Up to 28 candidates will appear on the November ballot for Cincinnati City Council.
Potential candidates were required to submit at least 500 signatures of registered city voters by Thursday, Aug. 21. The Board of Elections validates each signature, and it's common for as many as half of submitted signatures to be thrown out because the person doesn’t live in the city, isn’t registered to vote, or their signature cannot be confirmed.
Although 46 people pulled petitions, 16 did not submit by the deadline and two were determined to have insufficient signatures. As of Thursday afternoon, 25 candidates have filed sufficient signatures and three more are under review.
It's a large number of candidates for just nine seats, but the 2021 record of 35 candidates still stands.
How does Cincinnati's City Council election work?
There are nine City Council seats, and all are at-large. That means no districts, and all the candidates run against each other. The nine candidates with the most votes win a seat.
The race is nonpartisan, meaning the ballot does not say whether a candidate is a Democrat, Republican, Charterite, or independent.
However, the Hamilton County Democratic Party has endorsed a slate of nine candidates, the Charter Committee has endorsed five, and the Republican Party is likely to endorse a few candidates.
The Democratic sample ballot is particularly powerful. In the last City Council race in 2023, there were just 10 candidates for nine seats — and all nine winners were endorsed Democrats, pushing out then-incumbent Republican Liz Keating.
City Council terms are two years. This election cycle, the term is from Jan. 6, 2026 until Jan. 8, 2028.
Who is running for City Council?
Twenty-two candidates already have submitted enough signatures, including eight Democratic incumbents and one more endorsed Democrat. Council member Victoria Parks is not running for re-election.
- Anna Albi (Madisonville)
- Jeff Cramerding (Price Hill)
- Ryan James (West End)
- Mark Jeffreys (Clifton)
- Scotty Johnson (Mt. Airy)
- Jan-Michele Lemon Kearney (Avondale/North Avondale)
- Evan Nolan (Oakley)
- Meeka Owens (Avondale)
- Seth Walsh (Clifton)
James is the only one not currently serving on Council. This is Nolan's first election, since he was appointed to complete the term of former Council member Reggie Harris.
Only one other candidate sought the Democratic endorsement: Raffel Prophett of North Avondale, who has filed sufficient signatures.
The Charter Committee has endorsed five candidates; all have filed sufficient signatures:
- Laketa Cole (Bond Hill)
- Don Driehaus (West Price Hill)
- Steve Goodin (Clifton)
- Dawn Johnson (North Avondale)
- Aaron Weiner (Clifton)
Cole sat on Council as an elected Democrat from 2003-2011. Goodin served as an appointed Council member for about a year. He ran in the 2021 election as a Republican and failed to retain his seat.
Hamilton County Republican Party Chair Russell Mock said he expects the GOP will endorse “three to five” Council candidates before the end of August, but after the filing deadline. Linda Matthews of North Avondale, a longtime party activist and trustee at Central State University, is likely to be one of those endorsed Republican candidates.
Republicans are hoping to endorse two former Council members who picked up petitions very recently.
Christopher Smitherman previously won a seat on Council as an independent candidate, and he recently announced his plan to run again. The Hamilton County Republicans have publicly urged him to seek their endorsement this time around. He has submitted enough signatures to qualify for the ballot.
And, Republican Liz Keating picked up petitions just one week before the filing deadline. She told WVXU in a statement she collected around 1,700 signatures and submitted 999 (the limit is 1,000) on Aug. 21. They are still under BOE review. Keating was appointed to fill a vacancy in late 2020; she won a seat in the 2021 election, but lost in 2023.
Other candidates with enough signatures as of Aug. 15:
- Audricia Brooks (Paddock Hills)
- Jerry Corbett (Mt. Washington)
- Kevin Farmer (Avondale)
- Gary Favors (Avondale)
- Brandon Nixon (Westwood)
- Stephan Pryor (Over-the-Rhine)
- Donald Washington (Camp Washington)
Two other candidates have submitted petitions that are still under BOE review as of Aug. 21:
- Sol A. Kersey (has announced withdrawal from the race)
- Gwen Summers
You can see the most up-to-date list on the Board of Elections website at this link; click "November 2025 General Election - Candidates List."
Election information and deadlines
The deadline to register to vote in the November election is Oct. 6.
Early in-person voting begins Oct. 7. See a full schedule of early voting opportunities below.
The deadline to submit an absentee ballot application is Oct. 28.
Read more:
- Charter Committee makes endorsements in Cincinnati Council race
- Democrats endorse incumbents and one new name for Cincinnati Council
- Analysis: Could Council's recent development moves lead to a rebirth of Charter Committee?
- Cincinnati City Council members are elected at-large. Why attempts to change that have so far failed
