CINCINNATI —  Mayor-elect Aftab Pureval has assembled a team of leaders from various sectors to help his transition into office at City Hall.

Members include Michael Fisher, outgoing president and CEO of Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center; attorney Stephanie Jones, worked in the Clinton and Obama administrations; and former two-term Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory.

Pureval introduced the "co-chairs" of his transition team Monday during a press conference at the Contemporary Arts Center in downtown Cincinnati.

"What I'm hearing overwhelmingly from our residents is that what we need moving forward is collaborative leadership," Pureval said. "And that work starts today."

Pureval and his transition team will meet with various stakeholders over the next month and a half before he takes office. They'll use that feedback to develop specific plans and policy directions.

He's already met with Daniel Hils, the local Fraternal Order of Police president, and several leaders of community groups and nonprofit organizations. He also plans to visit with area business leaders.

Mark Fisher, outgoing CEO of Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, discusses his role as a co-chair of Aftab Pureval's transition team (Spectrum News/Casey Weldon)

That will include the development of comprehensive plans in four key areas: Economic recovery and equity, affordable housing, public safety and climate action. Pureval said each plan will have specific deliverables.

Former Procter & Gamble executive Harry Kangis will assist as well. Pureval called Kangis an "expert in strategic planning."

"We've got to recover from this pandemic, get our economy moving again, and (continue to) grow our city," Pureval said. "As (Fisher) likes to say, growth is central to the lifeblood of our city and to have the resources necessary to do the big things. So (getting the economy moving) will be my top goal for the first 100 days."

Fisher said the various co-chairs will focus on their respective areas of expertise. For him, that's health care, not-for-profit organizations and the business community.

"I think in the many things I've had to be part of in my career, you've needed a strong partnership with the business community," he said. "I know Mayor-elect Pureval is very committed to that and already has many relationships to build on."

Jones said it was important to be part of a team that was focused on collaboration and working together for a common theme, a renewed focus on racial equity. That focus was central to Pureval's successful campaign and it will be at the core of what he will aim to implement with the support of City Council, she added.

"It's going to take a full team of focused leaders to get it done; leaders who can leave their egos at the door, roll up their sleeves, work together on our shared goals," said Jones, president of the civil rights nonprofit Call to Justice Foundation.

Mallory is happy that a formal transition is able to take place. When he was first elected in 2005, the mayor took office on Dec. 1. Now, new mayors have an extra month to make preparations and confer with the current administration.

Pureval has already met with City Manager Paula Boggs Muething about the transition and has more meetings planned.

Pureval on Monday reiterated his intentions to perform a national search for a city manager once he's in office. He said he has not had any direct conversations with Boggs Muething about whether she intends to be a candidate.

Attorney Stephanie Jones is one of the three co-chairs of Aftab Pureval's transition team. (Spectrum News/Casey Weldon)

He also noted that Cincinnati only has “one mayor at a time” and Mayor John Cranley is still in office. Pureval said he’ll roll out specifics of his 100-Day Action Plan after he takes office in January.

Cranley, too, only had a one-month transition window when he was elected in 2013. He did not have a transition team, but he did have the benefit of serving on council for nine years, from 2000-2009.

Pureval praised Cranley for what he called “proactive” measures to help ensure a successful transition of power. Cranley met with Pureval the day after the election. The two now have a standing weekly meeting, Pureval added.

"[Mayor Cranley] is committed to a professional and orderly transition," Pureval said. "We have a shared priority to ensure that the city's business does not miss a step during the transition."

That extra time can come in handy for a new mayor, especially one who never served on Cincinnati City Council, Mallory said. Pureval is only the second person in 86 years to earn election as mayor without being a City Council member first. Mallory was the first.

"The first goal is to understand what the current administration is doing — what the priorities are, what the issues are, what the opportunities are," Mallory said. "And then two, to make sure that as he goes into office, the mayor-elect has the opportunity to overlay his vision and his priorities for Cincinnati's future."

Pureval is currently Hamilton County Clerk of Courts. He was first elected to that position in November 2016 and was reelected four years later.

While he’s no stranger to campaigning or public office, Pureval doesn’t have much experience at City Hall. He'll be joined down on Plum Street by a City Council composed mostly of newcomers.

Just three members of the previous council are returning and Council member Greg Landsman is the only one who was previously elected to office. Council members Jan-Michele Lemon Kearney, this year's top vote-getter, and Liz Keating were both appointed to their seats mid-term due to well-publicized legal troubles of the elected members they replaced.

Pureval also plans to meet with the council members in the coming days. As mayor, Pureval will select the city's vice mayor and direct council committee chairpersons.

Individual meetings with all of the newly elected council members are underway. He said based on those conversations, the group seems "as excited as I am to get started on our collective work to move Cincinnati forward."

"What will come from these meetings is a commitment to partnerships and relationship building. What will come from these meetings is hearing from business leaders and community activists about what they want to see from their new administration and their new city council," he said.

By the time Pureval takes office in January, it will have been about two months since voters overwhelmingly elected him into office with nearly 66% of the vote over longtime Cincinnati politician David Mann. 

Pureval said he's grateful to have received Mann's support.