Pro-Lawyer Charter Amendment

When councilmembers are grandstanding for the purpose of gaining attention, they often come with a shortsighted idea that they don't vet its effect in the long run. Leslie Ghiz is trying to get Cincinnati city council to approve a motion to put a charter amendment on the ballot in November that would reduce Cincinnati Council members salaries more than 50%.

So Ghiz is trying to scrimp and save a few more jobs, instead of pressuring the FOP for real concessions that will save all of the 138 jobs, OK, fine. She lacks the courage to stand up to the FOP. Fine, I get that, this is something Republicans generally do in this town (or rather don't do.)

Did she stop and think about who will be able run for council to do this so called "part-time" job in the future? Lawyers like her. That's about it. Who else but a person who does not need to work will be able to find a full time job that would allow them time to take off every Wednesday afternoon, not to mention time off for committee meetings or to do anything else? Well, lawyers like her can, and the wealthy can. So under Ghiz's plan we would all but insure that anyone going forward who is going to run for council will not be an average middle class person, because no one without wealth can sacrifice their livelihood to live on 27,000 a year, along with the headache and expense that comes with being a member of council. This means we would have a council who represent the upper-class or at best the upper-middle-class, looking to make it really big. I think it is in everyone's interest that we don't take steps toward making city council into a House of Lords.

I think instead of this type of shortsighted grandstanding, Leslie Ghiz should just give half of her own salary back to the city and then see can feel good about herself, use it as a campaign issue, but not limit the ability of the average citizen from being a council member and earning a fair salary to do a difficult and often thankless job.