CINCINNATI — Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval delivered the annual State of the City Address from the Cincinnati Music Hall Thursday evening.
Just last week, Pureval defeated challenger Cory Bowman to secure his reelection as the city’s mayor.
The speech outlined Pureval’s priorities as he moves into his second term, focusing on developmental growth and bettering existing infrastructure, tackling the city’s housing crisis, and improving public safety.
The mayor began his speech by acknowledging Cincinnati employees, including city council members, for their work in moving the city forward.
“The State of the City is strong. And because of all your hard work, it is getting stronger,” Pureval said.
He went on to detail his last four years in office, including economic pressures brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic and Cincinnati’s housing and affordability crisis, saying it was his administration’s goal to “shake things up.”
Developmental growth
Pureval said there’s been an intentional choice to focus on growth in Cincinnati, citing the $300 million Convention Center renovation set to reopen in January. The latest projected annual impact of the project, according to the mayor, was $48 million.
“This investment puts us back in the game in a dramatic way, to attract visitors from around the nation and reaffirm that we belong on the world stage,” Pureval said.
He also noted other renovations and projects, including Elm Street Plaza and the Convention Hotel.
“Unlike many of our peer cities, we are growing and we are flourishing,” Pureval said.
The mayor also discussed the Brent Spence Corridor Project, the largest federal grant in U.S. history, set to begin construction in 2026. The project includes a new companion bridge to the west of the existing Brent Spence Bridge. Crews will re-stripe the existing bridge to three lanes instead of four to “improve safety and carry only local traffic.”
The project is also expected to create 700 quality trade jobs and better connect Downtown, Queensgate and the West End, the mayor said.
Pureval also pointed to the Findlay Community Center, a project that broke ground earlier this year and aims to provide after-school opportunities and a safe space for families in Over-the-Rhine. He called the center a chance to “catalyze even more investment” and move toward the primary goal of helping create foundations for safe, healthy and thriving communities.
Pureval said when he took office, he walked into a “staggering deferred capital maintenance bill.” He said the sale of the railroad and the $1.8 billion Railway Trust have allowed the city to invest an additional $60 million into improving existing infrastructure.
The affordable housing crisis
The mayor went on to speak about how his administration and the city council have tackled Cincinnati’s housing crisis.
“I cannot overstate how central this work has been to our broader mission of building vibrant neighborhoods, deconcentrating poverty and expanding economic opportunity,” Pureval said.
Pureval said the council’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund has had a “dramatic impact” on the city and tripled the rate of affordable housing production.
This year, the mayor said, building affordable homes has been harder than ever, given macroeconomic factors, tariffs and rising costs of materials.
He praised the Department of Community and Economic Development and city leaders for their work on projects like the Metro’s Bus Rapid Transit expansion and the Connected Communities project.
“We’ve made some difficult decisions … decisions that upset some of our own residents,” Pureval said about growth throughout the city. “But doing something meaningful will necessarily come with conflicting opinions.”
As far as his next term, Pureval stressed the need to “keep everyone at the table” and “have the courage of our convictions.”
The mayor said his administration plans to continue working toward its housing goal of 40,000 new units.
“I firmly believe that we have no other choice if we want to thrive as a city in the next generation,” Pureval said.
Traffic changes
The mayor also touched on a frequently debated topic throughout the city: speed bumps.
He said over 150 “traffic calming improvements” have been installed over the last four years, leading to a noticeable reduction in speeding.
Equity goals
Pureval also talked about his administration’s equity goals, noting the creation of the Financial Freedom Blueprint and other funding programs aimed at financial empowerment, including the Medical Debt Relief Program.
That program, according to Pureval, erased more than $200 million worth of medical debt for over 100,000 Cincinnati residents.
“100,000 Cincinnatians, neighbors of ours, whose lives have been changed on a deeply human level,” Pureval said.
Public safety
The mayor went on to address a highly discussed issue throughout the Cincinnati area: public safety. He said the root of much of the violence we see is poverty, and his administration has worked to disrupt and prevent violence in partnership with the police and city council.
“Ultimately, nothing else we do matters unless Cincinnatians feel safe going about their lives,” Pureval said.
He listed the Collaborative Agreement, Alternative Response to Crisis initiative and ensured support and resources for law enforcement as ways to protect residents.
Pureval noted the violence Cincinnati has seen in both the summer and fall of this year, calling it “unacceptable” and saying tough decisions were made, such as implementing a curfew and boosting officer presence.
Just weeks before Election Day, the city put Cincinnati Police Chief Teresa Theetge on administrative leave as a third-party firm investigates “the effectiveness of her leadership.”
“We will keep building our investments in what is working, to be ready to adjust when needed and to be responsive to the data and the lived experiences of our residents,” Pureval said.
On the topic of accessibility of guns, the mayor said it will “take all of us” to combat.
The next four years
The mayor finished his address by calling back to the promise he said he made during his inauguration, saying, “I will not waste this moment.”
Pureval outlined the next four years as a chance to tackle the housing crisis, invest in public safety and stand up for residents.
“We understand our strengths as a city, the assets we have, the advantages and opportunities that exist for us,” Pureval said. “Our future is bright because you all are here, because you choose Cincinnati no matter what lies ahead.”
Community reactions
After the speech, we asked community members for their reactions.
Carolyn Martinez, who lives in Over-the-Rhine, said she hasn’t seen much change in her neighborhood since voicing public safety concerns at a community event in August.
“I don’t think anything’s changed, actually,” Martinez said.
Watch: How Cincinnatians reacted to Pureval’s address
She wanted more specific details about the city’s crime plan progress.
“Aftab should actually tell us statistics on what has happened since he’s introduced those things, like the curfew,” Martinez said.
Of the 32-minute speech, Pureval spent roughly five minutes directly addressing crime.
“While I’m incredibly proud of the progress we’ve made and the strategies that we’ve implemented to deliver on the core responsibility to our city, progress is not the same thing as victory,” Pureval said.
Cincinnati resident Sonia Jackson Myles said infrastructure investment is necessary for a prosperous city.
“Each one of us is responsible for addressing crime and addressing violence,” Jackson-Myles said.
Watch the mayor’s full speech in the player below: