Winning 43% of the primary votes, first term Akron City Council Member Shammas Malik is the presumptive mayor of Akron with no Republican or Independent candidates registered for the general election. Malik will be the first person of color to serve as mayor of Akron. 

 

Ideastream: Shammas Malik wins Akron mayoral primary, in line to be the first person of color as mayor

 

For more info on Shammas Malik here is his profile from Ideastream's Candidate Guide

14 minutes ago, Luke_S said:

Winning 43% of the primary votes, first term Akron City Council Member Shammas Malik is the presumptive mayor of Akron with no Republican or Independent candidates registered for the general election. Malik will be the first person of color to serve as mayor of Akron. 

 

Ideastream: Shammas Malik wins Akron mayoral primary, in line to be the first person of color as mayor

 

For more info on Shammas Malik here is his profile from Ideastream's Candidate Guide

 

How crazy is it that a person can become mayor of a city the size of Akron (population 189,000) by receiving 8300 votes? This was a party primary and no Republican or Independent candidates have registered to run, so barring something extremely unusual happening, Malik is the mayor-elect. Having party primaries is a bad thing in general, but in an area overwhelming dominated by one party it is completely unacceptable. Something HAS to change. At least Cleveland’s non-partisan primary forces candidates to earn votes from a larger portion of the population.
 

https://liveresults.boe.ohio.gov/ENR/summitohenr/7/en/Index_7.html
 

 

 

His policies sound good and he is a graduate of Harvard Law School.  Too bad more people don't vote but he did receive nearly half the vote. 

16 minutes ago, Boomerang_Brian said:

 

How crazy is it that a person can become mayor of a city the size of Akron (population 189,000) by receiving 8300 votes? This was a party primary and no Republican or Independent candidates have registered to run, so barring something extremely unusual happening, Malik is the mayor-elect. Having party primaries is a bad thing in general, but in an area overwhelming dominated by one party it is completely unacceptable. Something HAS to change. At least Cleveland’s non-partisan primary forces candidates to earn votes from a larger portion of the population.
 

https://liveresults.boe.ohio.gov/ENR/summitohenr/7/en/Index_7.html
 

 

 

 

While it would have been better to have better turnout across the board (a ridiculously cold and rainy day for early May didn't help, I'm sure), I don't think the fact that the Democratic primary is functionally the mayoral election is a surprise to anyone here, including those of us who are Akron residents.

 

Ohio primaries are open.  I voted in the Democratic primary in Akron yesterday, and have in basically every second primary since I moved to Akron in 2009, switching back to the Republican primary only when there are statewide Republican primaries of consequence, since I recognize there will never be a local one of consequence.  (There are plenty of Democrats who switch into the Republican column when the statewide Republican primaries are the more consequential ones, too.)

16 minutes ago, Gramarye said:

 

While it would have been better to have better turnout across the board (a ridiculously cold and rainy day for early May didn't help, I'm sure), I don't think the fact that the Democratic primary is functionally the mayoral election is a surprise to anyone here, including those of us who are Akron residents.

 

Ohio primaries are open.  I voted in the Democratic primary in Akron yesterday, and have in basically every second primary since I moved to Akron in 2009, switching back to the Republican primary only when there are statewide Republican primaries of consequence, since I recognize there will never be a local one of consequence.  (There are plenty of Democrats who switch into the Republican column when the statewide Republican primaries are the more consequential ones, too.)

I think that forcing you to switch party affiliations in that way is bad policy. Everyone who votes should have a say in every local election decision that impacts them. 

1 minute ago, Boomerang_Brian said:

I think that forcing you to switch party affiliations in that way is bad policy. Everyone who votes should have a say in every local election decision that impacts them. 

Why didn't any R's run?

2 minutes ago, Toddguy said:

Why didn't any R's run?

Because they know they wouldn’t win. 

1 hour ago, Boomerang_Brian said:

 

How crazy is it that a person can become mayor of a city the size of Akron (population 189,000) by receiving 8300 votes? This was a party primary and no Republican or Independent candidates have registered to run, so barring something extremely unusual happening, Malik is the mayor-elect. Having party primaries is a bad thing in general, but in an area overwhelming dominated by one party it is completely unacceptable. Something HAS to change. At least Cleveland’s non-partisan primary forces candidates to earn votes from a larger portion of the population.
 

https://liveresults.boe.ohio.gov/ENR/summitohenr/7/en/Index_7.html
 

 

 

 

While I think this election turned out well and one of the better candidates won, Malik doesn't have a lot of experience so we'll have to wait and see how he governs. One good result of this is he has 6 additional months that he can prepare for being mayor instead of focusing on campaigning. 

