Before Cincinnati can hire the 75 police officers approved Wednesday Council, a newly elected council will have to find the money in the budget to pay for them.

        City Council's 5-4 vote to add more police means the debate over the additional police will now move from council chambers to the campaign trail.

        There, candidates are as divided on the issue as they are on the City Council.

        Republicans all favor more police; Charterites all oppose it. Democrats are split.

        Supporters say the additional officers is a common-sense solution to the crime problem.

        Even if the violent-rime wave that led to the idea seems to have subsided, there's still a perception by many Cincinnatians that they're unsafe on their own streets, supporters say.

        “Is this the fix to what ails our city? No, but it sends the message that we are serious about dealing with crime,” said Democrat Akiva Freeman.

        Mr. Freeman, an original supporter of the 75 additional officers, said the city should make special efforts to ensure all those 75 officers aren't “white, west side males.”

        Indeed, many African-American candidates have opposed the measure. They say hiring more officers — without fixing the fundamental problem with police-community relations — won't solve the crime problem.

        But sometimes, the opposition has come from unexpected places.

        When the original sponsor, John Cranley, first announced his proposal on the steps of City Hall Aug. 24, Democratic candidate David C. Crowley stood behind him in support.

        Now, Mr. Crowley said the proposal is “far too costly.”

        “What I did not realize was the budgetary impact,” he said. “I should have just said to John, "I'm not going to come out on it until I understand it better.'”

        Mr. Crowley said he recognizes the political risks in changing his mind.

        “It might be seen as backing away or being soft on crime, but I'm not going to pretend to be tough just for the sake of being tough,” he said.

        Charterite Jim Tarbell — one of only two incumbents endorsed by the Fraternal Order of Police — also opposes more police officers.

        He said the Police Division should do a better job of deploying the 1,100 officers it has now.

        “We have the ability to increase our street strength right now. If we add more police officers before we make the fundamental changes that need to be made, we've turned our backs on the problem,” Mr. Tarbell said.

        Independents Laketa Cole and Nate Livingston Jr. said that if the city can afford more than $4 million for more police officers, it can afford to maintain health benefits for city employees.

        Charterite John Schlagetter called the proposal “election year politicking at its worst,” and said Mr. Cranley's proposal would have been more credible had he surrounded himself with police officers instead of fellow Democrats.

        He said the money would be better spent on neighborhood development.

        After listening to other candidates criticize his plan at a candidates forum in College Hill last week, Mr. Cranley said safety must be a top priority if the city is going to move forward in other areas.

        “We need to get beyond this binary debate where either we do economic development or we have more police officers,” he said. “Unless we address crime in College Hill, you won't get anyone in that Kroger's store, or Shuller's Wigwam,” referring to the soon-to-be-vacant grocery and the vacant restaurant at Hamilton Avenue and North Bend Road.

        Both candidates for mayor, Charlie Luken and Courtis Fuller, have said they support the additional officers.

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