Cincinnati Enquirer: Opinion: City Council needs to set a new standard

Cincinnati city council members should live up to the same standards of bank tellers, whose actions are all done in public, UC’s political science expert David Niven writes in an opinion piece for The Cincinnati Enquirer.

For reference, on Nov. 19, P.G. Sittenfeld became the third member of the City Council charged with corruption when he was arrested and charged with taking $40,000 in bribes.

 “Everything a bank teller does is done in full view of others. There are colleagues. There are cameras. There are counts, Five thousand dollars cannot go from the cash drawer to the pocket without everyone knowing it,” Niven says, contrasting the actions of certain City Council members and their behind the scenes activities.

Niven, an associate professor of political science, teaches American politics and conducts research on campaigns, political communication and death penalty policy.

Read the entire Enquirer opinion piece.

Read a New York Times summary of the investigations, with Niven also cited as an expert.

Featured image at top of Cincinnati City Hall. Photo/Owsley/Enquirer