Issue 3 was designed to add a new article to Cincinnati’s City Charter. The language did not specify where the money would come from but suggested several potential funding sources, including the city’s $400 million general fund.
Ambriehl Crutchfield / WVXU
The affordable housing charter amendment on Cincinnati s Tuesday ballot failed with about 73% of the vote in opposition. Issue 3 would have required the city to put at least $50 million in the Affordable Housing Trust Fund every year with no end date.
Advocates say they re not done fighting for more funding to respond to the housing crisis. We knew that no matter how the results turned out this evening, our work for affordable housing would not end tonight, said Josh Spring, director of the Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition. Unlike typical campaigns that are run by PR firms with glossy cards, we re a movement, and movements don t stop until they get where they re supposed to be.
Could contentious, high-profile Cincinnati primaries boost voter turnout?
Off-year elections typically have low voter turnout, and primary elections like Tuesday s Ohio primary often can have even lower numbers. But a high-profile mayoral race and a controversial ballot measure in Cincinnati might combine to buck that trend.
and last updated 2021-05-03 20:52:24-04
NORWOOD, Ohio â Off-year elections typically have low voter turnout, and primary elections like Tuesday s Ohio primary often can have even lower numbers. But a high-profile mayoral race and a controversial ballot measure in Cincinnati might combine to buck that trend.
For Cincinnati voter Carolyn Jones, ballot Issue 3 and the Cincinnati mayoral primary were enough to motivate her to the polls. Six candidates are vying for two spots on November s general mayoral ballot, and Issue 3 would amend the city s charter to require at least $50 million in locally sourced funding be allocated to affordable housing pro
2021 Ohio Primary voting guide: Whatâs on the ballot, polling info, more Share Updated: 10:30 PM EDT May 3, 2021 WLWT Digital Staff Share Updated: 10:30 PM EDT May 3, 2021
Hide Transcript
Show Transcript GOOD AS MINE. ELECTION OFF ICIAL SCRIBE EARLY VOTING TURNOUT AS SIGNIFICANTLY STRONGER THIS TIME AND THEREâS NO MYSTERY ABOUT WHATâS DRIVING IT. AND THE HOUSING ISSUE MAINLY CAME OUT OVER ISSUES THREE PORTABLE HOUSING ACTUALLY IS SOMETHING VERY CLOSE TO MY HEART. IT HAS ALL VERY CLOSE TO CITY. HALLâS BUDGET ISSUE THREE WOULD MANDATE CITY LAWMAKERS SPEND 50 MILLION ANNUALLY ON AFFORDABLE HOUSING HOUSING ADVOCATES. BELIEVE A RE OF SPENDING PRIORITIES AS LONG OVERDUE WHILE GOVERNMENT LEADERS ARE HOLDING THEIR COLLECTIVE BREATH ABOUT POSSIBLE PASSAGE. YOU KNOW, ITâS ONE OF THE RARE TIMES JOHN WHERE YOUâLL SEE THE REPUBLICAN PARTY IN THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY COME TOGETHER TO TELL YOU SOMETHINGâS A REALLY BAD
Michael Keating / WVXU
Cincinnati voters on May 4 will be faced with a decision on Issue 3, a ballot initiative that would direct the city to spend at least $50 million a year on affordable housing.
But there is considerable disagreement about how much housing the region needs. In 2017, the Local Initiatives Support Corporation of Greater Cincinnati released a study suggesting urban areas in Hamilton County needed 25,000 more units of housing affordable to its lowest-income residents.
Recently, as debate about Issue 3 has intensified, some have questioned that number. Among those skeptics is Cincinnati City Council Member Steve Goodin. He touts other numbers suggesting Cincinnati s affordable housing gap is considerably smaller. Goodin also wants the city to consider ways to avoid concentrating new subsidized housing in neighborhoods that already have it in large amounts.