13 minutes ago, skorasaurus said:

•  

I have a lot to add but pressed for time at the moment but want to stress:

• the public comment meetings specifically for the ward maps were announced 1 week in advance;
• said public meetings did not have the map available for the public to view
• tract level data that included demographics was released in May 2023; the city could have and should have started earlier  https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census/decade/2020/planning-management/release/about-2020-data-products.html
• although I appreciate that the city held meetings public meetings (compared to 2014), they could have started earlier.

 

I also used a shapefile that I obtained from Council on December 10th and imported it into Dave's and was able to replicate the 39.97% and 26.58% Hispanic as Ahn mentioned BUT the numbers that he refers to use is the VAP - the voting age population.

 

According to my replication of are 42% and 29.5% Hispanic of total population as indicated in the attached screenshots.

 

as indicated immediately below:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lastly, I made a map and want to share it for critique - https://www.davesredistricting.org/join/4d9e18ba-9db3-4552-9af4-3a33356b151b

 

it's immediately below:

 

Collinwood's together which would be my priority.

 

I'm not a fan of Maurer, to put it mildly, but I'd like to see some cohesiveness to Slavic Village.

 

 

14 minutes ago, E Rocc said:

Collinwood's together which would be my priority.

 

I would think that it would be better over the long term to keep neighborhoods together, under a consistent CDC and councilperson(s).  But maybe defining each "neighborhood" can change over time, and I understand wanting councilpersons to represent more or less the same number of residents, so it's not simple.  (I suppose you could start by defining neighborhoods by area and then adjusting voting capacity by population -- but then you might have someone with 5.3 votes and someone else with 0.4 votes!)

12 minutes ago, E Rocc said:

I'm not a fan of Maurer, to put it mildly

 

As a constituent, I'm genuinely curious what you have against her. She's been great for the ward and for daylighting a lot of council and larger city issues, especially compared to the ghost that Tony B. was to the OB part of Ward 12. I've worked the polls in her home precinct for two plus years and she's engaged with every single person (and knows names) who comes up to her when she's in the polling place, among other things I've noticed.

 

Not looking to pick a fight I'm just curious what things have irked you.

23 hours ago, GISguy said:

 

As a constituent, I'm genuinely curious what you have against her. She's been great for the ward and for daylighting a lot of council and larger city issues, especially compared to the ghost that Tony B. was to the OB part of Ward 12. I've worked the polls in her home precinct for two plus years and she's engaged with every single person (and knows names) who comes up to her when she's in the polling place, among other things I've noticed.

 

Not looking to pick a fight I'm just curious what things have irked you.

 

Admittedly my SV semi-roots bias me towards Brancatelli and current Collinwood residence towards Polensek.   I think the latter's criticisms of her had some merit, though I wouldn't have made it as personal.  I've been around long enough that she reminds me of Kucinich with the personality of a Grdina sister.   

 

Plus the whole transparency thing.   She's only in there because the county party wouldn't endorse Brancatelli because he abstained on a judge.   Maybe don't make such a stink about similar practices.

 

So that's locally.   As far as general politics go, very different views so nope.

A discussion I had with this left leaning X poster with whom I can discuss things civilly (good thing, because we share parents) regarding the Collinwood district:
 

 

Council Member Joe Jones investigated after multiple complaints about inappropriate behavior

Complaints came from Destination Cleveland and city employees. Council President Blaine Griffin said council rule and policy changes are in the works.
 

What a freaking mess.

 

 

https://signalcleveland.org/cleveland-city-council-joe-jones-investigation/?utm_campaign=Signals 216&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_Zfv6E048FcjMXSKag6Wub8oDYKqQ2mq4AVGnYTkv-dTHXeaa7EmBAlMRRRUYJ07_uZOqlyZgJfpeWhYImjTPSkw6WNQ&_hsmi=343932489&utm_content=343932489&utm_source=hs_email

1 hour ago, Enginerd said:

Council Member Joe Jones investigated after multiple complaints about inappropriate behavior

Complaints came from Destination Cleveland and city employees. Council President Blaine Griffin said council rule and policy changes are in the works.
 

What a freaking mess.

