Cincinnati City Council candidates Yvette Simpson and Jason Riveiro jointly opened a campaign office Sept. 16 at the corner of W. 12th and Republic in Over the Rhine, with former Cincinnati City Council candidates Yvette Simpson and Jason Riveiro jointly opened a campaign office Sept. 16 at the corner of W. 12th and Republic in Over the Rhine, with former Cincinnati Mayor and television and radio personality Jerry Springer and Mayor Mark Mallory dropping by to endorse the two candidates.

This event is the official opening of an office designed to help candidates Riveiro and Simpson identify and address community concerns. This new offi ce will allow voters to speak directly with the candidates and help the candidates identify the issues most important to Cincinnatians.

“This is a way for our campaigns to get the community engaged,” Simpson stated earlier today. “Jason and I are serious about addressing issues that affect this great city, which is why we are setting up an office in the heart of Cincinnati. This area represents the struggles Cincinnati has been through, and the positive direction in which it’s heading. We love our city and are ready to provide real solutions to the problems it’s facing. We couldn’t think of a better place to center our office.”

“We understand that it’s unusual for two candidates to share an office,” stated Riveiro, “but Yvette and I are committed to changing the way City Council does business, starting with our campaigns. When elected, we will demonstrate to the rest of Council that working toward solutions together is the best way to effect real change in this city. Also, we plan to stop people who don’t run our city from telling us how to run it.”

Springer told the two City Council candidates that politics at the local level is critically important because representatives at the local level are “the last line of defense for people such as those in Over-the- Rhine (who are) just a few blocks away suffering. They have nobody and desperately need the services the city provides.’’

Springer added that these local services are even more critical in Cincinnati, which is ranked third in the percentage of people living in poverty among cities with around 250,000 population.