I'm pretty are it's 67,000 a year.

 

Buckeye Institute has his 2010 salary at $74,038. Probably a little bit higher now, but it is in that ballpark

So Zack Reed went to a jury trial on his third DUI and that didn't work out so good.

 

They subpoenaed a bartender from the Nauti Mermaid.  Would he have even gone to trial if he had been drinking "elsewhere"?

So Zack Reed went to a jury trial on his third DUI and that didn't work out so good.

 

They subpoenaed a bartender from the Nauti Mermaid.  Would he have even gone to trial if he had been drinking "elsewhere"?

 

He should lose his job and retirement.

So Zack Reed went to a jury trial on his third DUI and that didn't work out so good.

 

They subpoenaed a bartender from the Nauti Mermaid.  Would he have even gone to trial if he had been drinking "elsewhere"?

 

He should lose his job and retirement.

 

That's up to the voters.  Jeff Johnson got back into council, after all.

 

(Jeff's way better than Reed, but the analogy is strong)

The side show that is Cleveland City Council continues.  Zack Reed introduces a measure protesting "60 Minutes"...  supported by all except the council president who admittedly "can't stand him"...

 

http://www.cleveland.com/cityhall/index.ssf/2013/10/cleveland_councilman_zack_reed_9.html#incart_m-rpt-2

 

Nice play actually by Zack to get his name in the news for something other than his 3 DUI arrests.  $50 says he gets re elected.

 

EDIT: I see the PD endorsed him.  Make that $5,000 says he gets re elected

 

The side show that is Cleveland City Council continues.  Zack Reed introduces a measure protesting "60 Minutes"...  supported by all except the council president who admittedly "can't stand him"...

 

http://www.cleveland.com/cityhall/index.ssf/2013/10/cleveland_councilman_zack_reed_9.html#incart_m-rpt-2

 

Nice play actually by Zack to get his name in the news for something other than his 3 DUI arrests.  $50 says he gets re elected.

 

EDIT: I see the PD endorsed him.  Make that $5,000 says he gets re elected

 

What a freaking joke. An embarrassment for the city.

The side show that is Cleveland City Council continues.  Zack Reed introduces a measure protesting "60 Minutes"...  supported by all except the council president who admittedly "can't stand him"...

 

http://www.cleveland.com/cityhall/index.ssf/2013/10/cleveland_councilman_zack_reed_9.html#incart_m-rpt-2

 

Nice play actually by Zack to get his name in the news for something other than his 3 DUI arrests.  $50 says he gets re elected.

 

EDIT: I see the PD endorsed him.  Make that $5,000 says he gets re elected

 

 

Barring certain "personal revealations" between now and Election Day, he's a lock.

 

Quite honestly, I'd rather they spent their time passing meaningless resolutions than Cimperman's nanny state proposals (trans fats, outdoor smoking).  There are worse things a government can be than useless and irrelevant.

I think all the incumbents won yesterday, including Jeff Johnson who edged out Eugene Miller, where both were incumbents.  Only 2 of the races were close I think.  Matt Zone ran unopposed.  Probably a reflection of apathetic residents than an endorsement of the councilman.

I think all the incumbents won yesterday, including Jeff Johnson who edged out Eugene Miller, where both were incumbents.  Only 2 of the races were close I think.  Matt Zone ran unopposed.  Probably a reflection of apathetic residents than an endorsement of the councilman.

 

I personally like Zone.  I was surprised that Cummins' race was so close.  Not living in the ward, I don't know a thing about Kazy, but from what I gathered from last night's reporting he ran on a platform based around addressing crime in Clark-Fulton, and development around W. 25 and Clark Avenue.  I don't think Cummins is a bad councilman, but those two points of Kazy's are definitely the two biggest issues to tackle in that area, IMO

http://www.cleveland.com/cityhall/index.ssf/2013/11/cleveland_city_councilmen_jeff.html

 

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Now that Cleveland City Councilmen Jeffrey Johnson, Michael Polensek and Kevin Conwell have secured their seats for another four-year term, they say their alliance -- the so-called Northeast Cleveland Coalition -- is poised to rouse an unprecedented sense of regionalism in a city historically known for its fiefdoms.

