CINCINNATI — Two Republican candidates are vying for the chance to challenge Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval in November's general election, marking the first time since 2009 that Republicans have entered the mayoral race.
The last day to vote in the primary is Tuesday, May 6.
Watch our interviews with both candidates:
Cory Bowman
Cory Bowman founded The River Church in the West End in 2020 and co-owns Kings Arms Coffee.
While he said he never aspired to join politics, watching his half-brother, Vice President JD Vance, be inaugurated in January inspired him to get involved.
Still, he said he wants to keep national politics out of local government.
"You’re going to have a hard time trying to get me to debate on these national issues when we see people on the streets that are suffering, not because of these national issues, they’re suffering because our city has not done their job properly," Bowman said.
Bowman is focusing his campaign on three issues: proper money management, infrastructure and public safety.
"When you see the roads, when you see the infrastructure, when you see our snow plows that are kind of not in perfect position, when you see even like our police cruisers that need to be updated ... whether it be for good intention or not, we're seeing that the priorities haven't been the streets," Bowman said.
The business owner and pastor also believes police need more autonomy to do their jobs effectively.
"If you have the gall to say that crime is down, that's a slap in the face to the people downtown," Bowman said. "The systems that we have in place might enable them to manipulate those statistics. But if you're living downtown, if you're living in the streets of our neighborhoods, you know that that's false."
Bowman wants a review of the city’s emergency call intake center to better prioritize officers.
Officers are "not being prioritized when it comes to freeing up their hands and allowing them to do the jobs," he said.
Brian Frank
Brian Frank, a former procurement executive at Procter & Gamble, shares similar concerns about city services, particularly snow removal.
When asked about specific changes he'd make to improve snow removal, Frank pointed to equipment issues.
"Well, first of all, we lost 20% of our snow removal fleet the first day, they went out there and tried to plow streets where there are speed bumps," Frank said.
Frank wants to study the speed humps, though the city has stated they did not damage the fleet, citing wear and tear instead.
A Mount Adams resident, Frank said a combination of city snow removal issues and the silence from the city on the fire hazards that caused the I-471 S Big Mac Bridge fire motivated him to run for office.
Regarding development, Frank said he opposed the construction of a planned development of a hotel and apartments in Hyde Park Square that required zoning changes.
"They want to build it three stories higher than it should be. That's absolutely wrong. So I want to put a stop to that nonsense," Frank said.
The former P&G exec also advocates for privatizing the city's health clinics,
"We are not experts at running health care centers," Frank said. "We've got experts who do that, and we should be reaching out to someone like UC Health or Tri-Health or Christ Hospital, bunches of them out there, who could take on that role."
Among Frank's more ambitious proposals is creating what he calls a new tourist attraction — a gondola from the downtown casino to Mount Adams.
"This is a game changer for not only Cincinnati, but the entire United States of America," Frank said, adding that it is a cheaper option than other forms of mass transit. "I want Cincinnati to be on the national stage, and we're going to take this further once we get this first one built in Mount Adams."
Challenging Mayor Aftab Pureval
Mayor Aftab Pureval won the 2021 mayor’s race with nearly 66% of votes.
WCPO 9 invited him to join us for this story last week. After both challengers agreed to a Wednesday interview, Pureval’s campaign said Tuesday the mayor would be unable to sit down for an interview before airtime.
WCPO 9 told the campaign the invitation for an interview still stands.
In an email in January announcing his re-election campaign, Pureval expressed pride in the city's recent achievements and confidence that more work remains to be done.
"Running for re-election has been one of the easiest decisions I've ever made," Pureval said in the message. "This is our moment, and I'm more determined than ever to keep building on the progress we've achieved together."
"Together, we can propel Cincinnati forward and reach our full potential," Pureval said, assuring supporters that he will continue to lead with the community's best interests at heart.
Pureval first took office in 2021 and has prioritized improving city infrastructure, enhancing public safety and fostering economic growth.
Previously, council members have said the city budget next year should prioritize public services and infrastructure. That budget is set to be unveiled by Pureval in late May.
