Cincy GOP Councilwoman: Caught With Her Shirt On And Ethics Off

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- People have their Irish up at Cincinnati Councilwoman Leslie Ghiz over her vote to close down a popular East Side watering hole where she recently spent a day campaigning and raising funds for the American Cancer Society.

The Republican -- a lawyer who is seeking reelection this fall -- has been accused of wearing a "Vote Ghiz" shirt on the premises she now finds offensive to the Hyde Park neighborhood. The bar is R.P. McMurphy's and faces the loss of its liquor license.

Humorists have e-mailed The Daily Bellwether saying Ghiz shouldn't have worn a shirt at all -- then there really would be reason to vote to close the bar.

Ghiz has campaigned on a theme of "trust and accountability" but Jennifer McGuire found her woefully lacking in those qualities in a letter to the editor published in today's Cincinnati Enquirer, a letter that captured the views of many who see the councilwoman as something of a hypocrite.

"Less that a month ago, R.P's held a benefit for the American Cancer Society and raised $15,000 for the cause. And Ghiz spent the whole day there in her 'Vote Ghiz' t-shirt campaigning to the patrons of the very bar she is now voting to shut down. I supported Ghiz when she ran for council the first time. Her hypocrisy has cost her that support."

The full-text of the letter is HERE. There are nine Cincinnati City Council seats with only two held by Republicans. Ghiz has been active in portraying herself as someone who wants to make government accountable and the municipal environs as crime free as possible. She says,

"Trust and accountability are very important qualities to me . . . I have worked very hard to put Cincinnati first. And we have had some great successes. Things don't always move as quickly as I would like, but if you keep fighting the good fight, the City wins in the end. I have focused my efforts on the safety of our citizens and fiscal responsibility, and will continue to do so."

Her campaign website has a lot more information, including biographical data about the Capital University law school grad. Ghiz is going to catch serious flak over her soiree at the Irish pub.

Cancer Society Intervenes To Protect Smoking Ban

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Lawyers for the American Cancer Society's Ohio division petitioned to intervene in a Hamilton County lawsuit filed by a statewide organization of liquor permit holders that challenges the indoor smoking ban. Voters overwhelmingly approved the ban last November. The cancer society's Ohio unit was a founding member of SmokeFreeOhio, the coalition of health groups that sponsored State Issue 5, which received 59% of the vote.

So far, not many businesses appear on SmokeFreeOhio's (you can find a link to the businesses in each city near the bottom of this post) Web list that shows who is complying. There are 29 in Cincinnati, 14 in Cleveland, 20 in Columbus and 9 in Toledo.

SmokeFreeOhio, the coalition behind the anti-smoking campaign, says calling its action a ban is misleading "because our law does not ban smoking. SmokeFreeOhio just asks smokers to step outside for a few minutes to protect everyone's right to breathe clean indoor air."

In the court action, the cancer society contends it is legally eligible to intervene because it managed the statewide petition circulation effort that landed the issue on the ballot, and "provided hundreds of thousands of dollars in financial and in-kind contributions" to support the measure.

''Proposed intervenor's interest is in giving full effect to the Act as passed by the voters of Ohio,'' the petition filed with Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Judge Fred Nelson says. ''Proposed intervenors are also clearly so situated that disposition of the action may, as a practical matter, impair or impede their ability to protect that interest given that a ruling by the court could prevent the enacted law from going into effect as written, or at all."

The petition added that the Ohio Department of Health, which is responsible for administering the smoking ban, ''may or may not raise all of the same arguments against this action that proposed intervenor will raise."

Nelson has approved a consent decree that blocks enforcement of the law until rules are drawn up. The case is Buckeye Liquor Permit Holders Association et al v. Ohio Department of Health et al, Case No. A0610614. Donald J. McTigue and Mark A. McGinnis, of the McTigue Law Group in Columbus, represent the American Cancer Society.

Meanwhile, SmokeFreeOhio has compiled THIS LIST of businesses that are complying. It also urges supporters to patronize the businesses and leave these thanks cards
behind.

State health officials held a meeting in Columbus today and started preparing enforcement regulations, which may be out by early June.