 

 

https://signalcleveland.org/cleveland-city-council-joe-jones-investigation/?utm_campaign=Signals 216&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_Zfv6E048FcjMXSKag6Wub8oDYKqQ2mq4AVGnYTkv-dTHXeaa7EmBAlMRRRUYJ07_uZOqlyZgJfpeWhYImjTPSkw6WNQ&_hsmi=343932489&utm_content=343932489&utm_source=hs_email

He'll probably be allowed to go on leave, retire, collect a pension, and get re-elected to a new term as the same old guy.   Yay Cleveland Council!  

8 hours ago, Enginerd said:

Council Member Joe Jones investigated after multiple complaints about inappropriate behavior

Complaints came from Destination Cleveland and city employees. Council President Blaine Griffin said council rule and policy changes are in the works.
 

What a freaking mess.

 

 

https://signalcleveland.org/cleveland-city-council-joe-jones-investigation/?utm_campaign=Signals 216&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_Zfv6E048FcjMXSKag6Wub8oDYKqQ2mq4AVGnYTkv-dTHXeaa7EmBAlMRRRUYJ07_uZOqlyZgJfpeWhYImjTPSkw6WNQ&_hsmi=343932489&utm_content=343932489&utm_source=hs_email

He seems nice - no wonder she left for Cleveland Foundation if that was a regular occurrence.  Seriously, was hard to watch. Shame on him. 

City Council proposes first major funding overhaul for CDCs in decades

Kim Palmer 

January 27, 2025

 

 

The legislation's goal — which has been at the heart of ongoing discussions between the council, City Hall, and the CDCs — is to address the inefficiencies of small, often understaffed neighborhood organizations' current reliance on highly restrictive, cumbersome Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds as their main source of revenue.

 

...

 

Councilman Kerry McCormack, who represents downtown and parts of Ohio City, sponsored the measure which would swap out about $8.6 million in CDBG dollars — from two types of funds — for the same amount of earmarked city general fund dollars.

 

The funds will then be split up amongst the council members who, in turn, will disperse the money based on annual applications to the city’s 20 eligible CDCs.

 

https://www.crainscleveland.com/politics-policy/cleveland-city-council-considers-cdc-funding-overall

On 1/24/2025 at 8:57 AM, Enginerd said:

Council Member Joe Jones investigated after multiple complaints about inappropriate behavior

Complaints came from Destination Cleveland and city employees. Council President Blaine Griffin said council rule and policy changes are in the works.
 

What a freaking mess.

 

 

https://signalcleveland.org/cleveland-city-council-joe-jones-investigation/?utm_campaign=Signals 216&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_Zfv6E048FcjMXSKag6Wub8oDYKqQ2mq4AVGnYTkv-dTHXeaa7EmBAlMRRRUYJ07_uZOqlyZgJfpeWhYImjTPSkw6WNQ&_hsmi=343932489&utm_content=343932489&utm_source=hs_email

 

This is who he is.   It's always been who he is.   It's inappropriate AF in a position of power, but no one with any familiarity with the city should be surprised.

Texts show some Cleveland City Council members intended to retaliate against Jones' accusers

 

Council embarrassing themselves again. Good on Maurer for standing up to them. And kudos for Polensek trying to keep his colleagues professional.

 

https://www.ideastream.org/government-politics/2025-02-03/texts-show-some-cleveland-city-council-members-intended-to-retaliate-against-jones-accusers?utm_source=Ideastream+Public+Media&utm_campaign=b5a4f4c4b6-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2024_10_08_06_29_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-59356313a2-284925653&mc_cid=b5a4f4c4b6&mc_eid=3e35a9566f

Quote

 

Hairston said in an interview with Ideastream Saturday he stands by the texts. “I stand up when I use the bathroom, I don’t sit down,” he said. “If I said it, I meant it.”

 

Starr also defended his comments to Ideastream. “I stand up when I use the bathroom, and I stand on business whenever I need to,” he told Ideastream

 

 

These are our city leaders. 

On 2/3/2025 at 8:59 AM, Enginerd said:

Texts show some Cleveland City Council members intended to retaliate against Jones' accusers

 

Council embarrassing themselves again. Good on Maurer for standing up to them. And kudos for Polensek trying to keep his colleagues professional.