 

I suspect either Johnson or Conwell will run for mayor in 2017.  I don't know much about Conwell, but Jeff would do a good job.  Polensek's a fundamentally honest guy (for Cuyahoga County politics)  that knows where all the bodies are buried, but he's too gruff, and frankly too gruff-while-white,  to be elected citywide.

 

Probably your best chance for assertive leadership that focuses on things that matter.

Cleveland Council President-elect Kevin Kelley emphasizes attendance and professionalism at council retreat

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A lecture on punctuality and professionalism topped the agenda Friday at a Cleveland City Council retreat and working session at Burke Lakefront Airport.

 

Council President-elect Kevin Kelley told members that absences and tardiness will not be tolerated under his leadership, reminding them that the council rules allow him to exact a $100 fine for missing a regular meeting. And he cautioned members for signing off on legislation when they’ve missed the debate on the piece.

 

“Remember that with a stroke of our pen millions of dollars are being allocated,” Kelley said. “Every now and then something will happen where you need to step away, but be very cautious of it. Being engaged in the legislation and participating meaningfully is very important.”

 

Committee chairs and vice-chairs no longer will be permitted to have an open computer screen during meetings. And Kelley went on to say that he is tired of watching committee chairpersons introduce legislation, then unplug from the committee discussion while city directors give their presentations.

 

“One of my personal pet peeves is when ....

 

http://www.cleveland.com/cityhall/index.ssf/2014/01/cleveland_city_council_preside_5.html

 

 

Outgoing Cleveland City Council President Martin J. Sweeney retires to 'double-dip,' maintains seniority under new policy

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Outgoing Cleveland City Council President Martin J. Sweeney has retired from office and will be sworn in again Jan. 6 -- a move that allows the 50-year-old councilman to draw benefits from his public pension while also collecting his $76,259-a-year council salary.

 

But unlike other so-called double-dippers, who were stripped of their council seniority after brief retirements, Sweeney will spend no time at the bottom of the pecking order.

 

A new policy, recommended by council’s Rules Committee and adopted by Council President-elect Kevin Kelley, will allow members to maintain their seniority if they retire to tap into state benefits. And it will restore seniority to longtime councilmen Michael Polensek and Ken Johnson, both of whom became double-dippers in recent years and were relegated by Sweeney to the back of the seating chart, typically reserved for freshman members.

 

The policy will make Polensek, Johnson and Sweeney the three most senior members -- granting them seats in the front row of meetings in council chambers and dibs on the best parking spaces and offices at City Hall.

 

http://www.cleveland.com/cityhall/index.ssf/2014/01/outgoing_cleveland_city_counci_1.html#incart_hbx#incart_best-of

Cleveland Council President-elect Kevin Kelley emphasizes attendance and professionalism at council retreat

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A lecture on punctuality and professionalism topped the agenda Friday at a Cleveland City Council retreat and working session at Burke Lakefront Airport.

 

Council President-elect Kevin Kelley told members that absences and tardiness will not be tolerated under his leadership, reminding them that the council rules allow him to exact a $100 fine for missing a regular meeting. And he cautioned members for signing off on legislation when they’ve missed the debate on the piece.

 

“Remember that with a stroke of our pen millions of dollars are being allocated,” Kelley said. “Every now and then something will happen where you need to step away, but be very cautious of it. Being engaged in the legislation and participating meaningfully is very important.”

 

Committee chairs and vice-chairs no longer will be permitted to have an open computer screen during meetings. And Kelley went on to say that he is tired of watching committee chairpersons introduce legislation, then unplug from the committee discussion while city directors give their presentations.

 

“One of my personal pet peeves is when ....

