Photo By Jymi Bolden

Councilman David Pepper joked about a Republican pol's interpretation of his poll.

Pollsters for Cincinnati City Councilman David Pepper, a Democratic candidate for mayor, happened to call State Rep. Tom Brinkman (R-Mount Lookout) to ask what he thought about certain politicians, including Brinkman himself. In an e-mail account of the polling questions, Brinkman said, "It sounded rather megalomaniac to me."

Pepper laughed off the insult.

"Tom may not have realized that I outsmarted him by purposely calling his home and asking him a lot of questions to fool him into thinking that's what I was doing," Pepper says. "I'm glad he fell for my little trap."

The poll included a list of proposals, such as a prescription drug benefit for all city residents and a mayoral takeover of the Cincinnati Public Schools, according to Brinkman. Pepper refused to go into detail about what he called "gross mischaracterizations" of poll questions.

"Let's just say the poll certainly talked about things that have been done in other cities that have worked," Pepper says. "This was not announcing the 'Pepper Plan' through a poll."

Pepper urged a reporter not to encourage certain conspiratorial factions of the local political scene.

"I feel like I'm Keyser Söze," he says. "Have you seen The Usual Suspects? I'm walking with a limp right now and I can outsmart -- except for Tom Brinkman and Nate Livingston. That's why I thought I'd plant this phone call into his house to throw him off track."

Five council members have offered revisions to Mayor Charlie Luken's proposed 2005/2006 budget, which proposes eliminating all spending on social services (see "All the News That Fits, page 14).

Councilman Christopher Smitherman would cap overtime spending at $10 million, $6 million less than the current level, and reduce the budget of council members, the mayor's office and the city manager's office by 20 percent. He'd cut the budgets of all city departments by 15 percent. Instead of cutting the human services budget entirely, Smitherman proposes cutting it 15 percent to just over $4 million.

"Cutting the human services budget by 100 percent will result in more calls for the police department that is already operating at capacity," he said.

Councilman David Crowley's budget motion would fully fund snow removal services and support "important social service programs" with $2 million annually. He'd also give community councils $10,000 each, as well as recruit more police. Crowley wants to pay for these by raising fines for parking violations -- from $14 to $30 for an expired meter, for instance -- and by instituting an electronic photo speed enforcement program.

Councilman Jim Tarbell wants to increase the admissions tax from 3 percent to 5.5 percent and hike property tax millage. His motion is the only one that restores the Arts Allocation Policy to .014 percent of the general fund. He'd also fund the Arts Consortium at $100,000.

Vice Mayor Alicia Reece and Councilwoman Laketa Cole propose restoring funding for three categories of human services: emergency food and shelter, protective services for the elderly and disabled and youth intervention programs.

Councilman Pat DeWine hasn't released his own budget version yet, but based on a Nov. 17 press release -- asking, "Would you rather see council members on television or have your street plowed?" -- you can bet CitiCable won't be funded in it.

They Hear the Voiceless
Community Shares of Greater Cincinnati honors four activists Sunday at the presentation of the McCrackin Peace & Justice Awards. Named for the late Rev. Maurice McCrackin, the awards recognize long-term commitment to a peaceful and just community. This year's recipients are:

· The Rev. Paula Jackson, rector of the Church of Our Savior Episcopal Church in Mount Auburn. The church advocates for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered persons and offers literacy education, outreach to Hispanic persons, an African-American women's support group and an HIV/AIDS support group.

· Jim Lowenburg, who brought local nonprofit leaders together to form Community Shares. He was a driving force of Cincinnati's Central American Task Force, raising funds for community-based efforts in Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala and helped found Peace Works.

· The Rev. Rodney Sutton, director of the Racial Justice Youth Ministry of Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. Once homeless himself, he works with the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless and is a tireless advocate for the rights and dignity of the homeless.

· Ruth "Cookie" Vogelpohl, who founded Our Daily Bread nearly 20 years ago. The ministry of hospitality serves residents of Over-the-Rhine and the West End, providing shelter for the homeless, food for the hungry and socialization for those who are alone.

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