Cincinnati will get two new City Council members by the end of the year, even though no council seats were on the ballot Tuesday, after Councilwoman Meeka Owens won election as a Hamilton County commissioner and Councilman Seth Walsh won election as Ohio state treasurer, according to reporting by the Cincinnati Enquirer on Wednesday, Nov. 4.
Owens defeated Republican Jonathan Pearson with 60.9% of the vote, according to unofficial Hamilton County Board of Elections results reported by the Cincinnati Enquirer. Walsh won the treasurer’s race by about 50,000 votes out of 4.5 million tallied immediately after Election Day, the Enquirer reported, with a separate Enquirer report putting his share at 50.55% to Republican Jay Edwards’ 49.45%.
Because both winners must leave council to take their new offices, at least two of the nine council seats will turn over in the coming weeks. The Cincinnati Enquirer reported that more departures are possible as the incoming administration of Governor-elect Amy Acton fills key state positions with Democrats. Council seats are officially nonpartisan, but all nine current members are Democrats, according to the Enquirer.
Neither winner spelled out a timeline on Wednesday morning. Walsh told the Cincinnati Enquirer in a text message that he planned to release a statement later on Nov. 4 about his next steps, and Owens also told the Enquirer she planned to release a statement later in the day, without giving specifics on when she will step down or who will choose her successor. “With both Seth and myself, I mean, there’s, there’s moving pieces here,” Owens told the Cincinnati Enquirer. “So I, I really can’t say anything specific at this moment.”
The Cincinnati City Charter sets out how the vacancies will be filled, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer. As designations stand now, Owens’ successor would be chosen by either Councilman Evan Nolan or Walsh, while Walsh’s successor would be chosen by Owens — the designations each made when taking the oath for their current terms, the Enquirer reported. The charter allows members to change their designated chooser at any time, so those assignments could still shift.
Whoever makes each choice has 60 days to pick a new council member under the charter, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported, and each appointee will serve out the remainder of the term, which runs through the end of 2027. The council job pays $60,645 a year, according to the Enquirer. Nolan did not respond to a message seeking comment, the Enquirer reported.
Mid-term vacancies are familiar ground for this council, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer: Owens was the last member to choose a successor, picking Nolan in 2024 to replace Reggie Harris, who resigned to take a job in the Biden administration. What happens next is a pair of statements expected from Owens and Walsh, followed by their resignation dates and successor selections within the charter’s 60-day window — decisions that will reshape nearly a quarter of City Council without a single council race on the ballot.
Photo: Nheyob, CC BY-SA 3.0