Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Interview with Tony Fischer, Democratic Candidate for Cincinnati City Council

Tony Fischer is a Democrat who is running for one of the nine seats on Cincinnati City Council. Fischer served two tours of combat in Iraq from 2005-2008 and has the endorsements of the Hamilton County Democratic Party, the Cincinnati AFL-CIO Labor Council, the Cincinnati Women's Political Caucus, and the Miami Group of the Sierra Club. You can read more about Fischer at his website by clicking here.

CB: What is your position on ordinance 910-23, Cincinnati’s “anti-marijuana ordinance”? Should it stay on the books, or be repealed—and why?

TF: Jail space should be primarily utilized for violent offenders. That would be my primary goal in determining punishments the city has authority to consider.

CB: On your campaign page, you say you want to "Make targeted infrastructure investments to leverage Cincinnati’s physical position and transportation connections." What's the latest on the Queensgate terminal project, and how does that fit with your platform point above?

TF: We have to be concerned about any liabilities the city has outstanding. There are presently many active working terminals on both the east and west sides of the river. The statement I made was primarily focused towards the need to make local investments so that we can take advantage of new high-speed rail projects, specifically the 3-C corridor and the Midwest regional rail initiative. Cincinnati can not be bypassed by these projects.

CB: What is your position on the debate between how to define "basic services"? Are swimming pools, rec centers, and other human services "basic"? Please explain.

TF: Basic services that people expect from their city are public safety, transportation repair and maintenance, water and sewer services, garbage collection, public health, and parks and recreation. Basic services means not that we have a little bit of each service but that the services that are offered are effective.

CB: Do you support the local NAACP’s frequent petition drives, or do you think that organization is abusing City government? Please explain.

TF: Individuals and citizen groups have a right to circulate petitions to amend the charter by popular vote. That is a basic feature of American government on the state and local level.

CB: GOP Mayoral Candidate Brad Wenstrup wants undercover outside agents to spy on Cincinnati police to monitor their behavior. Do you think this a good idea? Why or why not?

No, I do not think this is a good idea. There is currently both an internal investigations section and the Citizens Complaint Authority to handle questions about police behavior.

CB: On your campaign page, you say you want to "Coordinate with neighboring rural areas to develop markets for local products and maintain healthy food sources for our citizens." Can you explain how this fits with your role as Councilmember? Please be specific.

The city owns Findlay Market, so it has been its business to "coordinate with neighboring rural areas to develop markets for local products and maintain healthy food sources for our citizens" for over 100 years. I think it is important for many of our neighborhoods that don't have a full service grocery (e.g. Avondale, as well as others) to have access to healthy and fresh fruits and vegetables.

Wouldn't form-based codes make it more difficult for neighborhoods to protest certain kinds of development from entering their areas? Please explain?

It is important that our neighborhoods function as centers of business as well as residential areas. It is much better to have neighborhoods that serve multiple functions than a single function. That single use suburban style development is not sustainable.

CB: Would you support the implementation of a Domestic Partnership registry for the City of Cincinnati, as has been done in places like Toledo and Cleveland? Why or why not?

TF: Yes, because it is the right thing to do.

This interview is cross posted here.

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