Candidate for
Mayor; City of Cincinnati

Raised in Price Hill, I was infused with a deep faith and commitment to giving back at young age. Now my wife Dena and I are raising their son Joseph in the city committed to same ideals of hard work, service and faith. I am dedicated to moving Cincinnati forward so it becomes a center of opportunity and innovation. On City Council, I led a bi-partisan coalition that balanced the budget for 8 straight years, put more cops on the street, and prioritized basic services. I also put in place the Tax Increment Finance Districts that have made the revitalization of the Banks, Fountain Square, the Gateway Quarter, and Washington Park possible.

In the private sector, I developed the Incline District project in East Price Hill in the worst economy for real estate in 70 years, proving that redevelopment can work in all neighborhoods, not just downtown. As a lawyer at the firm of Keating Muething & Klekamp, PLL, I acted as legal counsel to such deals as the Vernon Manor conversion for Children's Hospital and the CityLink Social Service Center project in the West End, which is a faith-based comprehensive anti-poverty program sponsored largely by Crossroads Church.

My commitment to civil rights and equal opportunity match the values of our Queen City. I led the effort to ban racial profiling and was a lead negotiator for the historic Collaborative Agreement, which has done so much to improve race relations in the City. I also led the effort to pass the Hate Crimes Law after the murder of a person for their sexual orientation.

As the co-founder and former director of the Ohio Innocence Project -- which has exonerated 16 people through DNA testing + I built an organization by raising the necessary funds, hiring the right people, and working hard to bring justice to people who were wrongfully imprisoned.

I graduated from St. William's, St. Xavier High School and then went on to earn degrees from John Carroll University, Harvard Law School and Harvard Divinity School. I currently serve on the boards of the Freestore Foodbank, Mercy Hospital Foundation and the Jesuit Spiritual Center.