By Gregory Korte
The Cincinnati Enquirer

ELECTION GUIDE

Election Guide 2003 Cincinnati.com provides an early look at the Nov. 4 vote with help on getting you registered, lists of area candidates and the latest campaign news. And there's more to come, including candidate profiles - as we get closer to Election Day.

The Charter Committee, Cincinnati's venerable third party and the architect of its city-manager form of government, has repeatedly been written off by the major parties over the past two decades.

And for good reason.

With two-term Councilman Jim Tarbell as its lone standard-bearer, the Charterites need new blood on City Council or they risk losing a voice in city government for the first time in seven decades.

"I feel very good about our slate," said Charter Committee president Michael Goldman.

Its three challengers - ages 25, 36 and 39 - could bring new vitality to a party that had become known as an aging dinosaur. They've raised an average of $49,866 - enough for a solid grassroots campaign and spotty airtime.

Charterites have especially high hopes for Christopher Smitherman, a 36-year-old political novice wooed by Democrats but endorsed by the Charter Committee.

He has two qualities that rarely go together in Cincinnati politics: he's African-American and has a six-figure campaign war chest. He's raised $101,021 as of Thursday's report.

Smitherman says he's the only candidate talking about racial reconciliation. He unequivocally supports the Collaborative Agreement on police reform and has criticized Democrats for spending more than $180,000 on the now-defunct Empire Theatre project.

Nick Spencer, 25, founded Cincinnati Tomorrow last year as an outlet for young professionals to get their issues on the city's agenda. Despite a late start on his campaign, he has emerged as a leading critic of the incumbent City Council's record on downtown development.

John Schlagetter, 39, is the only candidate with a 25-page written platform. He calls it "Cincinnati 2020: The Queen City Reinvented," and it lays out his plan for reversing the city's population decline of 3,000 people a year.

Meanwhile, no independent newcomer has won a seat on City Council since Wiley Craig in 1937.

Damon Lynch III is hoping to change that.

His name became a household word in Cincinnati following the 2001 riots. High-name recognition - even if some of it is negative - is key to winning in a 26-way race for nine seats. Lynch has run a surprisingly conventional campaign, lowering the volume on his anti-police rhetoric and focusing on neighborhood development.

E-mail gkorte@enquirer.com