Former Cincinnati mayor and congressman David Mann was snubbed by the Cincinnati Democratic Committee's nominating committee for an endorsement of his city council campaign, but he is not taking it lying down.
Mann sent a letter Friday to the full membership of the Cincinnati Democratic Committee (CDC), which will meet Saturday, May 4th at the Letter Carriers Hall in Northside to vote on the nominating committee's recommendations.
In the letter, Mann - who was a mayor in the 1980s and early 1990s and served one term in Congress - urged the CDC to ignore the recommendation of the nominating committee and give him an endorsement. He is running again this year for council, 20 years after he left that body to go to Congress.
"I am a proud, progressive Democrat who is very worried about the financial well-being of our city,'' Mann said.
"I ask to be endorsed as a Democrat as I have been throughout my career of 15 previous elections,'' Mann wrote.
Earlier this month, the 19-member nominating committee met after interviewing all the candidates and ended up endorsing the six incumbent Democrats on council and three first-time candidates - Greg Landsman, Michelle Dillingham and Shawn Butler, who is an aide to Cincinnati mayor Mark Mallory.
Only nine are endorsed because there are only nine seats on city council.
Mann, in his letter, questioned the process used by the nominating committee.
He said that after the incumbents were approved, there was a "straw vote" show of hands by the committee with only four candidates "having significant support" - Landsman, Dillingham, Butler and Mann.
Then, he said, signed ballots were distributed and he finished second among the non-incumbents.
"Incredibly, because some were not happy with the results and insisted on changes, the committee conducted yet another vote,'' Mann wrote. "This time, by a one vote margin, I dropped to fourth."
Mann told WVXU Friday that he will run for council with or without the party endorsement. He said he will attend the May 4th meeting and attempt to make his case.
The CDC is made up of about 185 elected precinct executives from around the city. Those who show up for the meeting will decide whether or not to accept the nominating committee's recommendations.