Overview:
About 200 city residents gathered at a local public school on Cleveland’s west side, several people shared their thoughts, concerns and feedback on the work done by Mayor Bibb and his administration.
Clevelanders had a lot to say to Mayor Justin M. Bibb and his administration Wednesday evening during the third town hall hosted at Max Hayes High School. About 200 people and city officials filled the cafeteria, bordered by media and public safety officials, ready for emergencies and personal meetings with constituents.
For nearly two hours, residents, business owners and activists expressed support, feedback and concerns about housing and utilities, job creation, public safety and unsolved problems in their wards. The town halls are meant to serve as a type of public progress report card.
Mayor Bibb is up for reelection this year against Republican business owner LaVerne Jones Gore. Additional candidates have yet to officially announce their candidacy. The final town hall is May 14th at Clara E. Westropp Elementary School.
Watch the mayor’s town hall
Public works and public safety
“Why is our Public Works so afraid of innovation?” asked Terry McNeil from Fix Our Streets 216 about the slow pace of fixing streets and clearing vacant lots. “I asked all of the brass from Public Works to my street so they can come stand in the street and in the vacant lots…I said there is a way to fix it and clean up all of the lots. I ask City Council members to ask in committee and there are still no answers.”
Bibb pushed back, stating Public Works used antiquated methods of tracking tasks before his term. Now, Public Works employees use mobile devices and hires minority contractors to help cut vacant lots. “Now (using 311), you can track your complaint with a real ticket number like you would track an Amazon or FedEx package,” Bibb said. “We have made tangible progress in just three years to address some of your pain points and we have a lot more work to do to get better.”
The town hall became contentious when the owner of Pizza 216 in downtown demanded to know why Bibb and police have not responded to multiple reports of assaults on employees, leading to Cleveland Police Chief Dorothy Todd escorting the man out for a conversation. Then, a biracial couple living in the first police district reported a 5-year-long problem with neighbors stalking and assaulting the woman’s family, culminating in one neighbor shooting the woman’s boyfriend who later bonded out of jail and was not charged. When Bibb admitted the system’s failure and tried to offer a meeting with the city law director and police chief, the resident’s boyfriend became upset and yelled curse words.
Public Health and Housing
Ward 14 resident Laura McShane thanked the administration for implementing 311 and asked the city to better support MetroHealth’s Institute for HOPE for fixing health disparities and mobility projects like the Thrive 105-93. “Thrive 105–which would have served the east side of Cleveland and connected the Garfield Reservation to University Circle and to Cleveland Clinic to Euclid Beach—was sidelined and your administration can put that into hyperdrive plus all the Metroparks investment in the east side trail network which was federally funded,” McShane said.
Residents thanked Bibb’s administration for progress solving landlord-tenant issues. Officials cited Residents First legislation that holds predatory landlords accountable for managing blighted rental properties and requires greater code enforcement. Other complaints included negative customer service interactions with housing department employees and incomplete inspection procedures, which Bibb called unacceptable, and said conversations with the state legislature about property tax relief is ongoing.
West side resident Sadiat Hassan thanked the city for finishing her weatherization project to prepare her home for sale, and thanked water department staff for their services. Hassan, who is unemployed, was directed to the city’s Human Resources for further assistance. “Mayor Bibb is a good mayor and he has the best team ever, and we love him; he’s doing a great job and we want more of that,” she said afterwards.
Jobs
Youth mentor and community activist Latrell Harrison lamented the lack of diversity in the majority-Black city’s public safety workforce, highlighting data showing low minority and female representation in the fire department. “Caucasian males represent 76.4 percent of our firefighters in the city, so that was very shocking to me because I didn’t know,” Harrison said. “Are Cleveland residents not being given these jobs?… People don’t know that these jobs are available and that these tests are coming up and I believe that is a major issue for our residents.” In response, Bibb, whose father served the city in both police and fire departments, connected Harrison to Cleveland Fire Department Chief Anthony P. Luke who promoted the ambassador program that recruits 18-year-olds to shadow public responders and choose a path that allows them to serve the city, pay for college debt-free and flexible schedules. “My problem right now is, I don’t believe I am talking to the right population, my message is not penetrating to the population that I want to talk to because of social media, (youth) are looking at something else and not getting the message,” said Luke, who is working on strategies to reach youth and connect them to jobs. A common problem Bibb wants to solve is cutting down red tape to eliminate silos and remove barriers to meet his constituents’ needs.
