CINCINNATI, Ohio — As November’s midterm elections approach, Democrat Greg Landsman spoke exclusively with Spectrum News about his race against Republican Rep. Steve Chabot in Ohio’s 1st District.
A full, uncut conversation can be watched above or the full transcript can be read below. This interview took place on Aug. 24, 2022.
The full report on the race in the 1st Congressional District can be watched by clicking here.
Taylor Popielarz: First off, you’ve been campaigning for a while now. But when you meet someone new, what’s your elevator pitch for why you’re running?
Greg Landsman: So, I think it’s really important to tell people who I am and why I want to be their congressman. So you know, I want to make sure people know that I’m a parent. I’ve got two school-aged children. I was a teacher, my parents were teachers. And so education, child advocacy, that’s the work I’ve been doing most of my career. The Preschool Promise is something I always make sure that folks know I was a part of. This was an effort that we passed several years ago to make sure that every three- and four-year-old had access to high-quality preschool. And then I’m a member of Cincinnati City Council—that I’ve been there for five years and have really focused on core services. So, making sure that we’re fully funding police and fire, but also sanitation, paving our roads, the basics, which you know voters care deeply about, that their city is well run in that respect. But also, that we are going a step further and investing in things that are going to make it easier to raise a family, which we’ve been doing in Cincinnati. And then finally, you know, making sure that people trust city government. And you know, the fact that I wrote the law to crack down on pay to play and set up the first office of ethics and good government. Those are things that I really want to make sure voters know about me. And the fact that, you know, I’m running because this is the first time that the entirety of the city of Cincinnati is in one congressional district. And so, we have the ability this November to elect somebody who’s going to be focused entirely on Cincinnati and the region. And we haven’t had that. We’ve had somebody in Representative Chabot who, you know, at best was sort of a backbencher, innocuous, didn’t do much, and now has really become a threat to democracy, to the things that we hold near and dear, you know, in terms of what it means to be an American and be able to vote and have those votes count. But also, the threat he’s become to raising a family. He’s somebody who takes a lot of corporate PAC money. And so, as a result, he votes with them and not us. And so, the example I give folks is the decision not to support capping insulin prices, right? That was a straightforward, no-brainer. You know, people who are diabetic need their insulin and it’s become incredibly expensive. And so, capping it at $35 a month is something that 96% of Americans support, yet he voted against it. And so it begs the question, why? And the answer is because he gets a lot of corporate PAC money. And so, you know, for me, it’s really important for folks to know that they’re going to get somebody who’s going to be entirely focused on them, getting wages up, costs down, and just making it easier to raise a family,
Taylor Popielarz: When you consider the fact that the district will now include the whole city of Cincinnati, but still also Warren County, which is much more conservative, what would you say when you look at both areas? Is there one top issue facing the district right now?
Greg Landsman: Yeah, I think that this is an election where you have a lot of Republicans and Independents and Democrats who want something new. They want the chaos to end. The chaos with Trump and all of the craziness in D.C. The idea that you would have folks like Chabot, who would try to overturn an election. And you know, that is a unifying issue that brings folks together against this sort of emerging extremism that Chabot and Trump and others represent. The other big issue, and this includes a lot of Republicans and Independents and Democrats too, which is the idea that, we are now post-Dobbs in a place where the state is mandating pregnancies. And there are some folks who want that. I mean, Chabot really wants that. He’s been fighting for it for decades. But most people don’t. They don’t want the state that involved in those kinds of decisions. And so, I think those are two very unifying things. The third is really around whether or not government and the people that we elect are actually working for us. Right? Are they voting in our best interest when it comes to our costs and our wages? And far too often, you have folks like Chabot who aren’t. That they’ve just been in Washington for too long. And they are beholden to people who don’t live here. And you know, that is also unifying folks.
Taylor Popielarz: Obviously, as a current city councilman, you know the city well. You care about it a lot. You said in your first answer; you want to make sure it’s prioritized, especially the fact that it’s included in the new district. What do you say to people who live in the district, but outside of the city who say, Greg, I don’t know; it sounds like you might be biased toward the city’s needs? And what about me if I live outside of it?
