The man behind Cincinnati's tax levies: Who is Jens Sutmoller?

You might not know his name. But if you've ever voted for a tax levy in the Cincinnati region, you've supported his work.

Jens Sutmoller (the first name is pronounced Yens) has made a living off levies, or the campaigns to pass them, more exactly.

He's lost count of the number of political campaigns he's overseen. More than 100 by his recollection, counting both ballot issues and candidates. Sutmoller, 37, has become the "go-to guy" in the Cincinnati region for anyone seeking a tax increase.

A busy year for JS Strategies

This year, Sutmoller's behind-the-scenes role has drawn more attention than usual as he's led three ballot issues and consulted on several more. This includes running the most expensive campaign in Cincinnati's history – the campaign supporting Issue 22, which would allow Cincinnati to sell the Cincinnati Southern Railway for $1.6 billion.

The East Walnut Hills Democrat's firm, JS Strategies, has been paid $280,000 so far this year on ballot issue campaigns, primarily pushing the sale of the Cincinnati Southern Railway as well as levies for the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden and the Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library, based on campaign finance reports filed with the Hamilton County Board of Elections. He is also consulting on the campaign against Issue 24, which would amend Cincinnati's charter, raising the city's earned income tax to pay for affordable housing.

That $280,000 is not just fees for his firm but also covers expenses, such as paid media, signs and other campaign costs. He declined to say how much he makes off the campaigns.

His work this year has also drawn some criticism.

An opponent of the sale of the Cincinnati Southern Railway has asked the Ohio Elections Commission to review whether Sutmoller can serve as treasurer for Mayor Aftab Pureval while also leading the campaign for Build Cincinnati's Future, the group pushing for the sale.

So who is this guy who groups turn to when they want something on the ballot and passed by voters?

'He can make a hell of a difference'

Sutmoller hasn't held public office. The closest he came was student body president in 2007-2008 at Miami University, where he graduated in 2008 with a bachelor's degree in political science.

Yet political leaders told The Enquirer he's had more impact on the region than many political officeholders.

"He's not himself a politician," said Brewster Rhoads, a Democratic political operative who was the region's levy maven before Sutmoller. "Although he'd probably be a good one. But he knows that by him getting involved, he can make a hell of a difference in the quality of life in this community, especially for those in need. And that's so damn rewarding."

Sutmoller has preferred to remain behind the scenes and work on issues that usually appear at the bottom of the ballot.

While the levies aren't the first thing voters see, they can be the most important thing people vote on, Sutmoller told The Enquirer.

"The reality is, not a lot of people are paying attention to many of these issues, but they're some of the issues that impact people in the community most directly," Sutmoller said. "This is addiction treatment. This is mental health access. This is access to health care in our hospital systems, schools, quality of life issues, like the zoo."

'Go-to guy' counts 20 successful levy campaigns

A partial list on his website of successful levies and campaigns he's run across Ohio totals 20. It includes levies for school districts and a variety of other institutions.

The Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library turned to Sutmoller in 2018 when they wanted money to repair aging libraries. The levy passed with 63% of the vote even though the tax more than doubled what property owners were paying for libraries. Library leadership hired Sutmoller again this year to promote another tax increase.

The county's mental health and social service agencies turned to Sutmoller in 2022 to seek the first increase of the county's mental health tax in 15 years. It passed with 64% of the vote.

Sutmoller was the only one considered for the job as a political consultant for the mental health levy, said Neil Tilow, one of the trustees for the Mental Health Works nonprofit that advocates and raises money for the mental health levy. Tilow is also the former head of Talbert House, one of the chief beneficiaries of the mental health levy.

"From my perspective, he’s the go-to guy," Tilow said. "He’s thorough, personable, good follow-through."

Torch passed a decade ago

Running levy campaigns is a specialized skill that requires knowledge of the state and local tax laws and connections in the political and business worlds, Rhoads and others told The Enquirer. Rhoads worked on dozens of levies in the 1990s and early 2000s before passing on his business to Sutmoller in 2011 when the two worked on the renewal of the indigent care levy, which pays for medical services for the poor. It passed with 69% of the vote.

"People would sort of joke, you know, guard your wallet, Rhoads is coming," Rhoads said with a chuckle. "Because there's the guy who is raising taxes all the time. But you know, every one of those were clearly in the best interest of the community. And Jens is not a cynical guy. He doesn't work on things he doesn't very much believe in."

Rhoads needed to find someone to take over work on local levies when he got a gig in 2007 for Gov. Ted Strickland's administration. He found it in Sutmoller, who at the time was a Miami University graduate who had done work for Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory.

