Cincinnati’s next mayor is Beavercreek native
— Aftab Pureval, a Beavercreek native, is the newly elected mayor of Cincinnati and the first Asian-American mayor of the city.
“As mayor, Aftab will rebuild our economy to make sure prosperity is shared in every corner of our city,” his election website says. “He’ll reform our police department and invest in public safety so every neighborhood is safe. And he’ll create more affordable housing and improve our public transportation.”
Pureval, 39 and a Democrat, is currently the Hamilton County Clerk of Courts, elected in 2016.
After the 2019 Memorial Day tornadoes, Pureval posted a video asking people to donate to the Red Cross.
“Today we’re all thinking of our fellow Ohioans in the Dayton area, including my own beloved hometown of Beavercreek and all the areas affected by the terrible storm and tornado,” he said.
His parents are Indian and Tibetan immigrants, according to the Associated Press.
His biography on the Hamilton County Clerk of Courts website says he attended public schools before he went to Ohio State University, where he served as student body president. He then attended University of Cincinnati College of Law, where he was an editor of the Law Review and worked in the Domestic Violence Clinic, representing women who were victims of violence.
After law school, he joined
White & Case LLP, one of the largest law firms in the country, as an antitrust litigator.
Pureval moved back to Cincinnati to work as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Department of Justice and later worked as a brand litigator for Procter & Gamble before running for Clerk of Courts in 2016.
Pureval ran against U.S. Representative Steve Chabot, a Republican in Ohio’s 1st District, in 2018, but lost.
Pureval is one of two Asian-American mayors elected in the U.S. last night. Michelle Wu, 36, will be the next mayor of Boston.