The Hamilton County Democratic Party has been contacting its members and telling them not to sign the petition to demand a vote on the jail tax.  This pressure may explain the behavior of the two Democratic candidates for council I have asked so far to sign the petition.  Both were aware of the issues and privately expressed sympathy for the fact that the new jail plan would not remedy the root problems.  But both said that they had to consider the issue more thoroughly before they signed the petition.

Of course, the petition merely demands a vote by the citizens on the subject, nothing more.  Basically the position of the Democratic Party is that the voters cannot be trusted with the vote.  After all, they voted against the plan in November that was supported by Commissioners Heimlich, DeWine, and Todd Portune.  Somehow the recent e-mail from the Democratic Party neglects to mention that Commissioner Todd Portune also voted for and supported the November 2006 plan.

In fact, it is noteworthy that much of this e-mail is concerned with how the Democrats are much better jailors than Republicans, even though it is a matter of record that Commissioner Todd Portune voted for and supported the “Republican” plan of last November. Other points have been refuted already in The Cincinnati Beacon, which will continue to write on the subject.

Commissioner Pat DeWine, who also voted for and supported the previous plan, has said that the voters spoke, the contest wasn’t that close (57% to 43%), and the will of the voters should be respected.

I have also asked two Republican candidates so far to sign the petition.  One was Steven Pavelish, who signed.  The other was John Eby, who did not sign, saying that he thought the jail plan was worth supporting.  Even though I disagree with Mr. Eby, I respect the fact that his public position is the same as his private position.

Here is the text of the e-mail that The Cincinnati Beacon has obtained:

From: “Hamilton County Democratic Party”
Subject: Hamilton County Comprehensive Safety Plan

Dear

There has been much discussion over recent days about the decision of County Commissioners Todd Portune and David Pepper to enact the new Comprehensive Safety Plan.  This decision, while controversial among some, is a courageous choice to tackle a difficult problem with a well thought out and thorough solution.

There are some who believe this issue should have been presented to the voters as a ballot measure and are now soliciting petition signatures to do exactly that.  We urge voters to think carefully about the consequences of doing that and also to understand the value of what our Commissioners have done.  Democrats should stand behind our Commissioners and not support a costly and counter productive effort to place this issue on the November ballot.

Why?  Here are just a few of the reasons.

1. An Intelligent Approach to Justice —The Safety Plan enacted goes well beyond merely the provision of new jail space.  Much of it is directed at programs designed to reduce crime and to reduce the number (70%) of offenders who wind up returning to jail at some later date.  This is a huge improvement over past policies and should be supported as consistent with the values of the Democratic Party.  There should be more to a justice system than simply locking people up.

2.  Replacement of Inefficient and Inadequate Existing Jail Space—Nearly 2/3rds of the jail space to be constructed under the plan replaces very inadequate and possibly dangerous space now in use.  It also replaces space now being rented in Butler County at great cost and funded by a rainy day fund which is about to run out.  Its time to do the job right instead of using a patchwork of band aide solutions as the Republicans have done in the past. 

3. Honest Cost Efficiency - Unlike previous proposals (and other proposals now in circulation), the Commissioners’ plan is honest in that it includes both construction funds and operating funds.  Last year’s Heimlich/Dewine Plan provided no funds for operation, it financed construction through long term debt (leading to huge interest payments) and failed to consolidate multiple facilities leading to much higher long term operating costs.  In the long run, the newly enacted plan will save the taxpayers Hamilton County nearly $450 million that would eventually be spent otherwise.

4. Meeting The County’s Obligation - The County Commissioners do not decide who and how many people shall be housed in the County’s jails.  Those decisions are made by elected Judges and the City and County prosecutor’s offices.  Legally, the County is required by statute to provide adequate jail space.  If the County fails to provide the space needed to house offenders, the County Commissioners can and probably would be sued and in the end, a Court would order the County to construct new jail space.  The nature and configuration of that jail space would then be decided not by our Democratic Commissioners but by a Judge (probably Republican) and the County Sherriff who would bring the suit.  Refusing to fund the needed construction (as have Republicans for many years) will not prevent its construction.  It will simply shift the decision making to other parties.

5. $2 million per month, the cost of delay—Delaying the implementation of the Safety Plan by placing it on the ballot will cost Hamilton County taxpayers as much as $2 million per month, money which can be spent in much more productive ways.

Our County Commissioners’ have stepped up to the plate and made an intelligent and thoughtful decision as they were elected to do, a decision that can easily be misrepresented.  Such decisions deserve our support as a demonstration that good public policy will be supported by the voters.  To do otherwise supports the sort of bad decision making based on short term appearances that we have seen in the past.  It is time for a change in Hamilton County.

Much greater detail regarding the Safety Plan can be found here.  [Note: no link was provided in the copy obtained by The Beacon.]

Tim Burke, Chair, Hamilton County Democratic Party
Caleb Faux, Executive Director, Hamilton County Democratic Party

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