 

But that's finding the silver lining, single party rule at any level is not healthy. And looking ahead, without a consequential mayoral election in November how high is turnout going to be in Akron? 

3 minutes ago, Luke_S said:

While I think this election turned out well and one of the better candidates won, Malik doesn't have a lot of experience so we'll have to wait and see how he governs. One good result of this is he has 6 additional months that he can prepare for being mayor instead of focusing on campaigning. 

 

But that's finding the silver lining, single party rule at any level is not healthy. And looking ahead, without a consequential mayoral election in November how high is turnout going to be in Akron? 

 

LOL You're stepping on landmines here!  The only way you'd get enough Republicans into Akron to make it anything other than single-party rule here is through full-integration regionalism, i.e., annexing all the suburbs and townships and making Summit County and Akron coextensive.  (Even that wouldn't do it, honestly, considering that Summit County Council is currently strongly Democrat-dominated, though not single-party.)

 

If you've been on these forums long enough, you know at least in general terms how much appetite for that there is. 😱 😬

12 minutes ago, Gramarye said:

 

LOL You're stepping on landmines here!  The only way you'd get enough Republicans into Akron to make it anything other than single-party rule here is through full-integration regionalism, i.e., annexing all the suburbs and townships and making Summit County and Akron coextensive.  (Even that wouldn't do it, honestly, considering that Summit County Council is currently strongly Democrat-dominated, though not single-party.)

 

If you've been on these forums long enough, you know at least in general terms how much appetite for that there is. 😱 😬

 

This is probably veering into a discussion for another thread, but I favor adopting policies that would break the two-party hold on our politics. I believe that is what @Boomerang_Brian's ultimate goal is too. Actually getting there is probably less likely than the city-county merger that you brought up, so not really sure where that gets us. 

 

We should be willing to stomp on those mines though. You and your fellow Republicans in Akron/Summit shouldn't have to resort to voting for the Democrat you find least offensive. I don't want this to sound confrontational, because I don't know what else you're supposed to do, but you are also probably frustrating more progressive Democrats by moderating certain positions staked out by politicians. So the progressives aren't happy, Republicans aren't happy. There's not strong accountability when turnout is low and there's not even an opposition party to hold Democrats accountable. 

38 minutes ago, Gramarye said:

 

LOL You're stepping on landmines here!  The only way you'd get enough Republicans into Akron to make it anything other than single-party rule here is through full-integration regionalism, i.e., annexing all the suburbs and townships and making Summit County and Akron coextensive.  (Even that wouldn't do it, honestly, considering that Summit County Council is currently strongly Democrat-dominated, though not single-party.)

 

If you've been on these forums long enough, you know at least in general terms how much appetite for that there is. 😱 😬

I don’t think the goal should be to get Republicans or third-party or Independents to run. I think the goal should be that everyone who votes in a city election (or legislative district election) should get to pick from all the candidates. Elections should be either have an open primary where everyone picks their favorite, then everyone gets to pick from the top two; OR ranked-choice voting, which accomplishes the same thing but increases participation since you don’t have to vote twice. Party-based primaries are anti-(small d)-democratic. 

14 minutes ago, Luke_S said:

 

This is probably veering into a discussion for another thread, but I favor adopting policies that would break the two-party hold on our politics. I believe that is what @Boomerang_Brian's ultimate goal is too. Actually getting there is probably less likely than the city-county merger that you brought up, so not really sure where that gets us. 

 

We should be willing to stomp on those mines though. You and your fellow Republicans in Akron/Summit shouldn't have to resort to voting for the Democrat you find least offensive. I don't want this to sound confrontational, because I don't know what else you're supposed to do, but you are also probably frustrating more progressive Democrats by moderating certain positions staked out by politicians. So the progressives aren't happy, Republicans aren't happy. There's not strong accountability when turnout is low and there's not even an opposition party to hold Democrats accountable. 

I agree with the idea of breaking the two party hold. I feel I am politically homeless now that both parties have extremist sides that are very influential

On 5/3/2023 at 7:44 AM, Toddguy said:

I agree with the idea of breaking the two party hold. I feel I am politically homeless now that both parties have extremist sides that are very influential

Show me the Dems who are extremist like Repubs are extremist. They don’t exist.
 

I’m not saying all Repubs, but Repub extremists are MAGA election denying, climate change denying, Constitution shredding, book banning,  misogynistic, homophobic, christian nationalist gun nuts. There is no equivalent on the Dem side. 
 