 

https://www.ideastream.org/government-politics/2025-02-03/texts-show-some-cleveland-city-council-members-intended-to-retaliate-against-jones-accusers?utm_source=Ideastream+Public+Media&utm_campaign=b5a4f4c4b6-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2024_10_08_06_29_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-59356313a2-284925653&mc_cid=b5a4f4c4b6&mc_eid=3e35a9566f

 

When Maurer and Polensek are more or less on the same side you know the other side is off base, to say the least.

Edited February 4Feb 4 by E Rocc

49 minutes ago, Jax said:

 

These are our city leaders. 

 

I noticed that too.   Wow.

 

People like this have always been common in politics, it just wasn't made public to the degree that it is today.   Does anyone think the PeeDee or most of the media would have reported the Jones story or these quotes?

Now Ward 3 Councilman Kerry McCormack said he's not running for re-election even though he got 75 percent of the vote last time. There's a possibility he might even resign. This comes after Jenny Spencer said she's leaving council too.

 

Something's not right in Council.

17 minutes ago, KJP said:

Now Ward 3 Councilman Kerry McCormack said he's not running for re-election even though he got 75 percent of the vote last time. There's a possibility he might even resign. This comes after Jenny Spencer said she's leaving council too.

 

Something's not right in Council.

 

Resigning give him the opportunity to hand-pick a successor, no? Still is surprising to go from making a play for Council President to resigning within one election cycle. I don't know Spencer as well, it seems she doesn't have many fans on this forum, but McCormack is a loss for the city IMO. 

32 minutes ago, Luke_S said:

 

Resigning give him the opportunity to hand-pick a successor, no? Still is surprising to go from making a play for Council President to resigning within one election cycle. I don't know Spencer as well, it seems she doesn't have many fans on this forum, but McCormack is a loss for the city IMO. 

 

In the Crain's article, it said he did not recommend anyone to run for his seat. The obvious guess would be Griffin pushing them out, but I'm not so sure.

 

Jenny Spencer was a notorious NIMBY, and Kerry McCormack certainly fell into the same line of low-effort thinking on occasion.

 

I wonder if the pressure came from a more YIMBY Mayor Bibb? Maybe that's just wishful thinking...

 

Any other ideas?

 

https://www.crainscleveland.com/politics-policy/kerry-mccormack-wont-seek-re-election-city-council?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Newsletter-BreakingNews-20250214

I doubt nimby and yimby have anything to do with it.

 

griffin is running Council into the ground

22 hours ago, Whipjacka said:

I doubt nimby and yimby have anything to do with it.

 

griffin is running Council into the ground

 

how so? I have to admit I haven't been paying very close attention. and there seems to be a dearth of coverage in the PD (I'm about to give up on it entirely). Griffin seems to have a lot of bluster/blowhard and I haven't particularly cared for the things I've heard him say, but curious what sort of harmful actions he's imposed.

On 2/14/2025 at 10:03 AM, Luke_S said:

 

Resigning give him the opportunity to hand-pick a successor, no? Still is surprising to go from making a play for Council President to resigning within one election cycle. I don't know Spencer as well, it seems she doesn't have many fans on this forum, but McCormack is a loss for the city IMO. 

 

It probably has more to do with the splitting of his district.   He's a downtown guy, first and foremost.

1 hour ago, E Rocc said:

 

It probably has more to do with the splitting of his district.   He's a downtown guy, first and foremost.

We hope he has another public-facing opportunity already lined up - we need him and his generation to keep the progress rolling.

I got the inside scoop from a trusted source on the departure of Jenny Spencer and Kerry McCormack:

 

• Jenny Spencer is leaving because she is frustrated with the performative nature of a lot of Council rather than working on actual policy. She's dejected and defeated and doesn't have the will to keep fighting Council.
• Kerry McCormack was described as someone who is always thinking about the next opportunity. The theory is that he has some cushy government affairs waiting for him after the election.

I made some connections last week that were very interested in my idea for a new Council Resolution. Although this is particularly dumb question, I can assure you, I have much more experienced folks helping me with this effort. I'm just a dumb engineer!

 

How is legislation actually proposed and introduced to City Council? I believe there are two ways, but its a little difficult to confirm:

• Does the Mayor and his Government Affairs team draft a policy proposal and get it to the Clerk with his endorsement on it?
• Do the Council members draft a policy proposal with the council staff lawyers, get it to clerk with their endorsements on it?

