It's been exactly one year since Charlie Luken threw open the doors of the mayor's office and invited one and all to come down and bend his ear.

Twice a week, for 90 minutes each evening, he would meet with constituents to talk about neighborhood problems. "At this critical time, I feel the need to have the ultimate open door policy, and I think everyone will benefit from this direct contact," Luken said in the press release announcing his "Open Door Initiative."

That particular door hasn't opened since October.

Luken's initiative was modeled after "Mayor's Night In," an initiative of Roxanne Qualls. For three hours every Tuesday, Qualls would listen - or pretend to listen - to a steady stream of citizen-callers five minutes each.

Brooke Hill, a former Qualls aide who now serves as a close political adviser to Luken, said the most recent incarnation of the evening meeting never caught on because Luken's style is so different.

Qualls listened to every complaint - no matter how small - on Tuesday nights, but rarely took appointments outside those hours.

Luken refers routine service complaints to city departments, has more meetings and personally answers many of his e-mails.

But he also has less patience for less important issues. And the complaints he was hearing ranged from the banal to the bizarre.

"They'd come in and say, `I need my curb fixed,' or, `I hear music coming from my teeth,'" explained Luken's legislative aide, Brendon Cull.

"After a while, we were only getting two or three calls a month. The demand slowed for it."

But Julie Fay, a trustee of the Main Street Merchants' Association, said she's been trying for months to get in to see the mayor.

"When Roxanne did it, it was every week, and you didn't need an appointment," she said. "I'm not saying one was better than the other. "It's just that she had a different style and different approach. And things are different now because of the riots and fiascos and the protests in council chambers."

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Update: Three months ago, City Council exploded over the Fraternal Order of Police contract because it didn't preserve the right of the city manager - granted by voters through 2001's Issue 5 - to hire and fire assistant police and fire chiefs at will.

After City Council voted down the contract 7-2, the issue went to fact-finding. But the arbitrator, David Stanton of Louisville, hasn't given his report - and both sides are growing impatient.

Police supervisors can't get their raises until the contract is resolved, and city officials say they want to put the issue behind them.

"It certainly makes it difficult to implement the other provisions when we don't know which way this is going to go," said City Manager Valerie Lemmie. "It shouldn't be taking this long."

Lemmie said it's one more reason why the city needs local arbitrators who better understand the environment.

Stanton has not returned calls seeking comment.

Lobbing 'em up: Cincinnati has gotten10 proposals from 11 lobbying firms who want to do the city's bidding in Washington.

The only local proposal came from Baker & Hostetler, where Martine R. Dunn would head the city's lobbying efforts from Cincinnati. Dunn was the first African-American managing partner of a law firm in Cincinnati.

Also submitting a proposal: Patton Boggs, the Washington firm that the city released from service in January after Luken complained that it wasn't earning its $120,000 keep.

The envelope please: The greatest honor the Charter Committee of Greater Cincinnati can bestow on someone - other than elected office, which it has done with decreasing frequency over the past decade - is the Charles P. Taft Civic Gumption Award.

After sorting through 45 nominations, the 2003 award goes to ... Al Gerhardstein.

The civil rights lawyer is best known for the Collaborative Agreement on police-community relations.

He also won a jury verdict against the city last week in the case of Phelicia - formerly Phillip - Barnes, the transsexual cop who said he was discriminated against.

He's certainly been tireless in getting paid. Last week, Gerhardstein went back to U.S. District Judge Susan Dlott, complaining that the city still owes $200,000 in plaintiffs' fees from the collaborative settlement.

Dlott stopped short of asking taxpayers to foot the bill, but urged the city to work harder to raise the money privately.

City Hall reporter Gregory Korte can be reached at gkorte@enquirer.com or 768-8391.