BY RACHEL MELCER
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Some of City Councilman Todd Portune's colleagues said Saturday they share his desire to play a part in siting a new Reds stadium, but blasted his most recent plan as a "wild shot" at best and a "sleazy tactic" at worst.
What's more, council members Phil Heimlich, Charles Winburn, Tyrone Yates and Dwight Tillery all agreed that since the city gave stadium siting control over to the county commission in 1995, such tactics now are too little, too late. Other council members could not be reached for comment.
"Rather than being a player in this thing, we are really on the sidelines with our lips all pouted out because we really don't have any power," said Mr. Tillery. "We missed our chance."
Mr. Portune presented a two-pronged plan Friday designed to put the city back into the game.
First, a citywide referendum should be placed on the November ballot that, if passed, would make it illegal for the council to act inconsistently with recommendations of the city and county planning commissions. Like Mr. Portune, both bodies favor a Broadway Commons. Commissioners are negotiating with the Reds for the "Wedge" location between The Crown and Cinergy Field.
Second, Mr. Portune would have city council use its ownership and possible control of land within the "Wedge" as leverage. City council members said the proposal, which none of them would support, is on very shaky ground.
"A majority of my colleagues have failed to show any leadership on this issue for a long time, and that's why I have no confidence in them doing the right thing now," Mr. Portune said Saturday. "A petition drive is the only viable option."
Mr. Winburn responded: "I think it's a big threat. I don't think there's any substance to it. What he's doing is definitely out of step with reality."
Although the city owns property within the Wedge that will be freed up by the narrowing of Fort Washington Way, the state has an easement to use the land for a highway. The city may need the permission of Ohio officials to put it to another use.
And even if the city gains that power, the councilmen agreed that using it against county commissioners could sour relations between the two elected bodies for a very long time.
"I won't start a civil war over a stadium," said Mr. Yates. "I want the county commission to site the stadium at Broadway Commons sure enough, but I won't use what I consider quasi-extralegal means to thwart them."
Noting the already contentious city-county relationship, Mr. Tillery said: "If things are bad now, I think they would be absolutely chaotic forever . . if we resort to these end-run, sleazy tactics." The councilmen also disagreed with Mr. Portune's suggestion that siting a stadium is reason enough for a ballot initiative that would change the city charter.
Mr. Yates said it would be "wholly inconsistent with the concept of representative government" to give the recommendations of appointed planning commissions legal precedent over elected city officials.
"The council routinely modifies, refers back or disagrees with the plan commission," he said.
Others questioned the validity of Mr. Portune's approach -- how can a change in Cincinnati's charter affect a decision that legally belongs to the county commission?
"Now why do we want to go back and redo that? We should never have given our rights away if we're going to whine about it now," Mr. Winburn said. "We surrendered our leadership, and we have no one to blame but ourselves."
The councilmen were scornful of Mr. Portune's public announcement of the plan during a county commission meeting.
"We need to avoid that kind of public fight with the commissioners," said Mr. Heimlich. "I think the people are tired of city council picking fights with other governments and fighting among ourselves." Such bickering could even harm the city's chance to successfully redevelop downtown, according to Mr. Winburn.
"We are looked on like we are not stable: Now you see it, now you don't. Now you have a deal, now you don't. . . . All we're doing is looking like clowns," Mr. Winburn said. "We ought to stay out of this and let the county commissioners do their jobs."
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