City Hires Independent Firm, Led by Nationally-Renowned Harvard Economist, Who Finds No Evidence of Systemic Racial Bias in Police Searches _ City of Cleveland Ohio

Cleveland’s mayor hired a “nationally renowned Harvard economist who found ‘no evidence of systemic bias in police searches’.”

Meanwhile, Cincinnati hired a civil rights activist who, possibly on city time, strolls around, interferes with the police, and encourages the public to file complaints against police officers in order to get those officers on her “list.”

My sense is that the Mayor Pureval’s consultant would not like to see such a study conducted here in Cincinnati and definitely would not like to see those results, especially if it meant that her services were no longer needed.

What else could explain why the city’s consultant failed to recommend such a study during the 3 years she has been under contract with the city?

You would think that if Cleveland’s mayor could figure it out, Cincinnati’s mayor could figure it out as well. But I guess not.

The full article can be found at:

https://www.clevelandohio.gov/news/city-hires-independent-firm-led-nationally-renowned-harvard-economist-who-finds-no-evidence

A copy is also be posted in my research library.

Following controversial reports and videos of Iris Roley essentially interfering in interactions between CPD officers and members of the public, I sought information about the city’s relationship with Ms. Roley.

On August 6, 2025, I submitted a public records request concerning the city’s contracts with Ms. Roley and records associated with those contracts. It took some back and forth with the city but today (9.11.25) I received a “partial response.”

The response included primarily invoices and records of payment to Ms. Roley.  The partial response includes some contracts, invoices and payment records for 2022 to 2025. (You can never be confident that all responsive records have been disclosed).

It will take some time to examine the documents disclosed by the city so far. But if Ms. Roley plays her cards right, it looks like she will be on the payroll until April 2027.  According to Ms. Roley’s current contract, executed by the city manager on April 29, 2025, the city has agreed to pay her $570,000 for a three year extension of her 2024 contract through April 2027. (Instead of extending Ms. Roley’s contract one year at a time, the city extended it for a total of 3 years).

This includes $150,000 paid to Ms. Roley for 2 quarters, the Fall of 2024 and the Spring of 2025, for what they are calling the “Government Square Initiative.” The contract outlines that the $150,000 will cover the following operational costs for 2 quarters:

• • Community Care Monitors:                   $105,600
  • Critical Needs Support Fund:                $ 40,000
  • Admin and Training:                               $  4,400
  • Total:                                                           $ 150,000

The documents include canceled checks from Ms. Roley to four Community Care Monitors for $4400 each one quarter (18.75 hours per week for 12 weeks, at $58/hr. for 4 monitors). Hopefully, the city will provide timesheets and 1099s in the next disclosure.

Overtime, I will be examining and posting all the documents in a folder in my research library. But tonight, only Ms. Roley’s current contract is provided below.

Iris_Roley_PSC_101_35X051_Second_Amendment_-_FINAL

Of Cincinnati’s 52 neighborhoods, the westside neighborhoods, East Price Hill, West Price Hill, Lower Price Hill  and Westwood, make up roughly half of Cincinnati’s population.  During a well attended meeting on August 12, 2025, the frustrations of the neighborhood residents who attended the meeting, spilled out all over the place. I posted my observations on my FB page. The link is below.

The meeting was a solid 2 hours long and much more was discussed than I describe in my post. For example, the most amount of time was spent on the restructuring of the Hamilton County Probation Department. Probably the subject of a future Watchdog podcast. A member of city council and candidate for re-election attended and was probably shell shocked by the discussion. The meeting also heard from 3 new city council candidates who took  a few minutes to introduce themselves.

But my FB post focuses on 1) comments from a transpalnt from Orlando who described buyer’s remorse based on qulaity of life issues in West Price Hill and 2) an acknowledgment from the police that people come to Cincinnati from hundreds of miles away, primaily the Price Hill neighborhoods, for the social servcies that the city has concentrated and subsidized in Price Hill and its negative affect on our qiulaity of life.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/172Fcei7JA/

On May 20, 2024, “Governing,” a website about state and local government, reported that,

“Mayor Aftab Pureval says that every issue that comes across his desk is looked at through two lenses: equity first then climate.”

Then the mayor is quoted, “When I look at the time horizon of the next 50 years, the cities that get those issues right are poised for incredible growth and success,” he says.

Are we really supposed to believe the mayor when he tells us that his first, second and third priorities are public safety?

I wonder what he saw in terms of equity and climate when the issue of Patrick Heringer’s murder crossed his desk?

Our mayor is in La La Land.

Residents of at-risk neighborhoods help shape Cincinnati’s Green Plan._compressed (1)