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MyTwoSense
in Ohio Politics

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The Land has published a nice series on public comment and engagement in local governance. A few thoughts:

 

From Cleveland residents want more information - and sooner - about local government meetings

 

"One thing most residents agreed on is that more effort is needed to let residents know when meetings are happening and, for City Council, what legislation council members or other local government officials will be considering. Currently, the meeting dates and times are listed on the City Council website. Finding meeting agendas takes a little more effort.

 

...Maria Estrella-Stallworth, a 41-year-old resident of St. Clair-Superior, told Documenter Kathryn Johnson that she’d like to see flyers distributed at corner stores, churches, barber shops, and salons — especially for residents who don’t have access to the internet."

 

Wouldn't it be nice if Cleveland still had a daily newspaper where something like this could be published and available to the public on a regular basis? And if that same newspaper had the staffing to effective cover the local government. (What has happened to the Plain Dealer still gets me upset and something should be done about Advance Publications and companies like them sucking newspapers dry)

 

From the article @NorthShore647posted above, Kelly sounds a bit elitist and like he may have a bit of an antidemocratic streak in him, which is not something I would want from my mayoral candidate. 

 

Lastly, I think this is a step in the right direction to improve public engagement in the local government. However, if voter turnout was low in the presidential election and turnout was low for the mayoral primaries, why are we holding mayoral and city council elections on a non-national election cycle? Seems it would make it easier for everyone to vote. 

 

Here are the links to the other articles:

We asked residents for ideas to improve local meeting engagement - Here's what they told us

 

The pace of passage: How quickly city council makes laws and what that means for Clevelanders

 

 

 

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Totally functional body of government, nothing to see here. This is quite the incoherent email from Mike Polensek. 

 

 

 

I was just about to post that batsh!t crazy treatise.

"In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck

Hough has had some positive momentum under Jones- I hope the ward looks forward instead of backward in this election.

2 hours ago, Oldmanladyluck said:

Hough has had some positive momentum under Jones- I hope the ward looks forward instead of backward in this election.

I shudder at the idea of TJ Dow back on council. Is this perhaps the most important council ward race? I really hope Stephanie Howse is able to carry her momentum - she won the primary, but not by THAT much. And there were a LOT of candidates. 

 

CLEVELAND COUNCIL WARD 7 (VOTE FOR) 1 (WITH 23 OF 23 PRECINCTS COUNTED) Antoinette M. Carter. . . . . . . 47 2.47

TJ Dow . . . . . . . . . . . 474 24.96

Russ Gates . . . . . . . . . . 12 .63

Daniel Graves . . . . . . . . . 250 13.16

Nathaniel Cory Hartfield . . . . . 8 .42

Stephanie Howse . . . . . . . . 545 28.70

Jeff Mixon . . . . . . . . . . 39 2.05

Charlotte Perkins. . . . . . . . 126 6.64

Shana V. Roberts . . . . . . . . 329 17.32

Mike Seals . . . . . . . . . . 20 1.05

Isiah X. Thomas . . . . . . . . 49 2.58

Over Votes . . . . . . . . . 2

Under Votes . . . . . . . . . 57

When is the last time I-71 turned a profit?

 

8 hours ago, GISguy said:

Totally functional body of government, nothing to see here. This is quite the incoherent email from Mike Polensek. 

 

 

 

 

I live in 8.   I have no clue who Jones is and neither do my neighbors.   Looking her up, it's clear what her main issue is.  No thanks.  She got a whopping 17% in the primary LOL.   It's a shame she beat Boyd, who has always seemed to refuse to go where she's going.  

 

Polensek is very popular here and is perceived as looking out for the area first and foremost.  He does despise Kelley whole heartedly.  

Edited by E Rocc

13 hours ago, mrnyc said:

well its a shame if there isnt good candidate to run against polensek, who really ought to take a hike already, but anyway this is pretty funny:

 

 

https://www.clevescene.com/scene-and-heard/archives/2021/10/19/psychotic-email-from-mike-polensek-warns-of-clevelands-portlandification-illustrates-toxicity-of-entrenched-power

 

 

"This includes not only sending the above email, but also distributing a mailer in Ward 8 that includes Jones' home address. (Jones lives in Ward 10, across the border from Ward 8, and Polensek has made her residency a key component of his campaign against her.)"

As it should be.   Why isn't she running against Hairston? 

It's apropos perhaps that in the area of Collinwood Yards, a train wreck is running.

20 hours ago, E Rocc said:

 

 Looking her up, it's clear what her main issue is. 

 

Can you elaborate?

  • 2 weeks later...