 

http://www.cleveland.com/cityhall/index.ssf/2014/01/cleveland_city_council_preside_5.html

 

 

Outgoing Cleveland City Council President Martin J. Sweeney retires to 'double-dip,' maintains seniority under new policy

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Outgoing Cleveland City Council President Martin J. Sweeney has retired from office and will be sworn in again Jan. 6 -- a move that allows the 50-year-old councilman to draw benefits from his public pension while also collecting his $76,259-a-year council salary.

 

But unlike other so-called double-dippers, who were stripped of their council seniority after brief retirements, Sweeney will spend no time at the bottom of the pecking order.

 

A new policy, recommended by council’s Rules Committee and adopted by Council President-elect Kevin Kelley, will allow members to maintain their seniority if they retire to tap into state benefits. And it will restore seniority to longtime councilmen Michael Polensek and Ken Johnson, both of whom became double-dippers in recent years and were relegated by Sweeney to the back of the seating chart, typically reserved for freshman members.

 

The policy will make Polensek, Johnson and Sweeney the three most senior members -- granting them seats in the front row of meetings in council chambers and dibs on the best parking spaces and offices at City Hall.

 

http://www.cleveland.com/cityhall/index.ssf/2014/01/outgoing_cleveland_city_counci_1.html#incart_hbx#incart_best-of

 

Is Kevin Kelley related to J. Kevin Kelley, of the corruption case "fame"?

 

I couldn't find a mention either way.

^ No, and that was made very clear when the corruption story broke.

Ahh the double dipping.  This will be the downfall of our empire, when the have-nots are tired of paying for the haves. 

 

No wonder the cops, firefighters and other employees want to do it.  It starts from the top.

Double dipping discussion aside, I'm torn on whether so many of these incumbents should stick around for City Council.  Of course veteran leadership is a good thing but at what point are these guys all just "same old same old" with no new thoughts or approaches?  Too afraid to shake things up and damage relationships that could rattle the political power structure?  Even if it means doing what's best for the residents & the city, overall?

At least Eugene Miller went away. I didn't know the guy personally or professionally but I never heard anyone say anything good about the guy and most of what I heard came from respectable people.

Double dipping discussion aside, I'm torn on whether so many of these incumbents should stick around for City Council.  Of course veteran leadership is a good thing but at what point are these guys all just "same old same old" with no new thoughts or approaches?  Too afraid to shake things up and damage relationships that could rattle the political power structure?  Even if it means doing what's best for the residents & the city, overall?

 

You want to increase turnover?  Start by getting rid of their control of development money in their wards. 

Double dipping discussion aside, I'm torn on whether so many of these incumbents should stick around for City Council.  Of course veteran leadership is a good thing but at what point are these guys all just "same old same old" with no new thoughts or approaches?  Too afraid to shake things up and damage relationships that could rattle the political power structure?  Even if it means doing what's best for the residents & the city, overall?

 

You want to increase turnover?  Start by getting rid of their control of development money in their wards. 

 

When you say "Development money", do you mean the funding for the local CDC's or something else?

I voted for this downsizing, but am still trying to figure out what a mess they've made of it.  What really needed to happen was eliminate half of the council seats (can anyone really argue that we need any more than about 9 council people), and figured out which wards should have merged making 2 neighborhood boundaries become 1.  Instead they just carved up a few neighborhoods and have butchered this process.

 

Looking back to the beginning of this thread, there are some funny posts (MayDay, MyTwoSense).

 

This post is so true though. How can we get our council down to 9 people?

Double dipping discussion aside, I'm torn on whether so many of these incumbents should stick around for City Council.  Of course veteran leadership is a good thing but at what point are these guys all just "same old same old" with no new thoughts or approaches?  Too afraid to shake things up and damage relationships that could rattle the political power structure?  Even if it means doing what's best for the residents & the city, overall?

 

You want to increase turnover?  Start by getting rid of their control of development money in their wards. 

 

When you say "Development money", do you mean the funding for the local CDC's or something else?

