Roxanne Qualls (born March 3, 1953 in Tacoma, WA)  was elected a member of Cincinnati City Council in November 2008 after being appointed to council in September of 2008. She currently chairs the Subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

Roxanne was the three-term Mayor of the City of Cincinnati from December 1993 until November 1999 when she was term limited from office. Prior to that she served for one two-year term on Cincinnati City Council after she was first elected in 1991.

Prior to serving in elective office, Roxanne served as the first Director of the Northern Kentucky Rape Crisis Center (1975-1977, now known as the Women’s Crisis Center), the Executive Director of Women Helping Women (1977-1979, now known as the Hamilton County Rape Crisis and Abuse Center), owned a small business specializing in house painting and renovation, an Associate Director (1983-1985) and then Director (1985-1991) of the Cincinnati office of Ohio Citizen Action (formerly known as Ohio Public Interest Campaign). While director of Ohio Citizen Action’s Cincinnati office, Roxanne worked with neighborhood groups and environmental organizations to pass the City of Cincinnati’s air code, lobbied the city to establish the Office of Environmental Management, and advocated for the establishment of the city’s recycling program. Her office released an annual analysis of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Toxic Release Inventory. She was a member of the Lower Price Hill Task Force, an effort to target the environmental causes of Lower Price Hill children’s health problems.

In 1993, Roxanne became Mayor of the City of Cincinnati by achieving the highest number of votes of any council member. Cincinnati’s voters returned her to the Mayor’s office in 1995 and in 1997 where she served until term limits forced her out of office.

As Mayor, Roxanne emphasized openness and accessibility, collaborative public-private partnerships, and community and economic development.

Upon taking the office of Mayor in 1993, Roxanne established Mayor’s Night In where every Tuesday evening for two hours anyone could come and see her about anything issue or concern. She established the Mayor’s Business Expansion and Retention Program and the Mayor’s Business Breakfasts. Mayor’s Night In and related constituency work reached out to over 5000 individuals and 240 businesses and resulted in legislative initiatives, constituency services, and jobs and business expansion and retention.

Roxanne’s website:  www.quallsforcouncil.com