League of Women Voters of the Cincinnati Area Education Fund
Hamilton County, OH November 3, 2009 Election
	Debbie McCarthy Answers Questions Candidate for Council Member; Village of Newtown

The questions were prepared by the League of Women Voters of the Cincinnati Area and asked of all candidates for this office.
Read the answers from all candidates (who have responded).

Questions & Answers

1. What are your Qualifications for Office? (50 word limit)

1. Newtown Councilperson 2004-2008
2. Newtown Fire Board, 2003-2005
3. Member of Planning, Zoning and Development(Chairperson) 2003-current
4. Newtown Civic League, 2008-current
5. Newtown Village resident since 1998

2. What plans do you have to address your top three priorities? (100 word limit)

Balanced Budget: I will work with other council members to develop a plan to maintain a balanced budget. This plan will identify scenarios and the actions to be taken to maintain a balanced budget under these scenarios. This approach will allow residents to anticipate any actions that would need to be taken to control expenses.

Conservative spending / Economic growth: These actions go hand in hand. Spending must be offset by an increase in tax revenues without new levies. I will need to continue to recruit entrepreneurs to invest in the commercial zones of the Village.

3. What two actions would you promote to enhance city revenue or decrease city expenditures in order to balance the city budget, given the current economic conditions? (100 word limit)

As described above, the two key initiatives are the balanced budget plan and the expense control / revenue growth initiative.

4. What steps should the local government take to ensure that the quality of rental property meets minimum legal standards? (100 word limit)

Newtown has already budgeted for a resource to ensure that the exterior of any property in Newtown complies with existing ordinances that deal with property maintenance issues.

Issues with the landlord + renter interior property maintenance and conditions are addressed by state law, local building codes and by local ordinances. I will take action to ensure that renters and landlords are aware of their legal requirements by ensuring that the relevant information is published in the Newtown Village website. I will also work to ensure that any problems or complaints get properly routed to the Village's property maintenance inspector.

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Responses to questions asked of each candidate are reproduced as submitted to the League.  Candidates' statements are presented as submitted. Word limits apply for each question. Direct references to opponents are not permitted.

Read the answers from all candidates (who have responded).

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Created from information supplied by the candidate: October 1, 2009 16:57
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