OhioMBE Election 2011

	Why doesn’t the City have purchasing goals?	Why does the City have certification program?	Is the City’s certification effective and how is it?	What can the City do to improve its purchasing with minority businesses?
Robert F. Bridges	Did Not Respond	Did Not Respond	Did Not Respond	Did Not Respond
Matt Ferris	Did Not Respond	Did Not Respond	Did Not Respond	Did Not Respond
Daryl Hennessy	Did Not Respond	Did Not Respond	Did Not Respond	Did Not Respond
Mark Noble	Did Not Respond	Did Not Respond	Did Not Respond	Did Not Respond
Hearscel Craig	The city's formal MBE/FBE goals where struck down in a court challenge in the mid-nineties, but the city has been reporting their MBE/FBE utilization for many years and challenges each city department to be inclusive their procurement practices.	We believe certification is important, we respect and are proud of the many minority and female businesses owners who are brave enough to start their own business and believe in our city enough to seek work with us. It is important that we know who they are and what kind of services they provide that we can use.	Did Not Respond	Did not respond
Andrew J. Ginther	The City of Columbus Code did enact a code of ordinances requiring a variety of race and gender based preferences to be applied when awarding City projects. However, in 1996, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, Eastern Division, ruled the program unconstitutional.	The City of Columbus, through the Equal Business Opportunity Commission Office (EBOCO), offers free gender and race-based certification. Becoming a certified M/FBE makes it easier to identify those ready, willing, and able to perform on city contracts. The certification process also allows the city to maintain an updated list of available and capable minority and female businesses. In addition, by obtaining certification through EBOCO, M/FBE can participate in numerous business networking and educational programs.	Yes. The certification process links qualified M/FBE with City of Columbus procurement personnel, prime contractors, and other interested parties. EBOCO generates a directory of minority and female business enterprises who are interested in participating in city contracts. EBOCO also uses this information to track progress toward its goal of M/FBE utilization to the maximum extent practicable	Our renewed focus on small business development includes a clear emphasis on the needs of minority and female-owned businesses. This month, we will hold a small business roundtable to build on the efforts of our Minority, Business and Workforce Development Committee. Our goal is to increase access to capital, grow mentorship opportunities, and quality workforce development. Taken together, these efforts will better position all small businesses – including small businesses – improve their competitive position for bids on city contracts.
	Why doesn’t the City have purchasing goals?	Why does the City have certification program?	Is the City’s certification effective and how is it?	What can the City do to improve its purchasing with minority businesses?
Zach M. Klein	Our formal MBE goals were struck down by an Ohio court in the mid-nineties. But we didn’t let that challenge stand in the way of our support for minority-owned businesses. We have challenged each city department to utilize MBE companies to the extent practicable, tracking and reporting on their progress annually.	While our formal MBE utilization goals were struck down, we have used the certification process to highlight the importance of MBEs and hold ourselves accountable through utilization tracking and reporting. These efforts have helped support city contracting with MBEs. Just as important has been our efforts to support MBEs that have certified with the city. Our Development Department and EBOCO have provided bid and start-up counseling; EEO compliance; and active outreach to MBEs to help them succeed in Columbus.	The City of Columbus must continue to make improvements to its contracting and certification processes. The easier this process is for small businesses – especially historically disadvantaged businesses – the more competitive government contracting bids are for small businesses to win. Through the small business roundtable, I am hopeful we can identify important issues and barriers facing small businesses and subsequently work together with small business owners to eliminate or reduce such barriers.	It is our goal that we will be able to identify and address the needs of small business in Columbus through our small business roundtable. In this very tough economy, the city must examine what we can do to assist small businesses with access to capital issues. Moreover, we must do our part to fund entities like ECDI so that individuals looking to start a business have a resource that can assist them. In addition, we must continually identify efficiencies in our contracting process and in business regulation. It is incumbent upon us as a city to make Columbus as business friendly as possible.
Michelle M. Mills	At one time the City of Columbus had ordinances requiring a variety of race and gender based preferences when awarding city projects. These ordinances were challenged in federal court. The Court ruled that the ordinances were unconstitutional and struck them down. For this reason, the City has no purchasing goals	Columbus has a certification program to ensure that any company or organization doing business with the City has verified that the company or organization is an equal opportunity employer	Currently, a company doing business with the City must promise to not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment on the basis of race, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, age, disability, familial status or military status. This promise carries over to ensure that employees are treated during employment without regard to their race, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, age, disability, familial status or military status. I welcome the opportunity to hear input from the Ohio Minority Business Enterprise regarding this process.	My door is always open. I enjoy hearing back from the community about the work that we do at City Hall. I hope that the Ohio Minority Business Enterprise is interested in presenting its thoughts and ideas to my office and me. Again, we have unique perspectives, and I would love to hear yours on this subject.

