During his first year on the Hamilton County Commission, Todd Portune has brought a little piece of Cincinnati City Hall to the staunchly Republican county offices on Court Street.

Todd Portune has wrapped up his first year as county commissioner. (Ernest Coleman photo) | ZOOM |

        With Mr. Portune on the commission, such routine business as an engineer's report on the amount of salt stored for county roads this winter is met with lists of questions — and the rolling eyes of his fellow commis sioners.

        Mr. Portune also routinely votes against moving commission meetings behind closed doors to discuss legal matters or land purchases.

        And commission meetings, which in the past may have taken an hour, sometimes drag on for three times as long as debate and speeches gobble up the minutes.

        Supporters say Mr. Portune, a lawyer from Westwood, has lived up to the campaign promises he made in 2000 when he unseated incumbent Republican Bob Bedinghaus to become the first Democrat elected to the county commission since 1964.

        Critics say county residents got the Todd Portune the Republican Party warned them about.

        Either way, the former four-term Cincinnati City Council member's influence on the commission has been undeniable.

        “Todd is a quick learner and a long talker,” said Republican Commissioner Tom Neyer, who has sometimes been unable to mask his annoyance with Mr. Portune's questions and comments during meetings.

        “Todd and I clearly have different styles,” Mr. Neyer said. “He definitely has a greater need to discuss things than I do. But the fact that I side with Todd sometimes would seem to confirm my belief that he has some good ideas.”

        But sometimes Mr. Portune is out there by himself. A recent request to all three commissioners for a letter to the Department of Justice requesting a federal investigation of a Cincinnati police officer produced one letter — from Mr. Portune's office.

        Mr. Portune has continually asked for a renegotiation of the generous lease allowing the Cincinnati Bengals to play at Paul Brown Stadium, to no avail. He stood alone in wanting to halt payments for construction overruns at the stadium.

        And he was unable to convince the commission to begin talks with the Reds that would stop construction of the Great American Ball Park and keep the team in Cinergy Field.

        Chip Gerhardt, vice chairman of the county's Republican Party, said Mr. Portune doesn't represent the views of most county residents and criticized him for his stances on the ballpark and overruns.

        “The county commission is a different place than City Hall,” Mr. Gerhardt said. “Halting construction and suggesting the Reds are better off playing in a half-deconstructed stadium — I'm not quite sure where that stuff comes from. Those are issues of contractual obligations.”

        Most of the commission votes are routine and unanimous — paying bills or approving sidewalk repairs and the like.

        But Mr. Portune's presence has meant a sharp increase in 2-1 votes.

        Gene Beaupre, a political science instructor at Xavier University who closely tracks local politics, said Mr. Portune has benefited from philosophical differences between the Republican commissioners — Mr. Neyer and John Dowlin.

        Those differences have allowed him to have some of his ideas adopted with 2-1 votes.

        “I expected Todd to be like a bull in a china shop, and he's been everything but,” said Mr. Beaupre. “He seems to be able to go to (Mr. Dowlin) on one issue and (Mr. Neyer) on another.

        “He learned that from his experience on City Council.”

        Mr. Portune said he's proud of the work he's done in the past year.

        “I think we ended up the year being more effective in getting more done than a lot of people expected or predicted,” Mr. Portune said.

        Other changes brought to the county by Mr. Portune include:

        • Televising the commission's staff meetings on Monday mornings.

        • A low-interest loan program for people wanting to remodel their homes.

        • Securing additional money for the county emergency communication center.

        Hamilton County Democratic Party co-chairman Tim Burke said Mr. Portune has done such a good job that it could help the party claim another seat on the commission come November. Mr. Neyer will not seek re-election.

        “Todd has performed marvelously well under the circumstances,” Mr. Burke said. “And he has demonstrated that Democrats on the county commission don't come with horns and a pitchfork.

        “I believe people across the political spectrum have liked what they have seen in Todd.”

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