Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Cincy Council meeting filled with many goodbyes

Jay Hanselman
/
WVXU

Workers at Cincinnati City Hall are getting ready for a new mayor and council to take office Sunday.

The Cincinnati Council session Tuesday was the last for Mayor Mark Mallory, City Manager Milton Dohoney and Council members Roxanne Qualls, Laure Quinlivan and Pam Thomas.  Much of the meeting was devoted to goodbyes for each.

Mallory could not seek re-election this year because of term limits.  He spoke about his time in office.

“They’re some who will not like some of the things that I did, so what,” Mallory said.  “They’re some who will like a lot of things that I did, so what.  The question is, that I ask myself, is the city better off today than when I ran for Mayor.  Because that was my goal, to leave this place better than I found it.”

Qualls, who lost this year’s mayor’s race to John Cranley, said her reason for running for office the first time many years ago was to make Cincinnati a progressive city.

“That Cincinnati, a great city, needed to actually take control of its future and begin to really put in place, as it had in its past, progressive policies,” Qualls said.

Qualls also highlighted her work to bring form-based codes to the city's zoning system.  

Laure Quinlivan, who’s re-election attempt was unsuccessful, said her background as an investigative journalist guided her action on Council, which is to tell the truth.

“I know that politically some things I probably said and did are not as smart politically,” Quinlivan said.  “But I knew that I was here just to do what I think is best, no matter how long it lasted.”

City Manager Milton Dohoney will also be leaving as part of a separation agreement with the city's new Mayor.  Dohoney said he's enjoyed his time in the city and acknowledged there had been some difficult days.

“The staff know I’ve said this to them a million times, we need to be cautious but not timid,” Dohoney said.  “If we in our professional opinion believe that an idea should be advanced, we should advance it.  And we have to be mature enough to accept ‘no’ of the Council says ‘no.’  And they say ‘yes,’ then we’re all in on execution.”

It is not known who will be taking Dohoney's place as interim city manager.  Mayor-elect Cranley could make that announcement Wednesday.

The new mayor and city council will be sworn-in Sunday with two ceremonies, one at city hall in the morning and another at the Freedom Center in the afternoon.

Jay Hanselman brings more than 10 years experience as a news anchor and reporter to 91.7 WVXU. He came to WVXU from WNKU, where he hosted the local broadcast of All Things Considered. Hanselman has been recognized for his reporting by the Kentucky AP Broadcasters Association, the Ohio Society of Professional Journalists, and the Ohio AP Broadcasters.