	What should minority owned businesses do to get city contracts?	Is there anything else, aside from contracting that the City can do to assist MBE’s?
Robert F. Bridges	Did not respond	Did not respond
Matt Ferris	Did not respond	Did not respond
Daryl Hennessy	Did not respond	Did not respond
Mark Noble	Did not respond	Did not respond
Hearscel Craig	The should contact the Equal Business Opportunity Office to get certified and learn about opportunities in all the city departments. EBO conducts outreach events all year long to keep MBEs aware of opportunities and provide supportive services. Minority businesses operate just like every other business, they provide a quality service or product at a competitive cost and we want to make sure they are treated equally.	Did not respond
Andrew J. Ginther	Minority owned business should apply for the Minority and Female Business Enterprise Certification. The certification is free, and makes it easier to identify businesses that are ready, willing, and able to perform on city contracts. Information is available online from the City’s EBOCO, or you may call the M/FBE coordinator at 614.645.2203 for additional information.	Yes, our programs and partnerships help further enhance the capacity and competitiveness of minority businesses. We will continue to build on these efforts through our small business agenda and our strategic budget priorities in 2012
Zach M. Klein	I encourage interested MBEs to contact EBOCO at 614-645-6669 to request a bid and start-up counseling session; and reach out to the Diversity Bridge program at the Columbus Chamber. Together, these programs can provide MBEs with invaluable guidance in effectively navigating the city’s bidding process.	Absolutely – and we already are. Our training opportunities, bid events and ongoing small business counseling services provide no-cost support for Columbus’ MBEs. It is my hope that, through the small business roundtable, we can further identify barriers to entry and craft community-based solutions that empower MBEs for success now and for years to come
Michelle M. Mills	The best way for minority owned business to get city contracts is to continue to perform high quality work and provide feedback where there are opportunities	I would love to hear any ideas from Ohio MBE of how the City can act as a resource for minority owned businesses

	What have you done for minority businesses during your career?	What do you promise to do for minority businesses if elected?	Why should minority business owners vote for you?	How important is minority business development to the overall economy and why
Robert F. Bridges	Did Not Respond	Did Not Respond	Did Not Respond	Did Not Respond
Matt Ferris	Did Not Respond	Did Not Respond	Did Not Respond	Did Not Respond
Daryl Hennessy	Did Not Respond	Did Not Respond	Did Not Respond	Did Not Respond
Mark Noble	Did Not Respond	Did Not Respond	Did Not Respond	Did Not Respond
Hearcel F. Craig	Did Not Respond	Did Not Respond	Did Not Respond	Minority business development is critical to the economic health of the entire community. Most minority business are small and small businesses employ most of our citizens. When small businesses struggle families face smaller pays check or lay-offs, reduced access to health insurance, and more reliance on the social service network to meet basic family needs. Of course our city's' tax base is impacted resulting in less dollars available to sustain city services.
Andrew J. Ginther	As Council President, I have a strong record of holding administrators accountable for considering minority participation when awarding contracts. Council closely monitors the City’s progress toward equal access for minority and female business enterprises (M/FBE). Additionally, I fought for programs that have helped minority businesses succeed through performance-based incentives. Working together, we have championed economic development programs that provide free, entrepreneurial development assistance and business consulting services specifically targeted to the minority community.	I will continue to promote inclusiveness of minority and female owned businesses within the City's procurement process. In addition, I will lead a renewed effort to improve the overall economic climate for small businesses, helping stimulate the creation and growth of minority businesses throughout Columbus.	As your Council President, I have used every tool available to retain and grow businesses that call Columbus home, renewing our efforts to support small businesses that put Columbus residents to work. Our Minority Business and Workforce Development Committee, led by President Pro Tem Hearcel Craig, has focused on comprehensive business assistance to minority and women owned businesses enterprises. Council funding for the Central Ohio Minority Business Association (COMBA) funding has helped COMBA assist minority and small businesses in the delivery of services such as training, workshops and seminars. Minority businesses have also benefited from our support of training at Small Business Development Center at CSCC and microloans from ECDI. In addition to promoting programs and services specifically focused on minority owned businesses, Council will continue to invest in core city services like police and fire, streets and sidewalks, recreation centers, parks and pools – all of which contribute to the quality of life in Columbus.	Minority businesses play a critical role in the vibrancy of our economy, serving as entrepreneurial foundations for strong neighborhoods. That’s why we’ve invested in the workforce development, mentorship and capital minority businesses – and all small businesses – need to succeed
