Young professionals add new voice to Cincinnati City Council

CINCINNATI - As Dave Knox reviewed the results of Tuesday’s Cincinnati City Council race, he smiled broadly.

“It’s not a changing of the guard,” he said. “We’re seeing a new generation get involved.”

Three new members under the age of 33 were chosen by voters – councilmembers-elect close to the ages of his co-workers.

P.G. Sittenfeld, 27, Chris Seelbach, 31, and Yvette Simpson, 33, are all Democrats who will serve their first term beginning Dec. 1.

Knox, 31, is Chief Marketing Officer for Rockfish Digital Innovation Partners in Mount Adams. He formerly worked for Procter & Gamble and founded the digital startup incubator The Brandery.

“City Council having a makeup of Gen-Y will understand what we can do here and what we can bring in,” he said. “We’re excited about it.”

Sittenfeld, who placed second in his first try for public office, said the main thing he can do to assist young professionals is try to help create a better business environment.

“You have safe, clean, vibrant neighborhoods. You have a tax structure that allows businesses to say this is an attractive place to be here. You have a healthy relationship with your school system,” he said. “If you do those things, it makes it an attractive place to do business.”

Knox added he hopes council includes a sense of urgency to get things done.

“In a digital world, things are changing rapidly and we need a council and an environment that’s going to support moving quickly, making change happen and not discussing and debating for a year,” he said.

The fourth new councilmember elected was Christopher Smitherman, 44, an Independent who stepped down as head of the Cincinnati Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to run for council.

The Bond Hill financial planner and father of five said the biggest challenge facing the new assembly is the projected multi-million dollar deficit for the city.

He said his financial background can help in that process.

Regarding young professionals, Smitherman said it’s good they will be an additional voice at City Hall. However, he said the majority of people that live in Cincinnati come to the Queen City because it’s a great place to raise their children.

Smitherman said he believes council should focus on small businesses to drive economic growth.

“We’ve got to knock on doors and thank these institutions, those small businesses that have decided to remain in the City of Cincinnati and make sure that they’re well taken care of,” he said. “Then, put some type of economic structure together, not just for the Procter & Gambles, who we love and respect, but also those Mom and Pop stores that also need support.”

The unofficial order of finish from Tuesday’s election was…

1) Roxanne Qualls (Charterite/Democrat)
2) P.G. Sittenfeld (Democrat)
3) Charlie Winburn (Republican)
4) Cecil Thomas (Democrat)
5) Wendell Young (Democrat)
6) Yvette Simpson (Democrat)
7) Laure Quinlivan (Democrat)
8) Christopher Smitherman (Independent)
9) Chris Seelbach (Democrat)

Seven of the nine are Democrats. Five are African-American. Seelbach is the first openly gay candidate elected to council.

Charterite Chris Bortz and Republicans Leslie Ghiz, Wayne Lippert and Amy Murray – all incumbents – were voted out of office.

Hamilton County Republican Party Chairman Alex Triantafilou acknowledged voters decided the city should go in a new direction.

However, he said the strong Democratic Party showing for the council race was due in large part to support for the repeal of Senate Bill 5 – something that won’t exist in the 2013 race.

Now, he said it’s time to regroup, wait and watch the new council in action.

“We’ll be ready to field a strong slate if this council does what we think they’ll do, which is raise your property taxes, perhaps put a tax on stock options and build a wasteful streetcar,” he said. “So, if this City Council moves forward with that program we certainly know that we’ll have something to talk about in two years.”

The 2013 election will feature a race for Cincinnati City Council and Mayor of Cincinnati.