Cincinnati Mayor Charlie Luken said Thursday during the annual State of the City address that the indictments of two police officers in the death of an African-American man in their custody underscore the racial schism in the city.

        “Look at the responses,” he told a luncheon gathering of the Rotary Club of Cincinnati at the Omni Netherland Plaza Hotel. “You would think we're not even on the same planet.”

Mayor Charlie Luken delivers his State of the City address Thursday to the Rotary Club. (Michael E. Keating photo) | ZOOM |

        He said blacks and whites need to communicate better, and he called on community leaders, church groups and neighborhood groups to make the dialogue happen.

        “This doesn't mean just city hall,” the mayor said.

        Acknowledging the police chief's admission that officers have participated in racial profiling — detaining people because of skin color — Mr. Luken said the problems aren't going to be easily solved.

        “Ladies and gentlemen, that has got to stop,” he said. “That has got to stop.”

        The mayor's message resonated with audience member Denise Gaines, who said it was unusually frank for a politician.

        “I thought it was excellent the way he dealt with the racial issues,” she said after the speech. “With me being from the South, people aren't afraid to talk about issues. But here nobody talks about it, they just let it slide.”

        Ms. Gaines, who works for General Assembly Inc., a division of the

        Hamilton County Board of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities, said the mayor was upfront about the need to deal with a problem.

        “If we don't, we're going to be in a lot of trouble,” she said.

        The mayor also struck chords on other issues, particularly with an ambitious plan to start construction on 1,000 units of housing by this time next next year.

        “The future of our city is tied to one word: growth,” he said, adding that the city needs to reverse the trend of residents leaving.

        Doing that means investing in the urban core, he said.

        “There is a market in down town. There is a market in Over-the-Rhine,” Mr. Luken said. “There is a market to live in and around the center of the city.”

        Calling himself an optimist, Mr. Luken ticked off accomplishments in the past year, including cutting city expenses to make up for shortfalls in revenues.

        He also talked about lowering tax rates, better snow removal and the city's commitment to doing more street repairs.

        He did not mention that the street repair commitment came after officials discovered they'd been misled for years by city engineers about the number of streets being repaved and after $15 million for street rehabilitation was used to fund unapproved projects.

        He ended his speech on the same note last year's began: Cincinnati is a “beautiful town” that with a little help and restoration will be able to compete with other world-class cities.

        Sandi Kuehn, director of the Center for Chemical Addictions and Treatments in Cincinnati, said there was nothing Mr. Luken said that she didn't agree with.

        “I thought it was optimistic,” she said. “He's right. Generally, people are proud of Cincinnati.”

        Greg Bailes, director of sales for Holiday Inn, said the speech was “very forward thinking” and that the mayor packed a lot into 20 minutes. “I just liked his options for the city,” he said. “I think he's right about where the city's heading.”

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