Charter Party
Encyclopedia
The Charter Party of Cincinnati, Ohio
, United States
, is a minor political party
. The party is Cincinnati's third party. Members of this party are called "Charterites."
Republican reformers, led by members of the Republican Executive and Advisory Committee, then began the Cincinnatus Association. In 1923, Republican lawyer Murray Seasongood
became the leader of the reformers' successful anti-tax campaign.
The Cincinnatus Association then led to the formation of the Birdless Ballot League, which advocated nonpartisan
elections. (The term "birdless" referred to the use of the Republican eagle and Democratic rooster as party symbols on the ballot). In 1924, the Birdless Ballot League joined with other reformers to create the City Charter Committee.
The pre-1925 charter established a 32-member city council, six of whom were elected at-large. Only candidates nominated in a city-wide primary by the Republican and Democratic parties were eligible to run. In 1924, there were 31 Republicans and one Democrat on the council. Between 1913 and 1925, only five Democrats had managed to get elected to the council. The real power behind government was held by Hynicka's Republican Central Committee, comprising Republican ward and township captains, which held the real power in the Republican party, to the disadvantage of the Executive and Advisory Committee.
The new municipal charter enacted in 1925 as part of the Charterite movement established a Council-Manager form of government (abolishing the mayor-council system) and a civil service
bureaucracy to replace political patronage. The new charter, which created a nine-member council, also mandated nonpartisan
municipal elections and proportional representation
with preference-ranked voting.
With Democrats running on the Charter ticket, the first election following adoption of the council resulted in the election of six Charterites to the council. Democrat Ed Dixon
, who had won more votes than Seasongood, and, therefore, should automatically have become mayor
under the new charter, was persuaded to allow the leader of the reform movement become the first mayor under the new charter.
Although the Charter movement started with Republican reformers like Seasongood, the movement quickly became informally allied with the Democratic party against the Republican machine. Democratic candidates ran as Charterites. By the 1950s, Republicans fought the Charterites by plastering them with the label of socialism
. In 1957, the Republicans successfully overturned proportional representation. It is believed that this was done to prevent the election of Theodore M. Berry
as the city's first black
mayor.
In 1959, Democrats broke off from the Charterite coalition. Splitting the progressive vote with the Democrats throughout the 1960s, the Charterites barely survived the return of Republican rule, with Charles Phelps Taft II
its only elected official by 1961. In 1963, Berry joined Taft on the council.
In 1969, the Charterites joined with the Democrats in a formal coalition that successfully took control of city government in 1971. The coalition was led at times both by Charterites (Bobbie L. Sterne
and Charles Phelps Taft II
) and by Democrats (Tom Luken
and Jerry Springer
). From 1973, the two parties divided the two-year mayoral term into two one-year periods that alternated between them.
Tom Luken's son, Charlie Luken
ended the Democratic-Charterite coalition in 1985 when Arn Bortz was the only Charterite left on the council. In 1983 Marian Spencer
was the first African American female elected to Cincinnati City Council and served as Vice Mayor and as a member of the Charter Party for one term. Sterne, who lost her seat in 1985, made a comeback in 1987. Bortz left politics in 1988 to concentrate on business, but anointed as his successor the popular professional football player Reggie Williams
. Williams stayed for only two years. When Charterite Tyrone Yates
became a Democrat in preparation for running for the state legislature, Sterne found herself again the sole Charterite on the council. Term limits prevented Sterne from running again in 1999, so she resigned her seat in 1998 in favor of restaurateur Jim Tarbell
.
Over the years, Charterites pursued a number of liberal
and progressive
causes, including reducing pollution and establishing cost-of-living wage increases for municipal employees. The Charterites instituted the now-common requirement of maintaining a public inventory of municipal property. Another Charterite initiative that has spread throughout the country requires private employers to inform employees of the risks of handling hazardous materials, known as a right-to-know law.
The Charter Party reached its height of power in the 1950s, when it ran city government with Democrats running on the Charter ticket. In the 1970s and 1980s, the Charter Party formed a coalition municipal government with the Democrats. The coalition lasted until 1986. In recent years, the Charter Party has sought to expand beyond the Cincinnati city limits, endorsing candidates in neighboring jurisdictions, such as Covington, Kentucky
.
The Charter Party includes Democrats as well as Republicans and independents. The Charter Party advocates an activist government to address public problems and its main power base has been among the progressive-minded, educated, affluent senior citizen
s of Cincinnati. The party is currently making efforts to appeal to younger voters. The party has also turned its sights on establishing regional government.
