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Healthy Neighborhoods committee advances LGBTQIA+ advisory commission and three honorary street names
Summary
Vice Mayor J. Michelle Limon Kearney’s office moved three ordinances forward: creation of an LGBTQIA+ advisory commission, and honorary secondary names for intersections honoring Jim Scott and Beverly Kenny; the committee placed each item on the council passage calendar without objection.
The Cincinnati Healthy Neighborhoods Committee advanced a package of items brought by the vice mayor’s office, including a proposed LGBTQIA+ advisory commission and two honorary street‑name ordinances.
Vice Mayor J. Michelle Limon Kearney introduced item 3, a proposal to establish a voluntary LGBTQIA+ commission appointed by the mayor to advise council and the administration on policy and community concerns. “Hate crimes against the LGBTQIA plus community increased in Ohio by 189%,” Kearney said, citing statistics from the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) as part of her remarks on why the commission is needed.
Committee members offered support and asked for administrative information on hate‑crime reporting to guide future policy work. Council member Anna Albee noted council’s recent allocation of $500,000 for trans mental‑health services and said better data on incidents across identities would help shape a broader strategy.
The committee also advanced two honorary naming ordinances. Item 4 would designate the intersection of Ray Street and Liberty Street in Over‑the‑Rhine as Jim Scott Way to honor the late Cincinnati radio personality’s decades of volunteer work and ties to the Findlay Market opening day parade. Council member Scotty Johnson described Scott as “a legend of that caliber” and voiced full support.
Item 5 would give Realistic Avenue at Dana Avenue in Evanston an honorary secondary name of Beverly Kenny Way, in recognition of Beverly Kenny’s decades of teaching, volunteer service and arts philanthropy. Ed Clossey, Kenny’s husband, addressed the committee and described his late wife’s longtime community involvement: “Beverly made a mark in Cincinnati … she left an indelible impression on the lives she touched,” Clossey said, reading from condolence letters and notes he received after her death.
Procedural outcome: For each ordinance the vice mayor asked for passage on the council calendar; in each case the committee chair said, “Without objection, we'll put it on for passage,” and the items were placed on the council passage agenda. The committee did not record roll‑call votes in committee; final passage will occur on the council floor.
Next steps: The Beverly Kenny honorary name was described as expected to be installed in late April; the LGBTQIA+ commission draft ordinance and bylaws will continue to be refined with input from employee resource groups and community members before final council action.