Greg Landsman: Yeah, so it’s the same for folks in the suburbs or in Warren County. We just haven’t had somebody who is focused entirely on us. And so, the opportunity in this election is not just to have somebody who’s going to vote to protect our democracy, who’s going to end this chaos, who’s going to codify Roe, but somebody who’s going to not just vote with them and for their interests, but also who’s there all the time, in their neighborhoods, working on their issues. That’s just something we haven’t had, and I believe it will be transformative.
Taylor Popielarz: While you were on the city council, you became implicated in the story about members illegally texting each other. I know you’ve spoken a lot about it. You’ve acknowledged that when there was wrongdoing. But it did violate Ohio’s open meetings law, it led to a civil lawsuit. Though you were reelected after it, what’s your message to potential constituents who say, that’s exactly why I hate government and I don’t even want to risk elevating you after that.
Greg Landsman: Well, most people know I had a very minimal role and took full accountability. It was a text or a couple of texts. And it was a mistake. It pales in comparison to voting to overturn an election moments after the attack on the Capitol. I mean, you know, you were there. I mean, it was an incredibly scary, terrifying moment. And that was a real moment of truth for members of Congress. And most members of Congress, you know, support this idea of a peaceful transfer of power. And for Chabot to go in and vote with Trump to overturn the election was a betrayal, one that supersedes almost anything. So, I think that will play a much bigger role, and it just affects people’s lives more significantly, as does the issue of state-mandated pregnancies. I mean, that is a very serious issue that affects our lives. And, you know, voters aren’t where he is.
Taylor Popielarz: I’ve covered Congressman Chabot, now, this is the third cycle I’ve tracked him. And he’s been very effective in the past at painting his Democratic opponent in a very particular way that seems to resonate with voters, whether or not it’s entirely accurate. He’s been pitting you for wanting to defund the police in 2020. It’s been widely reported and written about that that’s not exactly what you were looking to do and that it had more to do with the Citizen Complaint Authority, $200,000 toward it, all of that. I’m curious what your response is to voters who come up and say, hey, I saw that ad; I saw this; I don’t understand it fully. And is this really what you want? How are you explaining it to them?
Greg Landsman: It’s a great question. You know, it’s important for folks to know the facts, and that people want the facts. And most people know that over the last five years since I’ve been on council, the police budget has gone up by $20 million. I have voted for every single police and fire budget since I’ve been at City Hall, led the effort this year to, for the first time in 25 years, have two recruit classes so that we can increase our complement. So, I have a perfect record when it comes to supporting police and fire. It’s a big core belief of mine that you got to keep folks safe. I think the issue here is that Chabot has proven that if he’s going to lie about the election, he’ll lie about anything. And he’s obviously not telling the truth about this. And you know, part of it may be because his own record is problematic. I mean, one of the reasons why Cincinnati and cities across the country are able to pay their bills and keep police and firefighters on the street is because of the American Recovery Plan, which he voted against. I mean, he voted against a bill that included $350 billion for police and fire, which is really problematic. And I suspect he’s just trying to divert attention from that.
Taylor Popielarz: As I’ve covered Congress for the last few years, I have encountered a lot of voters who value members who come with a lot of experience, who have gained seniority on Capitol Hill, which takes a lot of time. And Chabot is a senior member of the delegation. He’s been in office for over a quarter century. What do you say to people around the 1st District who say, I may not agree with him on everything, but he has high-ranking positions on committees, he’s respected by his party’s leadership, he has a voice. And if we took him away and put you in, you would have to start at the bottom. Why is that worth it?
