The Enquirer

Setting the stage for a second ballot showdown over the Cincinnati streetcar, opponents have started circulating petitions for a proposed charter amendment to block City Hall from spending any money on the $128 million-plus project for the next 10 years.

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After years of acrimonious debate, the Cincinnati streetcar project is on track to finally become a tangible presence in 2011, with groundbreaking on the $128 million-plus system expected early this year. Not, though, if opponents get their way. Even as the city looks to hire a contractor to oversee construction of the Downtown-to-Uptown line - now expected to start by early spring - opponents hope to derail the project, if not before work begins, then shortly after it starts.

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Arguing that Campbell County Commissioner Dave Otto improperly spent his re-election campaign funds to advocate against a change of county government Nov. 2, supporters of the ballot initiative are filing a complaint with the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance. A mailer Otto’s re-election campaign paid for and mailed urges voters to “Vote No – Pete Garrett – Justice of the Peace Government.” Garrett is the Republican challenger who hopes to unseat Otto, an incumbent Democrat of 24 years.

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The first round in the battle over how to word a ballot measure that would require public votes before the city of Cincinnati spends any money on streetcars or other forms of passenger rail transit went to supporters of the proposed charter amendment Tuesday. After a lengthy debate and despite repeated requests from opponents to alter what voters will see on Nov. 3, City Council’s Rules Committee left untouched draft ballot language prepared by city attorneys that essentially repeats the wording used on petitions circulated to get the measure on the ballot.

The local NAACP plans to circulate petitions aimed at amending the charter next year to give voters the right to recall the city’s top elected official, arguing that Cincinnatians ought to be able to get rid of a mayor who is performing poorly long before he runs for re-election. For the Cincinnati NAACP, the recall issue will spawn a new round of ballot initiative activity even before voters decide on two other measures - proposed restrictions on a streetcar and future passenger-rail plans, and whether to sell the city waterworks - that it helped qualify for November’s ballot.

The Ohio Supreme Court has ruled against a gaming company’s attempt to get signatures for a rival company’s casino ballot measure thrown out. The Ohio Supreme Court ruled Friday that it would not require Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner to conduct an investigation or invalidate signatures the rival company says are fraudulent.

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Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory today said his trip to Portland for a look at that Oregon city’s streetcar system convinced him that a streetcar proposal is right and necessary for Cincinnati. Mallory led a local delegation to Portland, where it met with the mayor, transit staff, developers and business leaders. He said the streetcar system has produced great economic benefits along and near the route.