Vanessa Abbott held her first press conference yesterday at noon in the Xavier Clocktower Lounge. In a thoughtful and well-attended speech, Abbott announced her endorsement from the Cincinnati Republicans and the Network of Enlightened Women, and loosely elaborated upon her policy intentions.
Abbott’s first issue was the Cincinnati local economy. She voiced her solidarity with the struggles of other small business owners even while the economy is booming. In an antithetical statement, she proposed both financial regulations and deregulations on behalf of small businesses but did not dive further into local economics. Abbott did state that she would not be raising taxes, an affirmation that may present some financial problems if she intends to follow through with her policy ambitions.
Secondly, Abbott addressed the opioid crisis with detailed statistics regarding Cincinnati’s lack of state funding for preventative and combative measures. Suggested actions were increasing access to drug treatment services and redirecting state funds based on the needs of the city. While she was aware the city council does not control state funds, Abbott referred to previous lawsuits filed by the cities of Philadelphia and Washington D.C. against opioid manufacturers as setting a precedent for legal action. If Cincinnati could do the same, it may inspire the state to change its drug legislation. For Abbott, the money won from the potential lawsuits would fund her anti-opioid policies.
[Note: When cities or large organizations have won lawsuits against large businesses in the past, and have arranged to receive installment payments, they usually will sell the installments to investors at their own price and receive payment at a determined time, but usually all at once. But those funds are still fixed, finite amounts. Abbott did not make clear what her payment plan would be in the event of a victorious lawsuit.]
Abbott also expressed her interest in public education. Teacher retention has been a recurring issue for Cincinnati Schools, and incentivizing educators has been a common theme in suggested solutions. Abbott made it abundantly clear she would not be raising teacher salaries but suggested making tenure available for teachers earlier in their careers, or otherwise relieving them of “recess” of “carpool” duties. For Abbott, any money spent on education would be for programs offered, not for people. It was not specified how those options would be incentives for teachers, nor where the money for programs would be coming from.
Abbott’s final issue was public transportation. The main goals of her policy were fixing potholes, signage, and developing the existing bus system. How those ambitions would be funded was not identified.
Despite the expensive plans with no distinct vehicle for funding, as well as a very transparent history of bankruptcy during the recession, Abbott insisted her private work with a financial planner has prepared her for the city council position. Additionally, Abbott avoided addressing her role as the only Republican in the race. She acknowledged the difficulty of being a Republican in the Trump era, but wanted to stay focused on local, nonpartisan issues. She did not expand on her role as the only female candidate either, besides her endorsement of the Network of Enlightened Women. These might have been missed opportunities to connect with voters in the partisan and gender minority, but it may have been an effort to remove partisanship and gendering from the race to remain issue focused, but Abbott regrettably remained rather vague.
Vanessa Abbott’s next appearance is scheduled for next week in a televised interview on Wednesday, April 17th.
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