Cincinnati's system of hiring police and fire chiefs — and other top city administrators — will change dramatically after voter approval of a referendum allowing outside hires.

        Voters Tuesday approved Issue 5, with 52 percent in favor and 48 percent against.

        With all City Council incumbents re-elected, supporters of the measure called it the most significant change delivered this election.

        “It sends a message that it's time for progress, it's time for a change,” said Scotty Johnson, president of the Sentinels black police officers' group. “Change is not the boogeyman.”

        Proponents campaigned that Issue 5 provided Cincinnati the option of nationwide searches for top city jobs. It removes 98 positions from civil-service protection, including the police and fire command staffs and heads of such city departments as housing and economic development.

        The employees now in the jobs involved will not be affected by the change. But new hires can be fired by the city manager “for cause” and can appeal only to the same city manager.

        It wasn't a referendum on Police Chief Tom Streicher or the embattled police division, proponents said, but rather a way to guarantee better results in areas like riverfront development. Pro-Issue 5 treasurer Betty Hull repeatedly said she had the facts on her side.

        Ross Love, co-chairman of Cincinnati Community Action Now (CAN), called voter approval critically important.

        “It not only makes the first important change in making our government more effective and more competitive,” Mr. Love said, “but it makes an important statement that Cincinnati can move forward and become a better city. ...

        “This is an important for step for our city,” said Mr. Love, president of Blue Chip Broadcasting.

        Issue 5 opponents — led by Chief Streicher, Hamilton County Prosecutor Mike Allen and presidents of both the police and fire unions — hoped to convince Cincinnatians that they should keep politics out of public safety. They warned that Cincinnati could become like Cleveland, where the mayor appoints the chiefs and where the city has seen eight police chiefs in nine years.

        Keith Fangman, president of the Fraternal Order of Police, called the vote disappointing and said he wasn't sure how the police and fire divisions would adapt.

        “It's a shame,” Mr. Fangman said. “We've seen what happens when you mix politics with public safety. Now every time there's a critical incident, somebody will try to make a scapegoat out of the chief.”

        Hamilton County Commissioner Todd Portune said voters might think the passage of Issue 5 will bring about better police-community relations, but they're wrong.

        Keith Borders, chairman of the Citizens Police Review Panel, called the passage of Issue 5 “like a water droplet in Niagara Falls.”

        “We have to be honest with one another. The problem is deeper, much deeper,” he said. “The real solution relies on those nine individuals elected to council and the new strong mayor. The question is: What are they going to do on the issue of race and police in Cincinnati?”

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