BY RICHELLE THOMPSON
The Cincinnati Enquirer
LEBANON -- City council chose a candidate with experience Monday to fill one of two open seats. By a 3-2 vote, council members selected Joseph McKenzie from a field of eight to fill the seat vacated by Mike Coyan earlier this month.
The vote comes after seven tumultuous months for city council members. During that time they've argued bitterly over a $5 million telecommunications project and the job performance of City Manager Richard Hayward.
Voters ousted former councilwoman Mary-Ann Cole on May 26 and replaced her with John McComb in the first recall election in the city's 196-year history.
Mayor James Hills then filed a racial discrimination suit against the city and, along with councilman Mark Flick, filed a lawsuit against fellow council members to prevent him from losing his post in a council reorganization. The court ruled in the mayor's favor this month.
Against this backdrop, the decision for a new council member was not easy.
The field also included activist Cathy Mick. She pleaded not guilty to a count of misdemeanor vehicular homicide last week. She was the driver in a two-car accident June 15 in which Joseph Brooks, 26, of Morrow, died.
Another candidate, James T. Reinhard, is Mr. McComb's brother-in-law. "Council has been extremely controversial," Vice Mayor Amy Brewer said Monday. "I wanted to move past controversy and to appoint someone on council who had some experience."
Mr. McKenzie, 63, was a council member from 1983 to 1987. Prior to that, he was a member of the city planning commission for 12 years.
He told council members Thursday during an interview session, "I've been through these development pressures before."
During his term on council, Mr. McKenzie said, the board rezoned the entire city to adjust the balance of single- and multifamily zoning and to add more industrial zones.
Mr. McKenzie said Monday he supports the telecommunications project and hopes to help council put aside past differences to work together.
Mrs. Brewer, Mr. McComb and Jack Hedges voted for Mr. McKenzie, while Mr. Mills voted for Ida Hawkins-Banks. Mr. Flick voted for Ronald Pandorf.
Council must still replace Councilman Gil Jarrard, who resigned June 23 for health reasons.
