With the start of 2022 comes the start of a new political term for the Cincinnati City Council. Jeff Cramerding, Reggie Harris, Mark Jeffreys, Scotty Johnson, Meeka Owens and Victoria Parks were sworn in alongside incumbents Jan-Michele Lemon Kearney, Liz Keating, Greg Landsman—as well as newly-elected Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval—on January 4, 2022.
We asked new and returning city council members to share their goals for the new term and plans for the coming year. We also asked them about the importance of Uptown to Cincinnati and how the area factors into the goals. Here is what we learned.
What are you most excited about as a new or returning council member?
Jeff Cramerding: I am excited to work with my fellow council members to increase connectivity in our city. I am very passionate about connecting our citizens to our community assets, including linking children and the elderly to our parks and recreation facilities.
Reggie Harris: I am most excited to create a new culture in city hall, especially as it pertains to affordable housing. We are excited to be proactive, intentional, and visionary in planning out the next 15 or 25 years and ensuring the exciting growth we see is as equitable and fair as possible. I am thrilled to be part of optimizing our processes and becoming more efficient while ultimately putting people over paperwork and centering the voices of those impacted most by issues.
Mark Jeffreys: As a new council member, I am most excited about the opportunity to serve the city that I have called home for 20 years. It is an honor to represent the constituents who also share in calling Cincinnati home. This city has tremendous potential and I look forward to contributing to its growth and sustainability the best way I can.
Scotty Johnson: I’m most excited about the opportunity to change how things have been done here at city hall. Doing things differently, prayerfully will get different results.
Liz Keating: I am most excited about bringing all the community partners together to tackle city problems. We live in a community full of such great minds, innovators and entrepreneurs and I am excited to continue to bring those groups together to brainstorm effective solutions for the problems our city is facing.
Vice Mayor Jan-Michele Lemon Kearney: I am most excited about moving our city forward with increasing affordable homeownership to create generational wealth, building opportunities for minority-owned, women-owned, and small businesses, especially developers, and creating more resources for our youth so that they see their futures are important to all of us.
Greg Landsman: Cincinnati's 2022 City Council is made up of nine people fully committed to a healthy culture of respect, collective growth, and effective governance. I'm so excited to welcome local leaders––like the folks at Uptown Consortium––into that culture, and work on tackling the issues impacting our constituents. Together, we can problem-solve national issues, like our gun violence epidemic and the prenatal and mental health crises, and regional concerns like economic instability, housing resilience, and food insecurity. I truly believe we can, and will, deliver real results for those struggling in Cincinnati.
Meeka Owens: Hearing from constituents is one of the most important duties of an elected official and is one of the roles I am most excited about as my term begins. Specifically, I look forward to turning meaningful conversations into practical solutions. As a member of the city council, I will work closely with community organizations and the people of Cincinnati to create solutions for the issues that matter most, especially when it comes to the climate and infrastructure. We all care about our city, and I believe in working together to uplift everyone and collaborating to create a vibrant economy and positive community. Our office phone number is (513)352-3466 and constituents should feel free to reach out about their concerns.
President Pro Tem Victoria Parks: As a new council member, I am most excited about being able to continue my public service work, and to make a difference in the life of fellow Cincinnatians.
What is your top goal or continued focus for Uptown?
Cramerding: I work at the University of Cincinnati. As a region, we need to do a better job of bridging the university to the surrounding neighborhoods. We need to connect all our major uptown institutions with bike lanes and mass transit. Joining uptown to downtown with an expanded streetcar route should be a top priority.
Harris: I would love to see a more connected Cincinnati. Uptown provides top-notch employment, recreation, housing, and more, and the better we can provide the infrastructure to promote that while making it accessible for all Cincinnatians and residents of the region, the better. As Cincinnati continues to grow, now is the time to plan accordingly so places like Uptown can keep their charm, walkability, and most importantly, diversity, for generations to come.
Jeffreys: My goal for Uptown is to help build a stronger and safer neighborhood. Promoting safety and accessibility within our neighborhoods are top priorities for me as a member of city council. Improving the walkability and infrastructure of our neighborhoods are key components in achieving that goal.
Johnson: My goal is to continue to provide opportunities for every citizen in the City of Cincinnati.
Keating: The continued development of the innovation district and economic impact and opportunity to problem solve. The impact from these partnerships can allow us to approach city problems with new thoughts, ideas, and solutions. It’s an opportunity to bring different neighborhood stakeholders together to solve problems in innovative ways.
Kearney: My focus with Uptown is to continue to be a partner in strengthening community engagement, job and housing opportunities for residents, and equity as Uptown continues as a catalyst for growth and innovation.
Landsman: Uptown represents the best of Cincinnati! Something that makes our city so special is all the incredible coalition-building between our local public and private-sector leaders. Council (and everyone at city hall) must commit to continuing to support these critical partnerships and play whatever role we can to ensure public-good projects focused on making our neighborhoods healthier, happier, and fairer, succeed. That is my focus.
Owens: My top goal for the Uptown community is to promote workforce development and strengthen the talent pipeline of the city. This means fostering community talent through job training opportunities and connecting the students from our world-class universities with the jobs and careers in Cincinnati. Quality jobs can change whole communities and fostering our local talent will enrich and enliven the many communities of Cincinnati.
In addition, I want to offer support for the small businesses that make Uptown such a vibrant community, especially as the city continues to confront and recover from the impacts of the pandemic. Focusing on the people in the community will help us create the best city for the current families and children to thrive, and a place that young people will want to have their own families in the future.
Parks: I would like Uptown to continue ensuring that minority populations in Avondale, Clifton, Corryville, University Heights and Mt. Auburn benefit from the revitalization of Uptown Cincinnati.
Leading the Charge in Uptown
At an Uptown Insights virtual forum with both candidates in October, Mayor Pureval stated his focus would be on creating neighborhoods “that are dense, that are diverse, that lean into the arts, that have good public transportation, that are walkable, that have bike lanes” as his vision for Uptown.
“This continued focus on Uptown from city council members—new and returning—is absolutely fantastic,” said Uptown Consortium, Inc. President and CEO Beth Robinson. “It goes to show the ongoing viability and progress that Uptown has made over the last several years. We plan to take that confidence in our mission and put it towards accomplishing our goals in 2022 and onward.”
With Uptown at the forefront of the city council’s mind, UCI is preparing for yet another triumphant year. For more information about the city council and to contact them, click here.