Dear Precinct Executive: I hope you will attend the important meeting of the Cincinnati Democratic Committee scheduled

for 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, May 4, at the Letter Carriers Hall in Northside. You may have read that the endorsement committee did not include me among the three nonincumbents (Shawn Butler, Michelle Dillingham and Greg Landsman) that are to be recommended to you for endorsement. You may not have heard the details of the process that reached this result: 1. Once the incumbents were separately approved, a straw vote by show of hands was taken with respect to all others who had been interviewed by the committee. Only four people (Butler, Dillingham, Landsman and I) had significant support. I was second of the four. 2. Next, signed ballots were cast with respect to the four. Again, I finished second. 3. Incredibly, because some were not happy with the results and insisted on changes, the committee conducted yet another vote. This time, by a one vote margin, I dropped to fourth. As a matter of fundamental fairness, this process is objectionable. An organization committed to democratic principles does not change the rules part way through the process because someone does not approve of the result. I ask to be endorsed as a Democrat as I have been throughout my career of 15 previous elections. I may not be as well known to some precinct executives as others. My biography and some recent Enquirer articles are enclosed for your review. My political start was as a McGovern delegate committed to ending the war in Vietnam. In my past service at City Hall, I vigorously advocated for city residency requirements for city employees; helped bring about the legal consent decrees that brought African Americans into the police and fire ranks in significant numbers; led the fight to ban assault weapons and regulate handguns in the city; and worked to provide minority contractor and employment set-asides whenever public money is spent. I am a proud, progressive Democrat who is very worried about the financial wellbeing of our city. See you on Saturday, May 4. David S. Mann