The last Charterite mayor of Cincinnati was Arn Bortz. The party was nearly extinguished in the 1990s. From 1993 to 2003, the city council had only one Charterite member. Currently, there are two Charterite members of the city council, Chris Bortz
and Roxanne Qualls
, after Jim Tarbell
, who served as vice-mayor under Democratic Mayor Mark Mallory, resigned in September 2007.
The current party platform includes opposing the elimination of the municipal Planning Department and the Office of Environmental Management. The party, long allied with liberal Democratic interests, finds itself opposing the current wave of business-allied "new" Democrats, such as former Mayor Charlie Luken
.
Recent policy statements by Goldman, quoted by the Cincinnati Enquirer in a Jan. 6, 2003, article by Gregory Korte:
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, is a minor political party
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
. The party is Cincinnati's third party. Members of this party are called "Charterites."
History
The Charter Party claims to be the "oldest active independent political party." It was founded in 1924, during a time when Cincinnati government was under the control of the Republican Party. Cincinnati was infamous for being the most corruptly governed major city in the United States, the era of Boss Cox (established by George Cox in the 1880s), controlled then by his protege Rudolph Hynicka, who spent most of his time in New York, where he operated brothels.Republican reformers, led by members of the Republican Executive and Advisory Committee, then began the Cincinnatus Association. In 1923, Republican lawyer Murray Seasongood
Murray Seasongood
Murray Seasongood was a Jewish American politician, who served as the Mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio from 1926-1930. After his tenure as mayor, Seasongood was appointed as professor of law at Harvard University. He was named as one of the 100 Greatest Ohio Citizens in 1974.- References :...
became the leader of the reformers' successful anti-tax campaign.
The Cincinnatus Association then led to the formation of the Birdless Ballot League, which advocated nonpartisan
Nonpartisan
In political science, nonpartisan denotes an election, event, organization or person in which there is no formally declared association with a political party affiliation....
elections. (The term "birdless" referred to the use of the Republican eagle and Democratic rooster as party symbols on the ballot). In 1924, the Birdless Ballot League joined with other reformers to create the City Charter Committee.
The pre-1925 charter established a 32-member city council, six of whom were elected at-large. Only candidates nominated in a city-wide primary by the Republican and Democratic parties were eligible to run. In 1924, there were 31 Republicans and one Democrat on the council. Between 1913 and 1925, only five Democrats had managed to get elected to the council. The real power behind government was held by Hynicka's Republican Central Committee, comprising Republican ward and township captains, which held the real power in the Republican party, to the disadvantage of the Executive and Advisory Committee.
The new municipal charter enacted in 1925 as part of the Charterite movement established a Council-Manager form of government (abolishing the mayor-council system) and a civil service
Civil service
The term civil service has two distinct meanings:* A branch of governmental service in which individuals are employed on the basis of professional merit as proven by competitive examinations....
bureaucracy to replace political patronage. The new charter, which created a nine-member council, also mandated nonpartisan
Nonpartisan
In political science, nonpartisan denotes an election, event, organization or person in which there is no formally declared association with a political party affiliation....
municipal elections and proportional representation
Proportional representation
Proportional representation is a concept in voting systems used to elect an assembly or council. PR means that the number of seats won by a party or group of candidates is proportionate to the number of votes received. For example, under a PR voting system if 30% of voters support a particular...
with preference-ranked voting.
With Democrats running on the Charter ticket, the first election following adoption of the council resulted in the election of six Charterites to the council. Democrat Ed Dixon
Ed Dixon
Ed Dixon is an American character actor, playwright and composer, who has appeared in numerous Broadway shows, including No, No, Nanette, King of Schnorrers, The Three Musketeers, Les Misérables, Cyrano, The Scarlet Pimpernel, The Iceman Cometh, The Best Man, How the Grinch Stole Christmas ,...
, who had won more votes than Seasongood, and, therefore, should automatically have become mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
under the new charter, was persuaded to allow the leader of the reform movement become the first mayor under the new charter.
Although the Charter movement started with Republican reformers like Seasongood, the movement quickly became informally allied with the Democratic party against the Republican machine. Democratic candidates ran as Charterites. By the 1950s, Republicans fought the Charterites by plastering them with the label of socialism
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
. In 1957, the Republicans successfully overturned proportional representation. It is believed that this was done to prevent the election of Theodore M. Berry
Ted Berry
Theodore M. Berry , an American politician of the Charter Party of Cincinnati, Ohio, was the first African American mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio.-Early life and education:...
as the city's first black
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
mayor.