It’s sad that the most important council race is because of the person we desperately need to NOT be on council. Fingers crossed on this one more than any. 
 

 

When is the last time I-71 turned a profit?

7 hours ago, Boomerang_Brian said:

It’s sad that the most important council race is because of the person we desperately need to NOT be on council. Fingers crossed on this one more than any. 
 

 

 

She doesn't talk much about her State House experience, which if anything qualifies her more for the position.   Perhaps that's because people might wonder why she's moving from a state rep seat to a City Council seat, not recognizing that she's term limited.

Good news: it looks like Howse will defeat Dow in Ward 7. 

 

Surprising news: Mauer defeated Brancatelli in Ward 12.

26 minutes ago, freefourur said:

Good news: it looks like Howse will defeat Dow in Ward 7. 

 

Surprising news: Mauer defeated Brancatelli in Ward 12.

 

Harsh over Kate Warren in 13, honestly really surprised about that one. Then again Harsh and Kelley voters prob go hand in hand. 

Second best news of the night:

 

 

When is the last time I-71 turned a profit?

On 11/2/2021 at 11:05 PM, freefourur said:

Good news: it looks like Howse will defeat Dow in Ward 7. 

 

Surprising news: Mauer defeated Brancatelli in Ward 12.

 

Disaster for Slavic Village as Tony has always been passionately focused on same.   Perhaps too focused, as he may have forgotten about the rest of his district.   If anything, this is an argument that downsizing Council went too far.

 

I expect Maurer to spend much more time focused on "big picture" issues, at the expense of a district that still needs a good deal of TLC.

 

Thank God that didn't happen to North Collinwood, where the sometimes cantankerous Mike Polensek defeated an absolute train wreck of an opponent.

Dow would have been nearly as bad.

Edited by E Rocc

3 minutes ago, E Rocc said:

 

Disaster for Slavic Village as Tony has always been passionately focused on same.   Perhaps too focused, as he may have forgotten about the rest of his district.   If anything, this is an argument that downsizing Council went too far.

 

I expect Maurer to spend much more time focused on "big picture" issues, at the expense of a district that still needs a good deal of TLC.

 

Thank God that didn't happen to North Collinwood, where the sometimes cantankerous Mike Polensek defeated an absolute train wreck of an opponent.

Dow would have been nearly as bad.

I like Tony. The many interactions I've had with him have always been great. He is knowledgeable and cares about his neighborhood. That is why i was surprised that he was defeated.  But I don't know much about Mauer and I will wait to judge her until she actually starts the job.  

Oh look, Kelley's buddies are already colluding to anoint Blaine as the next council president

 

 

2 minutes ago, E Rocc said:

 

Disaster for Slavic Village as Tony has always been passionately focused on same.   Perhaps too focused, as he may have forgotten about the rest of his district.   If anything, this is an argument that downsizing Council went too far.

 

I expect Maurer to spend much more time focused on "big picture" issues, at the expense of a district that still needs a good deal of TLC.

 

I have no problem with Tony other than the fact he completely disregarded anywhere BUT SV. He really got the short end of the stick with his district boundary, it covers SV, OB, BC, and a piece of Tremont. Talk about a lot. Rebecca will be different, sure, but I wouldn't consider this to be a disaster for SV, that's a huge overreaction IMO. She's a competent lawyer who's career has been focused on tenant and homeowner rights, lead issues, etc., kind of sounds like it's the type of person that SV could use.

I like Kerry, but I don't think it's the end of the world to have a council President that is not a part of Bibb's camp.  Hopefully they can work together, and check each other when necessary.  

19 minutes ago, bikemail said:

Oh look, Kelley's buddies are already colluding to anoint Blaine as the next council president

 

 

 

Polensek is anything but "Kelley's buddy" LOL.

3 minutes ago, ML11 said:

I like Kerry, but I don't think it's the end of the world to have a council President that is not a part of Bibb's camp.  Hopefully they can work together, and check each other when necessary.  

And I like Blaine well enough, but it's just ridiculous to try to pull these kinds of shenanigans immediately after Bibb's blowout victory. Honestly, if Blaine had just waited until January he probably still would have the votes to win, but instead he defaults to acting like a backroom dealing scumbag.

Councilmember-elect Rebecca Maurer's statement on this is particularly illuminating:

https://twitter.com/rebecca__maurer/status/1456304600395440134

  • Author
7 minutes ago, bikemail said:

And I like Blaine well enough, but it's just ridiculous to try to pull these kinds of shenanigans immediately after Bibb's blowout victory. Honestly, if Blaine had just waited until January he probably still would have the votes to win, but instead he defaults to acting like a backroom dealing scumbag.