Greg Landsman: Yeah, I’m not sure that folks see Chabot that way. I mean, they’ve had him in power for 30 years, and they haven’t really gotten anything out of it. In fact, now he’s become quite problematic, right? I mean, you know, whether it’s our democracy or it’s their own freedoms, it’s their costs. He is standing in the way of a lot of good things happening for them. So, that is a real challenge, I think, for Chabot, that that’s the reputation he has created for himself. And the other issue is that people see him as somebody who just does what the party tells him to do. And that’s become quite dangerous. And it’s certainly not good for our families.
Taylor Popielarz: How do you feel President Biden and Democratic leadership in Washington have been doing the last 18 months?
Greg Landsman: There are some good things. You know, as an elected here, and a parent, I’m frustrated by a whole host of issues. I mean, the fact that the child tax credit expired—though I put that more on Chabot and the Republicans. The fact that folks are still really struggling to pay for childcare and preschool, and you got all this student loan debt that folks are struggling with—again, I put that more on Chabot and the Republican folks who have stood in the way of all of that getting done. But more than anything else, I think people want somebody who is going to be there for them, a member of Congress who is coming home all of the time, working on the issues that matter most to people here, and when they are in D.C., they’re not voting with, you know, the party, whether they’re a Democrat or they’re Republican, they’re voting with the families here. And that’s what they’ll get with me.
Taylor Popielarz: The Chabot campaign likes to point out that, I think it was back in 1999; you worked for Nancy Pelosi in her congressional office. Was that a D.C. job? Were you there?
Greg Landsman: Yes.
Taylor Popielarz: OK. But it was a year? Around that time?
Greg Landsman: Yeah.
Taylor Popielarz: OK. First off, she’s still top dog in the House right now. Do you think she should stay as the leader of House Democrats?
Greg Landsman: You know, I don’t know. I, the only thing I care about, genuinely, is that the folks in southwest Ohio get somebody who’s just fighting for them, right? So, not getting pulled into the politics of D.C., which far too many members of Congress do and certainly Chabot has. He is completely a D.C. creature now, between doing whatever Trump wants or whatever the corporate PACs want, he’s theirs. And the most important thing in this election is getting folks a congressman that is just for them.
Taylor Popielarz: To that point, obviously you are a proud Democrat. Can you guarantee voters that you won’t just be a rubber stamp, 100% vote if they could look up your voting average once you’re elected? I guess, dive into that.
Greg Landsman: Yeah, I think this is where being a local elected official makes a big difference. Because, you know, as a local elected official, you work with Republicans and Independents and Democrats and you vote based on what’s best for the city, period. There is no sort of partisan hierarchy. And you get into a rhythm and you build, I think, you know, in my case, really good behaviors in the sense that I look at an issue, I talk to as many people as humanly possible, and I try to get as close to the problem as you can. And talk to the folks who are most affected. And then vote based on what’s best for them.
Taylor Popielarz: Lastly, the Brent Spence Bridge was the poster child for talk of infrastructure for years. And obviously, the infrastructure bill is now law. Senator Rob Portman helped write it, but Chabot did vote against it. And he argued that there was more bad in it rather than more good. What are your thoughts on that? Do you see any legitimacy to the criticisms he has of the bill? Or do you think it will be transformational for this region?
Greg Landsman: Yeah, we needed a massive investment in infrastructure. Roads, bridges, you name it. And in Cincinnati, because of the failure of Chabot and others to fund the Western Hills Viaduct, which he promised to do forever, we came together with county officials and other folks to get the funding we needed to fix the Western Hills Viaduct, which we’re going to do. And the same is going to be true for the Brent Spence Bridge. We now have what I think will be enough funding, but you’re going to need a member of Congress who gets in the mix, right? And helps to lead to ensure that the design is right, that the funding is fully secured, like we did with the Western Hills Viaduct, and people get a new bridge. And they’re not going to get that with Chabot. I mean, the fact that he spent all of this time, decades in power, saying he was going to do it, and never got it done, right? Never even tried to fight for it. And then once there was a bill that was going to fully fund this bridge, he said no.
Taylor Popielarz: Alright, we’ve covered a lot. Thanks so much.
Greg Landsman: OK.