Saturday, November 06, 1999
Ex-dissidents now elected to run Cleves
Goals: Less tax, better service
BY LEW MOORES
The Cincinnati Enquirer
CLEVES — A year ago all three were campaigning hard to dissolve this small village on the western edge of Hamilton County. Today, all three are at the forefront of village government.
And all three won their seats — including the mayor's — with an overwhelming vote.
Joe Whitton, making his first run for political office, clobbered the incumbent mayor, Harold Duncan, with more than 63 percent of the vote to Mr. Duncan's 22 percent.
Jeff Wullenweber, in his first run for office, handily won a seat on village council, as did Larry Loebker, who had been appointed to council in February and was making his first bid to hold on to the seat.
The three campaigned as a team, and by Mr. Wullen-
weber's estimate, they knocked on 500 doors during the campaign.
“We hope we're turning a page and writing a new chapter in the history of Cleves,” said Mr. Wullenweber.
All three emphasized during the campaign that they were not running to better effect the dissolution of the village.
“Not at all,” said Mr. Wullenweber. “That's not the wish of the people. They made that clear last year.”
Last November, the issue of whether the village should dis solve was rejected by Cleves voters, 58 percent to 42 percent.
But there was enough of a dissatisfaction vote with the way things were being run — and high taxes — that prompted the organizers of the dissolution campaign to get involved in the politics of this village of 2,300.
They ran for office, they explained, because they hope to be able to decrease the village tax rate, which they cite as among the highest in the county. They say they will also pay attention to what the residents want from local services.
“We're going to see what the village's strengths and weaknesses are,” said Mr. Wullenweber. “We want to get the community back involved in government. People were fed up with the good ol' boy syndrome here. We want to know: What are the goals that residents want? Should we focus on streets, on making services better, get rid of some services? We will do what the people want.”
Linda Bolton, the village clerk/treasurer who ran unopposed, said some have told her maybe it's a good thing that the village will try a different approach with new faces.
“There's some apprehension, some fear,” she said, but the numbers speak for themselves.
While some thought the election might break down to old residents vs. newer residents, all three candidates piled up huge numbers in all four precincts.
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