The Cincinnati Charter Committee is kicking off its 100th anniversary celebration with an event Saturday. The committee formed a hundred years ago to address widespread corruption in city politics, and voters approved the new charter in 1924.
"I think that most of the public doesn't know anything about charter — they don't recognize it as their constitution, they don't know that they have a voice in government if they want it," said Dot Christenson, director for the centennial project. "And so a big goal is to educate them about city government."
WVXU Senior Political Analyst Howard Wilkinson says the city owes the Charter Committee a debt of gratitude.
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"A century ago, the original Charterites turned this city from a political cesspool run by corrupt and incompetent fools into a city with a clean government where a nine-member council set policy and a professional city manager ran the day-to-day operations of the city," Wilkinson wrote in his Politically Speaking column this week.
A monthly speaker series is scheduled for the rest of the year, including former councilmember David Pepper in September.
"We'll be talking about the importance of citizen involvement and what's happening nationally, because people have become sort of disinterested and not paid attention," Christenson said.
Other speakers include former Mayors David Mann and Roxanne Qualls, former councilmember Liz Keating, current City Manager Sheryl Long, and historian Dan Hurley.
Learn more on the group's website at chartercommittee.org.
Kickoff event
When: Saturday, June 29 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Where: Cincinnati Type & Print Museum, 2307 W 8th St.