To bring this thread back on topic, I’m glad presumptive Mayor-elect Malik won. 

7 hours ago, jeremyck01 said:

Show me the Dems who are extremist like Repubs are extremist. They don’t exist.
 

Repub extremists are MAGA election denying, climate change denying, Constitution shredding, book banning,  misogynistic, homophobic, christian nationalist gun nuts. There is no equivalent on the Dem side. 
 

To bring this thread back on topic, I’m glad presumptive Mayor-elect Malik won. 

Glad he won too.

 

I never said the left extremists were equivalent to those of the right. I agree they are worse. But I can't really pass all of the litmus tests it seems to take to be a Democrat. Now who will I vote for?-almost certainly a Democrat. But I can still be dissatisfied with the party and feel it is not representing me.

7 hours ago, jeremyck01 said:

Show me the Dems who are extremist like Repubs are extremist. They don’t exist.
 

Repub extremists are MAGA election denying, climate change denying, Constitution shredding, book banning,  misogynistic, homophobic, christian nationalist gun nuts. There is no equivalent on the Dem side. 

 

Extremism is in the eye of the beholder.   People we don't agree with on a very basic level are going to seem extreme.  

 

 

10 hours ago, E Rocc said:

 

Extremism is in the eye of the beholder.   People we don't agree with on a very basic level are going to seem extreme.  

 

 

 

I think extremism tends to be less about the base position, and more about implementation. For example, I don't on principle have any objection to fiscal responsibility, which used to be a fairly popular conservative position. However, extremism can enter the picture based on how fiscal responsibility is pushed, such as threatening the entire US and global economy based on not wanting to extend the debt ceiling. Another example would be how I'm not outright opposed to less big government, but again, the details matter. If that means deregulation to the point where corporations can dump as much pollution as they want into our air and water, I would call that extreme. Context and methods matter, and I find that the Right tends to automatically push the furthest they possibly can automatically on all issues regardless of the consequences. 

Though the specifics aren't finalized, Malik would like to revisit and refine Akron's abatement program, looking to change the abatement period and percentage in different areas to help balance out development and promote infill in under invested areas.

 

He has been in contact with at least one developer (Welty Building Co. CEO Don Taylor) and the Akron Chamber of Commerce about actions the city can take to spur development. This included supporting UoA and the polymer industry that remains in Akron. 

 

Fresh off the news of FirstEnergy leaving downtown, Malik is also prioritizing office-to-residential conversions and bringing a grocer to downtown in an effort to bolster the downtown population. 

 

Akron's next mayor will likely seek changes on abatements

Dan Shingler | May 19th 2023

 

"For one thing, the city’s 15-year, 100% abatement on all residential development and home improvements is likely to become more targeted toward areas that need help with infill development and less used in places where developers likely don’t need an extra incentive to build, said the likely incoming mayor, Shammas Malik.

 

...

 

Malik said he’s looking at ways to spur more office building conversions to residential use, and on getting a grocery store downtown — something Taylor and nearly all other downtown advocates have been hoping for.

 

...

 

But Malik also insists that the core platforms of his candidacy and incoming administration are all pro-business issues, whether it’s improving schools in Akron, expanding access to health and child care, or giving people more transportation options. Those issues are important not just to the city’s neighborhoods, but to downtown businesses as well, he contends, and all will need to be addressed."

 

https://www.crainscleveland.com/government/akrons-next-mayor-will-likely-seek-changes-abatements

Malik says he has already met with current Mayor Dan Horrigan and they will continue to work together through the transition. Malik's team has also created a website, found here, where you can subscribe for transition updates and provide feedback to the transition team.

 

Akron's presumptive next mayor Shammas Malik taps local leaders, former city officials for transition team

Ideastream Public Media | By Anna Huntsman

Published May 18, 2023

 

Quote

Akron’s presumed next mayor Shammas Malik has tapped several community leaders - as well as familiar faces in city government - to serve on his transition team in the months ahead of taking office Jan. 1.

 

...

 

Malik named four transition co-chairs whom will provide him with formal advice in the coming months. They are serving on a volunteer basis and acting outside of their respective positions in various fields.

 

The co-chairs are Tracy Carter, director of government relations at Summa Health System; Jeremy Lile, executive director of Heart to Heart Leadership; Robert DeJournett, pastor of St. Ashworth Temple Church of God in Christ and founder of DeJournett Consulting, and Tony O’Leary, former executive director of Akron Metropolitan Housing Authority, former city planning director and a former deputy mayor for administration.

