December 02, 2024

All residents of the city, I thought we were committed to supporting the LGBT community and upholding fundamental human rights. However, I recently learned about Commander, uh, Maujad, sorry if I pronounce that wrong, uh, homophobic remarks which raised serious concerns to me and the LGBT community in our city. How could this have been allowed to happen? Are you truly aware of the environment and the city that you are running? Let's just start there again. You aware of what's going on in your own city? Are you aware of what you're governing? This is a pattern that we have seen, and it has been going with corrupted people, racist people, and other people that have come into our government, and it's all thanks to you as the mayor of this of this city. You brought your college friend who was a racist and you brought other people in now. I want to address the rest of you. 5 years ago I graduated from high school and I thought I left all that student government drama behind, but last week, that was the last week felt like I was backing my student government, and it was a blast from the past. The council president decided to perfectly attack uh another council member over his own hurt feelings. Talk about childish behavior, right? He took a step further by trying to turn other council members against this council member. While defending the term defending gerrymandering, which is what we've been fighting for the past year, and maybe more than that. Let me be exact and quite frankly with you, you said members of this body encouraged me to get rid of Ward 12. They don't trust the council member in that ward, and I want to say to the rest of you, if you really don't trust the councilwoman in that ward, you are foolish as a council president. Last I checked that council member was Elected to replace someone who was useless for 12 years. He was trash and he was not a good council member. Now that may not have the relationship with some of you, but I will say that I do have a good relation with councilwoman more. I have worked with her and I know that when I worked in that I always lived in her ward, it took only took one call to get her to do something. When I needed her, she was there for me and the other residents. Now, not to, not to be talking about this stuff, but this city is full of corruption, and I know it because the mayor is one of them. We're talking about removing words. Let's talk about the real conversation here. If you need to rewrite words, let's get rid of Ward 4, where the councilwoman was a leash and went off on some residents, and they came here to tell you about it. Let's get rid of Ward 8, where the last council member literally got arrested and and is currently facing a felony for crimes and stealing, and you guys probably knew about that. Let's go around and look at the other wards, um, Ward 7, sorry, and Ward 8, where the court is fully corrupted and full of crime, and the council member just claims that crime is not a problem in his ward.

Lastly, Mayor Bibb, it's time for a reality check. You've been short disappointed, and at last, at last Monday's meeting, you could have stopped the council president from doing those childish remarks and acting like a kid here. So do better. I stand with councilwoman more and I hope you do too because she deserves better and Cleveland deserves better. Thank you.

Good evening all. Thank you for the opportunity to speak. I'd like to discuss the council ward redistricting process. Others have spoken of the rushed timeline and lack of real community involvement in the process thus far. Accusations of possible gerrymandering and how war boundaries will be created have also been raised, and from a good governance perspective, gerrymandering is never appropriate at any level of government. Action actions that benefit politicians at the expense of residents and communities are inherently undemocratic. They create a favored political class and alienate citizens from the government and politicians that should theoretically be serving them. This is a real problem in Cleveland wards that have seen truly mediocre voter registration and turnout. On a national and local scale, it may be possible to increase democracy and engagement with responsive and targeted reforms. For example, as with the promotion of a national popular vote through the national popular vote interstate compact or with the adoption of ranked choice voting to increase political options and diversity, no more candidates is spoilers. We all want to feel that our vote really makes a difference in matters. Regarding redistricting, we might reconsider in future a citizen assembly to weigh in on the ward map creation process or the possibility of switching up the ward system entirely. Would the city be better served by eliminating council seats tied to wards and rather keeping 15 seats, 5 eastside seats, 5 west side seats, and 5 at-large council seats? I believe the city would benefit from a thoughtful. Conversation around such reforms and we'll also remind you of another example of what is at stake in this map-making process. Currently, council members award community development block grant dollars to nonprofit groups and community organizations throughout the city that provide much-needed city services. A $28 million payout in 2024. These are federal dollars to maintain and improve Cleveland neighborhoods. Historically, CDC service areas have largely aligned with council wards. If Community Development Corporation service areas do not match up with council ward boundaries, how will neighborhood funding and allocations be impacted? CDC funding via CDBG funds will become more complicated at best. At worst, no one wants to think about how neighborhood services might be impacted by a mismatch. Match between funding sources and service areas. Given the great needs and interests mentioned above and the limited time frame the city has to work with, I ask the council to encourage greater participation and active democracy and fair representation in the form of fair ward maps. The city has used resident tax dollars to pay consultants to draw upward maps. This process has played out over many months with no public oversight. Given the short time left to finalize the map, we should ask what these professionally produced maps look like. Time,