 

I think that's what it is, I know they get about a half million each per year to hand out at their "discretion".  It could be more....

http://fox8.com/2014/04/28/councilman-calls-on-city-leaders-to-stop-cleveland-violence/

 

I suppose a politician like Reed can be expected to call on city leaders to "stop" something that, quite obviously, they would like nothing better than to end.  But why was this content-free speech considered newsworthy?

^I think that Fox 8 must be getting the same types of comments that we see on here sometimes.  They probably just wanted to clarify that there is a city council member who stands against murder and other forms of violent crimes.

In other news

 

Almost forgot to post this.  Interesting twitter exchange between Zone and Reed this weekend regarding race and diversity.  Reed gets pretty close to flat out calling Zone a racist.  I didn't know these 2 had beef.  Cimperman either is or acts clueless to the squabble.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

^ Ha, yeah I saw that...and then proceeded to favorite all of Zone's tweets. I knew they weren't best buds, but I didn't realize that there was that kind of animosity. Zone is right though, everything that Reed does is seemingly done so he can "toot [his] own horn."

 

Edit: the back story on this is that during one of Reed's grandstanding rants during the council meeting last week, he made reference to how none of the people cutting the ribbon at the new downtown Heinen's store were minority or female.

It's really sad that we have that sort of leadership representing our city.  Reed made himself famous for getting three DUIs but continues keeping himself in the news with constant race baiting.  How is commenting on the lack of diversity at a ribbon cutting helping any of the city's problems?  Ditto for his dumb rant about lack of diversity on "60 Minutes".  His ward has a million problems for him to focus on

It's really sad that we have that sort of leadership representing our city.  Reed made himself famous for getting three DUIs but continues keeping himself in the news with constant race baiting.  How is commenting on the lack of diversity at a ribbon cutting helping any of the city's problems?  Ditto for his dumb rant about lack of diversity on "60 Minutes".  His ward has a million problems for him to focus on

 

The sad thing is every so often he sounds like he gets it, the fatherhood initiative comes to mind.  Then he turns around and comes up with some dumb tangential crap like this.

Someone recently suggested I get a Twitter account - the exchange posted is a shining example of why I don't.

It's really sad that we have that sort of leadership representing our city.  Reed made himself famous for getting three DUIs but continues keeping himself in the news with constant race baiting.  How is commenting on the lack of diversity at a ribbon cutting helping any of the city's problems?  Ditto for his dumb rant about lack of diversity on "60 Minutes".  His ward has a million problems for him to focus on

 

Agree Gottaplan. Reed having a council seat and representing a community is a joke.  That being said, while zone does good things, he starts every sentence with how great he is or what he has done... Some type of desperate grasp for approval.  True leaders don't need to toot their own horn at all and don't need to tell people what they do. The people already know what they do.  Zone is a good politician, but a pretty lousy leader.

 

And Mayday, Twitter is about the greatest thing ever... Yes every keyboard terrorist in the world is on it ( including politicians)...but as a source of information and entertainment is great

It's really sad that we have that sort of leadership representing our city.  Reed made himself famous for getting three DUIs but continues keeping himself in the news with constant race baiting.  How is commenting on the lack of diversity at a ribbon cutting helping any of the city's problems?  Ditto for his dumb rant about lack of diversity on "60 Minutes".  His ward has a million problems for him to focus on

 

Agree Gottaplan. Reed having a council seat and representing a community is a joke.  That being said, while zone does good things, he starts every sentence with how great he is or what he has done... Some type of desperate grasp for approval.  True leaders don't need to toot their own horn at all and don't need to tell people what they do. The people already know what they do.  Zone is a good politician, but a pretty lousy leader.

 

And Mayday, Twitter is about the greatest thing ever... Yes every keyboard terrorist in the world is on it ( including politicians)...but as a source of information and entertainment is great

 

And Cimperman seems to think that the government needs to regulate absolutely everything.

 

Twitter is Facebook with ADHD.  It's not even the movie to FB's book, it's the trailer.

And then there were the awesome listening tours they all put on around the city after the Tamir Rice incident to promise that they were gonna be catalysts in repairing the community and police relationship... Only to have the police mow down another unarmed man this week. 

