Candidate Profile: Stacey Smith
According to the Hamilton County Board of Elections, 85 people have pulled petitions to run for Cincinnati City Council. On one hand, it’s exciting to see so many people engaged in the political process and looking to serve their community in elected office. On the other, it’s going to be extremely difficult for the average Cincinnati voter to parse through such a large field of candidates. I’ve decided that one purpose of this blog is to profile candidates that are actively running for elected office and give the voter insight into specific candidates and shed some light on their platform and background. This is in no way an endorsement, but merely an informational profile on candidates in a heavily crowded field.
With that being said, the first City Council candidate that decided to virtually sit down with me and share their background and vision for the city is first-time candidate Stacey Smith of West Price Hill. Being a resident of West Price Hill myself, you could say Stacey has a bit of a home field advantage in winning me over. Stacey grew up in the Winton Woods / Finneytown area and comes from a modest background. Stacey was home schooled until her senior year of high school when she enrolled in Winton Woods High School where she graduated in 2010. She was drawn to Price Hill when she began attending the now defunct Cincinnati Christian University. Being from the suburbs of Cincinnati, she often heard negative things about the Price Hill area and was excited to come to the neighborhood and wanted to see the truth and reality of Price Hill. After graduating with a degree in Psychology, her and her husband decided to purchase a home and permanently settle in the neighborhood of West Price Hill. She told me she’s impressed with the community of Price Hill and thinks it’s a wonderful place to live, despite the negative stereotypes that may exist.
Cincinnati City Council Candidate Stacey Smith and her husband.
Stacey describes herself a “political freshman” and has very little actual campaign experience. The only real political work she participated in before running for City Council included advocating for the passage of the Winton Woods School Levy in 2009. She has only raised about $300 for her campaign but she says she is not deterred by the uphill climb that she faces in the coming months. But for what she lacks in campaign experience and campaign cash, she makes up for in having a clear and concise vision for what she wants to accomplish as a possible City Councilmember.
Stacey’s mindset when it comes to being a possible elected leader and policy maker stems from her career as a Clinical Service Provider. She works for one of the largest mental health agencies in the state and provides mental health services for youth in Cincinnati Public Schools. Her top priority would include expanding mental health resources for residents of Cincinnati. However, in order to improve citizen’s mental health, she would advocate for reducing gun violence, providing meals for impoverished youth and families, expand affordable housing and provide basic needs for low-income individuals in the city. Stacey also considers herself deeply religious and that plays a role in her world view. One of the biggest and impactful commandments is to love others, according to Stacey. As an elected leader, she vowed to genuinely care for others with love and respect while also standing up for the oppressed. Religion will guide how she treats others and she hopes to seek out churches to help the city meet citizen’s basic needs.
In the end, the climb to obtaining one of the nine coveted city council seats will be long and steep. Stacey is not intimidated by the size of the field, the fundraising or the dysfunction that surrounds city politics. She told me she is easily overlooked and has been fighting uphill battles her whole life. “I feel like an underdog, but I like feeling like an underdog,” Stacey told me.
To contact Stacey Smith, you can email her at Staceysmithccc@gmail.com
This post is a part of Cincinnati Delusion’s Candidate Profiles for the upcoming 2021 November election in Cincinnati and Hamilton County. We here at Cincinnati Delusion believe it is important to highlight the perspectives of women, people of color as well as members of the LGBTIA+ community. You can read our previous candidate profiles below:
· Evan Holt (Cincinnati City Council Candidate)