One week into his job as the head of Cincinnati's third political party, Charter Committee President Michael Goldman has the attention of City Hall Democrats.

Councilman David Pepper, upset at Mr. Goldman's criticism of City Council's elimination of the Planning Department and the Office of Environmental Management in the 2003-04 budget, took out his frustration in an e-mail to Charterite colleague Jim Tarbell.

The Charterites, he said, should be team players. If things get too partisan, Mr. Pepper suggested, Democrats could start playing by Columbus rules - meaning that Democrats alone would control who gets committee chairmanships, which ordinances get voted on, and which pet projects get considered in the budget.

Mr. Tarbell, City Council's lone Charterite, joined all of his colleagues in voting for the budget. In return, as chairman of City Council's Arts & Culture committee, Mr. Tarbell will be responsible for doling out $4 million in capital arts funds, Mr. Pepper noted.

Mr. Tarbell shrugged off the criticism, saying he can work with council Democrats and still be true to his Charterite roots.

"I did vote for the budget as it was approved, and thought it was the best compromise possible," he said. "That doesn't mean I feel less strongly about Planning Department or OEM."

Empty court: What if they called a war on blight and nobody came?

That's what happened Monday when Hamilton County Municipal Judge Guy Gukenberger presided over the county's very first "housing docket."

After more than a year of the city lobbying, pleading and cajoling judges to establish a court to go after slum landlords and other neighborhood nuisances, city building inspectors and the solicitor's office failed to bring a single case.

That left Councilman Chris Monzel, who helped persuade his fellow Republican judges to go along, embarrassed and disappointed.

"We can't balk at this opportunity to have a huge impact on the quality of life of the city," he said.

The assistant city solicitor responsible for prosecuting housing cases, Marty McConnell, referred questions to his boss, City Prosecutor Ernie McAdams. He could not be reached for comment.

Don't you dare: City Council's 6-3 vote last August to kill the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program may not be the final word.

Police Chief Tom Streicher, in a three-page memo to City Council, made an impassioned plea to maintain the program. He said the oft-maligned drug education curriculum is being completely overhauled, and provides some of the best opportunities for officers and young people to "build trust and respect."

"Along with teachers, DARE officers often are the most positive role models many disadvantaged school children experience on a daily basis," his report said. "The reassignment of DARE officers to `active street duty' would result in a fraction-of-a-percent increase in street strength."

And unlike their predecessors, the city's two school superintendents - Alton Frailey of the Cincinnati Public Schools and Anne Bates Kirby, of the Catholic archdiocesan schools - are boosters of the program, Chief Streicher says.

Mr. Tarbell, who led the charge to kill DARE, said he'll reconsider - if the chief can find another way to put more cops on the streets.

Campaign trail: The first challenger out of the gate in the 2003 City Council race is John C. Connelly, a 31-year-old defense lawyer from Mount Washington.

Mr. Connelly, a former staffer for Sen. Mike DeWine, has set up a campaign office on East Seventh Street downtown.

"The reason I'm running is simple. I'm disgusted about what's happening to this city. It's a mess at City Hall, and it's a mess on the streets of Cincinnati," he said. "Ever since we started paying attention to these boycotters, we stopped paying attention to other people: the homeowners."

Watch for another Republican to announce early next week.

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