CINCINNATI — Cincinnati City Council member Victoria Parks announced Wednesday that she will not be running for reelection.
Parks made the announcement at City Hall ahead of Wednesday's city council meeting.
"Upon completion of this term, I will retire and hang out with my grandchildren and nieces and nephews," Parks said. "I look forward to picking up kids from football practice and piano lessons, volunteering on boards and spending my money on plane tickets. I have worked since the age of 14 and at the end of the year, I will reap the benefits of my work life."
Parks, who was visibly emotional during the announcement, thanked her family, parents, staff and fellow members of council.
The Cincinnati native cited her work during her term, including pushing for racial equality and justice, as well as working to combat violence in Cincinnati.
Parks, a US Air Force veteran, was recently picked to fill one of the new seats on Hamilton County's Veterans Services Commission. Parks was chosen alongside Army veteran Bill Burwinkel and Marine Corps veteran and radio talk show host Lincoln Ware for five-year appointments on the VSC.
Parks first ran for city council in 2021 after serving as a Hamilton County Commissioner. She served as Commissioner Todd Portune's chief of staff from 2016-2019 before filling his spot following his retirement. When she replaced Portune, Parks agreed to vacate her commissioner seat at the end of her term.
Before working in the commissioner's office, she also served as an executive at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center and as director at the Women's Crisis Center from 2011 to 2015. Outside of her nonprofit and government work, she worked in customer service and marketing for 30 years.
She has also served on several boards in Cincinnati, including the AMOS Project, the Women's Fund Advocacy Committee and the Archdiocese of Cincinnati Communication Commission.
Parks grew up in the West College Hill neighborhood and graduated from Aiken High School in 1976.
