The woman who will be the third Democrat on the Hamilton County Board of Commissioners says she will work hard for Democrats who supported her during the campaign. And Stephanie Summerow Dumas says she’ll work harder for the Republicans who didn’t because, “I represent everyone.”
Dumas spoke at the Government Strategies Group luncheon Friday afternoon.
She defeated Republican incumbent Chris Monzel in November by more than 12,000 votes, but says it wasn’t because she had a “D” behind her name on the ballot. She says she received votes not only from Democrats, but from Republicans, independents and Green party voters.
Dumas promises to be a team player but also says she’s not a “normal Democrat” and can work both inside and outside the box. “I look at what’s working now and try to figure out how we can put that together best, and then if we don’t have what we need inside, I go outside.”
Among the issues she singled out for comments:
Transit
Dumas says locally, the equipment is antiquated and accessibility isn’t what it should be. She says she realizes the fixes will cost, but points out suburbs aren’t paying their part.
Job And Family Services
Based on her time as a social worker, she wants to help strengthen families.
Affordable Housing & Homelessness
She likes the idea of a hand-up instead of a hand-out.
Dumas says many of the county’s issues affect one another, so improvement in one area will lead to improvement in others.
“We all want the same thing: life, liberty and happiness. If I can help you get that, that’s what I’m going to do,” she says.
Dumas will take office early next month.
Image: Bill Rinehart, WVXU
