CINCINNATI — Mayor-elect Aftab Pureval won’t assume office for another few weeks, but he's already headed to the White House to speak to national leaders about Cincinnati's future.

Pureval, who will be sworn-in Jan. 4, travels to Washington, D.C., on Tuesday morning along with other newly elected mayors from across the country. That includes Justin Bibb, the 34-year-old recently selected by voters to lead the city of Cleveland.

The group will spend the day meeting with senior White House leadership and cabinet secretaries. They’ll discuss working with the Biden administration on domestic priorities for cities.

Some of the major topics of discussion will center around key federal funding and other resources recently approved by Congress, such as the American Rescue Plan and the $1.2 trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill.

Like many people in greater Cincinnati, Pureval, 39, said he sees building a companion bridge for the antiquated Brent Spence Bridge as a must-do.

“The No. 1 priority for the city and the region is the Brent Spence Bridge. I’m talking to anyone in D.C. who will listen to me and I'll be advocating for Brent Spence in all of my meetings,” said Pureval, a Democrat.

The Brent Spence Bridge is a vital trucking corridor and an essential piece of the supply chain. Built in 1963, the bridge was not designed to accommodate today’s transportation needs. Traffic increases over the decades have made it one of the worst trucking bottlenecks in the nation.

“The Brent Spence bridge isn’t a Cincinnati issue, it's a regional issue. Frankly, because of the supply chain challenges we're facing, it's a country issue,” he said. “In order for our region to get the most dollars we possibly can, we have to work collaboratively. Not just with Hamilton County, but also with Northern Kentucky with our leaders in Indiana. We are a tri-state area, and the more dollars we can get to the region, the better for everybody.”

There are strong assumptions that the passage of the Infrastructure Bill means the Brent Spence Bridge project will be greenlit, but there’s no guarantee. Pureval said local mayors and municipal leaders can offer “critically important” insight into the “true impacts” of a project, whether it's the bridge or something else.

There’s $550 billion earmarked for fixing or enhancing transportation, broadband and utilities infrastructure. The infrastructure funds will go toward anything from building pedestrian safety measures to adding charging stations for electric vehicles to replacing lead pipes used for water service.

“Cincinnati's got some important needs and I want to make sure that we're at the front of the line, not just the Brent Spence (Bridge), but other things as well,” Pureval said.

“We've got lead in our water pipes; that's a priority. We want to make sure that our bridges and roads get the dollars necessary to turn them into multimodal infrastructure. And to be a city of the future, we need to ensure that broadband is not just accessible, but affordable to all of our residents,” he added.

Pureval received multiple invitations to attend meetings at the White House and the Department of the Treasury. Some will be one-on-one while others will be a group format. 

Another key topic of discussion will be Biden's $1.7 trillion Build Back Better Act, which is still making its way through Congress. The sweeping piece of legislation aims to help the United States reach climate goals, expand health care, make universal preschool free and "grow our economy from the bottom up and the middle out," per the White House.

Pureval said it’s his job to help put Cincinnati in a position for immediate and future success. He said these meetings will have two goals: “to brag about the incredible work we're currently doing in Cincinnati and to advocate for the city to ensure we’re at the front of the line” (for funding).

His schedule includes a trip to the Freedman’s Bank Forum hosted by Vice President Kamala Harris and Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen. The event brings together leaders from the political and business worlds together to discuss ways to make the economy more equitable for communities of color.

Pureval stated time and time again, both on the campaign trail and now during his transition into office, that a primary goal is to bring renewed focus to racial equity to the city and city government.

“In all of my meetings, I'll be advocating for and discussing ways that we can work together to lift up our Black and Brown communities, particularly Black- and Brown-owned businesses and women-owned businesses,” he said.

Pureval plans to fly into Washington early Tuesday morning and then depart later in the day to return to Cincinnati.

Between flights, he’ll spend the day meeting with the likes of Jacob Leibenluft, the Chief Recovery Officer at the U.S. Treasury.

Leibenluft is the lead administrator of the various national recovery programs. His office works closely with Gene Sperling, a longtime presidential advisor who was tasked with overseeing the roll out of the American Rescue Plan Act.

Pureval also plans to meet with Mitch Landrieu, a senior presidential advisor responsible for coordinating the implementation of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Pureval called him “the czar of infrastructure dollars.”

“These meetings are with very high-level cabinet secretaries, people like the secretary of HUD (Housing and Urban Development) (Marcia Fudge) and the secretary of transportation (Pete Buttigieg),” Pureval said. “We're meeting with the decision-makers.”

“I’m really encouraged that leaders in Washington are including our local stakeholders and decision-makers at the table, and not just including, but leading with them,” he added.

There’s a plan for a formal sit-down with Sen. Sherrod Brown while both are in D.C., according to one of Pureval’s staff members.

Pureval said he appreciates the willingness to get support from power players in Washington and in Columbus. But he called directly working with the White House “critically important,” especially in light of some of the issues facing cities due to the pandemic.

He gave the Emergency Rental Assistance program as an example.

“Instead of having those dollars go through various pass-throughs, getting it right to the mayor's on the local level ensures that we can get as much of it into the hands of the landlords and the tenants who need it as efficiently as possible,” he said.

What transpires in Washington on Tuesday won’t change anything that happens in Cincinnati the following day, or even the following week, most likely. But the meetings are about developing relationships and making sure Cincinnati is on the front of people’s minds.

“There's a lot of different ways that our local government can partner with our federal government to lift up all of Cincinnati,” he said. “We’re going to D.C. ready to talk, listen and get things done.”