Published on March 8, 2010
Leslie Ghiz: Well, obviously the budget, and the issues that impact the pocketbooks of Hamilton County residents are major concerns facing us right now. People are concerned about their friends and neighbors and we have to get folks back to work. The level of unemployment in our area is unacceptable. But – safety is also critically important. All of the work we do to create jobs and get people back to work is for naught if people aren’t safe. I have focused my time on City Council on making sure every resident in Cincinnati is safe and now I want to do that on a broader scale, for the people of Hamilton County.
Steve Fritsch: Do you have any specific proposals for job creation?
Leslie Ghiz: Of course. One of the most important things we can do is support our small businesses. They’re the ones who hire employees and put people back to work. In most instances, government just needs to get out of the way and let the private sector do its thing.
If you look around throughout the county there are a ton of small businesses that are having problems right now or have gone belly up as a result of the economy. And some of those businesses probably could have hung on with a little bit of help, and it doesn’t mean financial help necessarily, but just someone to help them with the day-to-day that needs to be done and help put them in the right direction, or help them with grants. The Hamilton County Development Corporation does a lot of good work and we need to support their work.
Then there’s the casino which is anticipated to turn ground this year. I don’t know if that will happen, but I’m hoping that it will and it’s my hope that the casino will get up and running and that will provide a significant amount of jobs. And one of the things I will do is work with the developers to make sure they hire local people. The last thing we need is to bring in some outside companies to build the casino and hurt our local people looking for work.
Steve Fritsch: Well, one of the claims from the casino opponents last fall was that the developers would bring in workers from outside the state to build the casinos.
Leslie Ghiz: Right. That was one of the arguments made that they will bring in outside people to build it. I don’t think that’s their intent. There are plenty of able-bodied people here that can do it.
We just have to support development. We cannot be against development. We have to do away with red tape and make it as easy as possible for people to business in this area and we have to go out and look at other areas besides just downtown. We have to look at some of the outlying areas, in particular where there is a little more land than we have downtown.
Steve Fritsch: Many former county commissioners have first been on Cincinnati City Council. Do you see that as an advantage were you to be elected county commissioner? What kind of relationship do the county commissioners have with city council? Do they often work together?
Leslie Ghiz: That’s a good question, and I get asked that a lot. This will be my third term on council and I’m honored to do the work I do on behalf of city residents. Given where I’m coming from, of course I think it’s an advantage to have had the experiences I’ve had on Council – especially in dealing with tight budgets, and public safety challenges – and I’m ready to put that experience to work at the county level.
But representing the city of Cincinnati, of course, it prepares you. You’re dealing with the most concentrated poverty. You wrestle with how to address that on a day-to-day basis. You’re confronted with a $51 million deficit, so you learn how to put together budgets – and how to ask tough questions. In particular with me, the four years that I have been on council, I have dissected budget after budget. I have put countless hours into budgeting.
Regarding city and county cooperation: you have to have it. The way things are going today you have to have shared services; you have to have more of a give and take between the county and the city. It can’t be “ours” and “theirs,” and a lot of times people on City Council are very guilty of that way of thinking. In particular with my public safety stances, when I’ve tried to help the county—because it ultimately helps the city—I’ve gotten laid out by people on council [who say], “It’s the county’s job, it’s not the city’s job.” You absolutely have to work with City Council. And the hope is—when I get to commission—is that you have people on City Council who have like minds and are smart enough to know you have to work together. It can’t be one against the other. We go hand-in-hand right now. There are too many projects together currently.
Steve Fritsch: When we look at cities and counties across the country, the successful ones seem to have a consistent winning formula. They have lower tax rates, they are business-friendly, and they attract educated and skilled workers. Having said that, every county is also unique and has different problems to address. How can the county commissioners help make Hamilton County one of the top counties in America? Is it a realistic goal?
Leslie Ghiz: It is a realistic goal. Hamilton County is phenomenal. We have a lot going on. We are frequently the pivotal point in elections. We are well known throughout the nation, just based on that alone. It all comes down to southwest Ohio. Political people often ask, “What’s going on in southwest Ohio?” That’s us. We’re the only game in town. So it is realistic. And county commissioners have to work to make sure our county is a place that’s not just know for being politically relevant, but for being a great place to live, work and play.
First we have to work at getting through the very difficult time we’re going through financially. Government has to do a better job of using tax money to support basic services. And obviously one of the services I think is most important – and what I will fight for as a commissioner – is making sure we protect our safety budget and that we don’t balance our budget on the backs of our safety personnel.
But we also have to make sure that the county is working to make this a place where businesses want to locate and hire workers. Our job as public leaders is to sell and we can do it, because we have so much to offer down here.
