Dual coverage from Terricha Phillips and Ciera Grant at a local watch party.
Financial crises across American cities in the first 100 days of the Trump Administration means Cleveland must pivot into a new era of sustainable community development, if Mayor Justin M. Bibb is to be re-elected for a second term.
During the State of the City fireside chat on Wednesday with WKYC Anchor and Managing Editor Russ Mitchell, asked how Bibb would grade his first term. The “B” answer represented challenges Bibb inherited from the previous administration in the areas of public safety and public health during COVID. Bibb touted progress made last year, like a 46 percent decline in homicides, more police cadets with better pay, a crackdown on errant landlords and clearing the backlog of lead paint cases. He also included restoration of the West Side Market, and development of the Lake Erie shore and Cuyahoga River.
“I wanted to maximize this historic moment when there was billions of dollars available for cities like Cleveland to fix our airport, invest in our waterfronts, bring back money for housing development in our city,” Bibb said. “So now, we have to pivot where we need to engage more with our local corporations to continue to invest in Cleveland and work more closely with our foundation partners to address our local priorities.”
The mayor admitted past mistakes made early in his term, and potential cuts of public sector employees, federal Medicaid and violence prevention funding have made the past three months a hard stretch of his final year. “Washington is not coming to save us,” Bibb emphasized to applause from the crowd in Cleveland Public Auditorium. “We have a promising outlook, but there are choppy headwinds facing Cleveland and cities all across the country.”
The State of the City conversation wasn’t full of doom and gloom. Bibb updated the audience about technology upgrades in cybersecurity, forward progress in compliance with the police department’s consent decree and strategically reducing Cleveland Metropolitan School District’s $150 million deficit. Bibb said residents want more affordable housing, investments in street improvements, criminal justice and job creation to grow the population.
“We also need to think smarter about how we deploy our resources locally,” he said. “When we took office, I inherited a $61 million deficit and we worked very hard with (City) Council, passed three structurally balanced budgets and we now have the largest rainy day fund in the city’s history because of smart, prudent fiscal management.”
The impending plan to move the Cleveland Browns stadium to Brookpark would make Bibb “very sad,” but he thanked County Executive Chris Ronayne for his support in the fight to keep the team playing downtown.
“This is not just about football. We are seeing people like Dan Gilbert spend $4 billion to invest in our city, companies like Canon are choosing Cleveland and bringing their new healthcare corporation to the city,” said Bibb. “People are choosing Cleveland, and now is not the time to turn our back on investing in the urban core.”
Bibb claimed the Browns stadium issue is not the main priority for constituents, with several asking about resuming after-school programs, supporting local artists and immigrants and affordable housing equity for formerly incarcerated residents.
Residents also gathered to watch the State of the City address at DigitalC’s MidTown Tech Hive. Bibb mentioned the $20 million technology initiative of providing citywide access to broadband internet service, and so far, 4,000 households are in the program. At Tech Hive, neighbors gave commentary over BBQ lunches, discussing changes in funding to programs like the Greater Cleveland Urban Film Festival and the city’s involvement in independent films.
Tech Hive viewers shared responses with Black Girl Media after the address, with the majority believing Bibb conducted himself well and graded his mayoral term between B and C-plus. Residents believe he is doing a good job despite unfinished changes like street paving and trash pick up, but they understand those changes take time. General criticism of the mayor and distrust within the community were also mentioned as potential reasons for slow progress.
The City Club of Cleveland hosted the State of the City forum with PNC as the presenting sponsor. Supporting partners were Cleveland Foundation, Cleveland Cavaliers and The Plain Dealer – Cleveland.com. A Key Bank sponsorship of free RTA rides downtown made the ticketed event accessible to residents.
