Cincinnati Post, October 21, 2003

By Howard H. Bond

Bond stressing jobs, economy, police relations, by Barry M. Horstman, Post Staff Reporter

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- By Barry M. Horstman Post staff reporter

One in a series of short profiles of candidates for Cincinnati City Council.

It's less exciting than it sounds, however -- but perhaps better suited to a Cincinnati City Council candidate.

At Playboy, Bond oversaw, not the photography, but the company's handling of fair employment and equal opportunity workforce cases. When he was hired, Playboy founder Hugh Hefner told him, Bond said, that he was "color blind."

"I told him, 'Hef, I want you to keep your eyes open,' " Bond recalled.

Around Playboy, that's probably not much of a problem.

As Bond surveys Cincinnati, the Democratic council candidate sees plenty of eye-catching problems that need attention.

A former Cincinnati school board member who has served on the Cincinnati Park Board since 1992, Bond has identified three top priorities: job creation and economic development, improving police-community relations and making neighborhoods cleaner and safer. The common thread that runs through all three, Bond says, is the need to raise expectations.

When he served on the school board from 1987-1991, "I felt we needed to raise everyone's level of expectation, including students, parents, teachers, administrators and the public in general," the 65-year-old North Avondale resident told the Hamilton County League of Women Voters.

"We still have the same issues in the city, and I will work to -- restore the city to the quality of life enjoyed in years gone by."

Managing director of The Phoenix Executech Group, an executive search firm, Bond says he would draw on his extensive business background -- which since the 1960s has included stints with major corporations such as Xerox, General Electric and Ford Motor Co. -- to devise economic development strategies.

"I know what can happen when you have the will to do things," Bond said. His shirtcuffs are embroidered with the words "Don Do," the nickname he acquired at Xerox when colleagues also jokingly called him "Godfather" in recognition of his many and varied accomplishments.

Among other things, Bond has called for summit meetings among business leaders, employees and others to identify economic opportunities. Bond also favors an initiative to provide part-time jobs to Cincinnati Public School students to help them develop a strong work ethic and become "more workforce ready."

City Hall also has a role to play, Bond says, in "value-building" in other areas such as litter reduction. Rather than increasing fines for littering, as the council did this summer, the purpose would be better served by providing incentives to groups that help to combat the problem.

"Fining people $1,000, which they don't have anyway, doesn't accomplish anything," he said. "I'd rather find ways to encourage people to do something positive."

Publication Date: 10-21-2003