign manager and said he wanted to start wearing a "Reform Ohio Now" sticker to all campaign events.

Reform Ohio Now is the activist group that has put four state constitutional amendments on the Nov. 8 ballot changing the way elections are administered. But Pepper's purpose is also political -- to remind Cincinnati voters that the Statehouse, too, has its problems.

Sure enough, the Pepper campaign sent out a news release two hours later. Excerpts below:

Pepper Endorses Reform Ohio Now to Clean Up the Mess in Columbus

... Pepper's opponent for Mayor, Mark Mallory, who has been a legislator in Columbus for 10 years, repeatedly praises the workings and camaraderie of Columbus, and tells citizens to call his fellow politicians in Columbus to assess his leadership skills -- as he did at today's noon mayoral debate.

"I agree with the Reform Ohio Now supporters, not Mark Mallory's rosy view of Columbus politics. Columbus is a mess. Given that mess, Mark's fellow Columbus politicians are not exactly a credible job reference," Pepper said. "Citizens should absolutely call their Columbus legislators -- not to hear them compliment their friend Mark Mallory, but to hold them accountable for their years of ineffectiveness."

In a phone interview, Mallory said he, too, supports Reform Ohio Now -- but took issue with Pepper's characterization of his record as a legislator, saying he's railed against Republican corruption in Columbus for years.

"David is trying to run from the fact that, for the time he has been on City Council, he has been a part of that mess. I like how he has lately tried to spread the chaos over the last 20 years. I'm not trying to hold him accountable for anything beyond the last four years on City Council."

The difference between Mallory's record in Columbus and Pepper's record at City Hall, Mallory said, is this: "He's in the majority. I'm in the minority -- and have been. I have a much tougher time convincing people who are in the majority to buy into my agenda. David, on the other hand, can't convince four other members of his own party to go along with his agenda, his proposals.

"I have much more to show for my time than he does," Mallory said.