Below are the bios for candidates running for CTM Trustee at the upcoming elections on Monday, December 4 from 6-7pm. Elections will be held at the Clifton Recreation Center on the 2nd floor in the large meeting room. The Rec Center is universally accessible to all. Take the elevator or the stairs to the 2nd floor.
There are 10 candidates vying for 5 open positions during this election. Your voting is important!
Voting by proxy is prohibited in the CTM bylaws. You must be present to vote. It takes only a few minutes.
You can pay your membership current prior to voting in advance or at the night of elections.
In addition to the bios below, please come back to click here and candidates’ answers to recent questions posed by the CTM Trustees.
Patrick Borders
Hi my name is Patrick Borders. My wife, Helen Adams, and I both grew up here in Clifton. We raised our kids Tommy (Chicago) and Claire (Los Angeles) in Helen’s childhood home on Bryant Avenue. I have quite a bit of experience serving on boards of non-profit and neighborhood organizations. In the 1990s I served eight years as the vice president of The New School’s parent board. In the early and mid-2000s I held several terms on CTM, including one as secretary and two as president. I am also a founding member of the Clifton Cultural Art Center’s board.
For the past 27 years I have worked at Multi Packaging Solutions – I sell packaging to pharmaceutical companies. I work from home, but I travel quite extensively. I’m also an instructor at World Peace Yoga on Ludlow.
If elected I’d like to work on supporting and improving our business district, help with fundraising, and pretty much help out with whatever needs arise. I appreciate your consideration.
Stephanie Gilbreath
Hello, neighbors. I’m Stephanie Gilbreath. My husband and I have lived in Cincinnati for 18 years, the last eight of them in Clifton. I am a former small business (retail) owner, mom of two teens, wife of a tech entrepreneur, and chief-general contractor/renovator of our home. My volunteer experience includes years of organizing and chairing fundraising efforts at The New School Montessori, foster work with Cincinnati Lab Rescue, and recently, petition work with Fair Districts/Fair Elections. I am a proud resident of Greendale Avenue and supporter of CCAC. We were attracted to Clifton for the beautiful houses, tree-lined streets, downtown proximity, walkability, and most of all, interesting and diverse residents.
I believe it is possible and important to make improvements to Clifton while maintaining its character in a collaborative and respectful manner, hearing and respecting every voice. A revitalized business district, environmentally and historically sensitive school development, vibrant arts center, and traffic calming are not mutually exclusive prospects; while challenging they are part of the overall goal of keeping Clifton a great place to live for our population in all stages of life.
If you’ve been thinking the same, I would appreciate your vote. Thank you.
Buddy Goose
I am a retired Chemistry teacher and have lived in Clifton for the last 11 years on Bishop Street.
Both Mary Rita and I have been active in the Clifton community from the beginning, taking part in many volunteer activities. I am a former CTM Trustee and currently a trustee of CliftonFest where I spend much of my free time in the summer organizing this neighborhood festival.
In the last few years I’ve noticed a division in our community that has left bad feelings and mistrust in the neighborhood that I love. Clifton is the Premier Cincinnati Neighborhood and we need to bring the schism together to go forward.
Our business district has seen a downturn due to the popularity of OTR and the Banks. We need to find ways to revitalize and reinvent this critical part of our neighborhood. A vibrant and welcoming business district is critical to attracting prospective buyers and businesses to our neighborhood. We must look to ourselves to champion development without destroying our village-like neighborhood character.
These things; increasing neighbor involvement, healing neighborhood divisions, revitalizing our business district and working to improve our families’ ways of life will be my priorities as a trustee of Clifton Town Meeting.
Sean Hare
I moved to Cincinnati in 2015 and have always lived in Clifton during my time here. I fell in love with Clifton because it reminded me of the neighborhood I grew up in in Rochester, NY. I have looked at moving around in Cincinnati but no place seemed to offer me what Clifton does.
I recently got my Master’s Degree in Community Planning from the UC and I work as an Urban Planner and Designer with MKSK. I feel that my educational and professional background would allow me to provide meaningful insights into the issues our neighborhood is facing in the coming years, namely, the merchant lot development, the CCAC relocation, and the neighborhood school creation.
I believe I would bring a positive energy to CTM and would provide a different perspective to the community. I am a young professional, recent UC grad, and a renter, which are all populations crucial to the future of our neighborhood. My intentions would be to promote equity and inclusivity with decisions and changes taking place within Clifton and would be proud to represent this community that has welcomed me so graciously in such a short time.
Rama Kasturi
My name is Rama Kasturi and I am seeking your support to serve you in a second term as CTM trustee.
I have lived in Clifton with my family for the past 18 years. A Biophysical Chemist by training, I worked at P&G for three years and at the University of Cincinnati, College of Medicine for 20 years. I served for three years on the Clifton Market Board.
