Mark Mallory

Mark Mallory
68th Mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio
In office December 1, 2005 – December 1, 2013[1]
Preceded by	Charlie Luken
Succeeded by	John Cranley
Member of the Ohio Senate from the 9th district
In office January 5, 1999-December 1, 2005
Preceded by	Janet C. Howard
Succeeded by	Eric Kearney
Member of the Ohio House of Representatives from the 31st district
In office January 3, 1995-December 31, 1998
Preceded by	William L. Mallory, Sr.
Succeeded by	Catherine L. Barrett
Personal details
Born	(1962-04-02) April 2, 1962 Cincinnati, Ohio
Political party	Democratic
Profession	Politician

Mark Mallory (born April 2, 1962) is an American politician of the Democratic Party and former Mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio.

He was the first two-term Mayor under the City’s new Stronger-Mayor system, the first directly elected black mayor, and the first mayor in more than 70 years who did not come from City Council.^[2]

Political career

Prior to his election in 2005, he served as assistant Minority Leader in the Ohio Senate. He won a seat in the Ohio House of Representatives in 1994, replacing his father who retired after serving the district for nearly 30 years. He served in the Ohio House from 1995 to 1998, when he was elected to the Senate.

In November 1998, Mark Mallory was elected to represent the 9th Senate District in the Ohio General Assembly, and in 2002 was elected to his second four-year term. He was the Assistant Minority Leader for the Senate Democratic Caucus during his seven years in the General Assembly. In 2003, Senator Mallory passed a resolution in the General Assembly ratifying the 14th Amendment, 135 years after it was amended to the US Constitution.

Mallory resigned his senate seat in 2005 to run for Mayor of Cincinnati. He defeated fellow Democrat David Pepper to win the election. Mallory was elected to a second term as Mayor on November 3, 2009.

As Mayor of Cincinnati

As Mayor of Cincinnati, Mallory listed public safety, youth employment, and economic development as some of his top priorities. He is active in the U.S. Conference of Mayors and is a member of the National Conference of Black Mayors which held its 2010 conference in Cincinnati.

Mallory has started Cincinnati Initiative to Reduce Violence or CIRV. CIRV uses statistical analysis to identify and map criminal networks for increased law enforcement, community, and social service attention. The collaborative approach has become the driving philosophy of the entire police department. The program reduced homicides in Cincinnati 16% from 2007 to 2009 and group-related violence declined 36%^[3] during that time.

The Mayor ended a decade of stalemate and negotiated an agreement with Hamilton County to develop The Banks, 18 acres (73,000 m²) of land between the Reds and Bengals stadiums at the Southern edge of Downtown along the Ohio River. The development will be home to shops, restaurants, a hotel, apartments, condos, and office space. The first phase, including 80,000 square feet (7,400 m²) of retail, 300 luxury apartments, and 1,600 parking spaces, opened in the spring of 2011 with the first restaurants opening and the residents moving in.

Shop 52 and GO Cincinnati are two of Mayor Mark Mallory’s economic programs. Speaking about the importance of development he says, “One thing is certain: creating jobs, developing the skills of our workforce, bringing more people to live and invest in neighborhoods, and adding revenue to the city’s tax base benefits all 52 neighborhoods.”^[4] In his first year in office, Mayor Mallory commissioned the GO Cincinnati economic development strategy to guide the City’s efforts to create jobs and grow the local economy. GO Cincinnati has helped the City attract several new businesses such as Medpace, Eurostampa, and Rockfish as well as retain and grow existing businesses like P&G, Macy’s, Graeter’s, Humana, US Bank, FirstGroup, dunnhumby, Kendle, Burke, Inc., and Cincinnati Children’s. Cincinnati’s aggressive efforts to attract business investment and expansion have helped the city continue to grow despite the national economic landscape.

Mayor Mallory has been a strong proponent of the continued redevelopment in the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood. Led by the non-profit development corporation, 3CDC, dozens of buildings have been redeveloped into hundreds of condos and apartments in the historic neighborhood. In the center of the redevelopment sits historic Washington Park, which is undergoing a $47 million renovation.

