Indian American Mayoral candidate in Cincinnati moves forward to Nov. 3 ballot

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Aftab Pureval, candidate for Mayor of Cincinnati, was among two top vote-getters in the May 4, 2021, open primaries.The two winners will now be pitted against each other in the Nov. 3, 2021 general elections ballot.

Pureval, who currently serves as Hamilton County Clerk of Courts, along with Cincinnati City Councilman David Mann, won the most votes from among several candidates vying for the post. Notably, Mann has held the position of Mayor of the city twice before.

Pureval, who was born in Southwest Ohio, is the son of Indian and Tibetan origin parents who immigrated from India.

He has highlighted rebuilding the city’s economy to serve all people, reforming the  police department and investing in public safety. He also promises to build affordable housing and improve public transportation. However, one of the provisions on the May 4 ballot, Cincinnati Issue 3 relating to an amendment to the city’s Charter, and related to affordable housing, was defeated.

This could be because of the very low turnout in the primary, which according to the Cincinnati Herald was somewhere around 15 percent of the voting public.

Pureval is currently the Hamilton County Clerk of Courts, and was the first Democrat elected to this office in more than 100 years. In this position, Pureval has claimed to have saved taxpayers millions of dollars by dealing with corruption and bringing in efficiency in public service.

A graduate of Ohio State University where he was student body president, Pureval attended University of Cincinnati College of Law where he volunteered in the domestic violence clinic to protect victims of abuse. He has also worked as a Special Assistant United States Attorney where he worked with the FBI to prosecute crimes against children, according to his profile provided on the campaign website.

Before becoming Clerk of Courts, Pureval worked at P&G as the global brand attorney for Olay. Pureval has also been active in the community, becoming the first man to serve on the board of the Women’s Fund. He has been awarded the NAACP Theodore Berry Award for Service and been recognized by the Business Courier as one of their 40 under 40.

He lives in Clifton with his wife Whitney, a doctor who treats COVID patients, and their one-year old son, Bodhi.