The P.G. Sittenfeld File
Name: Alexander Paul George "P.G." Sittenfeld
Age: 30
Family: Youngest of four (three older sisters)
Education: Princeton Univeristy, Magdalen College (a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England)
Experience: Cincinnati City Council, elected 2011 and re-elected 2013
In a re-election campaign television ad, Cincinnati City Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld touted that “he’s on the move and getting things done,” and that is how he’s been running his 2016 U.S. Senate campaign — “crisscrossing the state” in order to get his message, and name, out.
And he plans to take his “message to everybody in every part of the state,” getting to all 88 of Ohio’s counties, which is important because having only been in the political arena since 2011 — and only in Cincinnati — outside of Hamilton County, Sittenfeld is a relative unknown.
The 30-year-old was elected to Cincinnati City Council in November 2011, being the second-leading vote-getter in his first election. He finished behind Roxanne Qualls, a former mayor and vice mayor, by 7,200 votes. Two years later, Sittenfeld was the top vote-getter, garnering 10,200 more votes than the second-leading vote-getter, Charlie Winburn.
Despite critics saying he has a “thin” resume, Sittenfeld is now seeking to unseat Republican U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, who like Sittenfeld is a native Cincinnatian. But that is where the similarities end, said Sittenfeld in a recent sit-down interview with the Journal-News.
“This is a person who was the (President George W.) Bush budget architect before the economy went over the cliff. He was the U.S. trade rep. when the U.S. trade deficit with China exploded. He’s cast numerous out of touch votes that show he’s not in line with Ohio’s value and Ohio’s priorities,” he said.
In January, Sittenfeld announced he would opposed Portman for his senate seat, an open seat won by Portman after beating then-Ohio Lt. Gov. and Democrat Lee Fisher. And despite having a political resume that started in 2011, Sittenfeld said “the quality of experience” he’s gained out weights the “length of experience” Portman has accrued.
“Most of the people, having spent a long time in Washington, isn’t necessarily what they’re looking for,” he said. “They’re looking for the quality of experience, and I’m really proud that as an elected leader in my hometown in Cincinnati, we’ve been able to make government work. We’ve been able to drive a city that’s on the rise.”
He touts being involved in decisions and votes that led to creating and attracting new jobs to Cincinnati, adding more police to the streets, revitalization of neighborhoods and expanding educational opportunities.
“I’ve been able to offer a meaningful agenda, it’s also been a progressive agenda, at the city level and I think it’s what folks are looking (for) more of in Washington — folks that are actually getting things done. That’s the kind of leader I’ve been,” he said.
I’M RUNNING AGAINST PORTMAN
Before Sittenfeld would face off in the November 2016 general election with Portman, he first needs to win the Democratic Party primary election against Ted Strickland, a former Ohio governor and U.S. House of Representatives member. However, Sittenfeld said his campaign will not be geared toward Strickland, but rather Portman.
“I’ve been very clear in this race, my opponent in this race is Rob Portman,” he said.
Strickland spokesman Dennis Willard said the former governor is “racking up the endorsements,” including from Butler County Democratic Party Executive Chair Jocelyn Bucaro and Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley.
“Ted is energizing voters in Ohio,” Willard said. “Voters know and trust Ted Strickland because he has experience as a governor, U.S. Congressman and United Nations representative.”
He said Strickland can defeat Portman “because he has always stood up for the hard working people of this state.”
Whaley, in an interview with the Journal-News in February, said Sittenfeld should step down because the party will stand a better chance at winning in November 2016 with Strickland on the ticket, compared to Sittenfeld, who she said is a rising star in the Democratic Party but is likely not able to beat Portman.
Also, she said, the senate race in Ohio during a presidential year, “will be an expensive senate race.”
Sittenfeld said the Democratic Party “does best when we embrace a democratic process,” and the only endorsement he truly cares about is of the voters.
“They’re the reason I’m running this race, they’re the reason I’m trying to offer meaningful ideas that can improve their life, and it’s the voters that will determine the outcome of the election,” he said. “That’s who I’m making my appeal to.”
HOW TO BEAT PORTMAN
In an early February Quinnipiac Poll, 37 percent of respondents said Portman he deserves re-election, while 28 percent are opposed to his re-election. To be considered a safe lock at winning re-election, political experts have said an incumbent needs to have a favorable rating at least around the 50 percent mark.
And despite having served in Washington, D.C. as a member of the U.S. House, the United States Trade Representative and a Bush White House’s Office of Management and Budget director, Sittenfeld believes “a lot of folks around the state don’t know Rob Portman that well,” and when they learn more about him, “they’re going to realize he’s out of touch with Ohio’s values.”
Portman was one of 47 U.S. Senators who signed a letter to Iran that, Sittenfeld said, “undermined the U.S. government.”
“If folks are one of the 7 percent of people that think this Congress is doing a good job, then I might not be the senator for them,” he said. “But if you’re part of the vast majority of folks that think Washington is broken, we can do better, it’s time for a new generation of leaders to step up.”
By stepping up, Sittenfeld said the millennial generation, his generation, needs to be a part of the problem-solvers in Washington, D.C.
“The United State Senate at its best should be 100 people that are the problem-solvers for the most challenging issues facing the country,” he said. “And among these 100 problem-solvers, not a single person today is from the biggest generation in American history, not single person today from the most technological-savvy generation in American history.”
And things Cincinnati City Council has done locally, can be done for the entire state and country, such as investing in start-up incubators and accelerators, which can lead to job creation, develop public-private partnerships to help expand Internet access, and have an open, transparent data policy “so that intrepid entrepreneurs can take data sets from city government and find useful applications to them.”
“The United States Senate is not known to be a beacon of tech-savvy individuals, there’s so much we can do and so many problems we can solve by embracing technology and innovation and I know I can be a great voice and champion for that,” he said.
ON STAYING IN
Democrats in various nooks and crannies have supported Strickland, including U.S. Reps. Tim Ryan, D-Nilles, and Marcia Fudge, D-Cleveland, and Wahley. Many Democrats have said Sittenfeld promised to get out of the race if Strickland jumped in.
He said he believes “it’s important to respect private conversations and keep those private,” but he has said he keeps “in close touch” with Strickland.
“We’ve kept each other in real time about our decision-making,” he said.
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