More town halls, coffee with Republicans: Rep. Greg Landsman talks about his new job

On Sunday night, two days before he took office as Greater Cincinnati's new congressman, Greg Landsman sat on the empty floor of the U.S. House of Representatives with his 11-year-old son, Elijah.

Hours earlier, Landsman, his wife, Sarah, and their two children, Elijah and Maddie, 12, arrived in the nation's capital and moved into a rented apartment in Washington, D.C.

As they sat in the quiet chamber, Landsman and Elijah reflected on the road that led him from Cincinnati City Councilman to Congress.

"It was about as special a moment as you get as a dad," Landsman told The Enquirer Tuesday, a little over an hour before he returned to the House floor as a full-fledged member of Congress. "We were walking out and he grabbed my hand, and he just said, 'I'll never forget this.'"

Landsman, a Democrat from Mount Washington, unseated Westwood Republican U.S. Rep. Steve Chabot in November in Ohio's 1st Congressional District. Chabot had represented the region in Congress for 26 years before losing this year in an expensive and brutal campaign.

On Tuesday, Landsman began his tenure as congressman for the district which includes Cincinnati, eastern Hamilton County and all of Warren County. He spoke with The Enquirer on Tuesday about his plans.

Who got Landsman's vote for speaker of the House?

Landsman started his first day in Congress amid drama over who will become the new speaker of the House among the Republican majority. Presumptive favorite, Rep. Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican, has clashed with factions in the GOP.

Landsman entered the Capitol building on his first day knowing who had his vote: New York Democrat Rep. Hakeem Jeffries. Jeffries doesn't stand much of a chance to be speaker this year with the Republicans regaining a narrow majority in the House.

Landsman described the political jockeying among the Republicans as chaos.

"There is seemingly a group of very extreme members in the Republican caucus causing what I believe to be a lot of chaos and uncertainty," Landsman said. "And folks don't want that."

Landsman said he was concerned about proposals among McCarthy's opponents to change the House rules to allow as few as one to five members to remove a speaker.

"It may come down to one person who can just say, 'Hey, we want a new speaker,'" Landsman said. "That means a Marjorie Talyor Greene, or a Matt Gaetz, or Lauren Boebert, they’re running the House. Certainly, they have an outsized, very problematic, if not dangerous influence."

What will be his first piece of legislation?

Landsman hasn't drafted any legislation yet, but he has some ideas. He said his first piece of legislation might expand tax credits for earned income or children. He said he also wants to introduce legislation to expand grants to police and fire departments to increase pay and hire more officers and firefighters.

"I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about it," Landsman said. "It’ll be either around economy and inflation and helping people pay bills or around public safety or both."

Finding common ground

Landsman has talked about the significance of Tuesday's swearing-in of Congress. It's the first since the riots at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Weeks before taking office, he called on those who failed to certify the 2020 election in certain states to admit it was a mistake.

Landsman said he has reached out to Republicans to sit down and find common ground. One of those he's reached out to is Rep. Warren Davidson, a Republican from Troy who represents the western half of Hamilton County. Davidson voted against certifying the election results in Pennsylvania and Arizona.

Landsman said he will ask Davidson about his vote over the 2020 election and support of Donald Trump.

"If it’s going to help folks back at home, I will work with whoever to get things done," Landsman said. "But I want to be clear-eyed about that being a mistake that cannot ever be repeated."

Landsman said he's waiting to hear back whether Davidson would like to sit down over coffee.

Landsman has already sat down with Republican Rep. Brad Wenstrup, who represents Clermont County and the areas east of Cincinnati. They talked about immigration reform and border security among other topics. Landsman said he supports more border control agents and judges to speed up the process.

Landsman said he supports what he thinks a vast majority of Americans want.

"They want border security where there is real structure and sufficient personnel at the border," Landsman said. "That means more officers and judges so that they can get people processed more quickly. Those that are coming here seeking asylum and safety, that process is taking years. That’s why we have so many issues at the border."

More town halls

Landsman said he will only be in Washington, D.C. to vote and will spend most of his time back in his district. He said he's hoping to attend President Joe Biden's appearance in Covington on Wednesday if his schedule in Congress permits. His staff is working on setting up in-person town halls in the district, times and places to be determined.

"It’s really important for people to see their member of Congress and be able to talk to them and work with them on issues," Landsman said. "We’ll have them in the city, some in the suburbs, in Warren County. My hope is we do so many that people say that may be too many town halls."

Landsman had served on Cincinnati City Council since 2017.

Landsman, in a press conference in mid-December, emphasized the significance of the Jan.3 swearing-in of Congress, the first since the Jan. 6, 2021 riots at the Capitol.

“It needs to mean something. It certainly means something to me," Landsman said.

Landsman took aim at those members of Congress who, after the Jan. 6 insurrection, voted against certifying the election results in some states. Chabot, the man Landsman defeated, voted against certifying the election results in Pennsylvania.

Landsman's victory marked a major milestone for the Democrats in their dominance of Cincinnati-area politics. They control all but one seat on Cincinnati City Council and all but two countywide elected offices in Hamilton County.

Now they have one of the county's two congressional seats. Landsman represents all of Cincinnati and the eastern portion of Hamilton County as well as all of Warren County to the north. Rep. Warren Davidson, a Republican from Troy, represents western Hamilton County outside of Cincinnati's city limits, including Green Township, Cheviot and Harrison.

Republican lawmakers had to redraw the lines through redistricting by including all of the more heavily Democratic Cincinnati in Chabot's district. It gave the Democrats a slight edge.

It's not clear how likely it is that Republicans can regain the 1st Congressional District, or where candidates may come from. The current borders could be redrawn for the 2024 election. Courts have declared the current maps

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Democratic Rep. Greg Landsman begins Congressional career.