Mayor Charlie Luken on Thursday offered to meet with one of the boycott groups asking entertainers to avoid performing in Cincinnati.

        His overture came the same day that comedian Bill Cosby rejected the mayor's request to pay some of the plaintiffs' legal fees in the recently settled racial profiling lawsuit. Mr. Cosby canceled a Cincinnati appearance in honor of the boycott.

COSBY RESPONDS

Excerpts from a letter written by Bill Cosby's lawyer, John P. Schmitt, to Mayor Charlie Luken. He rejected Mr. Luken's request to pay some of the plaintiffs' legal fees in the racial profiling lawsuit.     “Mr. Cosby is particularly distressed that your request was made public in what can only be described as an inappropriate and heavy-handed attempt to pressure him into providing the requested funds.”     “... Mr. Cosby did not organize any boycott of your city and had no involvement in any litigation relating to racial issues in your city. His sole action was to make the personal judgment that the racial climate in Cincinnati at the time he was scheduled to perform in your city was such that he was uncomfortable performing as scheduled.” Mayor's answer:     “I only asked Mr. Cosby, who has caused hardship for hundreds of hard-working Cincinnatians and their families, to take a closer look, and help us as we move our city forward. I honestly thought he would be receptive, knowing his long history of success in our region. To this date, he has not returned a phone call, only dealt with the city through agents and lawyers.”

        Mr. Luken said he is offering to participate in proposed mediation talks between the Cincinnati Arts Association and the Coalition for a Just Cincinnati to settle lawsuits stemming from the cancellation of high-profile artists.

        He said the talks, proposed by the CAA, might find other common ground that could bring an end to the boycott.

        “I'd be willing to participate in mediation to see what issues we can flesh out,” said Mr. Luken, who as mayor is also a member of the CAA's board of directors. “I'm not sure what that will resolve since most of the demands are things we can't do or don't want to do.

        “But I'm willing to use the vehicle of the lawsuit as a forum for a mediation process.”

        Amanda Mayes, the coalition's action committee chairwoman, said she was troubled that the mayor had not attempted to contact the coalition directly.

        “If the mayor were sincere in any effort to come to a resolution or bring healing, he would have contacted us directly and we would not have to hear about it through the press,” Ms. Mayes said.

        “That leads me to be believe this is little more than public relations or some kind of ill-conceived idea to end the boycott.”

        The arts association, which oversees the Aronoff Center for the Arts, Music Hall and Memorial Hall, sued the coalition last month claiming the boycott group is interfering with legal contracts between the association and performers.

        In recent months, the coalition has persuaded Mr. Cosby, trumpeter Wynton Marsalis and singer Smokey Robinson to cancel shows in Cincinnati.

        The coalition alleges the CAA tried to intimidate it into silence with a threat of legal action.

        Given the successful negotiations that resulted from the collaborative process in the racial profiling lawsuit, mediation of the CAA's lawsuit could be the perfect way to find solutions to other problems in the community, Mr. Luken said.

        “My view is this is a way to talk and take the demands off the table and just have a discussion on whether there is common ground,” Mr. Luken said.

        Ms. Mayes said any discussion with the mayor must include all boycott partners, not just the coalition.

        Other groups are the Concerned Citizens for Justice, Cincinnati Black United Front and Stonewall Cincinnati.

        Mr. Cosby, meanwhile, “respectfully declined” the mayor's invitation to pay legal fees of plaintiffs in the racial profiling lawsuit.

        City officials agreed to help raise money for the lawyers representing the Black United Front and American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio rather than have taxpayers pick up the tab.

        “Mr. Cosby is particularly distressed that your request was made public in what can only be described as an inappropriate and heavy-handed attempt to pressure him into providing the requested funds,” Mr. Cosby's lawyer, John P. Schmitt, wrote in a letter to the mayor.

        Mr. Cosby also took issue with the mayor's statement that the decision not to perform “had a negative effect” on the city's image. The problem with the city's image, the lawyer wrote, is the underlying issues which precipitated the boycott.

        “Mr. Cosby did not organize any boycott of your city and had no involvement in any litigation relating to racial issues in your city. His sole action was to make the personal judgment that the racial climate in Cincinnati at the time he was scheduled to perform in your city was such that he was uncomfortable performing as scheduled.”

        Mr. Luken released the letter Thursday morning, along with a written statement.

        “I only asked Mr. Cosby, who has caused hardship for hundreds of hard-working Cincinnatians and their families, to take a closer look, and help us as we move our city forward,” he said.

        Mr. Luken had sent a similar fund-raising plea to actress Whoopi Goldberg, who has also honored the boycott. She has not responded.

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