In 1959, Democrats broke off from the Charterite coalition. Splitting the progressive vote with the Democrats throughout the 1960s, the Charterites barely survived the return of Republican rule, with Charles Phelps Taft II
Charles Phelps Taft II
Charles Phelps Taft II was a U.S. Republican Party politician and member of the Taft family. From 1955 to 1957, he served as Mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio. Like other members of his family, Taft was a Republican for the purposes of state-wide elections. However, when running for municipal office in...
its only elected official by 1961. In 1963, Berry joined Taft on the council.
In 1969, the Charterites joined with the Democrats in a formal coalition that successfully took control of city government in 1971. The coalition was led at times both by Charterites (Bobbie L. Sterne
Bobbie L. Sterne
Bobbie L. Sterne is a former American politician of the Charter Party of Cincinnati, Ohio. She was Cincinnati's first female mayor. A long-time member of the Cincinnati City Council, Sterne served two terms as the Mayor of Cincinnati, from 1975–1976 and 1978-1979. She retired from the council in...
and Charles Phelps Taft II
Charles Phelps Taft II
Charles Phelps Taft II was a U.S. Republican Party politician and member of the Taft family. From 1955 to 1957, he served as Mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio. Like other members of his family, Taft was a Republican for the purposes of state-wide elections. However, when running for municipal office in...
) and by Democrats (Tom Luken
Tom Luken
Thomas Andrew Luken is a politician of the Democratic Party from Ohio.Luken received his high school diploma in 1942 from Purcell High School. During the Second World War, Luken served as a U.S. Marine. In 1947, he earned a bachelor of arts degree from Xavier University in Cincinnati, after having...
and Jerry Springer
Jerry Springer
Gerald Norman "Jerry" Springer is a British-born American television presenter, best known as host of the tabloid talk show The Jerry Springer Show since its debut in 1991...
). From 1973, the two parties divided the two-year mayoral term into two one-year periods that alternated between them.
Tom Luken's son, Charlie Luken
Charlie Luken
Charles J. Luken is an American politician of the Democratic party who was mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio and served in the Ohio's 1st congressional district in the United States House of Representatives. Luken's uncle, labor leader James T. Luken, also served as mayor of Cincinnati...
ended the Democratic-Charterite coalition in 1985 when Arn Bortz was the only Charterite left on the council. In 1983 Marian Spencer
Marian Spencer
Marian Alexander Spencer is a former Vice Mayor of the Cincinnati City Council in Cincinnati, Ohio. She is also the first African American woman to be elected to the Council.-Personal life:In 1920 Spencer was born in the town of Gallipolis, Ohio...
was the first African American female elected to Cincinnati City Council and served as Vice Mayor and as a member of the Charter Party for one term. Sterne, who lost her seat in 1985, made a comeback in 1987. Bortz left politics in 1988 to concentrate on business, but anointed as his successor the popular professional football player Reggie Williams
Reggie Williams (linebacker)
Reginald Williams is a former professional American football player.The recipient of an academic scholarship, Williams was a three-time All-Ivy League linebacker in football and an Ivy League heavyweight wrestling champion at Dartmouth College, graduating in 1976 with a Bachelor of Arts in...
. Williams stayed for only two years. When Charterite Tyrone Yates
Tyrone Yates
Tyrone Keith Yates is a Hamilton County Municipal Court Judge. He was elected on November 8, 2011. He was unopposed to fill the unexpired term of Judge Nadine Lovelace Allen who was elected to the Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas. His new term runs until January 1, 2014. He was appointed...
became a Democrat in preparation for running for the state legislature, Sterne found herself again the sole Charterite on the council. Term limits prevented Sterne from running again in 1999, so she resigned her seat in 1998 in favor of restaurateur Jim Tarbell
Jim Tarbell
James "Jim" Tarbell is an American politician of the Charter Party, who served as a member of the city council and Vice-Mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio. By mayoral proclamation, Jim Tarbell holds the title "Mr. Cincinnati" for life.- Political career :...
.
Over the years, Charterites pursued a number of liberal
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
and progressive
Progressivism
Progressivism is an umbrella term for a political ideology advocating or favoring social, political, and economic reform or changes. Progressivism is often viewed by some conservatives, constitutionalists, and libertarians to be in opposition to conservative or reactionary ideologies.The...
causes, including reducing pollution and establishing cost-of-living wage increases for municipal employees. The Charterites instituted the now-common requirement of maintaining a public inventory of municipal property. Another Charterite initiative that has spread throughout the country requires private employers to inform employees of the risks of handling hazardous materials, known as a right-to-know law.
