Candidate for
Council Member; City of Cincinnati

My philosophy is work together to set priorities and achieve greatness, embrace diversity and plan for the future.

I believe asking tough questions early pays off in the long run. I exposed waste of taxpayer money and mismanagement in Bengals Stadium construction in dozens of I-Team reports... which forced Hamilton County to make improvements in time for the next taxpayer-funded stadium project. The new Reds Stadium came in on time and in budget, a great result for taxpayers.

I appreciate leaders who aren't afraid to lead. After the riots in our City in 2001, I produced a documentary called "Visions of Vine Street" which proposed solutions to revitalizing what was then the most dilapidated and dangerous street in town. My documentary inspired Mayor Luken to make Vine Street his #1 priority, sparking action by City and government leaders that continues today. For 8 years, we have been working together to revitalize the heart of our city and I'm thrilled to see the successes. More than fifty million dollars has been invested on Vine Street, which has new homeowners and new businesses --new life. Violent crime is down more than 30% in OTR. One day it will be a tourist attraction.

My vision for Cincinnati is "Cleaner, Greener, Smarter"

Cleaner

I want clean water, clean air and a litter-free landscape.

Sounds simple, but it's really not. Every time it rains in Cincinnati, many sewers overflow directly into the Ohio River. We have polluted our river to the point we're now under a federal court order to clean it up. I think this is important, and have the political will to see it through. The Sierra Club has endorsed me.

Air quality in Cincinnati is also a concern. Asthma cases are plentiful in the Ohio River valley region. How many people do you know who claim they never had allergies until they moved to Cincinnati?

Finally, I hate litter. When I drive around Cincinnati and see plastic bottles and fast food wrappers littering roadsides and exit ramps, I cringe. Cigarette butts on the sidewalk +not acceptable. We will never be world class city unless we stop the littering here. I think we can make a difference.

I will push for a public education/public relations campaign to change people's behavior. Anyone 40 or older will remember the impact of the TV ad that aired nationally featuring the Native American Indian who walks along the road, sees litter and sheds a tear. Powerful stuff. We can do a lot as individuals. We can use recyclable bags to help do away with all the plastic that ends up in our dumps and along the roadway. We can also politely confront people we witness littering, asking them kindly to dispose of garbage properly. If they don't do it, we do it for them. It works...

Attending community council meetings around our city these past months, I've learned many citizens care deeply about this issue and participate every year in the Great American Cleanup. I'm even more impressed with everyday heroes like Paula Childress. At a recent council meeting in Lower Price Hill, she told me how she walks Neff street every day and picks up all the litter, not just what's in front of her home.

I am also in favor of tougher fines for littering. I will work with Keep Cincinnati Beautiful Director Linda Holterhoff to adopt some creative strategies working in other cities to combat litter.

Greener

As a City Council leader, I will continue efforts to make Cincinnati "green", creating more urban farms, community gardens, bike paths and green space. I will invest in alternative energy and other solutions to help us become more sustainable and environmentally-friendly.

We also have a great opportunity to market ourselves as a "green" leader because we are. Cincinnati has more LEED-certified buildings than most cities, thanks in great part to leadership by Governor Ted Strickland who decreed that all new public schools built in Ohio would be LEED-certified, environmentally friendly for students and teachers in the buildings.

Smarter

Watch over Taxpayer Money. The smartest thing we can do is use taxpayer's money wisely, eliminating wasteful spending so we can do the important things. I have great experience identifying waste of tax money through 13 years of investigative reporting for Channel 9's I-Team.

I researched and reported stories about wasteful spending in Newport, Norwood, Lawrenceburg, and Cincinnati, and through my reporting got positive changes for citizens. If you'd like to watch some of those reports, click on Laure's Videos on the homepage at http://www.LQReportingtoYou.com/

My experience as a watchdog for taxpayers will benefit citizens. If you liked me on the I-Team, you'll love me on City Council, and this time, I'll be reporting directly to you.

Promote the City. I believe we're a great city and should sell ourselves better to the rest of the world to create jobs, and bring new business and residents to Cincinnati. I'm uniquely qualified as a person with 20 years of professional reporting and public relations experience.

Because I have lived in other cities (New York, Washington DC, Nashville) I really appreciate what Cincinnati has to offer and can't wait to be in the City Council leadership position singing our praises.

Create Great Public Spaces. Every great city needs gathering spaces where we can interact with people who aren't from our same neighborhoods. I'm talking about the kind of place you want to take friends and family visiting from out of town to show them what a cool city you have.

Where do you go now? We have Fountain Square, which is much improved. But we need more great public spaces in Cincinnati. We need our own version of Newport on the Levee.

I will use my leadership skills to help ensure we create more great public spaces on the riverfront, in the new Riverfront Park, and in Washington Park across from Music Hall. I have a real passion for this stuff, and sent myself to New York City in 2007 for a training session by the nonprofit Project for Public Spaces.

Right now, I'm volunteering with others on local community councils to help create great public spaces in Mt. Lookout Square and in Columbia Square in Columbia Tusculum.

Bring Streetcars to Cincinnati for Economic Development, Transportation and the Environment.

I believe modern streetcars are a great investment in our future and will push to bring them to Cincinnati.

When I first heard about the plan more than a year ago, I wasn't sure if it was a good idea --or waste of taxpayer money, so I started investigating.

In Germany on a fellowship last summer, I interviewed numerous transportation officials and German citizens about streetcars, or trams, which are everywhere. Munich is currently expanding tram lines further outward into suburbs, because modern streetcars are efficient, environmentally-friendly and fast (up to 50 mph).

Once I became a candidate, I decided to invest in a trip to Portland, Oregon to see what streetcars have done for that city. Unbelievable! People walk around downtown Portland day and night. It's vibrant. Yes, they have grocery stores, dry cleaners, bars & restaurants.

Streetcar lines brought economic development, revitalizing neighborhood after neighborhood. Like Munich, Portland is expanding its streetcar lines to serve more areas.

We need streetcars to leap ahead in Cincinnati: To repopulate downtown, increase public transportation and help the environment.

To watch my in-depth report on streetcars, go to: http://www.LQReportingtoYou.com. It's on the homepage.