Politics

Howard Wilkinson: Politics and More

0000017a-3b40-d913-abfe-bf44a4f90000Howard Wilkinson joined the WVXU news team as the politics reporter and columnist in April 2012 , after 30 years of covering local, state and national politics for The Cincinnati Enquirer. On this page, you will find his weekly column, Politically Speaking; the Monday morning political chats with News Director Maryanne Zeleznik and other news coverage by Wilkinson. A native of Dayton, Ohio, Wilkinson has covered every Ohio gubernatorial race since 1974, as well as 16 presidential nominating conventions. Along with politics, Wilkinson also covered the 2001 Cincinnati race riots, the Lucasville prison riot in 1993, the Air Canada plane crash at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport in 1983, and the 1997 Ohio River flooding. And, given his passion for baseball, you might even find some stories about the Cincinnati Reds here from time to time.

Mt. Healthy, St. Bernard Approve Levies, While Bethel Rejects Police Levy

91.7 WVXU | By Howard Wilkinson

Published August 4, 2015 at 9:13 PM EDT

Voters in Clermont County's village of Bethel rejected an additional tax levy for police protection Tuesday, while voters in Mount Healthy and Saint Bernard approved tax levy renewals.

Tuesday was a special election day in Ohio, but there were only three issues on the ballot in southwest Ohio.

Nearly 64 percent of the voters who showed up at polling places in Bethel voted against the 8 mill levy.

In Hamilton County, 84 percent of the voters in Mt. Healthy approved a 1.5 mill levy renewal for street repair and construction. In St. Bernard, nearly 57 percent of the voters approved a 7 mill renewal levy for current operating expenses.

There were only 12 issues on the ballot Tuesday, spread out across 11 of Ohio's 88 counties.