Councilmember-elect Rebecca Maurer's statement on this is particularly illuminating:

https://twitter.com/rebecca__maurer/status/1456304600395440134

 

Well damn!  She is right for calling this out.

1 hour ago, E Rocc said:

 

Disaster for Slavic Village as Tony has always been passionately focused on same.   Perhaps too focused, as he may have forgotten about the rest of his district.   If anything, this is an argument that downsizing Council went too far.

 

I expect Maurer to spend much more time focused on "big picture" issues, at the expense of a district that still needs a good deal of TLC.

 

Thank God that didn't happen to North Collinwood, where the sometimes cantankerous Mike Polensek defeated an absolute train wreck of an opponent.

Dow would have been nearly as bad.

 

If I remember correctly, Brancatellli did not have the backing of the Democratic Party as he did not back Mona Scott during her campaign to become Housing Court Judge.  Because of that, the Democratic Party decided to not back Brancatelli during this election cycle.  Somebody correct me if I'm wrong.

 

It's ugly, and I don't like it- as Tony sincerely cares about Slavic Village.  You knew he was passionate about his neighborhood just by speaking with him.  But it's the reality we live in currently.  What I will say is that for Slavic Village, the residents there couldn't have elected a better Councilman to lead the neighborhood through the Foreclosure Crisis.  Tony literally saved the neighborhood through demoing most of the blighted strucutres.  Now the neighborhood has a better chance for growth in its next chapter, but I wish it was Tony who would have the chance to lead it.  

17 hours ago, MyTwoSense said:

 

Well damn!  She is right for calling this out.

 

There is real irony though, if Tony lost because he did not fall in line with the Party.

18 hours ago, MyTwoSense said:

 

Well damn!  She is right for calling this out.

Exactly. They’re basically blackmailing members into a vote, which is just 😪. Council needs to actually function and have debate, not penalize citizens of a certain ward because they’re council person disagrees with the majority.

 

18 hours ago, E Rocc said:

 

Polensek is anything but "Kelley's buddy" LOL.

He may not be Kelly’s friend, but he’s going along with this undemocratic shenanigan.

 

23 hours ago, bikemail said:

And I like Blaine well enough, but it's just ridiculous to try to pull these kinds of shenanigans immediately after Bibb's blowout victory. Honestly, if Blaine had just waited until January he probably still would have the votes to win, but instead he defaults to acting like a backroom dealing scumbag.

Councilmember-elect Rebecca Maurer's statement on this is particularly illuminating:

https://twitter.com/rebecca__maurer/status/1456304600395440134

 

Best response! 

 

 

j.s.@unionguy216

22h

Replying to

@rebecca__maurer

Less than 48 hours after the polls closed a d you are already more transparent than the last 10+ years of all of city council

  • 3 weeks later...

Make a difference:

 

When is the last time I-71 turned a profit?

  • 1 month later...

^ It was Matt Zone's committee until he left in 2020.

Do council people get to pick what committees their own (pending space) or are they just assigned by the president?

  • 6 months later...

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Cleveland City Hall has received multiple subpoenas from the FBI seeking information about former Councilman Basheer Jones, according to two city officials.

City Council President Blaine Griffin and Cleveland Law Director Mark Griffin both confirmed to cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer on Thursday that the FBI recently sent the subpoenas to the city’s law department.

 

 

 

https://www.cleveland.com/metro/2022/07/cleveland-city-hall-receives-subpoenas-from-fbi-about-former-councilman-basheer-jones-city-officials-say.html

Shocker. Basheer allegedly tried to extort bribes from many developers, including demanding $10,000 donations just to get a meeting with him. And then you had this Twitter exchange in which Basheer threatened a well-known developer who then reminded him of his own reported bribe attempt. This was from July 9...

 

 

Josh Rosen-Basheer Jones twitter.jpg

"In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck

On 7/16/2022 at 10:34 AM, KJP said:

Shocker. Basheer allegedly tried to extort bribes from many developers, including demanding $10,000 donations just to get a meeting with him. And then you had this Twitter exchange in which Basheer threatened a well-known developer who then reminded him of his own reported bribe attempt. This was from July 9...

 

 

Josh Rosen-Basheer Jones twitter.jpg

 

Basheer and his bud Darvio sure have been quiet since the subpoenas dropped. I wonder what Lee W. has to say about his newest supporter.

Just read over the report mentioned in this article, so far I've received more communication and transparency from Councilwoman Maurer in a few months than I have from Tony B. in six years. Meanwhile Councilman Griffin wants business to continue as is - according to him things are fine, I mean it's getting him reelected so I guess it is. 

