League of Women Voters of the Cincinnati Area Education Fund
	Hamilton County, OH November 3, 2009 Election
	Candidates Answer Questions on the Issues Council Member; City of Blue Ash; Ward 3

The questions were prepared by the League of Women Voters of the Cincinnati Area and asked of all candidates for this office.     See below for questions on Qualification, Priorities, Economic, Rental property Click on a name for candidate information.   See also more information about this contest. 1. What are your Qualifications for Office? (50 word limit) Answer from Rick Bryan: In challenging times, the City needs experienced leadership. I have extensive public service as a retired Army Reserve Lt. Col. and 14 years on City Council including 2 terms each as Vice Mayor and Mayor. I also have 30 years business experience with P&G, Totes, Jergens/Kao and The Wellness Community. Answer from John P. Dillon: I have an intimate knowledge of the city due in large part to my work as a public utilities worker. I have vested interest in the city as a father of two small children who will attend Sycamore Schools. I am honest and hardworking, and have already begun to solicit concerns from ... (over word limit) 2. What plans do you have to address your top three priorities? (100 word limit) Answer from John P. Dillon: I plan to have open dialogue with my constituents both inside and outside of the council chambers, including but not limited to a regular newsletter publication and periodic office hours. Additionally, I plan to work to find a balance between residents, local businesses, and parks/recreation, including preserving the Verteran's Memorial in its current location. Answer from Rick Bryan: We need to keep Blue Ash moving forward in a fiscally responsible fashion. Work needs to continue on design and construction of the golf course club house, the transfer of the recently purchased portion of the Blue Ash airport property from Cincinnati to Blue Ash, and revitalization of downtown. On council I've been active moving these projects forward. Blue Ash residents passed Issue 15 by over 65%, which allowed for these wonderful investments in our quality of life, I and the rest of the current council have kept pressure on insuring they are completed. 3. What two actions would you promote to enhance city revenue or decrease city expenditures in order to balance the city budget, given the current economic conditions? (100 word limit) Answer from John P. Dillon: To enhance city revenue, I plan to take advantage of federal and state grants as they become available, and will work closely with the city manager to bring additional industry and jobs to the city. Additionally, I will encourage competitative bidding for city building projects. Answer from Rick Bryan: We are fortunate to have a large and healthy business community which largely funds the great amenities we enjoy and provides the revenue to maintain our infra structure in world class condition. 1) We have an aggressive Economic Development department which works to recruit new businesses and retain current businesses. The results are clear. While other governmental entities are in fiscal crisis, Blue Ash revenue through August is 98.6% of last year. 2) We are actively controlling costs by taking a fiscally responsible approach to salary increases, and looking for ways to reduce cost without curtailing services. 4. What steps should the local government take to ensure that the quality of rental property meets minimum legal standards? (100 word limit) Answer from John P. Dillon: I would work to enforce current guidelines, avoiding the redundancy of creating new quidelines. I would encourage background and credit checks on renters to ensure responsible tenants. Answer from Rick Bryan: Municipalities have to aggressively work to ensure the quality of rental and owner occupied properties. We do that in 2 ways: 1) Invest public money to maintain public infrastructure in all our neighborhoods. Through Blue Ash Revitalization we are also able to help properties owners who need short term help find the funds they need to keep their properties up to code. 2) We have vigorous enforcement of our building and property maintenance code. Importantly, the City tries hard to work with properties owners to insure all property is at or above code standards. Responses to questions asked of each candidate are reproduced as submitted to the League.  Candidates' statements are presented as submitted. Word limits apply for each question. Direct references to opponents are not permitted. The order of the candidates is random and changes daily. Candidates who did not respond are not listed on this page.