NORWOOD — In the two days since Mayor Joe Hochbein was cleared in court of dishonesty charges, he has been considering ways to unify this polarized community and restore community confidence.

        Partisan “politics is out of the picture in my mind and there's a lot to accomplish in the next three years for the citizens of Norwood,” he said Thursday.

Hochbein

        His key goal: Unify the city and bring his critics and supporters together to work for the common good.

        “It's time to begin healing, for moving forward, for getting things accomplished,” he said.

        Mr. Hochbein was exonerated this week in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court on 14 counts of theft in office and falsification. One of the falsification counts was reduced to a misdemeanor count of illegal use of a taxpayer identification number, to which the mayor pleaded no contest. He was ordered to pay court costs of about $1,200.

        Mr. Hochbein spent Wednesday, his first day back in City Hall, visiting city departments to encourage employees to work together. The Republican, who's been mayor for five years, said he is considering retaining an independent consulting team to conduct a community forum to air issues.

        “It sounds like a good idea if we do something conducted by an independent consultant, but the people (attending the forum) need to be open-minded” said Jack Cameron, the city's projects coordinator, who was appointed by the mayor.

        Elected City Treasurer Tim Molony, chairman of the Norwood Democratic Party, said he sees a big challenge within City Hall as well as throughout the community.

        “There are a lot of angry, upset employees,” Mr. Molony said.

        Bill Montgomery, vice president of the Norwood Democratic Club, said he sees the forum as a way for Mr. Hochbein “to continue to build his political machine — get more people to support him.”

        “I might sit in on (the forum) to get a feel for it,” he said, “but I think it's impossible to build bridges. He gave the city a black eye.”

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