The Charter Party reached its height of power in the 1950s, when it ran city government with Democrats running on the Charter ticket. In the 1970s and 1980s, the Charter Party formed a coalition municipal government with the Democrats. The coalition lasted until 1986. In recent years, the Charter Party has sought to expand beyond the Cincinnati city limits, endorsing candidates in neighboring jurisdictions, such as Covington, Kentucky
Covington, Kentucky
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 43,370 people, 18,257 households, and 10,132 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,301.3 people per square mile . There were 20,448 housing units at an average density of 1,556.5 per square mile...
.
The Charter Party includes Democrats as well as Republicans and independents. The Charter Party advocates an activist government to address public problems and its main power base has been among the progressive-minded, educated, affluent senior citizen
Senior citizen
Senior citizen is a common polite designation for an elderly person in both UK and US English, and it implies or means that the person is retired. This in turn implies or in fact means that the person is over the retirement age, which varies according to country. Synonyms include pensioner in UK...
s of Cincinnati. The party is currently making efforts to appeal to younger voters. The party has also turned its sights on establishing regional government.
The last Charterite mayor of Cincinnati was Arn Bortz. The party was nearly extinguished in the 1990s. From 1993 to 2003, the city council had only one Charterite member. Currently, there are two Charterite members of the city council, Chris Bortz
Chris Bortz
Chris Bortz is a politician from Cincinnati, Ohio. He was elected to the Cincinnati City Council in 2005 as a member of the Charter Party.. Because the Charter Party is not recognized by the state of Ohio as an official party, Bortz is a registered Republican. He currently serves as the chair of...
and Roxanne Qualls
Roxanne Qualls
Roxanne Qualls is a former Democratic mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio, having served from December 1993 to November 1999. She also served a two-year term on the Cincinnati City Council prior to her service as mayor, having been elected in 1991. On August 8, 2007, the Charter Committee announced her...
, after Jim Tarbell
Jim Tarbell
James "Jim" Tarbell is an American politician of the Charter Party, who served as a member of the city council and Vice-Mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio. By mayoral proclamation, Jim Tarbell holds the title "Mr. Cincinnati" for life.- Political career :...
, who served as vice-mayor under Democratic Mayor Mark Mallory, resigned in September 2007.
Platform
Party organizers prefer the term "Charter Committee" rather than "Charter Party." As of January 1, 2003, the current president of the Charter Committee is Michael Goldman. The previous president was Gerald Newfarmer. The party disavows any interest in competing for office beyond the local area. It accepts both Democratic and Republican members on its volunteer board of directors.The current party platform includes opposing the elimination of the municipal Planning Department and the Office of Environmental Management. The party, long allied with liberal Democratic interests, finds itself opposing the current wave of business-allied "new" Democrats, such as former Mayor Charlie Luken
Charlie Luken
Charles J. Luken is an American politician of the Democratic party who was mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio and served in the Ohio's 1st congressional district in the United States House of Representatives. Luken's uncle, labor leader James T. Luken, also served as mayor of Cincinnati...
.
Recent policy statements by Goldman, quoted by the Cincinnati Enquirer in a Jan. 6, 2003, article by Gregory Korte:
- "Charlie Luken thinks we're going to have a more 'developer friendly' city. Is that going to be at the expense of the residents? The city needs to be friendly to everyone."
- "If you look at progressive cities that are successful, you don't see them turning back the clock on environmental issues."
- "Nobody wants to talk about this, but let's look at the cities around us: Indianapolis. Columbus. Even Louisville. They all have some form of metropolitan government. All those cities have moved in that direction, and they're seen as successes."
Prominent historical Charterites
- Charles Phelps Taft IICharles Phelps Taft IICharles Phelps Taft II was a U.S. Republican Party politician and member of the Taft family. From 1955 to 1957, he served as Mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio. Like other members of his family, Taft was a Republican for the purposes of state-wide elections. However, when running for municipal office in...
- Arn Bortz
- Bobbie L. SterneBobbie L. SterneBobbie L. Sterne is a former American politician of the Charter Party of Cincinnati, Ohio. She was Cincinnati's first female mayor. A long-time member of the Cincinnati City Council, Sterne served two terms as the Mayor of Cincinnati, from 1975–1976 and 1978-1979. She retired from the council in...
