Jason Williams

jwilliams@enquirer.com

A national-level political strategist associated with Yvette Simpson's mayoral campaign made a racially charged comment about Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley on social media last week.

Washington D.C.-based consultant Jessica Byrd, an African-American who focuses on helping minority candidates get elected, called Cranley a "stale pale male" in a Facebook post last Friday.

Simpson, vying to become the city's first black female mayor, refused to disavow Byrd's comment about the white mayor when The Enquirer asked the city councilwoman about the post on Tuesday.

Byrd's post was deleted Monday night after The Enquirer contacted a Simpson campaign spokeswoman. It comes at a time when race has moved to the forefront in a May 2 primary between Democrats Cranley, Simpson and Rob Richardson Jr.

As part of her Friday post on Facebook, Byrd appeared in a photo wearing a red-and-yellow Simpson campaign T-shirt. She was standing alongside Simpson, campaign manager Amanda Ford and two others.

"This is her campaign team," Byrd said in the post.

Simpson campaign spokeswoman Chaka Buraimoh identified Byrd as a "campaign volunteer," but declined all other questions about the consultant's role.

Later Friday, Byrd discussed Simpson's campaign on Facebook with Joshua DuBois, former head of the White House's Office of Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships during the Obama administration. Byrd asked DuBois in one comment: "How can we get you to Cincy to meet" Simpson and host a fundraiser?

Byrd, a Columbus native, has received national attention for her work to help get minorities elected to public office and more engaged in politics and government. She runs Washington-based Three Point Strategies and also leads Democracy in Color, an organization that calls for Democrats to invest more in minorities, according to NPR.org. Byrd was on Time magazine's "12 New Faces of Black Leadership" list in 2015.

Byrd did not return an email seeking comment.

Simpson's campaign declined to answer all other Enquirer questions about Byrd and her "stale pale male" Facebook post, including:

• Does Yvette see this as acceptable language for someone on her campaign to use?

• Has Jessica Byrd been paid by the campaign?

• Does Yvette disavow this type of language from a member of her campaign, whether it's a volunteer or paid employee?

Instead, the campaign issued a statement addressing topics unrelated to Byrd's post. The statement, in part, touted Simpson's recent work "delivering meals to seniors" and "jumping rope with children." (See full statement below.)

Cranley campaign manager Jay Kincaid said Tuesday night Simpson's "words and actions speak for themselves."

Here is the full statement the Simpson campaign provided to The Enquirer in response to questions about Byrd:

"The Yvette Simpson campaign is working hard to talk with every voter in the city and hearing every day about the issues that they care about, including violence prevention, economic inclusion and neighborhood investments. The real stories to be told are the ones Yvette is hearing every day at the doors of the people who live in Cincinnati. She is delivering meals to seniors through Meals on Wheels, which is being threatened to extinction (President Donald Trump has proposed to cut funding significantly). She is jumping rope with children in our community centers. Yvette is a community champion and will fight to earn every single vote on May 2."