Why the mayors of Ohio's biggest cities are worried about Trump-Vance

The mayors of Ohio's three largest cities sounded more concerned than excited about the prospect of electing a United States vice president from Ohio this November during a joint appearance at the Columbus Metropolitan Club Wednesday.

Sure, Columbus Mayor Andrew J. Ginther, Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb and Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval are all Democrats, and U.S. Senator J. D. Vance - former President and GOP nominee Donald Trump's pick to be vice president - are Republicans, so you wouldn't expect any cheerleading.

But big cities got a seat at the table during the administration of President Joe Biden, the three acknowledged, and that invitation could get revoked under a Trump/Vance administration.

"I don't care if you're a Republican or a Democrat, if you believe in Cleveland I'm going to find a way to work with you," said Bibb.

Big cities received big amounts of cash from the Biden administration over the last four years, "but I think there is a risk that all of this momentum - all of these federal resources that we now have - directly from the federal government" could be at risk of being taken back, Pureval said.

It's important "that we have an administration who believes in investing in America's cities," Bibb said. "But for the American Rescue Plan (signed by Biden in 2021), all of our cities on this stage would have been in complete worse shape.

"We would have had to lay off hundreds of cops, hundreds of firefighters, hundreds of folks who work in public works," and also would have lost big-ticket grants used for closing the digital divide, lead-paint removal and other issues, Bibb said.

Cincinnati got $1.6 billion in federal funds to be used on the $3.6 billion Brent Spence Bridge project crossing the Ohio River into Kentucky, and Pureval worries that a Trump-Vance administration wouldn't follow-through with that commitment, he said.

Up to this time through this conversation, Ginther remained silent. He was third up to speak, and when his turn came he took a more stoic view.

Ohio has a long history of legendary and impactful U.S. senators — George Voinovich; John Glenn, Howard Metzenbaum, and others — men from all different parts of our state and differing political beliefs, but who always put Ohio first, Ginther opined.

"My hope and belief is that Sen. Vance has the opportunity to join that echelon at some point in his U.S. senate career," Ginther concluded, to laughter from the group.

"That's some OG, an OG tactic right there," Pureval responded.

wbush@gannett.com

@ReporterBush

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus, Cleveland and Cincinnati mayors discuss Ohio's Vance as VP