It is 2024. Happy New Year!  Ok, so the honeymoon should be over in a Presidential Election year at about 12:04 AM on the 1st. It is day two of the year and I am looking ahead. Local elections are happening this year, but for Cincinnati there is not going to be much for me to write and think about. The Hamilton County Prosecuting Attorney and Sheriff races will be interesting to watch and should be competitive, but that's about it.  Hamilton County has gone "Blue" in a partisan sense.  Compared to other urban counties, it is NOT as close and there are many more moderate vo ..read more

Hamilton County voter turnout was the highest level for a local election in recent memory. Abortion rights drove most of the additional turnout. Here is voter turnout by Generation: These numbers are based on the updated voter registration data, not the final results, so there is a small variance. Below are final summary turnout results in the county.  First broken down by City vs Non-City:   Additionally, for those who like detail, here is turnout based on Neighborhood in the City and on Municipality outside of the City.   Note that the City Neighborhoods are approxi ..read more

For news junkies like myself, election night gives off a holiday eve vibe with lots to get exited about.  Here is a list of what I look for: What time will the initial results come in from the Hamilton County Board of Election? The board of election reports actual voting results as fast as it can, but the first report is what I call "The Flop." This initial report is of no election day votes, but does include nearly all of the absentee and early voting results.  Under the old punch-card system, the BOE would report these results in a few minutes after the polls close.  Since we ..read more

The election is two weeks away and for City Council, we have no change. We are still going to have 8 Democrats on City Council. The largest majority for a single party in many decades. The right wing is seething over this and leftists are angry about not getting their way with a tiny number of supporters. There is a real race for the last two spots. I personally can see three ways for it turn out: 1. Liz Keating gets a bigger boost from incumbency and short ticket Republican voting and edges higher (6th or 7th place), pushing the last spot to an Albi-Walsh race. 2. Democratic turnout surges a ..read more

Early voting starts on Wednesday October 11th and it seems like there is no campaign going on. If you are reading this you might be longing for some political coverage of the election, but there really isn't anything to report. If you want drama, then you want entertainment.  Political Journalism is about entertainment. There is so little good political journalism going on anywhere. One exception is a great article from Becca Costello at WVXU. Details, details, details is the core of what makes for good Political Journalism and that article has it from all sides. I will avoid linking to t ..read more

Tumble weeds are traveling across the pollical landscape in the 2023 Cincinnati City Council race. There is nearly no campaigning going on. With only ten candidates that is not a surprise. Audricia Brooks did not, after final review by the Hamilton County Board of Elections, have enough signatures on her petitions. That leaves only endorsed candidates running, with only one non incumbent. The race is down to two questions: Will Liz Keating get a support boost and finish higher and safer in the race, or will she be back competing for last place again like she did in 2021. Will Albi or Walsh f ..read more

There are 11 candidates for the 2023 Cincinnati City Council election. The August 24th deadline to turn in petitions came and went this week and no additional candidates turned any in.  That is the smallest number of candidates in decades, at least since 1989 and likely longer ago. There are nine Democrats, one Republican, and one Independent candidate running. Charter has yet to officially announce any cross endorsements they may be doing this year, but they would logically repeat the one candidate in this race who was cross endorsed in 2021, Republican Liz Keating. One candidate, Richa ..read more

Without a single vote cast, I can project that the Cincinnati Democratic Party will retain AT LEAST seven seats and a super majority on Cincinnati City Council. For those skeptical of my basic math skills, please note that the Democrats have endorsed nine candidates for City Council and there are two other candidates on the ballot. So, the Democratic candidates just need to vote for themselves at a minimum and they are going to get seven on council. Not withstanding the angst from the local City Hall Report from the Enquirer in Thursdays "commentary", it is not the fault of the Democrats that ..read more

Issue 1 went down in flames, but that was not the only development in local Politics here in Cincinnati.  City Council Elections are coming up and turnout is going to drive who get's elected, partially. Turnout was higher than expected within Cincinnati for the single issue special August election. Traditionally, you can't get anyone to vote in August. The August 8th election instead had higher turnout than the last council election in 2021. City voters would now be expected to come out to vote in numbers as least as high in November and that will impact the race for City Council. At this ..read more

 Ohio Democracy dodged another bullet. Republicans were humiliated less than a hour after the polls closed when every major election specialist called the race for the No on Issue 1 Campaign. Urban Counties and Cites, Cincinnati being one, were the key effort in winning.  Here are Hamilton County's unofficial results: Good, for the City, turnout along with an overwhelming No vote on Issue 1 that was repeated in the 3C cities, led the charge. The suburban vote held up the brace with the Cites and pushed back the fascist hoard. Yeah, that's a dramatic description, but honestly, it is ..read more