- Reggie WilliamsReggie Williams (linebacker)Reginald Williams is a former professional American football player.The recipient of an academic scholarship, Williams was a three-time All-Ivy League linebacker in football and an Ivy League heavyweight wrestling champion at Dartmouth College, graduating in 1976 with a Bachelor of Arts in...
, former Cincinnati BengalsCincinnati BengalsThe Cincinnati Bengals are a professional football team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the AFC's North Division in the National Football League . The Bengals began play in 1968 as an expansion team in the American Football League , and joined the NFL in 1970 in the AFL-NFL...
linebacker - Leonard Sive
- John Rauh
- Thomas B. Brush
- Robert W. Hilton Jr.
- Marian SpencerMarian SpencerMarian Alexander Spencer is a former Vice Mayor of the Cincinnati City Council in Cincinnati, Ohio. She is also the first African American woman to be elected to the Council.-Personal life:In 1920 Spencer was born in the town of Gallipolis, Ohio...
Prominent ex-Charterites
Many former Charterites switched to one of the major parties in order to pursue statewide ambitions. They include:- John J. GilliganJohn J. GilliganJohn Joyce Gilligan is a American Democratic politician from the state of Ohio who served as a U.S. Representative and the 62nd Governor of Ohio. He is the father of Kathleen Sebelius...
, who was elected Governor of Ohio as a Democrat in 1970s. - J. Kenneth BlackwellKen BlackwellJohn Kenneth Blackwell is an American politician and activist who served as the mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio from 1979 to 1980 and Ohio Secretary of State from 1999 to 2007. A Republican, he was the first African-American to be the candidate for governor of a major party in Ohio. In 2006, Blackwell...
, the former Republican Ohio Secretary of StateOhio Secretary of StateThe Secretary of State is responsible for overseeing elections in the State of Ohio. The Secretary of State also is responsible for registering business entities and granting them the authority to do business within the state, registering secured transactions, and granting access to public...
and unsuccessful Republican candidate for Governor of Ohio against Democrat Ted StricklandTed StricklandTheodore "Ted" Strickland was the 68th Governor of Ohio, serving from 2007 to 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served in the United States House of Representatives, representing ....
in 2006 - Tyrone K. YatesTyrone YatesTyrone Keith Yates is a Hamilton County Municipal Court Judge. He was elected on November 8, 2011. He was unopposed to fill the unexpired term of Judge Nadine Lovelace Allen who was elected to the Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas. His new term runs until January 1, 2014. He was appointed...
, a Democratic member of the state legislature, was a Charterite member of the city council until 1993.
Current Charterites
- James TarbellJim TarbellJames "Jim" Tarbell is an American politician of the Charter Party, who served as a member of the city council and Vice-Mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio. By mayoral proclamation, Jim Tarbell holds the title "Mr. Cincinnati" for life.- Political career :...
- Christopher SmithermanChristopher SmithermanChristopher Smitherman is a politician from Cincinnati, Ohio. He was elected to Cincinnati City Council in 2003 as a member of the Charter Committee. He was defeated in his attempt for reelection in 2005. Smitherman was elected president of the Cincinnati chapter of the NAACP in April...
- John Schlagetter
- Nicholas SpencerNick SpencerNick Spencer is a comic book writer known for his creator-owned titles at Image Comics , his work at DC Comics Nick Spencer is a comic book writer known for his creator-owned titles at Image Comics (Existence 2.0/3.0, Forgetless, Shuddertown, Morning Glories), his work at DC Comics Nick Spencer is...
- Marjorie Rauh
- Courtis FullerCourtis FullerCourtis John Fuller is a news broadcaster in Cincinnati, Ohio, who is active in politics and in local community affairs. Fuller is an on-air personality at WLWT-TV. He was named "Cincinnati's Favorite TV Personality" by the Broadcast Hall of Fame.In 2001, Fuller, a lifelong Democrat, ran as a...
, a lifelong Democrat who ran as a Charterite against incumbent Democrat Charlie LukenCharlie LukenCharles J. Luken is an American politician of the Democratic party who was mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio and served in the Ohio's 1st congressional district in the United States House of Representatives. Luken's uncle, labor leader James T. Luken, also served as mayor of Cincinnati... - Chris BortzChris BortzChris Bortz is a politician from Cincinnati, Ohio. He was elected to the Cincinnati City Council in 2005 as a member of the Charter Party.. Because the Charter Party is not recognized by the state of Ohio as an official party, Bortz is a registered Republican. He currently serves as the chair of...