SWNID Issues Cincinnati Mayoral Endorsement

The much awaited SWNID endorsement in Cincinnati's mayoral primary is here.

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SWNID invites all its gentle readers who live in Cincinnati proper to vote in the upcoming mayoral primary for . . .

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State Senator Mark Mallory.

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Why does SWNID, a conservative Republican, endorse Mallory, a Democrat and widely identified as a liberal, endorsed at his announcement of candidacy by flaccidly ineffectual and intellectually bankrupt former mayor Roxanne Qualls?

Because of those running, he's the only one who offers what the city needs right now.

I submit the following:

• The other leading candidates are all members or former members of Cincinnati City Council. That alone disqualifies them as effective politicians. Cincinnati City Council has devolved over the last 25 years from a balanced, civic-minded, moderate force for social and economic improvement to a group of spoiled children rushing to get their faces in front of the TV cameras first.
• Mallory has a record in the Ohio Legislature distinguished by productivity and thoughtful cooperation. As a member of the minority party, he has nevertheless managed to work with members of the majority party to secure passage of legislation on which both sides could agree. In this he is following the tradition set by his father, William Mallory, Sr., a state representative of, I believe, 26 years' tenure, who was noted for his bipartisanship and gentlemanly demeanor. Mr. Mallory, Sr. has recently written in the Cincinnati Enquirer with eloquence and affection about his relationship with late Republican members of the Ohio Legislature who were his friends and co-sponsors of key legislation. In the Mallory family, the apples all have fallen very close to a very fine tree.
• Though ideologically liberal, Mallory's career has been marked by sensible moderation, not ideological rancor. As it happens, the issues Cincinnati faces are not matters that fall on either side of the present spectrum of political ideology. They are more about political, social and economic strategizing for improvement in the city's living conditions, and even more about building productive relationships with other levels of government and with the private sector.
• Mallory's priorities are priorities on which conservatives can agree: sensible public safety policies, neighborhood development, expanded home ownership, and protection from predatory lending practices, a real problem right now in Cincinnati.

Mallory himself summed up the choice in an early debate. Asked why people should vote for him and not for the others, he said that voters should speak with the people with whom he works in Columbus, then with those with whom the other candidates work in Cincinnati. That's the choice in sum. He's the only Mensch, and the only one with a record of accomplishment. Note the following about his major opponents:

• Vice Mayor Alicia Reece has done nothing of significance on City Council except to promote herself. She should be commended for not supporting the boycott, but not for posturing and preening on everything else. The essence of her appeal to voters can be summed up as: I deserve to be mayor, and if you don't think so, you're not being fair to me. The best we can hope for from her is more of the same--which is to say nothing--from the mayor's office.
• Charles Winburn is simply a joke. He did nothing as a City Council member except to stand outside alleged crack houses with a megaphone, shouting at drug dealers while the cameras rolled. Out of office thanks to the blessing of term limits, he led a comical campaign against Walnut Hills High School's principal, all based on fictional allegations and all prompted by his disappointment that his daughter struggled there academically. He says we should vote for him because he is the candidate who supports conservative family values (he said so today on my voicemail). Fine. But what does he offer by way of specifics? He'll stop crime (which, by the way, is down overall, not that Winburn will mention it) by building a new prison. And where will he get the money? Private donations! Can you see it? The Carl Lindner Family Center for Penal Hope. The Patricia Corbett Jailhouse Rock. Fifth Third Bank Debt-to-Society Center. The best that Winburn would do as mayor is make America forget about Marge Schott as Cincinnati's greatest buffoon. I say that he's pimping his Christian faith, and as a person of Christian faith, I resent it. We don't need a Republican version of Al Sharpton.
• David Pepper seems thoughtful enough. He's been traveling to other cities to see what works and what doesn't, rather like Chicago's superb mayor, Richard M. Daley. But Pepper has not managed in his terms on city council to emerge as a leader in any respect. All he does is get elected with lots of votes.

Now a personal observation, not decisive about Mallory's merits, but which I hope is of interest to our gentle readers. Mark Mallory has lived for nearly four years with his parents in the house across the street from the SWNID household. Mrs. SWNID, son and daughter of SWNID and I have found him and his parents to be friendly, gracious people. My only criticism is that Mark wears inappropriate clothes to rake leaves, namely wing tipped shoes, worsted wool slacks and French-cuffed shirts, albeit tieless and with sleeves rolled up. Challenged on the principle that one should wear old clothes to do yard work, he replied to SWNID, "But these are old clothes."

SWNID also insists, in the interests of full disclosure, that he does not endorse Mallory in hopes of getting better snow removal from his street. Having made such a remark to Mr. Mallory, Sr. awhile back, the remarkable gentleman reminded me that Cincinnati is not Chicago.

So in short, Mallory is a person who will build coalitions, establish consensus, bridge differences with respect and personal kindness, and build networks of people for civic improvement. That's what we need in a mayor right now: a competent executive, a uniter, not a divider. Cincinnati has alienated itself from surrounding suburbs, Hamilton County government, and the folks in Columbus. At this point, even Belgrade probably wouldn't agree to be a sister city with us. Mark Mallory can change that.

And now a word to my friends who are active in Republican Party politics in Hamilton County. You'd better pray hard that your scenario for Winburn's victory (carry Republicans plus some of Reece's and Mallory's African-American votes in the primary, then play the same card against Pepper in November to carry most of the African-American votes plus some of Pepper's west side support) doesn't pan out. If he's elected, the party will lose all credibility as soon as he's inaugurated and opens his mouth. And Cincinnati will be back in the late-night monologues.

But back to Mallory, with the Republicans still in mind. The party wanted judge Mark Painter to run. Painter would have been a serious candidate, appealing, with an excellent record and the ability to be an excellent mayor. But he refused, saying that his long friendship with the Mallory family made it impossible for him to consider running. That's as close as you'll get to a Republican endorsing a Democrat in this county.

Unless this is. Peter Bronson, seldom-wrong-but-never-in-doubt columnist for the Cincinnati Enquirer and a rabid conservative, is himself forced to admit that Mallory looks like the best qualified candidate. Bronson can only criticize Mallory's focus on "root causes" of crime, always an anathema to conservatives because of its philosophical roots in notion of humanity's inherent goodness. I likewise object to such talk, though maybe not as enthusiastically as Bronson. But Mr. Mallory is running for mayor, not prosecutor. Since the Hamilton County Prosecutor will be a Republican for the next 1000 years, maybe a Democrat mayor who wants to supplement prosecution with prevention is OK. Unemployment, poor schools and idle time for youth may not be the cause of crime, but they don't help anybody either. Furthermore, Mallory's Public Safety Plan is all about sensible programs that will put more resources in place to fight crime head-on. The only thing that resembles a liberal "root cause" program, a la Bill Clinton's infamous midnight basketball , is a boot camp for nonviolent juvenile offenders. A boot camp is not soft on crime!

So if there's a chapter of Republicans for Mallory, I'll join.