David Mann

Cincinnati City Council over-rode a mayoral veto of a ballot issue Thursday that would allow council to hold closed-door sessions under certain circumstances.

A Cincinnati council member said Wednesday any agreement between the city and Bird, the electric scooter company that launched here recently, should include language for the company to cover damages suffered by victims of misuse of the motorized scooters.

Updated: 3:20 p.m.

Cincinnati Council Wednesday set in motion a plan for investigating complaints of misconduct against City Manager Harry Black.

It quickly became evident that Black was not pleased with the process. 

Updated 3:15 p.m.

The unprecedented stand-off in Cincinnati City Hall continues over whether Cincinnati City Manager Harry Black stays or goes.

For Cincinnati Vice Mayor David Mann, the proclamation he presented Wednesday at City Hall was very personal. Mayor John Cranley honored Mann's mother, Faye, who will celebrate her 100th birthday Thursday.

A deeply-divided Cincinnati City Council committee will allow the full 9-member council to decide the fate of a proposed $650 million expansion of Children's Hospital Medical Center in Avondale.

Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley has used his veto power to fix what a council ordinance he believes would have resulted in a structurally unbalanced city budget.

On Wednesday, council voted 5-4 to reject a plan from City Manager Harry Black to boot cars with three or more unpaid parking tickets, a move that would have generated $600,000 for the city.

In Black's proposal, that money would be replaced with a $600,000 withdrawal from the urban development fund.

Newly-elected Cincinnati council member David Mann has held the mayor's office before, and now he will serve as new mayor John Cranley's vice mayor.

Cranley announced Mann as his vice mayor Monday afternoon in a press conference at Mann's downtown law office.

Mann served on council from 1974 to 1991, and had three years as mayor at a time when the mayor's office was mostly a ceremonial position.

Both Cranley and Mann are Democrats. Cranley said Mann is someone he can work well with.

One thing is certain in this year’s Cincinnati City Council election – there will be at least one new member taking office on Dec. 1.

Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls is running for mayor; and that opens her seat to one of the 13 challengers in a field of 21 candidates, which includes all eight incumbents.

Tuesday's mayoral primary election, with its record low turnout of 5.68 percent, has convinced former mayor and congressman David Mann that Cincinnati needs a new way of electing its mayor.

Mann, who is now running for city council with Democratic and Charter Committee endorsements, said that if he is elected, he will introduce a charter amendment that will replace the direct election of the mayor system that has been in place since 2001.

Now that the Cincinnati Democratic Committee has endorsed 10 Cincinnati City Council candidates, the trick for the party will be to let loyal Democrats know that they can only vote for nine of them.

“Yes, we need to develop a message on that,’’ said Hamilton County Democratic Party chairman Tim Burke said. “And, yes, it is a highly unusual situation.”

What happened was this:

Former Cincinnati mayor and congressman David Mann was snubbed by the Cincinnati Democratic Committee's nominating committee for an endorsement of his city council campaign, but he is not taking it lying down.

Mann sent a letter Friday to the full membership of the Cincinnati Democratic Committee (CDC), which will meet Saturday, May 4th at the Letter Carriers Hall in Northside to vote on the nominating committee's recommendations.