Democratic U.S. Rep. Greg Landsman has tapped Reggie Harris to lead his congressional office.
Harris, a former Cincinnati City Council Member and recent new hire with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), was just hired as Landsman’s chief of staff, according to an announcement released Monday from Landsman’s office.
“Reggie is a uniquely talented and decent person who knows how to lead, bring people together, and get things done,” Landsman wrote in the announcement. “At a time when politics seems broken, Reggie offers an optimistic approach to public service and will be a great addition to our team. We are determined to be a new kind of national leader – fully accountable, transparent, reliable, and bipartisan – and Reggie will help us make this happen.”
Harris called Landsman a “much-needed pragmatic, level-headed, thoughtful and consensus-building leader” in Monday’s announcement. Speaking with CityBeat, Harris said he’s excited to bring his background as a social worker to Landsman’s constituent-minded office.
“He is very present in the district,” Harris said. “You see him, he is back in the district every week, and he does town halls and he meets with constituents. He shows up, and that is the bedrock of the work, casework, constituent services. That is a priority, that is a value, and particularly with my social work background, I’m happy to step in and support that and even expand.”
Harris expects a slight Capitol Hill learning curve, but said his Cincinnati roots will be a strength in D.C.
“Capitol Hill is its own beast,” he said. “But one of the advantages is that a lot of folks in Congress don’t necessarily have chiefs of staff who are from, live, have worked, served and supported people in the district, right? A lot of folks are career D.C., Capitol Hill people, which brings a level of expertise that’s great, right? But I think with our team, you know, Greg and I both having served on city council, I live in the district, I’m a homeowner in the district, I know the folks there. I’m excited to be able to bring that perspective.”
Harris will begin his role in Landsman’s D.C. office starting Jan. 27. Come January, Republicans will control the House majority in the new Congress. President-elect Donald Trump will have a party trifecta after Republicans won control of the U.S. Senate in November. The GOP’s powerful leverage comes as lawmakers stare down key spending battles in 2025.
“The obvious political barriers will be hard to navigate, right? The partisan politics. But, at the end of the day, America still has to run. We have infrastructure to build and to maintain,” he said. “We’re really going to continue to figure out every way we can partner and advance the work that we need to advance to get things done while also being, you know, sort of a center of moral clarity.”
Harris’ legacy
Elected in 2021 and re-elected in 2023, Harris spent nearly three years on the Cincinnati City Council. During that time, he has served as chair of the Budget and Finance Committee, vice chair of the Equitable Growth and Housing Committee and led numerous housing initiatives, making the subject a priority during his tenure.
Harris co-sponsored the Connected Communities Zoning Overhaul, which proposed increasing housing around bus routes and business districts, and championed the Affordable Housing Leveraged Fund. Outside of direct alterations to Cincinnati’s housing policies, Harris also advocated for the creation of a housing data dashboard to track and measure Cincinnati housing investments.
A former ballet dancer, social worker and director of community life for The Community Builders, a nonprofit affordable real estate developer, Harris also served as board chair for Equality Ohio, a LGBTQ+ rights organization.
The first openly gay Black man elected to city council, Harris has also prioritized LGBTQ+ issues throughout his time in City Hall.
Harris authored a resolution making Cincinnati a sanctuary city for gender-affirming care, and spearheaded efforts to expand the City of Cincinnati’s nondiscrimination policies.
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This article appears in Nov 27 – Dec 10, 2024.