CINCINNATI — Mayor John Cranley went big in Wednesday night’s annual State of the City address, declaring Cincinnati an example of economic growth and social progress from which the rest of the world — and, he added pointedly, the state and national governments — could learn.
He even had a name for the phenomenon: the Cincinnati Miracle, a phrase which was capitalized in the transcript his office provided before the event.
“The torch of hope that was dropped in Washington and Columbus has been picked up here and is lighting the way for the Cincinnati Miracle,” he said.
Signs of the miracle are all around, according to Cranley. The FC Cincinnati stadium taking shape in the West End is one; local government initiatives to improve sustainability and reduce poverty are others.
He congratulated Kroger for vowing to phase out disposable plastic bags, halting the sale of e-cigarettes and asking customers not to open carry in stores after a series of mass shootings across the country, including the one in Dayton.
He also recalled Cincinnati’s own mass shooting, chiding what he described as “the NRA-controlled state legislature” for not passing stricter gun control laws after either. Cranley plans to throw his own weight behind a statewide referendum to mandate universal background checks for gun purchasers, he announced.
“This effort will finally do what people want in this state — put our safety over the rights of mass murderers to kill dozens of people in 30 seconds,” he said.
Anti-gun violence initiatives within the city have included ShotSpotter, which Cranley said had helped reduce shootings in Avondale by 50%.
Other events deemed miraculous by the mayor:
- Identifying a site for what will someday become the country’s largest solar power array.
- The under-construction urban bike and hike trails on Wasson Way.
- Cincinnati LIFT, once called the Child Poverty Collaborative, which Cranley said had helped hundreds of Cincinnatians out of poverty in 2019.
- The work of retiring Commissioner Todd Portune, whom he honored as Humanitarian of the Year. “Todd is a fighter for all he believes in,” Cranley said. “And for those reasons, I am especially glad when he isn’t fighting me.”
Read the entire speech:
John Cranley's 2019 State of the City by WCPO Web Team on Scribd