Both were Democrats who loved the outdoors: Rhoads an avid canoeist and conservationist who founded Paddlefest, Sutmoller a skilled skier and rock climber. (He skied competitively in high school and has taught classes at Perfect North Slopes in Lawrenceburg, Indiana.)

It wasn't the love of the outdoors, though, that led to Sutmoller becoming the new Rhoads.

Rhoads doesn't remember exactly how he first met Sutmoller. What he does remember is the impression he left as a smart, driven political operative who could use databases and target the right voters with the right message.

"The bottom line is, it was clear that he was the right, the best guy to be taken over the school levies," Rhoads said. "And so I introduced him to Cincinnati Public School people. And then he started running all their levies, and he in turn, he branched out to do health and hospital mental health-led services and run all these campaigns throughout Greater Cincinnati."

Protest of George W. Bush a turning point

Sutmoller's political journey began as a senior at Little Miami High School in Morrow, just north of Cincinnati. He had moved from Vermont where he grew up as both a Dutch and an American citizen. (His Dutch passport expired and he's unsure what his current status is with the government of the Netherlands.)

Sutmoller opposed the Iraq War. When then-President George W. Bush came to Lebanon, Ohio, in 2004 to give a speech, Sutmoller protested outside with a large group. He described it as a turning point.

"I loved it," Sutmoller said. "And it felt like I was having an impact in the political process and an impact at a local level."

Sutmoller wanted to get involved. He visited the Hamilton County Democrats webpage and reached out to the first politician on the list of endorsed candidates, future Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory, who at the time was an Ohio senator.

Still a high school senior, Sutmoller began interning for Mallory. Mallory asked him if he wanted to attend a fundraiser for an up-and-coming politician named Barack Obama.

He later worked on Mallory's 2005 mayoral campaign and then managed Mallory's 2009 reelection campaign.

He then managed Roxanne Qualls 2013 mayoral campaign in which she lost to John Cranley.

After that loss, he decided to make levies his focus, said Jay Kincaid, a political consultant who managed Cranley's campaign in 2013.

"I think he told people at the time, and I think he would tell you now, that he made a very clear decision to focus on these types of campaigns and become an expert at them, and to make that the focus of his work," Kincaid said.

Close friends with Pureval

While levy work has become his forte, he continues to work on campaigns. He's currently Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval's campaign treasurer. He's served as the treasurer since 2022, he told The Enquirer. Campaign finance documents filed list Sutmoller as Pureval's treasurer following the November 2021 election.

He's known Pureval for years but became close friends with him in 2016 after Pureval's historic upset of a longtime Republican incumbent to become Hamilton County Clerk of Courts. Pureval's words left an impression on Sutmoller, who said Pureval recognized "any office can have a tremendous impact on people's lives" and that Pureval's speech "spoke to the same way I think about the issue campaigns."

Sutmoller's office sits across Plum Street from Cincinnati City Hall. When asked if the mayor comes to visit often, Sutmoller said, "A lot of people come to the office here."

Ethics complaint filed

Sutmoller's work with the mayor came under scrutiny this year amid the contentious campaign for Issue 22, the sale of the Cincinnati Southern Railway.

In an interview with WCPO-TV, Pureval initially said Sutmoller wasn't his campaign treasurer, then revised his answer when shown paperwork that Sutmoller was, in fact, his treasurer.

Pureval did not return a message seeking comment.

Todd Zinser, a West Price Hill resident and opponent of Issue 22, filed a complaint asking the Ohio Elections Commission if Pureval broke electioneering laws by having his campaign treasurer the same man who is running the pro-Issue 22 campaign.

Zinser is a former federal inspector general who founded Citizens for a Transparent Railroad Vote.

"It all surrounds these TV ads, where the mayor appears in TV ads, promoting Issue 22 while being a declared candidate for reelection," Zinser said. "That just seems like someone needs to make a determination whether it was OK."

The complaint was filed Oct. 19, so the elections commission has yet to make a determination. A hearing is scheduled for Dec. 14.

Mark R. Weaver, an election law attorney who was the deputy attorney general of Ohio under Betty Montgomery from 1995 to 2000, said it's common for campaigns to share treasurers. Electioneering laws would only apply if Pureval was running at the same time as the railroad campaign.

Sutmoller said there's no conflict.

"Can you point to a specific law or provision that points out that this is any conflict?" Sutmoller said. "So there's no conflict."

Sutmoller's supporters think the criticism of him working on both campaigns is nonsense. His business is to be well connected and have good relationships with elected officials, Rhoads said.

"It's one of the best assets he brings to the table," Rhoads said. "He has really good relationships with influential people. That's what you want, right?"

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Who is Jens Sutmoller, Cincinnati's tax levy expert?