I did a dive on the Charter's amendments on Initiative Petitions and the entire process required to get something in front of council and/or the voters. I believe that this resolution would be fairly uncontroversial within the Council and would be likely to pass, so I don't believe that I would need to get 5,000 signatures to get a vote on this proposal.

 

So, I would need to work with either a member of Council or the Mayor's administration to get this proposal in front of Council, correct?

1 hour ago, Zagapi said:

I got the inside scoop from a trusted source on the departure of Jenny Spencer and Kerry McCormack:

 

• Jenny Spencer is leaving because she is frustrated with the performative nature of a lot of Council rather than working on actual policy. She's dejected and defeated and doesn't have the will to keep fighting Council.
• Kerry McCormack was described as someone who is always thinking about the next opportunity. The theory is that he has some cushy government affairs waiting for him after the election.

Not a Spencer fan.  I could list a whole host of problems I have with her (and they are not all development related) but I will leave it go at that.  I have more serious issues with many other council members but again, just my opinions and won't bore you with them.

 

I was not surprised by McCormack.  My guess is that he is young but is reaching an age where he understands he is going to actually have to start making some real money at his job if he wants to start a family or have a secure retirement.

2 hours ago, Zagapi said:

• Jenny Spencer is leaving because she is frustrated with the performative nature of a lot of Council rather than working on actual policy. She's dejected and defeated and doesn't have the will to keep fighting Council.

 

She was just as performative as the rest of them and actively obstructionist vis a vis new development.    Of course she spent a lot of time fighting.

isn't everyone thinking about the next opportunity in some fashion

I just hope we get someone who does not obstruct new development to replace McCormack because that new ward covers probably 75% of the land in the city that has near-term potential for market rate new housing.  

CAROL M. SKUTNIK

ACTING UNITED STATES ATTORNEY FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

Former Cleveland City Council Member Sentenced to Prison

 

CLEVELAND – Basheer Jones, 40, of Cleveland, Ohio, has been sentenced to 28 months in prison by U.S. District Judge J. Philip Calabrese, after pleading guilty to conspiring to commit wire fraud and honest services fraud by using his role as a public official for personal financial gain by seeking to defraud multiple community stakeholders out of more than $200,000. He was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release after imprisonment and pay $143,598.47 in restitution to local nonprofits.

 

According to court documents, from about December 2018 to June 2021, the former Cleveland city councilman for Ward 7 persuaded several local nonprofits to enter into arrangements that benefitted Jones and his romantic partner and co-conspirator. Jones sought and obtained funds from the nonprofits under the guise of working on projects to redevelop Ward 7. Throughout the scheme, he took steps to ensure that his personal connection to his romantic partner, through whom he benefited from these arrangements, was not discovered.

 

“Mr. Jones used his position to dishonestly line his pockets with tens of thousands of dollars,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Carol M. Skutnik for the Northern District of Ohio. “He betrayed the city of Cleveland and its citizens, who elected him to serve as a leader in our community. With his deceptive actions, he also violated federal laws. Anyone who thinks they can use a public office to defraud nonprofits and obtain bribes will face consequences and pay the price for those decisions, and my office will prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law.”

 

The defendant’s schemes worked by convincing nonprofits to make payments toward projects they believed were for Ward 7 revitalization projects, including to buy real estate from purported third parties. Instead, the money went into bank accounts that his romantic partner controlled. Jones then instructed her to divert those funds to herself, to himself, and to others he chose.

 

Jones also convinced a nonprofit to make payments to an entity controlled by his co-conspiring partner, all while knowing that the funds would flow back to himself. Jones recommended that the nonprofit should hire a consultant for community outreach. Unbeknownst to the nonprofit, the consultant was actually Jones’s romantic partner. She submitted invoices to the unsuspecting nonprofit and was subsequently paid through her consulting business.

 

Jones later defrauded the same nonprofit out of an additional $50,000, again through his partner’s consulting business. Jones claimed that he needed $50,000 to plan a community event, which included buying backpacks for schoolchildren, and falsely promised that the city would reimburse the organization. Instead, after the funds were paid, no event was held, and Jones again directed his romantic partner to divide the money amongst herself, Jones, and others Jones chose.