As part of his vision for bold projects that will transform the city

Mayor Mallory has championed the construction of a modern streetcar that would connect the city’s two largest employment centers, Downtown and the university and hospital area known as Uptown.  The Streetcar project will spark development, job creation and growth in the urban core, and help attract and retain young, talented individuals.

Revitalizing city neighborhoods and increasing housing opportunities has been a focus of the Mayor from day one

.  The award winning Neighborhood Enhancement Program targets specific neighborhoods for a 90-day blitz of concentrated City services to build momentum for long-term revitalization.

Mayor Mallory developed the Green Cincinnati Action Plan to reduce Cincinnati’s carbon footprint and improve the health of the community. The plan is making huge strides in Greening Cincinnati. In 2010, the City introduced a city-wide enhanced recycling program that distributed a large wheeled recycling cart to every household. The program also allows households to participate in Recycle Bank and earn points that can be redeemed at local and national retailers. In just the first three months of the program, recycling increased by 36%.

Under the Mayor’s leadership, Cincinnati has made major increases in the city’s ability to attract conventions and meetings. 2010 was the sixth straight year of growth, up 33% since 2005. With the Mayor’s help the region has attracted high-profile conventions like the NAACP, the National Baptists, the largest Hispanic organization in the country: LULAC, the Fraternal Order of Police, the International Association of Firefighters, the Urban League, the American Legion, and the city’s largest meeting ever, the 2012 World Choir Games, projected to draw 200,000 spectators and have an economic impact of $73.5 million on the region.

He has won dozens of awards during his decades of public service, including Public Official of the Year from the Children’s Hunger Alliance, the Regional Sustainable Leader of the Year from the US Green Building Council, and the Champion’s Award from the Cincinnati USA Convention and Visitor’s Bureau for his success at attracting convention business to Cincinnati. In 2013, he was one of nine mayors who established July 15 as Social Media Giving Day, encouraging citizens to support charities via social media.^[5]

Mallory participated in the second season of Undercover Boss, working with the city's sanitation department, mechanics, after-school program at a community center and parking enforcement officers.^[6] This gave him insight to his various departments.

Personal

Mark Mallory grew up in and still lives in Cincinnati’s West End area. He comes from a family with a strong tradition of public service. The Mayor’s brother William L. Mallory Jr. is a Municipal Court judge, his brother Dwane Mallory is a Municipal Court Judge, his brother Dale Mallory is the State Representative in the Ohio House District once held by the Mayor and his father, and his brother Joe Mallory is the former Vice Mayor of Forest Park. He is the son of former Ohio House of Representatives Majority Leader William L. Mallory, Sr.^[7]

He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Administrative Management from the University of Cincinnati. Mayor Mallory began his career in public service as a book shelver at the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County. He worked there 14 years at a variety of positions, rising to Manager of Graphic Production and Assistant to the head of public relations.

Mark Mallory has received the following awards: the 1998 Meryl Shoemaker “Legislator of the Year” award, the 1999 Correctional Education Association “Excellence in Correctional Education” award, the 2001 National Association of Social Workers “Legislator of the Year” award, the 2002 Ohio Association of Election Officials “Wolfe Award of Excellence”, the Ohio Library Council’s 2003 Andrew Carnegie Award and the Legislator of the Year Award from the Ohio Community Corrections Association.^[8]

Opening Day Pitch Debacle, 4/2/07

On April 2, 2007, Mallory tried to throw the ceremonial first pitch for the Cincinnati Reds' game on Opening Day. Despite claims that he had trained with the University of Cincinnati baseball team, his pitch flew thirty feet to the first base side of home plate, terribly missing the intended target, Eric Davis. The ball hit the foot of umpire Sam Holbrook, who ejected Mallory before the contest even began. The pitch received national media attention (including appearances on Good Morning America and Cold Pizza),^[9] and Mallory got a chance to make amends on ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live!, but again failed to come anywhere close to the target with his throw. He was given a "second, second-chance" and finally completed a toss to actor Kurt Russell.^[10][11] Mallory took the incident as an opportunity to discuss Cincinnati's positives.^[12]

References