The Environment

I. The environment has always been an issue in the life of any community, but it has been getting more attention lately, so I’m hopeful we’ll get some candidates leading on this issue. What are your plans for public transportation, environmentally sustainable building practices, making local food readily available, holding corporate polluters accountable, and/or recycling?
Elizabeth Metz, Clifton

Elizabeth, thank you for the question, it is an important one. Throughout our nation and the world environmental problems continue to mount and these problems tend to have a negative impact on our community among other things. As Vice Mayor and a Member of City Council I believe it is important to support environmentally conscious policies and programs

I have supported “green” initiatives and will continue to do so if fortunate enough to be re-elected. In my view these types of programs set a standard and encourage businesses to be thinking in more environmentally friendly terms.

For example I worked closely with the Mayor to create the Office of Environmental Quality (OEQ) in Cincinnati. This new office is working with citizens, businesses and various City Departments to promote issues of import related to the environment. I also co-sponsored legislation to create the City’s clean air law known as Title X. Unfortunately it seems that curbside recycling is on the chopping block each year during the budget process. I am happy to say that to date we have been able to maintain this service without interruption—something I’ll continue to support if fortunate enough to be re-elected.

I supported proposals to provide tax abatements to developments that comply with Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards. I also co-sponsored a “Green Streets Pilot Project”, which is currently underway in conjunction with the Metropolitan Sewer District (MSD). This project will utilize green stormwater drainage techniques on a few selected streets, if successful I’d like to see it expanded citywide which would require a trained, specialized workforce to implement.