Fort Thomas mayor decides vote to keep pit bull ban

FORT THOMAS – Pit bull dogs will not be unleashed or leashed in the city after Mayor Mary H. Brown refused to lift the ban on the breed Aug. 4.

Council deadlocked in a 3-3 tie Monday evening, enabling Brown to cast the tie-breaking vote.

Council's safety committee had studied whether to lift the ban, in place since 1988, since about 40 people asked in April for the ban to be ended.

Voting for keeping the ban were council members Tom Lampe, Eric A. Haas and Roger L. Peterman. Council members Lisa C. Kelly, Ken Bowman and Ken Fossett voted to end the ban.

"It's a difficult question, but I think the safety of our people is paramount," said Brown after the final committee meeting Aug. 4.

The committee's recommendation, by a 2-1 vote, had been for the ban to remain in place.

Brown said many people had never heard of the city's ban on pit bulls prior to council's review of the law.

"There's no excuse now because the word is out," she said.

Haas cited keeping people safe and not getting rid of breed specific legislation.

"For 26 years, the existing legislation has worked whether it has been actively enforced properly or not," Haas said.

Haas said his personal preference was for a compromise to allow pit bull dogs in the city with regulations including registration and electronic tagging.

People opposed to lifting the ban and people interested in ending the ban did not seem interested in compromise, he said.

"I've had too many people tell me just leave the ban in place," Haas said.

Different dogs have been bred for different purposes over the ages, he said.

"My personal belief is there are differences between dog breeds," Haas said.

Haas will be the only candidate for mayor in the Nov. 4 general election.

Fossett, a safety committee member, said he did not think breed specific legislation was the answer to keeping people safe. The city needs to update its dangerous animal law, Fossett said.

"Right now, a pit bull dog that is not causing a problem can be removed, but next door if you have a dog that is vicious we don't have any mechanism for us to take it away right now," Fossett said.

Safety committee chairman Tom Lampe did direct city staff to draft legislation to create or revise legislation to allow the city greater leeway when it comes to vicious animal reports.

Lampe voted against lifting the ban.

The committee and council took time to hear from all kinds of people on the issue, he said.

Keeping the ban ensures the safety of people walking in the city, he said.

"Fort Thomas has many assets, one of which is walkability," Lampe said.

Resident Tammy Nolan, who is opposed to the ban, said she was almost too upset to speak about the committee's decision.

"Unbelievable," she said.

Nolan had brought photos of her former pit bull dog, Kendall, which died 15 months ago, to show to council members at previous meetings.

Resident Preston Manning, who was in favor of keeping the ban in place, said he walked door-to-door gathering people's opinions about pit bulls. Council's vote to keep the ban was correct, Manning said.

"I believe they're doing the right thing," he said.