Cincinnati's mayor is asking council to approve naming a new city manager. The position has been held by Paula Boggs Muething since June. Mayor John Cranley wants Boggs Muething to officially have the job. She says she's honored but admits she's not sure how long she'll have it.
"I think it is critical for a city manager and a mayor to have a close and good working relationship," she says. "I'm fortunate that the mayor and I have such a good working relationship, and I think it really depends on who the voters bring in to follow Mayor Cranley."
Cranley has about a year left in his second term and can't promise the next mayor will keep her on.
Cranley points out Boggs Muething came on in the middle of a pandemic, after protests sparked by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, and during a rise in gun violence in the city.
"It is incredibly difficult work. It has been the greatest challenge and the greatest opportunity of our lives. There is no one I'd rather do it with than Paula Boggs Muething and I have full faith in her," Cranley says.
Boggs Muething says crises inspire great ideas.
"The outdoor dining plans that the mayor put in place and we have been working very hard to continue have really enabled our restaurants to be successful in a way that many other cities have not been," she says. "I expect that kind of innovative thinking and resolve to continue."
Boggs Muething was the city solicitor before taking over as interim city manager whenPatrick Duhaney left to take a similar position in Virginia Beach, VA. She earned her law degree at the University of Cincinnati.
