Haters: Cincinnati Edition

Hello, my name is Jonathan Daniels, and I live in Cincinnati, Ohio. I was born here, raised here, educated here (well, I went to college at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, but that's close enough), and I live here.

I write today regarding my reactions (and other people's reactions) to the results of the recent local/state elections, and a sense of negativity that I've perceived for years in this city.

Yesterday (November 8) was election day; yes, I did vote. Locally, the election was a big surprise to many as four incumbents (all Republicans) were unseated and replaced with three Democrats and an former councilman (Christopher Smitherman) who ran as an independent candidate (Here's a link to an article regarding the election results).

The thing that's bothering me most with the elections is people's reactions. In the article that I read (which I've  provided a link for in the previous paragraph), there was an interview with Councilwoman Leslie Ghiz, who lost her bid for reelection. The article reported the following as her response:

Ghiz said she didn't feel particularly sad about the loss. She was relieved she wouldn't have to face a December of contentious budget battles. She did say she and her husband would put their North Avondale house up for sale Monday. They'd been waiting for the results to make a move.

Really??? That sounds like a really sore loser to me. More than that, it makes me believe that she wasn't really committed to her service to the city, but to the benefits of being on city council - $66K a year plus benefits, name recognition, and so forth. I'm compelled to put her in the category of being an opportunist; and now that the opportunity is passed, she will be moving on to different territory (the 'burbs).

Also, I read many of the comments that were left in response to the Enquirer's article; all I could do was put my head in my hands before logging off. The main gripes that were posted about the election were dealing with the fact that now that there were seven Democrats on council, that Cincinnati is going to become Detroit (I'm assuming those people are inferring that Cincinnati will be met with financial ruin). These commentators claimed that this new council will raise taxes, spend money that the city doesn't have, empower the "thugs" and other "have nots" of the city, and force the tax base out of the city.

Now, I was very disappointed in hearing that people would write such negative comments about their outlook on the future of our city, and that people were actually expressing a desire to just give up on the city and find a suburb to relocate to. We don't know for certain how these new council members will interact with each other, the mayor, and other city officials; in fact, the newly elected council persons won't even take office for another three weeks.
But, bigger than the election, bigger than local politics, is the issue of self-hatred in Cincinnati. Too often, I hear people be so negative about Cincinnati. Yes, there are many things that need improvement in Cincinnati - and the Number 1 area of improvement for Cincinnati is ATTITUDE.
People here have such an negative attitude in general, and don't even take time to appreciate the positive things about living in Cincinnati, and even living, in general. Cincinnati schools are continuously improving. Cincinnati has some of the most respectable schools in the nation (including my alma mater - Walnut Hills High School). Cincinnati has a unique cuisine (Cincinnati-style chili, Grippos, LaRosa's, etc). Cincinnati has some stunning river views and some awesome city and county parks. Downtown Cincinnati has one of the livest skylines one could ever drive up on. Cincinnati is one of the most centrally located cities in the country (you can reach most of America's major cities in less than 12 hours). Cincinnati is home to one of the livest churches in America - Anointed Word Fellowship (I know that was a shameless plug, but it's my blog - lol). I could continue, but I think I've made my point that there is much to celebrate in our city.
Yes, there are issues (financial issues, housing issues, employment issues, public safety issues). But, those are issues that can be improved and remedied. But, with the average Cincinnatian seeming to only desiring to expressing his/her sense of hopelessness and/or looking to escape to some suburb or other city, how can we really improve upon the issues and celebrate the great things going on?

I could write more on this issue, and there surely will be part 2 sometime in the future, but I just needed to get this out there. People in Cincinnati really need to seek God for hope and optimism. If we don't believe in Cincinnati, neither will others.

O'Dell Owens (Legacy, Part III)

I'm salty that the local "newspaper", The Cincinnati Enquirer, is trying to start some drama over O'Dell Owens. Dr. Owens is the Coroner of Hamilton County, and was recently selected to be the President of Cincinnati State Technical and Community College (here's a link to his bio). According to the article, he's currently serving on both capacities until after Election Day. What's newsworthy about that? Why aren't you covering some other news? And why are all these folks throwing shade in the comments section of the at Cincinnati.com???

I personally have admiration for Dr. Owens. That man has come up from humble beginnings in the West End, to getting a medical degree from Yale, and a job at Harvard, to coming back to Cincinnati and making his mark here. Whereas most intelligent, talented people leave this area, this man came back and is out here trying to make a difference. As coroner, he goes around to school and community groups to encourage and empower everyone in the Cincinnati community, especially youth. He uses his position as coroner to promote life and abundant life in a community where people seem to be anti-life at times, physically, mentally, and spiritually.

I feel that The Cincinnati Enquirer put this article out to try to create a scandal around Dr. Owens. He's been one of the few elected officials in the area that hasn't had any scandal/controversy about them. There are many people that have two jobs, and if he's getting two checks for two jobs, then so be it. So what they're both "government" jobs? He's doing two jobs, so he's supposed to get two checks! Most of those ding-a-lings on city council get two checks for two jobs, as being on city council is considered a part-time job and many of them hold positions with private companies (wish I could have a part-time job that pays $66k+ with benefits...). NO ONE is complaining about that situation, but folk want to throw shade over Dr. Owens getting two checks for two jobs??? It's political - Owens is the Democratic Hamiton County Coroner, and the conservative paper (and it's conservative readers) want to throw shade.

However, I don't think it's wise for Dr. Owens to have assumed the responsibilities of those two particular positions simultaneously. I'm wondering how much time he gets to spend on sleep and family, as I'm assuming that each of those positions - Hamilton County Coroner and College President - are VERY time consuming. Even though it's only for a season, it probably would've been wiser to hold off on accepting the Cincinnati State position until he felt comfortable in leaving the Coroner position.


The main reason this article caught my attention is because, with all that's going on in Cincinnati (being the 3rd poorest city in the nation, for example - blog on this is forthcoming), we need to be appreciative of positive people who are willing to use their time and talents to uplift the people and make Cincinnati a better place. Dr. Owens could've probably built a wonderful life for himself in New England, or in any other part of the country, and he would've been celebrated. But he comes back to Cincinnati and has great success in the medical field and in public service, and people want to hate on him.
I'm tired of the miserable people chasing away wonderful people from Cincinnati because of stupid reasons (political affiliation, economics, unwillingness to consider different ideas). I pray that Dr. Owens continue to work hard and not let the Enquirer and others that would like to use his situation to show out dissuade him from continued success.