League of Women Voters of Ohio Education Fund
Hamilton County, OH September 13, 2005 Election
	David Pepper Answers Questions Candidate for Mayor; City of Cincinnati

Questions & Answers

1. What are your qualifications for office?

I'm not a career politician, but in my short time on Council, the Enquirer called me "one of council's most forceful and effective members." (10/26/03) My record of accomplishments includes: adding more police to the street while working to improve police-community relations, economic growth and reform, and improving our neighborhoods.

2. What plans do you have to address your top three priorities?

Safety + We must reclaim our historic place of being one of America's safest major cities. I have released a comprehensive plan, Reclaiming our Streets from Crime, http://davidpepper.com/images/new/public_safety_plan.pdf, detailing the key steps, including more police on the streets where the crime is, strategic policing and improved partnerships with citizens.

Youth Opportunities + Our youth are failing at far too high a rate. In my plan, Building a Path to Success for our Kids, http://davidpepper.com/images/YouthPlan.pdf I outline how the Mayor can help improve education and increase opportunities for youth

Economic Growth and Opportunity -- I have laid out a plan to 1) grow our economy and 2) ensure that we open up real opportunities for all of our citizens by connecting those citizens to good jobs, good education, and 21st century job training. Please review my plan, Growing the City Economy, Bridging the Economic Divide, at http://davidpepper.com/images/new/Economic_Plan.pdf

3. What steps would you take to ensure that all public facilities are accessible to people with disabilities?

I've been taking several steps to increase accessibility. I've worked for several months with The Inclusion Network, ACCESS and taxi cab owners to increase accessibility on taxi cabs. I also led a successful effort to improve signage in the city's Skywalk which points to the most accessible paths. I will continue to work with interested persons to increase accessibility throughout our City.

4. What specific steps will you take to expand recycling services in your community?

I am a strong recycling supporter. In fact, I brought the motion forward several years ago that pushed the administration to rethink the proposed cut to recycling, based on the experience of New York City--where they saw that cutting recycling actually cost more than it saved. At this point, the top thing we can do to expand recycling is to convince all citizens to take a recycling bin--meaning better marketing and public communication.

Keeping Cincinnati clean and environmentally conscious is very important to me both as a Councilman and as a private citizen. For more information, please review my neighborhoods plan Strengthening Cincinnati Neighborhoods, Making our Communities Safe, Clean, Livable http://davidpepper.com/pplan.php

5. What steps would you take to provide affordable housing for all residents of your community?

As Mayor, I will do everything in my power to increase homeownership and encourage the development and rehabilitation of high quality affordable, "workforce" and middle-class housing in Cincinnati. This is critical to stemming our city's population loss.

I will bring together many of the City's current housing programs to reduce blight and restore abandoned buildings and land for affordable housing developments.

Through the Mayor's appointments to the Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority Board, I will demand accountability and ensure that Cincinnati's public housing developments are worthy of the working families who inhabit them and contribute to the communities around them.