Hamilton County Clerk of Courts Aftab Pureval says he won’t take corporate political action committee money in his quest to unseat U.S. Rep. Steve Chabot. At a news conference yesterday in Mount Airy, Pureval told reporters that such donations contribute to a “rigged economy” in the United States and that he can’t be bought by factions like the oil industry because he won’t accept their checks.
Republicans have countered that Pureval, a former corporate lawyer who has worked for companies that represent big oil, has benefited greatly from corporate money over his career. Pureval has also worked at Procter & Gamble, a Fortune 500 company. Pureval says he’s not vilifying corporations, but that as a politician he’ll work for middle and working class families.
“We in Cincinnati in the 1st Congressional District benefit from great corporate citizens like Procter & Gamble,” he said. “I am proud to have spent years there as an attorney. But this really is about the rigged economy and a tax bill that gives 85 percent of the benefits to the wealthiest Americans in our country.”
Pureval has received at least one campaign check with some corporate ties, The Cincinnati Business Courier reports — a $1,000 contribution from Shore PAC, a political action committee aligned with Democrat U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone of New Jersey. That PAC has taken money from a number of corporate interests and lobbyists. Pureval’s campaign says the contribution isn’t a check from a corporate PAC itself, however.
