Former Cincinnati City Council member and 2017 mayoral contender Yvette Simpson is taking a new role on the national stage as a political contributor for ABC News.
Simpson today made her first official appearance as a commentator on This Week, where she has previously made guest appearances. She advocated for Medicare for All, a key plank in some progressive Democrats’ 2020 platform.
“So…did you hear the news this morning!?! I am the newest member of the ABC News Family,” Simpson tweeted today. “Happy to serve as a Political Contributor with ABC! #igettodothis #changetheworld #blessed.”
It’s not Simpson’s first move into the national political arena since she lost the last mayoral election to Mayor John Cranley two years ago. In January this year, she was named the executive director of Democracy for America, a Vermont-based organizing and fundraising group that has supported progressive campaigns across the country. Among those campaigns was the successful push to elect New York’s now-U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Simpson was raised by her grandmother in a housing project in Lincoln Heights. She graduated from Princeton High School before getting her undergraduate degree from Miami University, a law degree from the University of Cincinnati and a masters in Business Administration from Xavier. Prior to and during her two terms as a city council member, Simpson worked as an attorney.
This article appears in Jun 26 – Jul 3, 2019.