On the one hand, he's a useful guy to have at the county administration building. As the first Democrat on the commission since 1964, he represents city interests in a place where the suburbs rule.

        On the other hand, they say, he sometimes forgets he gave up his council seat to John Cranley when he packed up for East Court Street.

        The internecine tension came to the fore after last week's council meeting, at which Mr. Portune proposed an audit of city funds given to the bankrupt Huntington Meadows apartments.

        His appearance triggered an exchange of e-mails in which Democratic council members David Pepper and Alicia Reece told Mr. Portune he should put his money where his mouth is. The county, they said, should pony up $50,000 in relocation expenses for tenants ousted from the Bond Hill complex.

        Relocation isn't the issue, Mr. Portune responded. He questioned why city lawyers would agree to a foreclosure settlement that would force residents to leave by the end of August.

        “Why they would agree to the order given the known impact on families, disruption to school schedules and the inadequacy of the Fannie Mae relocation package, is a mystery to me,” he wrote.

        Mr. Portune said he thinks City Hall isn't used to county officials taking such an interest in city affairs, but that their constituents are his, too. And, he said, he's getting results.

        “Before I came to City Council, no one was requesting an audit,” Mr. Portune said. (He's half-right: Ms. Reece, vice mayor, asked for a “status report” of city incentives to the project last November.)

        Beam me up: What if Jim Traficant got elected to Cincinnati City Council?

        That's the question the Charter Committee of Greater Cincinnati is asking as it urges City Council to consider some changes to the city's constitution.

        The 76-year-old charter contains no provision for City Council to expel a wayward member, or even for voters to recall a council member who demonstrates he or she is unfit for public office.

        (Mr. Traficant, a former U.S. representative from Ohio, was convicted in April on bribery and racketeering charges.)

        Dawn Denno, the vice chairman of Charter's issues committee, said Charter isn't proposing any specific recall provision. State law requires a recall election if petitioners can gather the signatures of 15 percent of the voters in the last municipal election. It doesn't apply to charter cities such as Cincinnati.

        “Charter really doesn't have anybody we're after with this idea,” Ms. Denno said. “It's more of a good government thing. As we've been monkeying with the charter, some things just fall through the cracks.”

        City Hall reporter Gregory Korte can be reached at 768-8391 or e-mail gkorte@enquirer.com.
       

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