Steve Fritsch: You mentioned the jail issue and this question addresses that. Many Hamilton County Sheriff’s deputies acknowledge that a new jail needs to be built. Obviously, there have been differences among local leaders and the public on how exactly to make that happen. The jail tax was defeated, of course, last year, but the problem of housing inmates remains an issue. Do you think we need a new jail, and if so, can we do it without raising taxes?
Leslie Ghiz: We need to keep dangerous people locked up. Not everybody who is taking up space in our jails now are necessarily a menace to society. That’s why when the Sheriff said we had an overcrowding problem, I worked with him and other elected and community leaders to provide alternatives to housing non-violent offenders.
I led the fight on Council for electronic monitoring units to track non-violent offenders. I also proposed tent jails, or bubble jails, for medium and minimum-security prisoners to then free up the justice center for maximum-security prisoners.
Steve Fritsch: If I could ask one further question on this. Obviously, nationally and locally, there is an anti-tax sentiment in the air. But most citizens, regardless of their partisan nature, can accept their taxes going towards providing security and safety. At the same time, since they already feel overtaxed, they will often say to politicians, “Why can’t you cut out other things in the budget to pay for security issues instead of proposing more taxes?” Is it hard to balance overspending in one area—where perhaps government shouldn’t be—to pay for something essential like a jail, which most people want?
Leslie Ghiz: Sure, it’s tough. But making tough decisions is why we were elected and what voters have trusted us to do.
Safety-related expenditures make up about 70 percent of the county budget. I guess it would be easy to say times are tough so let’s cut there, but that’s not the answer. As I said before, I will not balance the budget on the backs of our safety personnel. The problem then is if you say, let’s stop spending here and take it over there and put it into the jail. Well, then you don’t have anybody to operate the jail. You don’t have anybody to process those people through. You don’t have judges and courtroom employees who can take care of justice properly and swiftly.
There is very little shock absorbency over there right now. People sometimes think you can stop spending in one place and then spend it on the jail, but you have to have prosecutors prosecuting these criminals. You have to have the courthouse run so judges can make decisions, and you have to have sheriff’s deputies to operate it.
The bottom line though is that government can and should do a better job of protecting you, your family and your tax money.
Steve Fritsch: So essentially the revenue [to build a new jail] has to come from somewhere. It has to come through either new taxes or its going to come through, perhaps, increased revenues from a casino or further economic development?
Leslie Ghiz: As the economy improves and county revenue forecasts improve, hopefully things will get better, but we will have to continue to prioritize. We all do it in our family budgets, and the government needs to do it with your tax money.
Steve Fritsch: Looking back at what the Democratic majority on the commission has done over the last few years, is there anything that they have done that you have really disagreed with? Something that people would never see a Greg Hartmann/Leslie Ghiz majority do?
Leslie Ghiz: The number one priority on a Hartmann/Ghiz led commission will be protecting your tax dollars. We will work to make sure every Hamilton County resident is safe and will work on putting our friends and neighbors back to work. I am really looking forward to working with Greg and retaking Republican control of the county commission.
Steve Fritsch: You’re first order of business in the quest to become a county commissioner is to win the GOP primary held on May 4. For those Republican voters who do not yet know who they will vote for, explain to them why they should vote for Leslie Ghiz?
Leslie Ghiz: Because I will fight every single day to protect your tax money and to keep you and your family safe. Tough times call for a tough candidate and I am that candidate. I’ve done it on Council and now I want to do it for you at the county level.
I believe the role of government is to provide basic services and to always work within our means without raising taxes. I believe the most important job of our government is keeping you and your family safe. Putting our friends, families and neighbors back to work is [also a part of] job number one. I will fight to keep jobs in Hamilton County and work to get our economy going again by supporting small business growth. And I share the values that are important to Hamilton county republican voters. I am pro-life, pro-business, anti-tax and I support the Second Amendment.
I signed, and am keeping a promise to voters to control spending. I authored “pay-as-you-go” legislation to identify funding sources for budget and spending items on Council. I have consistently supported the city property tax rollback and I will continue to do so at the county. I am the only member of Council who stood up and opposed the mayor’s bodyguard—I authored the motion to make the mayor pay for his bodyguard out of his budget. I led the fight to keep every police officer and firefighter on the street.
As I said, tough times call for a tough candidate, and you cannot find a stronger advocate for fiscal conservatism and for the people of this county than me.
Steve Fritsch: Finally, what can people do to help you become the next Hamilton County Commissioner?
Leslie Ghiz: Well first, of course, vote for me on May 4th. But also you can contribute to my campaign [c/o Friends of Leslie Ghiz, P.O. Box 161, Cincinnati, Ohio 45201]. They can host or attend a fundraiser or meet and greet. They can volunteer. They can display a yard sign in their yard, or put a bumper sticker on their car.
There are lots of opportunities to get involved – folks can go to leslieghiz.com to learn more, and I really appreciate all of the help and support I get – it’s been great.