Cincinnati’s Democrat Mayor Aftab Pureval continues being called out for his handling of a recent attack against a couple in his city and outrage over the local response hasn’t waned.
His comments Friday did not help.
Last Friday, Pureval gave a press conference in which he admitted he had not been in contact with the victims, including a single mother named Holly. When questioned by a reporter about how he had not been in touch with the victims, Pureval brought up other matters involving the city.
“This was a fight, it was a horrific fight, but as council member and others have said, we have significant other public safety challenges,” Pureval said, as he mentioned children involved in “gun violence.”
“We have violent crime like every other major city across the nation that requires our attention and our bandwidth and so I don’t traditionally meet or speak to every violent of violent crime in our city and that’s consistent with my approach today,” he added.
GOP mayoral candidate Cory Bowman reposted Pureval’s press conference comments and shared photos of Holly’s injuries. That Holly has spoken out about the attack and says she had “very bad” brain trauma has been a trending topic over X.
In a telephone interview with The Daily Signal Monday, Bowman spoke about how the incident could impact the mayoral election. “I think that, overall, it’s getting the word out that new leadership is needed in the city,” Bowman shared, though he also added “I don’t like using [the attack] for political gain.” That being said, “This wasn’t an isolated incident,” Bowman said, pointing to rising crime.
Bowman also shared his further disappointment in the mayor.
“If the mayor would have had any effort in trying to reach the victims or anybody involved in the fight, he would have been able to do so,” Bowman told The Daily Signal, adding, that “it’s not a hard thing to do.”
Referring to how Pureval brought up other instances of crime in the city, Bowman called the Cincinnati attack “a different circumstance.” As Bowman reminded, “This entire incident put Cincinnati nationally on the news,” adding “the reality of it is [Pureval] is the mayor of Cincinnati” and how the incident has been handled “reflects badly on the city.”
Bowman wished to emphasize that “this is not a black or white issue, this is about a poorly managed issue.” He called out how “people behind the scenes are limiting” how the incident is being handled. This especially includes the city manager, Sheryl Long, with Bowman blasting the city government’s “trickle down incompetence” and Long’s poor track record. “This has to be change from the top down,” Bowman said.
The Daily Signal also reached out to the mayor’s office and the city manager’s office.
As Pureval shared during the press conference, six suspects are charged with involvement in the fight, with more charges and arrests expected.
Beyond the national coverage which may be hurting Cincinnati and the mayor, local outlets still continue to report on the attack aftermath and the backlash.
The Cincinnati Enquirer published a letter from Lisa Cooper, who called Pureval out for his handling of the incident. “I am not party biased, as I voted for Aftab Pureval for Cincinnati mayor. But I will not vote for him in the next election,” her letter began.
On Monday night, GOP gubernatorial candidate and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy will be co-hosting a town hall with Christopher Smitherman, the former president of NAACP Cincinnati at Jim & Jack’s. Bowman, among others, will be in attendance as well.