 

I will give them credit where credit is due. They are passionate (at times too much like cheerleaders) and have overseen some good things.  However, these arent Winston churchills in the making, they are average joes with moderate education and experience representing 400000 people

And then there were the awesome listening tours they all put on around the city after the Tamir Rice incident to promise that they were gonna be catalysts in repairing the community and police relationship... Only to have the police mow down another unarmed man this week. 

 

I will give them credit where credit is due. They are passionate (at times too much like cheerleaders) and have overseen some good things.  However, these are Winston churchills in the making, they are average joes with moderate education and experience representing 400000 people

 

If you fight the cops and might even be remotely trying to one's gun, it's your own damned fault if you get shot.

I will give them credit where credit is due. They are passionate (at times too much like cheerleaders) and have overseen some good things.  However, these are Winston churchills in the making, they are average joes with moderate education and experience representing 400000 people

 

Not all of them are educated.  I don't think Ken Johnson even graduated high school, maybe just has a GED...

 

If you look at how many coucilmembers Cleveland has compared to the city population, it's a real stretch.  Most other cities of similar size have about half as many representatives....

I will give them credit where credit is due. They are passionate (at times too much like cheerleaders) and have overseen some good things.  However, these are Winston churchills in the making, they are average joes with moderate education and experience representing 400000 people

 

Not all of them are educated.  I don't think Ken Johnson even graduated high school, maybe just has a GED...

 

If you look at how many coucilmembers Cleveland has compared to the city population, it's a real stretch.  Most other cities of similar size have about half as many representatives....

 

Jeff Johnson was in law school(?) at Case (and running for state rep) when he took a political campaigning class I was in.  In fact, the class project was his campaign.  So I did work for a Democrat once.  :)

 

Not all of them are educated.  I don't think Ken Johnson even graduated high school, maybe just has a GED...

 

 

You mean I could be making $74,000 per year while collecting a public pension at the same time without even a high school education? I'm in the wrong profession.

And then there were the awesome listening tours they all put on around the city after the Tamir Rice incident to promise that they were gonna be catalysts in repairing the community and police relationship... Only to have the police mow down another unarmed man this week. 

 

I will give them credit where credit is due. They are passionate (at times too much like cheerleaders) and have overseen some good things.  However, these are Winston churchills in the making, they are average joes with moderate education and experience representing 400000 people

 

If you fight the cops and might even be remotely trying to one's gun, it's your own damned fault if you get shot.

 

lets wait and hear the facts before jumping to that conclusion.  I expect professionals (multiple) to handle an unarmed man without killing him.  but you could be right, maybe he was a threat at some point

 

^ I think that same advice should go to Jeff Johnson, Zack Reed, et al as well.

Bring on those body cameras.    I believe I mentioned on another thread, but I feel some politicians like Jeff Johnson may come to regret pushing for them when they figure out 999 times out of 1000 cops were justified in their actions.  You can bet also the footage will make some residents internet sensations.

I agree. If we take Eric Garner's death and resulting investigation as an example the cameras will be 99.9999% useless in respect to curbing police behavior.

I agree. If we take Eric Garner's death and resulting investigation as an example the cameras will be 99.9999% useless in respect to curbing police behavior.

 

"curbing police behavior"? When is the black community going to work on curbing black behavior?

But that <1% is still very important. The body cameras exist for civil liberties purposes, not because it's fun to prove a politician wrong (and I'm not a big fan of Jeff Johnson).

 

It's also a statistical fact that police body cameras lead to reduced incidents. Eric Garner may have proven that the police will still get away with unjust acts, but the cameras still work as a preventative measure.

From what I know of Jeff Johnson or Zack Reed I doubt they have read more than two consecutive paragraphs in their entire lives. These two epitomize the prevalence of style over substance....

 

http://www.newsnet5.com/news/local-news/cleveland-metro/cleveland-council-members-change-budget-votes-after-finding-out-they-unknowingly-voted-for-the-plan

From what I know of Jeff Johnson or Zack Reed I doubt they have read more than two consecutive paragraphs in their entire lives. These two epitomize the prevalence of style over substance....

