Republicans and Democrats both didn't want to talk about Sittenfeld's political future

Yahoo

29-05-2025

President Donald Trump's pardon of former Cincinnati Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld means he could run again for office now that his rights have been restored after his felony bribery conviction.
If he wanted to, of course.
Sittenfeld didn't say anything publicly on Thursday about his future plans now that his federal corruption case is behind him. Those close to him also weren't talking.
Does the man who people once saw as the frontrunner for Cincinnati mayor and one of the region's rising Democratic stars now have a political future again?
Republicans and Democrats in Cincinnati seemed united in not wanting to say much about Sittenfeld or his political future, if there is any.
The pardon by a Republican president of a Democratic politician has put both parties in an awkward position.
As for Sittenfeld himself, he did not respond to messages from The Enquirer seeking comment.
In a letter he wrote to the judge in 2023 before he was sentenced to 16 months in federal prison, Sittenfeld said his focus was no longer on his personal ambition but "now about my family life, my faith and about helping others who are enduring life's crucibles.'
He still had $850,493 in his campaign committee's coffers as of his last filing in January 2025, according to records with the Hamilton County Board of Elections.
His past conviction and Trump endorsement doesn't disqualify him from a future run a public office, even in a city where Trump lost by a three-to-one margin, said David Niven, the University of Cincinnati political professor. But Niven doesn't think you'll see Sittenfeld campaign signs anytime soon based on his past statements and the fact that his previous political life almost cost him everything.
"I think he could if he wanted it," Niven said. "People love a redemption story. He obviously demonstrated a capacity to connect with people. But I don't see him on the comeback trail."
Cincinnati Vice Mayor Jan-Michele Lemon Kearney, who served with Sittenfeld on city council for less than a year in 2020 before Sittenfeld was suspended from council, had more to say than most.
In a texted statement to The Enquirer, she saw some future for Sittenfeld in the city but didn't specify what.
"There is more work to do, and with his legal matters behind him, P.G is now able to get back to work in some way for the people of Cincinnati," Kearney said.
She praised Sittenfeld's past contributions including to the "underserved communities" and pushing for affordable housing. She said Sittenfeld was working to establish a civil rights commission when he resigned from city council.
Many people who knew Sittenfeld and worked alongside him didn't publicly celebrate or condemn the pardon. Democratic Rep. Greg Landsman, who served on Cincinnati City Council with Sittenfeld, released a statement saying he didn't know much about the pardon.
"I know what you all know, which is what I'm reading," Landsman said. "I'll wait to learn more, and may have more to say then. In the meantime, I don't know much, other than what I'm reading in the news."
One of the region's more prominent Democratic funders and Sittenfeld supporter, philanthropist Richard Rosenthal, told The Enquirer it was better not to say anything.
"There's stuff that I'm thinking about, but I don't think that it would be helpful to your readers, or to P.G. or to my family for me to comment on the pardon," Rosenthal said.
Republicans who were not sympathetic to Sittenfeld during his political career were reticent to say much about Trump's decision to pardon Sittenfeld. Hamilton County GOP Chairman Russ Mock sent a statement to The Enquirer that gave Trump credit but also expressed concerns about the pardon.
"President Trump certainly knows about how federal and state corruption prosecutions can be wielded as political weapons, but it could undermine anti-corruption efforts locally, especially as the original conviction was based on a jury trial with substantial evidence," Mock said.
When asked for an interview to elaborate, Mock said he didn't have time. Ohio Republican Party Chairman Alex Triantafilou, who was the Hamilton County chair when Sittenfeld was on city council, did not respond to a message seeking comment.
Few of the all-Democratic, nine-member Cincinnati City Council had much to say. The nine members were elected with the pledge of rebuilding public trust in the wake of the corruption scandals that led to the arrest of Sittenfeld and two others Democratic members, Jeff Pastor and Tamaya Dennard.
"There's no upside to commenting on that thing," said Cincinnati Councilman Mark Jeffreys, one of nine Democratic city council members.
City council members Scotty Johnson, Anna Albi, Meeka Owens and Cincinnati's Democratic Mayor Aftab Pureval declined to comment when asked by The Enquirer on Thursday about Sittenfeld.
Councilman Seth Walsh wouldn't speculate on Sittenfeld's future.
"The corruption scandal that happened is an incredible black mark that happened on Cincinnati, period," Walsh said. "Whether he has a political future, whether any of the individuals that are involved in it have any future with Cincinnati, is less relevant to me than the work that needs to happen to rebuild the public trust."
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: PG Sittenfeld's political future uncertain with Trump's pardon