As CTM Parks Committee Chair, I have led four teams of UC student volunteers in clean-up efforts at Burnet Woods, Mt. Storm Park, and District 5 and surrounding areas. I have fostered dialogue between TriHealth, Cincinnati Parks and CTM to facilitate better use of Burnet Woods. My Parks Committee is working with Cincinnati Parks Operations to support Burnet Woods trail maintenance, plant and maintain flower beds in Mt. Storm and Dunore Parks, and engage the new parks’ director to ensure that Clifton parks get necessary attention and support.
I’m involved in “green” efforts in our business district and neighborhood, and I will continue my efforts to showcase and celebrate the diversity of Clifton.
If re-elected, I will continue my quest to do as much good as possible for Clifton.
Gina Marsh
I am running as trustee for Clifton Town Meeting because I would like to help maximize efforts to enhance our business district, and to ensure these improvements respect the unique character of Clifton and allow for meaningful engagement from residents. I believe that implementing additional recommendations from the Ludlow 21 report will ensure our business district remains one of the best in the city. The success of the Clifton Market is important to that vision.
My professional experience includes over 10 years working for the City of Cincinnati, serving as an attorney for multiple city departments and leading a city council office. I currently serve as the executive director for a nonprofit. I would like to use my experience and knowledge to improve CTM’s collaborations with city departments, and to ensure we have strong relationships with city officials.
My family and I have lived in Clifton for 12 years. During that time, I have served as a CTM trustee and participated in groups focused on improving our business district such as Ludlow 21. If elected, I will be a strong, collaborative, and enthusiastic leader on CTM who is focused on ensuring our neighborhood remains progressive and attractive to new families.
Shaun McCance
I have served the last three years as a CTM trustee. For the last two years, I have served as treasurer and improved our accounting practices. As a trustee, I’ve helped organize events such as the Memorial Day Picnic and Holidays on Ludlow. I’ve been active in Clifton outside of CTM as well. I was one of the founding organizers of Clifton Market, and I spearheaded the creation of Ludloween.
Professionally, I help build contributor communities around open source software. I have served four terms on the board of directors for a nonprofit organization dedicated to software freedom and digital rights, including one term as president and two as treasurer. I have extensive experience building volunteer communities and coordinating events.
I love Clifton because it is friendly, walkable and full of passionate people. I believe CTM should invest more money and effort into improving our local and family-friendly business district to keep up with Cincinnati’s urban renewal.
Vince Metzger
Hello, my name is Vince Metzger, and I’d like to be your CTM Trustee. My wife and I moved to Clifton three years ago and have two sons who were born in Clifton. While relatively new to Clifton we love living here—the neighborhood feel, walkability and the business district.
I grew up in Fairfax and have lived almost all of my life in Greater Cincinnati, and local issues have always been an interest of mine. I have been involved in local issues since I was in my teens, volunteering on the local fire department and working countless hours
on fundraisers.
More recently, I have worked as an emergency room physician at TriHealth, mostly at Good Samaritan, for the past 10 years. As a member of my group’s board we have addressed how to adapt to the ever-changing environment of health care and still focus on
what we believe in.
Clifton is undergoing a lot of changes right now; helping us keep our identity while adapting to change is what I hope to do as a trustee.
Micah Ovadia
I have proudly called Clifton my home during several periods of my life, and have enjoyed the unique character and vibrancy for which the area is known. When it came time to establish my business, The Whole Bowl Cincinnati, I specifically targeted Clifton as my location of choice.
The community has been very welcoming to my establishment, and now I would like to give back. As a Clifton business owner, I have a keen interest in issues that affect the well-being of our community. Given the opportunity to serve as a CTM Trustee, I will be placed in a unique position to contribute to the management of these issues.
My bachelor’s degree in Visual Communications and master’s degree in Public Relations affords me the opportunity to help advance community engagement initiatives, as well as contribute in areas of marketing and advertising. My background in Web design and development would prove useful in our digital arena.
I’ve held Web Designer/Developer positions at Cardinal Solutions, University of Cincinnati, Miami University, Cincinnati.com and Time Warner Cable, and was employed in The Cincinnati Enquirer marketing department.
It would be both an honor and a privilege to serve as a CTM Trustee.
Jonny Shen
I became a Clifton resident this summer, and I feel lucky, because it’s my favorite place. I grew up moving between central Ohio, Southern Russia, northern Indiana, and Philadelphia. But silly as it may sound, I always had a dream to move to Cincinnati. In 2015, after finishing college in Philadelphia, I made my dream a reality. I first discovered Clifton because I had an interest in the Esquire Theatre. Two and a half years later, I’m now very happy to be a Clifton resident and to be entering my second year as General Manager at the Esquire (after a year and a half of part- time Esquire work while I was employed downtown at the Kroger HQ).
In my role at the Esquire, I’ve enjoyed becoming acquainted with the top-notch community members, organizers and business owners, who make up this neighborhood. I believe that Clifton has a natural charm and character to it that other neighborhoods have to bend over backwards to try to manufacture. There’s a beauty, a simplicity, and a richness to Clifton. I’m enthusiastic about this neighborhood, and I’m excited to invest energy into it as I continue to get to know it better.