Sheriff Simon Leis Liked Art

We know from our research that people love the arts. All kinds of people. Pretty much everyone—provided we talk about it in a way they recognize.

I was reminded of this over the weekend when the news came of Simon Leis passing. There are a lot of creative touchpoints to his story.

If you aren’t from my hometown of Cincinnati, or a student of the arts wars in the 1990s, you may not know Simon Leis.

Jerry Springer and Larry Flynt
Si Leis was the prosecutor in Hamilton County Ohio—Cincinnati for over a decade starting in the early 1970s. While prosecutor, he began his long career of fighting what he called ‘obscenity.’

First, he revealed information during a prostitution investigation that led to the resignation of City Councilmember Jerry Springer.

Yes, THAT Jerry Springer wrote a check to a prostitute! After giving up his council seat under pressure, he was later re-elected and became Mayor, saved our national landmark historic train station (now a museum center) in part by cutting this song recording, and became a local news anchor. All that before going on to host the television show for which he is most well-known. But that’s another story.

In addition to contributing to Springer’s early resignation, as prosecutor Leis is famous for convicting Larry Flynt, the publisher of Hustler magazine, for obscenity. (There’s a movie about this case in which James Carville played the role of Leis. I am not kidding.)

Leis went on to become a local judge and then served as County Sherriff from 1987 – 2012.

It was in the early years of his time as Sherriff that he took up his action against art and artists.

Sheriff Leis was wildly popular and had so much campaign money that he was able to create these artistic yard signs.
This framed sign has been on my wall in multiple cities since I ‘found’ it while working on another campaign.
Artist: Unknown

Robert Mapplethorpe
In 1989, the Corcoran Gallery of Art had canceled the Robert Mapplethorpe photography exhibition The Perfect Moment under pressure from conservatives. This controversial decision led to revival of the debate over public funding of the arts. Nevertheless, the leadership at the Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati decided to proceed with their plan to host the traveling show.

As County Sherriff, Leis led the effort to bring obscenity charges against the Contemporary Arts Center (CAC) and its director, Dennis Barrie, over the exhibit.

Of course, the county lost that case—the first such charges filed against a museum for its art—and the failed effort brought increased attention to the show and the public debate.

In the Mapplethorpe case, it took a jury of eight only two hours to acquit. And this was a jury of people who’d never been to the Contemporary Arts Center, some of them had never been to a museum at all. Only one of them had ever given to the local campaign for the arts, the Fine Arts Fund, now ArtsWave, a workplace-based fundraising group like a United Way for the arts.

‘The Sheriff Likes Art’
In 2010, as part of the relaunch of the Fine Arts Fund as ArtsWave, where I served as VP of Communications and Research, we painted six blocks of street pavement on 12th Street in the historic neighborhood of Over-the-Rhine with 1500 people coming together to co-create a massive asphalt mural designed by artists based on community input. 

While we were painting, and the street was becoming a vibrant riot of colorful art, someone asked whether we’d hired a helicopter to capture the artwork from above—this being before the days of drones.

In fact, we’d tried to find a news helicopter that might let us send up a photographer, but none of the local outlets had a helicopter at that time. And we didn’t have a budget to hire a private operator. Hearing this, someone suggested that I call Sheriff Simon Leis’ office because he had a ‘bird.’

Back in the days of the Mapplethorpe fight, the opponents of the Contemporary Arts Center had targeted the Fine Arts Fund. Contributors threatened to withhold corporate contributions to the annual campaign unless the Fund removed the museum as a grantee. The museum is said to have voluntarily withdrawn from the campaign rather than forcing a decision that might harm other arts institutions with a decline in overall funding. 

I thought about all this while I dialed the Sheriff’s office to ask about the helicopter.

The answer? It was a Sunday and they’d have to wait until the ‘aviation team’ was back on Monday and then the Sheriff himself would have to approve. 

Now I was doubtful. But the Sheriff’s office staff assured me, “No promises, but Sheriff Leis likes art!”

“Sure,” I said, probably rolling my eyes hard, “that’s what I hear.”

A few days later, a DVD full of photographs appeared at ArtsWave. The Sheriff had sent his own photographer up in the helicopter and they flew back and forth capturing multiple views of the new mural.

So yes, even Sheriff Simon Leis #RIP liked some art.