 

http://www.newsnet5.com/news/local-news/cleveland-metro/cleveland-council-members-change-budget-votes-after-finding-out-they-unknowingly-voted-for-the-plan

 

I won't speak to Reed, but as I have said I had a college class with Jeff.  Extremely intelligent man, and at least back then a lot less to the left than you might think.

 

Not all that detail oriented though.

^ I'll speak to Reed...he's not intelligent.

 

And I don't get Jeff Johnson. I think he's an intelligent guy, but things like this, and other instances of similar misunderstandings at council meetins, make me wonder. One thing I do know though, Jeff Johnson's number one concern and priority is Jeff Johnson.

^ I'll speak to Reed...he's not intelligent.

 

And I don't get Jeff Johnson. I think he's an intelligent guy, but things like this, and other instances of similar misunderstandings at council meetins, make me wonder. One thing I do know though, Jeff Johnson's number one concern and priority is Jeff Johnson.

 

That's everyone on Council.

^ I'll speak to Reed...he's not intelligent.

 

And I don't get Jeff Johnson. I think he's an intelligent guy, but things like this, and other instances of similar misunderstandings at council meetins, make me wonder. One thing I do know though, Jeff Johnson's number one concern and priority is Jeff Johnson.

 

That's everyone on Council.

 

Agree.  Zone is the same way.  He starts every sentence with "I did this...I was on this committee, I know this..." trying to justify the government salary. Council needs to know plain and simple, if you work hard enough, we will see the results, stop talking about yourselves.  They are being an absolute joke.  I was in a meeting with Zone the other day and he kept talking about how hard he worked for funds for a certain road project.  I DONT CARE, that's your job.  Just because you can wine more than the other politician in a meeting, doesn't mean you are working harder than everyone.  FIX REAL PROBLEMS.  Until these "leaders" focus solely on elevating a very significant economically depressed population in this city by providing opportunities and resources for people to succeed and then have programs to help inspire them to take those opportunities, we will always have the same issues.

 

Again, these aren't Winston churchills, these are some guys with a little bit of education.

 

Sorry, but the lack of perspective infuriates me.  I actually think Johnson is one of the most in-touch councilmembers with the real problems.  End rant

http://www.newsnet5.com/news/local-news/cleveland-metro/video-cleveland-city-council-shouting-match

Models of leadership.

So, I just moved to Cleveland and I realized that I really should learn more about the makeup of the city council. I grew up in the Youngstown area, and went to college in the greater Cleveland area (Baldwin Wallace). I've had a major interest in the development of Cleveland for years, but I'm not as knowledgeable about the local politics as I'd like to be. It seems like the majority of potential candidates for the next mayoral election are coming from the City Council, so I really want to learn more about the council.

 

The only places I can find detailed descriptions about the council members are 1) Wikipedia (which isn't very helpful or informative in this case), or 2) The City Council website (which is basically designed to make them all look good). I've done a little research on their voting records and such, but I'd like to know more about their accomplishments, failures, and their overall character. I now live in Ward 15, so Matt Zone is my councilman. I don't know much about him except that he's big on the arts. I've also met Joe Cimperman a couple times, and he seems like a really nice guy, but according to Cleveland.com's comment section he is actually the devil incarnate.

 

So, I'd just like a relatively unbiased summary of the current council members, if that's not asking too much :) Varied opinions are welcome and encouraged!

This is a fun topic. I'm sure people on this forum can give some more informed and thorough insights than me, but here's my opinion on them all:

 

Terrell Pruitt - Don't really know much about him at all.

 

Zack Reed- You probably don't need anyone to tell you about him. His big claim to fame is his history with multiple DUI convictions. He loves to grandstand and almost always berates the administration for caring more about downtown and business interests than about the neighborhoods. He gives a long speech at almost every council meeting about this and how the city needs to do more to bring down crime. He also does not posses a college degree (not that that's a criticism, just giving context).

