The News Record

Issue date: 2/23/05 Section: News

Media Credit: Dan Burns Andrew Warner, a third-year political science student and active member of the Campus Green Party, plans to run for Cincinnati City Council.

The condition of Cincinnati politics is the driving force behind a University of Cincinnati student's bid for a seat on City Council in the 2005 election.

Andrew Warner, a third-year political science student and a member of the UC Campus Green Party, wants a seat on council because "we really need to turn things around," he said.

Warner is the second student at UC this year to plan on running for city council. The News Record ran an article Feb. 14 about Robert Wilson, a third-year urban studies student at UC, who also plans to vie for a City Council seat this fall.

But before any competition gets going, Warner is easy going. Working through the giant froth of his vanilla bean coffee, he talked about his passion for politics and his love of Cincinnati .

"I love studying the process of American politics," Warner said, having previously dabbled in the fields of philosophy and creative writing. "I love the community feel of people helping out and working together."

Lamenting the laughable decisions of the current council when dealing with issues such as public schools, public safety and the homeless, the best venue to mobilize change is a seat on City Council, Warner said.

"We don't get enough of city politicians making themselves available to the public," he said. Moreover, they are not listening to citywide unrest.

Complaints of crime and public safety fall on deaf council members' ears, according to Warner.

He talked about the police chases that have more than once ended in nabbing a suspect literally at his doorstep, located on the northern fringes of Over-the-Rhine - with guns drawn.

"[City Council members] have neglected Over-the-Rhine and other areas to the point that it's disgusting," he said.

Cincinnati public schools also face a desperate future too, according to Warner.

"We need to put more money into schools," he said. Warner is concerned about raising a family here and having to put his children through a public school system categorized by Cincinnati Magazine as an "Academic Emergency."

Continued...

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