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Remembering Local Leaders Nathaniel Jones And Todd Portune

nathaniel jones todd portune
Courtesy of WCPO and the City of Cincinnati

Cincinnati lost two pillars of the community this weekend.

Todd Portune, one of the longest-serving Democrats in the city's history, died of cancer on Saturday. He was 61. Portune served in public office for 30 years on both City Council and county commission. Judge Nathaniel Jones, a relentless civil rights advocate, worked for 10 years as the NAACP's general counsel and served 23 years on the federal appeals court bench in Cincinnati. He died on Sunday morning at the age of 93, from congestive heart failure.

Joining Cincinnati Edition to discuss their lives and careers, spanning decades in public service, are Ohio Democratic Party Chairman David Pepper; University of Cincinnati College of Law Dean and Nippert Professor of Law Verna Williams; Miami University Department of Sociology and Gerontology Full-time Faculty Member and former Cincinnati Enquirer Reporter Mark Curnutte; WVXU Senior Political Analyst Howard Wilkinson; and WVXU City Hall Reporter Jay Hanselman.

Mark Curnutte has written a remembrance of Judge Nathaniel Jones for the Enquirer

Howard Wilkinson has written aremembrance of Todd Portune for WVXU.

Listen to Cincinnati Edition live at noon M-F. Audio for this segment will be uploaded after 4 p.m. ET.

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Maryanne Zeleznik is responsible for all news and public affairs programming at WVXU. She also hosts Morning Edition Monday through Friday.