WVXU: Law professor weighs in on whether cities can swallow up communities

Many Cincinnatians have wondered how the Elmwood Place and St. Bernard communities have managed to exist as separate and independent municipalities within the city of Cincinnati. Nate Ela, assistant professor of political science and law at the University of Cincinnati College of Law, says it’s a matter of state law. The general rule is: in order for one city to annex another, voters in both communities have to approve it.

In a recent WVXU interview, Ela commented: "There was actually an attempt to annex Elmwood Place in 1912, but voters there rejected that."

He stressed that the “notion of independence, of self rule and self identity is important.” Ela shared that several years ago a study from a Manhattan Institute think tank concluded that everyone would be better off and be more efficient if Norwood and Elmwood Place joined Cincinnati.

But that didn’t go over to well.

"The response from people in Norwood and Elmwood Place was 'Why don't you go think about something else? This is our city. We like our city. We feel attached to our city and we're not going to disband it because somebody from outside says that would be more efficient,' " he says. "There's definitely a sense if you grew up in a place, you become attached to that place, you feel invested in having the ability to control the rules and laws that apply to your city."

 Listen to the full interview on WVXU’s OKI Wanna Know broadcast.

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