 

https://www.cleveland.com/news/2022/07/cleveland-city-council-spends-too-much-of-its-time-helping-residents-navigate-city-hall-one-new-member-wants-to-change-that.html

  • 5 months later...

This is a good way to build good will  

 

When is the last time I-71 turned a profit?

On 1/23/2023 at 8:00 PM, Boomerang_Brian said:

This is a good way to build good will  

 

 

 

“We found no evidence of a net association between the COVID-19 pandemic and medical debt, overall or across areas with different incomes and pandemic severity. These results are consistent with any increase in medical debt being offset by decreases in elective medical procedures and new health care–related governmental policies.” - Trends in Medical Debt During the COVID-19 Pandemic

 

Definitely possible that Cleveland is an outlier. This article on the study reports that “Between March 2019 and April 2021, the share of adults reporting medical debt fell from 23.6 percent to 16.8 percent. However, racial disparities persisted in 2021 as Black and Hispanic/Latino adults were more likely to report medical debt and problems paying medical bills than White adults.”

 

The New York Times also had coverage of this when Toledo announced a similar plan in December. Here’s their coverage.

 

I agree with Professor Skinner that it’s inefficient spending, I would prefer to see this money allocated towards something that will produce ongoing returns.

 

But who knows, maybe the debt is preventing people from getting better jobs, buying homes, or otherwise contributing more fully to the local economy. There is an ongoing economic impact study of RIP, who Toledo is partnering with for their efforts (and we would be as well), but no results have been published yet. 

Edited by Henke

 

  • 5 months later...
On 7/14/2023 at 12:20 PM, Dougal said:

Cleveland.com says the mayor and the council aren't getting along.  Here we go again.  What happened to the "automatic" reduction in council seats that was supposed to happen after the last census count?  

 

https://www.cleveland.com/metro/2023/07/bibb-boycotts-cleveland-city-council-meeting-ramping-up-hostilities-between-mayor-and-council.html

 

To answer my own question, the city has until the 2025 election (primary, I assume) to redistrict the city cutting two of the seventeen council seats or otherwise amend the city charter to allow a different number. 

Remember: It's the Year of the Snake

1 hour ago, Dougal said:

 

To answer my own question, the city has until the 2025 election (primary, I assume) to redistrict the city cutting two of the seventeen council seats or otherwise amend the city charter to allow a different number. 

Well that is going to be fun.  I know a couple of them I would not mind losing their seats because of redistricting-they will remain nameless.

2 hours ago, Htsguy said:

Well that is going to be fun.  I know a couple of them I would not mind losing their seats because of redistricting-they will remain nameless.

 

We'll probably never hear another thing until January of '24, when it will become a crisis.  

Remember: It's the Year of the Snake

5 hours ago, Dougal said:

 

To answer my own question, the city has until the 2025 election (primary, I assume) to redistrict the city cutting two of the seventeen council seats or otherwise amend the city charter to allow a different number. 

Is there any guidance as far as which seats are removed? Does the geography of the population loss impact the decision at all?

 

During the last redistributing, Jay Westbrook decided to hang it up and be one of the sacrificial lambs of the process. On the east side, Mt. Pleasant was cut up into four different wards and Zach Reed was the casualty- with Mt Pleasanr taking on a much bigger piece of Ward 4 (Ken Johnson) than before. Well, Mt. Pleasant was hiring before, and is still hurting now.

  • 9 months later...

So, if I read the reports of the recently-passed TIF legislation correctly, the bill promises nothing specific; it's just a belated recognition by council of how TIF works and the value of TIF to development.

 

I wonder if there shouldn't be some regular way of educating councilmen and women on the basics of municipal finance and new developments without insulting them.  MDs are required to take continuing education classes to keep their licenses; why not elected politicians?  Maybe this could be folded into the city redistricting provisions required within the next year. 

Remember: It's the Year of the Snake

  • 7 months later...
7 hours ago, Henke said:

Jenny Spencer won't be seeking re-election.

 

Hopefully a more development friendly councilperson will take her place. It's a shame that the tax abatement adjustments coincided with the rise in inflation. Her criticism of market rate developers was probably unhelpful as well. 

 

https://signalcleveland.org/cleveland-city-council-member-jenny-spencer-wont-seek-another-term/

Will there be further shrinking/redistricting?  

Yes, we are losing 2:

 

”It’s not certain what effect Spencer’s decision will have on council’s current round of redistricting. Under Cleveland’s charter, Griffin must cut two wards to keep pace with the city’s falling population.”

 

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