On City Council from 1998-2007, Mr. Tarbell served as vice mayor of the City of Cincinnati and the chair of City Council's Arts, Culture, Tourism and Marketing Committee. He has served as a member of the City Planning Commission, the Hamilton County Regional Planning Commission, and the OKI Regional Council of Governments. As chair of the Arts Committee, Mr. Tarbell was instrumental in providing City funding for the expansion of downtown arts venues and development of arts centers in neighborhoods. He started the Over-the-Rhine Arts District Homebuyers' Loan Program and is a champion for the redevelopment of the City's neighborhood business districts, including preservation and rehabilitation of the historic but blighted areas of the city. He founded the OTR Chamber of Commerce. In 1994, Mr. Tarbell received the Charles P. Taft Civic Gumption Award. He was honored as the OTR Chamber's Man of the Year and Cincinnati Magazine's "most trusted" civic activist. He has served on the boards of Downtown Cincinnati Inc., Emery Center, Taft Museum and May Festival. Mr. Tarbell enjoys being a Cincinnatian. He and his wife, Brenda, live in Over-The-Rhine. He has been a member of the SORTA board since 2007.