Dems getting closer to having a council slate

The Charter Committee and the Republican party has had their slate of endorsed city council candidates in place for some time now, but the Democratic Party has lagged behind.

Tuesday night, they started to catch up a bit.

A candidate screening committee set up by the Cincinnati Democratic Committee (CDC) -- a group made up of precinct executives from around the city -- has recommended a slate of nine council candidates for the CDC to consider when it meets next week, probably on Thursday night.

The slate will have to be approved by the full CDC, and there could be a dust-up over the screening committee's recommendation that Councilman Jeff Berding be endorsed for a second term, mainly because many in the party have sore heads over the fact that Berding is one of the ringleaders of the "fiscal five,'' a council majority made up of Democrats, Republicans and a Charterite that has pushed for spending cuts.

But Berding was recommended for endorsement by the screening committee, although co-chair Aryeh Alex would not say how the committee voted.

Four other incumbents -- David Crowley, John Cranley, Laketa Cole, and Cecil Thomas -- were also recommended.

The four non-incumbents are an interesting bunch:

- former council member and vice mayor Minette Cooper, making a comeback after sitting out for four years (as required by the city's term limits law);

- former Cincinnati police officer and local NAACP president Wendell Young, who ran unsuccessfully for council two years ago;

- Greg Harris, a former 1st Congressional District candidate;

- and Brian Garry, a community activist who ran as an independent candidate four years ago.

The time and place of the CDC meeting has yet to be set. Stay tuned.