 

Joe Cimperman- People have lots of opinions about him mainly because he's likely the most visible member of council. He's constantly a huge cheerleader for Cleveland, almost to an excessive degree. His big issues lately have been marriage and transgender equality. I've always had positive experiences with him when talking to him in person. He's generally a big supporter of the administration. I'll leave it to others to provide any of the negative critiques of him.

 

Ken Johnson- Big thing with him is that he's currently "double dipping." A few years back he "retired" in order to collect a state pension and then was reappointed back to his same council seat. Nothing illegal about it, but it obviously ruffled a lot of feathers. Other than that, I don't know much about him.

 

Phyllis E. Cleveland- Don't know too much about her other than that she's the majority leader.

 

Mamie Mitchell- Again, don't know a whole lot. From comments she has made in meetings though, I've gathered that she's not very intelligent. That could be an unfair assessment, but I've yet to be proven wrong on that. She rarely speaks at general council meetings though.

 

TJ Dow - Took over the seat of the long serving Fannie Lewis. He seems to be a bit of a firebrand, but also seems to have a relatively good head on his shoulders. I don't know too much about him.

 

Mike Polensek- The "Dean" of the council in that he has served longer than any other member. He gets a lot of publicity as he is often seen on the news and is a frequent guest on the Triv Show to talk about city issues. He's often critical of the mayor and the administration, especially when it comes to snow plowing and street repairs. My grandma lives in his ward and she loves him, mainly because he always responds to her phone calls, emails, etc. And yes, my grandma loves Judge Judy, Bill O'Reilly, and Fox News.

 

Kevin Conwell- Let's also put him in the 'not very intelligent' category. He always talks about job fairs going on in his ward and how the biggest way to get rid of crime and poverty is to give more people jobs. That's all I've ever really heard him say.

 

Jeff Johnson- God, he's awful. Johnson was once a member of the Ohio Senate and was seen as a rising star in the local Democratic party...until he was convicted of three federal extortion charges and spent time in prison. A court restored his ability to hold public office and he was reelected to the council seat that he held back in the 1980s. He's right up there with Zack Reed in his love of pointless grandstanding. His conduct is an embarrassment to the city of Cleveland (particularly his verbal altercation a few weeks back with the council president over the budget that he "mistakenly" voted for even though he opposed it). He also criticized Mike DeWine when the AG released a report blasting the city and the police department, but then embraced the DOJ report that said the same thing. Divisive, racial politics is his game.

 

Dona Brady- I've only ever heard her whine and complain about things. She also has been a vocal voice in the downtown vs. neighborhoods chorus and is often critical of the administration. She has gone as far as calling members of the administration liars. She also loves a good grandstanding speech. Her husband is the president of the Cuyahoga County Council. 

 

Anthony Brancatelli- I really don't know much about him other than that he took over the council seat of Ed Rybka when he left to join the Campbell administration (Rybka is now the Chief of Regional Development for the city). He seems to be one of the more level headed members of council, but I'm open to being refuted on that.

 

Kevin Kelly- Took over as president of council from Martin Sweeney. I generally like him and he is a reasonable guy and seemingly intelligent. Sometimes though I get the sense that he doesn't command the respect of some of his colleagues and he is not very authoritative in running meetings (I sympathize with him for having to deal with all the yahoos that he has to deal with). Other than that, I don't have too much insight.

 

Brian Cummins- Probably one of the more progressive members of council and has often been a vocal critic of the administration, especially regarding the recent issues with the CPD.

 

Matt Zone- Often very soft spoken and often tries to calm tensions if meetings get heated. It's quite evident that he and Zack Reed have a bit of a tiff going on.

 

Brian Kazy- The new guy. Was appointed to fill Martin Sweeney's vacant seat (using council's suspicious and controversial appointment process). I don't know really anything about Kazy.

 

Martin Keane- He's not often a very visible member of council and you rarely hear him speak at general meetings. Not very knowledgeable otherwise.

 

 

Wow, we really have way too many council members...