The mayor missed Opening Day this year to go out of town for his son’s spring break, the mayor’s office confirmed to The Enquirer on March 27.
That means he also wasn’t in town when disorder erupted in the evening at the Banks following the game. It was the second time in the past year when videos of an unruly crowd on Cincinnati streets went viral while the mayor was on vacation.
Mayor to return Sunday
The mayor will return on Sunday, mayor spokesman Jack Willingham said in a text to The Enquirer. The mayor has been in “active communication” with the police and city leadership, Willingham said in the text.
The mayor was on a vacation in Vancouver when a street brawl broke out on July 26 on Fourth Street in Downtown. The videos of the incident spread across the internet and became a major issue in the city council and mayoral races.
Vice mayor says of Pureval: ‘He’s in touch’
Pureval has faced criticism online for not being in town and waiting two days to release a statement.
This time, the mayor released a statement the morning following the incident involving the unruly crowd at the Banks.
Vice Mayor Jan-Michele Lemon Kearney earlier told The Enquirer that while the mayor was off, he was still in touch with city officials.
“He’s off this week, but he’s in touch,” Kearney said. “I think what people have to realize, no matter where the mayor is, or even if he takes some time off to do something special with his family, he’s always in touch with what’s going on every second of the day in Cincinnati… He’s on top of it. He’s not absent.”
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Mayor Aftab Pureval on vacation during Opening Day disorder
Reporting by Scott Wartman, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
