Cincinnati City Council

The Cincinnati City Council is the lawmaking body of Cincinnati, Ohio. The nine-member city council is elected at-large in a single election in which each voter chooses nine candidates from the field. The nine top vote-getters win seats on the council for a two-year term.

Contents

• Cincinnati City Council Members
• Election results
• References

Until the charter of 1925, the council comprised 32 members—six elected at-large and 26 elected from single-member wards. The 1925 charter instituted the present nine-member council elected in a single non-partisan, at-large election. From 1925 to 1955, elections were under the single transferable vote form of proportional representation. The mayor was chosen by the council from among its members. In the 1970s, the system was changed so that the top vote-getter in the council election automatically became mayor. Starting in 2001, the mayor is chosen in a separate election.

Although the election officially is non-partisan, the three major parties (Democratic, Republican, and Charterite) endorse candidates in the race. Party designations, however, can be fluid. After the 1997 election, for example, Democrats Minette Cooper and Dwight Tillery formed a majority coalition on the council with Republicans Charlie Winburn, Phil Heimlich, and Jeanette Cissell.

There was a term limit of four two-year terms for council members. Now there is a term limit of two four-year terms for council members and the mayor.