City split on Issues 8 & 9

Issue 9, a Cincinnati charter amendment that would have rolled back the city's share of the property tax, was soundly defeated by Cincinnati voters Tuesday

With 95 percent of the city's 367 precincts reporting, the "no'' vote was 60 percent.

Issue 8, a second charter amendment on Tuesday's ballot, was passing with 66 percent of the vote.

That ballot issue will require Cincinnati City Council to vote on pay raises that are approved by the Ohio General Assembly. There was no organized opposition to Issue 8.

But Cincinnati's outgoing mayor, Charlie Luken, campaigned hard against Issue 9, saying it would cost city coffers $29 million a year without any mechanism to replace the revenue.

State Rep. Tom Brinkman, R-Mt. Lookout, was the architect of Issue 9, which failed by a smaller margin two years ago.

Tuesday night, Brinkman said city voters "listened to the scare tactics that were coming from City Hall.''

Brinkman said he did not anticipate putting the issue on the ballot again, saying the new council elected Tuesday "might be more inclined to do this on their own.''

-- Howard Wilkinson