Posted by The Dean of Cincinnati

Dear Councilmember Bortz,

I saw your comment in today’s Enquirer in a story about the Streetcar:  “‘You’re building extra months and potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars for an election into the system,’ said Cincinnati City Councilman Chris Bortz, a leading streetcar proponent.”  Because you rightly recognize the waste in conducting unnecessary elections, I am writing to you now concerning the future of Cincinnati’s wasteful and unnecessary mayoral primary.

Just like the concern you articulated to the Enquirer, the pointless mayoral primary is an ongoing cost that the City will need to spend every four years—a cost at over half a million dollars.  The obscure primary, featuring very low voter turnout, accomplishes nothing in particular—especially compared to systems like Instant Runoff Voting.

Given our City’s tough economic times, will you take steps to give us a chance to end this wasteful system?  If we can’t stop the primary this cycle, we can look ahead to four years from now.  Any penny saved is a penny earned, right?

Thank you, in advance, for your consideration on this issue, and I look forward to studying your reply.

Respectfully,

[The Dean of Cincinnati]

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