Former Cincinnati city council member and vice mayor Jim Tarbell is running as a write-in candidate for county commissioner against Republican incumbent Chris Monzel.
Tarbell filed the required form and paid an $80 fee today to become a write-in candidate, according to Sally Krisel, deputy director of the Hamilton County Board of Elections.
Tim Burke, the chairman of the Hamilton County Democratic Party, said the party had nothing to do with Tarbell’s decision to run as a write-in candidate. Sean Patrick Feeney of College Hill is the party’s endorsed candidate and his name will be on the ballot.
By filing the paperwork, any votes cast for Tarbell in the November election will be counted, Krisel said.
Many Democrats and others were angered by the recent decision by Monzel and fellow Republican commissioner Greg Hartmann to place a quarter-cent sales tax on the November ballot to pay for repairs at Union Terminal. They wanted the ballot issue to include repairs for Music Hall as well.
Tarbell could not be reached for comment immediately.