Zach M. Klein	As an Assistant Attorney General and Deputy Director of Legal Services, we were always aware and supportive of minority-owned law firms when making special counsel assignments for the State of Ohio. I continue that approach as a Columbus City Councilmember, which is why I am supportive of the Columbus Chamber of Commerce's Diversity Bridge, a program that helps make minority business certification easier, builds resource networks, and assists with identifying available capital. Additionally, we must continue to fund entities like ECDI so that these businesses, especially those that have been historically disadvantaged, can have the resources to establish and expand in our city.	Within the next week, the Columbus City Council will hold a small business roundtable, where we are focusing on, among other things, access to capital. In this national economy, we must focus on how we can assist small business owners, including minority-owned businesses, in business creation and development. I know this is an important issue through our dialogues with the Central Ohio Minority Business Association, who will be attending our discussions. Access to capital is an important issue, but it's not the only one. We must also continually examine efficiency in contracting, expanded mentor-protégé services and investment in quality workforce development.	All business development is important to the City of Columbus. We pride ourselves on fighting for every job, and, as such, it is important to keep in mind that a vast majority of job growth in the city will come from small businesses – especially minority and female owned businesses. We must do our part to ensure that individuals looking to start a business can do so easily and successfully, and our current small businesses know about every opportunity to grow and expand. That includes streamlining the contracting process for government bids so all businesses, including minority-owned businesses, can compete on a level playing field.	Minority businesses have traditionally been small business and entrepreneurial start-ups – and those small businesses are the cornerstone of our economy. As we emerge from the Great Recession, entrepreneurship plays a vital role in our ongoing recovery. Workers displaced by national and international economic challenges have provided an enormous growth opportunity for our city because of their efforts to establish and grow small businesses. We, in turn, must do our part to remove barriers to entry, streamline start-up processes and support today’s entrepreneurs.
	What have you done for minority businesses during your career?	What do you promise to do for minority businesses if elected?	Why should minority business owners vote for you?	How important is minority business development to the overall economy and why
Michelle M. Mills	I have long thought that the key to being prepared to take advantage of business opportunities is strategic thinking from the perspective of creating immediate, intermediate and long-term workforce development and employment opportunities for the overall benefit of the city’s economic development. In the past, I have developed immediate jobs in the construction industry for local, dislocated, but skilled workers for the renovation of the Linden McKinley STEM Academy. At Saint Stephen’s Community House, I have also established a system of accessible training that includes OSHA certification, job readiness skills, and access to apprenticeship programs that can lead to sustainable employment. This systematic approach, has engaged industry leaders, residents, customers and skilled labor unions. Our development of over 20 minority laborers and contractors within one year supports the customers’ goals to achieve and exceed a mandated level of minority participation, while also meeting the needs of the residents. We have connected to a community invested in the growth of the city because they had an opportunity to be included. A working community is a safer and healthier community.	It is certainly the plan for all of Columbus City Council to support small, local, and minority businesses. As the backbone of our community we want to make sure that we provide small businesses with the tools necessary to achieve success. To increase parity in the small business community, the City created the Equal Business Opportunity Commission Office (EBOCO). As a City Councilmember, I will make sure that this office continues to have critical funding, allowing it to encourage inclusiveness of minority and female owned businesses within the City’s procurement process. Additionally, I will ensure that the City continues to award contracts to minority and female businesses in an equitable way. Diversity in business breeds new and original ideas that can lead to innovation and economic development. To ensure that Columbus is a thriving metropolis, City government must recognize the importance of the new, creative idea. We must foster this idea by continuing to invest in organizations and programs that can promote equality in the business community on the ground floor, such as the Economic and Community Development Institute, the Central Ohio Minority Business Association, the Small Business Development Center, and the Diversity Bridge. By becoming a more inclusive community, we create more opportunities for minority businesses, and we make our city well rounded, respected, and creative.	Prior to serving on Columbus City Council, I donated countless hours toward sweat equity, proving my leadership and commitment to the minority business community. Because I believe that a well-rounded city includes economic development, creativity, and diversity, I will continue to support minority businesses through sweat equity and by serving as a leader in City government. I will also support the Chair of the Minority Business committee by sharing successful techniques and lessons that I learned while running St. Stephen’s Community House. I welcome the opportunity to work to increase the presence of minority businesses in Columbus.	Minority business development speaks to our ability as a city to deliver on the promise of this country as it relates to opportunity. This country was founded on the ideal that through ingenuity, education, and hard work, anyone can be successful. City Council and the Mayor’s office recognize that a strong economic community improves the health, safety, and well being of our residents. Given the right opportunities, new businesses can help revitalize neighborhoods and improve our residents’ quality of life. As already mentioned, minority businesses can provide unique perspectives that when embraced allow residents to grow and learn.