Meet Chris Monzel – A Highly Principled Social and Fiscal Conservative
Chris is 42 years old and the younger of two boys. He was born in Hamilton, Ohio, 1968, and was raised in Loveland, Ohio. There he attended St. Columban Grade School and later graduated Valedictorian from Moeller High School in 1986. His passion for public service was first sparked while at Moeller when he took part in student government, the American Legion’s Buckeye Boys State, and the Cincinnati City Council’s Youth in City Government Program.
Chris graduated from Purdue University in 1990 with a degree of Bachelor of Science in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering. At Purdue, he was a member of the Kappa Sigma Fraternity and was elected to various offices including both vice-president and president. Upon graduation, General Electric Aircraft Engines hired Chris for its Engineering Development Program in Cincinnati. While working for the General Electric Company, he attended University of Cincinnati at night and received the degree of Masters of Science in Engineering.
In 1993, Chris decided to pursue public service by accepting a position with the Marianist Volunteer Service Community in Queens, New York where he worked for a year at the Angel Guardian Home Foster Care Agency in Brooklyn, New York. While there, Chris worked with teenage boys and girls helping them to develop independent living skills for when they left the foster care system. Following this, he became the acting Director of a homeless shelter in Oakland, California, where he gained a greater understanding of the many housing and health care issues facing the inner city community. In 1995, Chris accepted a teaching assignment at Minsk State Linguistic University in Minsk, Belarus where he taught American Studies. This assignment provided him the opportunity to learn about the difficult environmental and political issues facing the people of Belarus. While in Minsk, he pursued fund-raising grants for the Children of Chernobyl Organization and pro-democracy groups. Upon his return from Belarus, Chris returned to the classroom to broaden his field of studies and received a Masters in Public Policy from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government in 1998.
Chris has spent years, serving the communities in which he lived. He has held the position of trustee for the Mt. Adams Civic Association and served as vice-president of the Winton Community Council, now known as Spring Grove Village. While serving his community, Chris learned neighborhood issues first-hand and came to understand the problems facing Cincinnati.
On Cincinnati City Council Chris currently serves on the Budget and Finance Committee, Government Operations Committee, Livable Communities Committee, and the Quality of Life Committee. He previously served as Chairman of the Arts, Culture, Tourism and Marketing & Technology Committee and held the position of Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Health, Environmental Education Committee as well as a member of Law and Public Safety Committee.
His many years of council service have earned him a reputation for reducing taxes, curtailing City spending and fighting crime. Chris understands that Hamilton County needs to take major steps in order to attract and maintain homeowners and each year, he has fought to maintain a property tax rollback that prevents homeowners from facing increased property taxes due to rising property values.
During his time on council, Chris also took the lead in going after Cincinnati’s worst slumlords. He was instrumental in the creation of Hamilton County’s Housing Docket. Instead of facing civil fines for building violations, slumlords are sent to the Housing docket to face criminal penalties. The docket was established at no extra expense to taxpayers.
Chris is presently employed by General Electric Aviation as the Repair Technology Center of Excellence Department Six Sigma Black Belt and GE90 Business Program Manager. He will bring his GE real world business experience as an engineer and a manger to the Hamilton County Commission. As a Six Sigma Black Belt, he works for increased productivity and lean processes to provide repairs faster, better, and cheaper. Being responsible for a $6.2M individual budget, which is part of a Department Budget of $128M; he understands the necessity of balancing budgets and living within ones means.
Chris his wife, Jana, and their three children, reside in Spring Grove Village where Chris & Jana are very involved with their children’s activities. Chris is a former President of the St. Vivian’s PTA and is a basketball coach for St. Vivian. In addition, he also helps coach baseball for College Hill/North Hills Knothole Baseball and is an active member of Spring Grove Village’s Citizens on Patrol group.
