Cincinnati City Council member Reggie Harris is resigning to take a job with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Harris is in his second term in office and would have been up for re-election in 2025 along with the other eight members of City Council.
Harris told WVXU he will resign sometime within the next two weeks. Council member Meeka Owens will choose a replacement to finish his term through the end of next year.
Harris' new job will be deputy assistant secretary of economic development in the Department of Community Planning and Development.
"I will oversee over $7 billion in HUD-managed economic development and housing funds critical to communities across the country," Harris said in a statement. "Regardless of the outcome of the election in November, it is critical that these dollars that have been allocated by Congress get out the door and help thousands of Americans in a time when post-COVID housing insecurity is still the most important issue we face."
Before running for public office, Harris worked in affordable housing development and social work.
"I ran for Cincinnati City Council as a continuation of my lifelong commitment to public service, and accepting this role will continue that journey," Harris said.
Harris is chair of the Budget and Finance Committee. He led the effort, along with Mayor Aftab Pureval, to pass sweeping zoning reform through the Connected Communities ordinance.
RELATED: City Council approves sweeping zoning reform
"If we stick with the status quo, Cincinnati will be the next city that is completely unattainable to live in for working class Americans, and then the city will join other cities across the Midwest, in shrinking in population and economic opportunity," Harris told WVXU earlier this year.
Before the controversial Connected Communities measure, Harris joined then-Council member Liz Keating to promote an even more controversial density ordinance.
Harris initiated the Black Developers Conference to boost minority representation in housing production. He introduced several measures aimed at simplifying the process for developers to get approval and funding for affordable housing developments.
Who will take Harris' place?
At the beginning of each new term, council members must complete a "successor designation certificate," listing which council members would select a replacement should their council seat become vacant.
This process happened most recently when former Council member Greg Landsman was elected to Congress in Ohio's First District. Landsman's successor designee, Reggie Harris, chose Seth Walsh to take the council seat. Walsh went on to win the seat in the 2023 election.
Harris told WVXU he has strong opinions on what kind of person should replace him, pointing out that he is the only member of the LGBTQ community on council and is one of only two African American men.
"In addition to those things, what I think is absolutely important at this moment is this position being held by someone that is pro growth, pro inclusive growth, that they have an understanding of economic development, that they recognize that Cincinnati is poised and really at the beginning of a renaissance, and that we have to think big and bold and be strategic with our investments," Harris told WVXU.
Owens says she will consider input from Harris and other stakeholders like neighborhood, community, and business leaders. She says she's looking for someone on board with council's vision for the city.
"We're talking about transportation, climate goals, housing, building out a multimodal city, attracting and retaining talent, job creation, all of these things," Owens told WVXU. "You have to see yourself as a part of this big vision. You have to see yourself as someone who can come on Day One and insert [your] skills and abilities."
There's no set process for how Owens must choose a replacement; she says anyone interested should reach out to her Chief of Staff David Reeves at david.reeves@cincinnati-oh.gov or 513-352-3466.
She says there's no target date for a final decision, but she's aiming to choose a replacement sooner rather than later.
