Mallory gets big boost from labor

Breaking its neutrality in a campaign between two Democrats for mayor, the Cincinnati AFL-CIO Labor Council voted 39-9 to endorse state Sen. Mark L. Mallory Wednesday night.

The vote was a surprise even to Mallory, who said earlier Wednesday that he expected the labor council to repeat its 2001 decision to stay out of the race between Democrat Charlie Luken and Charterite Courtis Fuller.

The Mallory campaign's strategy is to run the table on endorsements between now and November to reinforce his image as a "consensus builder." He will announce endorsements from colleagues in the state legislature this afternoon. But he said the labor endorsement was especially significant in a campaign between two Democrats.

“I am honored to have this endorsement, and I look for to continuing to build momentum in this campaign," Mallory said in a written statement after the labor vote. “For 10 years now, I have been in the legislature fighting for working families and organized labor. It is critical that the next mayor of Cincinnati represent the interests of the hard working men and women of this city.”

V. Daniel Radford,the executive secretary-treasurer of the AFL-CIO, said the council's executive board recommended neutrality, but a heavy turnout from public employees unions tipped the balance to Mallory. In fact, he said, the vote would probably have been different before the United Food & Commercial Workers Union split off from the AFL-CIO umbrella at the national convention in Chicago this summer. Local 1099, which always has a large turnout at meetings, had favored neutrality.

The defining issue for many of the other unions, Radford said, was "managed competition" -- Councilman David Pepper's proposal to have city employees compete with the private sector for contracts to provide city services. Mallory calls it "privatization, pure and simple."

"David Pepper would not get off of his agenda of managed competition," said Randal F. Moore, the president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 250, which represents about 500 city workers in the public services, parks and recreation departments. AFSCME had about half the voting delagates at Wednesday's meeting.

"David’s always been a friend," Moore said. "He asked me the question, 'Does managed competition trump everything else I’ve ever done?' And my response was, 'Yeah.'"

In an e-mailed statement this morning, Pepper said, "The AFL-CIO vote taken last night was a stacked deck by City Hall insiders who want the status quo, and who know I will push for long-needed reform of how the City operates -- something citizens are loudly demanding. These interests know that unlike Mark, I will fight for reform at City Hall -- and for common sense, successful practices that they have resisted for years."




State Sen. Mark L Mallory jokes with Garry White of Northside as he campaigns at the annual Cincinnati AFL-CIO picnic at Coney Island last month. (Photo by Patrick Reddy/The Cincinnati Enquirer)