 

https://www.ideastream.org/government-politics/2023-05-18/akron-mayor-elect-shammas-malik-taps-local-leaders-former-city-officials-for-transition-team

Edited May 19, 20232 yr by Luke_S

As mayor-elect, Malik is among the Council Members who expressed support for limiting the Mayor's power in approving certain contracts without City Council's input or knowledge. According to Anna Huntsman's reporting Mayor Horrigan used this power 173 times to allocate more than $30M without council's approval last year alone. Whether or not council would have approved these contracts or not is almost besides the point, the lack of oversight and transparency is concerning. 

 

Akron removes budget provision that allowed mayors to approve contracts without council OK

Ideastream Public Media | By Anna Huntsman

Published November 27, 2023

 

Akron officials have decided to remove a decades-old provision in the city’s budget that allowed the mayor to approve some high-priced contracts without getting city council’s approval.

 

... 

 

If officials in any city department want to work with an outside company, Akron’s municipal code requires them to put contracts worth more than $50,000 before city council for its review.

 

Section 56, however, allowed mayors to authorize certain “consulting” or “professional” contracts in excess of $50,000 without council’s input. Akron mayors exercised the provision for decades before city council members brought it up this year.

 

https://www.ideastream.org/government-politics/2023-11-27/akron-removes-budget-provision-that-allowed-mayors-to-approve-contracts-without-council-ok

Cross posting from the downtown random development and news thread:

 

2 minutes ago, Luke_S said:

Article covers a lot; Shammas is taking broad approach in addressing vacancies in downtown Akron.

 

Sounds like residential conversions are on the table for a lot of the now empty office spaces. Akron is targeting 1-2 thousand more residents to bring in more retail and dining options, it's unclear if that's backed by a study the city conducted or just a number thrown out.

 

Shammas is also trying to get businesses in neighborhoods and suburbs to relocate downtown giving the availability of space and relatively low rates. 

 

Shammas recognizes that the hybrid work model seems to be here to stay so the city is not going to grow if they don't embrace this reality. Currently, the city's cash flow from taxes has remained stable, but city officials are keeping an eye on any potential changes from the state in how income tax is calculated when considering work from home. He is also skeptical that city officials have the bandwidth to be able to oversee this project and would like to see the development of a CDC to direct the development of downtown. 

 

Short on details, but I think for a high level outline he has an eye on the key points; work from home, changes in income tax calculation, residential conversion, relocating businesses. Either he didn't get into specifics in this article or we need to hope he gets the right people in the right position to lead downtown Akron's growth, nothing wrong with a "big picture" executive that delegates. 

 

Amid growing office vacancies, what are incoming Mayor Shammas Malik's plans for Downtown Akron?

Ideastream Public Media | By Anna Huntsman

Published December 26, 2023

 

Who's joining Akron Mayor-elect Shammas Malik's administration?

Ideastream Public Media | By Abigail Bottar

Published December 29, 2023

 

Akron Mayor-elect Shammas Malik has filled several cabinet positions and other roles in his administration in the weeks leading up to his inauguration.

 

... 

 

Brittany Grimes Zaehringer has been tapped to serve as chief of staff, and Nanette Pitt has been appointed chief of strategy, forming the administration's executive leadership team, according to a press release from Malik's transition team. Zaehringer will be responsible for planning and organizing the day-to-day operations of the mayor's office, while Pitt will lead the implementation of strategic initiatives.

 

...

 

Current Director of Public Service Chris Ludle, Director of Finance Steve Fricker, Director of Labor Relations Frank Williams, Deputy Service Directors Eufrancia Lash and James Aitken and Deputy Director of Finance Mike Wheeler will stay on during Malik's administration, according to a press release.

 

https://www.ideastream.org/government-politics/2023-12-29/whos-joining-akron-mayor-elect-shammas-maliks-administration

Akron Mayor Shammas Malik has unveiled his first capital budget. What's in it?

Ideastream Public Media | By Anna Huntsman

Published January 22, 2024 

 

Malik’s proposed $360.8 million capital budget consists of proposed projects and investments his administration intends to work on in the new year, including expenditures for the police department and changes to the city’s street resurfacing program.

 

The budget is funded by numerous public, private, state and federal sources, including income taxes, property taxes and joint economic development agreements.

 

Led primarily by officials in the city’s planning and public service departments, Malik’s team put together the proposal over the past few months and will introduce it to Akron City Council on Monday.

 

https://www.ideastream.org/government-politics/2024-01-22/akron-mayor-shammas-malik-has-unveiled-his-first-capital-budget-whats-in-it