 

“Public corruption at any level of government will not be tolerated. Jones abused his position of trust for personal gain while scheming against the people he was elected to serve, including non-profit entities and well-meaning leaders,” said FBI Cleveland Acting Special Agent in Charge Charles Johnston. “Elected officials who demonstrate a reckless disregard for violating the oath they swore to uphold is detestable. Today’s sentence underscores the FBIs commitment to ensuring that those who engage in fraud and corruption will be investigated and held accountable. We will continue working with our law enforcement partners to root out corruption and ensure elected officials are serving with honesty, fairness, and integrity.”

 

Some of the projects Jones pushed included seeking community funding to rehabilitate certain distressed properties while concealing his financial interest in them. In one instance, Jones devised a bribery scheme under which he arranged for co-conspirators, including his romantic partner, to acquire a dilapidated property on Superior Road, and used his position as councilperson to pass ordinances allocating city funds to buy that property from them. Jones arranged for a co-conspirator to buy the property a minimal cost. After asking a nonprofit to purchase and rehabilitate the property, and promising city funding, Jones sponsored an emergency ordinance to fund the nonprofit’s purchase and renovation of the property. When Jones was unable to convince the nonprofit to proceed, he arranged to transfer the property to his romantic partner’s consulting business, with the understanding that she would share the proceeds of the sale with him. After sponsoring another ordinance to reauthorize city funding for the same project, Jones sought to finalize the nonprofit’s purchase of the property from his partner’s entity for $80,000. Ultimately that scheme failed when the nonprofit decided not to proceed with the purchase.

 

However, Jones and his romantic partner did succeed in obtaining funds for the sale of a different property to another nonprofit. He misled them to believe that he was assisting with the acquisition of the property from the original owner. Instead, he was simultaneously arranging for his partner to acquire the property from the original owner in the name of another business entity, and then immediately to resell it to the nonprofit. Jones and his romantic partner arranged to purchase the property for only $1, promising to pay a $40,500 city demolition bill. But without paying that bill or disclosing it, Jones’s romantic partner immediately re-sold the property to the nonprofit for $45,000.

 

“Basheer Jones abused his position of trust by deliberately engaging in fraudulent schemes to divert HUD money – funds meant to improve the community— for his own personal gain,” said Special Agent in Charge Shawn Rice with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General (OIG). "HUD OIG will continue to work with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and law enforcement to investigate and hold accountable bad actors who exploit HUD-funded programs for their own benefit.”

 

This case was investigated by the FBI Cleveland Division, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of the Inspector General, and the IRS – Criminal Investigation.

 

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Erica Barnhill and Elliot Morrison for the Northern District of Ohio.

 

###

Amazing - doing the bare minimum! (Sarcasm)

 

https://www.ideastream.org/government-politics/2025-04-02/cleveland-city-council-to-begin-professionalism-training-to-deal-with-culture-of-city-hall

Cleveland City Council to begin professionalism training to 'deal with culture of City Hall'

 

"All council staff, including the 17 council members, will be required to take an annual, three-hour long training session on workplace harassment, discrimination and retaliation prevention, a city spokesperson told Ideastream Public Media."

30 minutes ago, Geowizical said:

Amazing - doing the bare minimum! (Sarcasm)

 

https://www.ideastream.org/government-politics/2025-04-02/cleveland-city-council-to-begin-professionalism-training-to-deal-with-culture-of-city-hall

Cleveland City Council to begin professionalism training to 'deal with culture of City Hall'

 

"All council staff, including the 17 council members, will be required to take an annual, three-hour long training session on workplace harassment, discrimination and retaliation prevention, a city spokesperson told Ideastream Public Media."

So embarrassing.  

 

And while their at it, they should probably make the rank-and-file city employees do the same.   If you've ever been around them, it's a toxic culture brought on by feelings of being untouchable as the unions protect them. 

 

 

I doubt these "trainings" actually do anything other than let the employer check a box and wash their hands of it. 

 

The trainings are bulls**t. 

 

What should be in their place are draconian penalties for harassments, retaliations, et al, including fines, firings, clawing back earlier compensations, even collective punishment.

 

There should be entirely new levels of accountability and sanction for that behavior, not the usual "SORRY IF YOU FEEL I HURT YOUR FEELINGS, PRAYSE JESUS" rhetoric and/or theatrics of online trainings.

 

Same goes for the private sector.

 

Edited April 4Apr 4 by TBideon