Uh, good evening. Thank you for the time and the opportunity to, to address counsel. My name is Camilo Villa. I am the Northern Ohio coordinator for SEIU Local One. And I am speaking both on behalf of my union and myself as a resident of Ward 15 for the past decade. I would like to first thank my councilwoman Jenny Spencer for her service to the community. She has served with integrity and transparency, including by announcing that she will not be running again but not taking the opportunity to circumvent the election process by naming a successor. As I said, I am here both as a Cleveland resident and on behalf of my union SEIU Local One, which represents hundreds of hardworking Cleveland residents across every ward in Cleveland. We are here today to call on city council to commit to a fair and transparent process in redistricting. This year we have the opportunity to right the wrongs done a decade ago where communities of interest and neighborhoods were capriciously broken up in an unsuccessful bid to protect allies of then leadership at the time and to remove council members who challenged leadership. The focus during this year's redistricting should be to create wards that best serve the communities of our city. Not which best protect or undermine certain incumbents. Councilwoman Spencer has made a challenging job easier by removing herself as an incumbent, however, tough decisions will still need to be made. The only appropriate way to redistrict our city is through a transparent process that focuses on residents and communities of interest, not the protection of specific council members irrespective of their political views or relationships. Speaking as a union official, it would make no sense for a governing body to arbitrarily decide that two janitors who work on different floors of an office building should be in different bargaining units. It would be a transparent attempt to dilute worker power and is in fact illegal. Splitting up a neighborhood into 4 or 5 different wards is no different. Drawing lines to include or exclude council members' homes is no different. The purpose of our democracy is to put hands into the power of voters just as the purpose of unions is to build power for working people through workplace democracy. While my comment today is primarily around the importance of a fair and transparent process, it is not lost on us that one of the wards that is reportedly being dismantled is one represented by the council person who, without any doubt, is the most active ally of organized labor and low income workers on city council. Whenever there is legislation that affects working people, Councilwoman Marer is the first and usually the only council person to reach out to unions flagging issues that are of concern to our members. I have no doubt that Councilwoman Moore complicates the work of council by pushing for accountability to Cleveland's working families, but that is precisely why having wards which facilitate voter facing accountability are so key to the strong democracy that we should wish to see made stronger in Cleveland. I have no doubt that every council member of council supports the principles of organized labor. However, when a champion for unions, especially those representing low income workers, is targeted in redistricting, it prompts the question of what that support means in practice. I also have no doubt that every member of council support.

Good evening council members. My name is Selena Pagan, and I'm here as the executive director of the Young Latino Network and someone with deep roots in Slavic village and across the city. Last month, Clevelanders overwhelmingly supported Issue One, sending a clear message. We demand fairness, transparency, and accountability in redistricting. Yet here we are, more specifically, here you all are working on maps with plans to introduce and pass them on January 6th without any public review or feedback. This is unacceptable. Redistricting impacts every single resident of Cleveland. People have the right to to know how these new boundaries will affect their neighborhoods, their representation, and their ability to advocate for their needs. Will their voice be amplified or diluted when. Areas like Ward 12 are divided into 5 different wards. It isn't just confusing, it's harmful. It fragments the community's ability to organize around shared issues and weakens its collective voice. This kind of division makes it hard to hold representatives accountable and easier for systemic neglect to continue, and for many Clevelanders this feels deliberate. It feels like voter suppression, but beyond the maps themselves, let's talk about the process. US City council members should know better. You should already know that the right thing to do is to be transparent with the people. You should already, yet you continue to cling to this outdated way of governing a style of politicking that prioritizes ego over equity, control over collaboration, and power over progress. This old school way of conducting local local government business that gets in the way of Cleveland's progress and frankly Cleveland deserves better. This call for better governance is not hypothetical, it's rooted in the work that we've done to engage and empower. Cleveland Latina voters during this past election cycle, the young Latino network made over 15,000 phone calls, knocked on over 11,000 doors, and collected over 1600 pledged to vote cards to across this city. We've completed significant outreach in wards 5, 1213, and 14, ensuring the residents were informed and empowered to vote. Imagine what could happen at council if the council embraced transparency and gave residents the. Opportunity to have a meaningful say in redistricting. I'm here to call on you to sign the Fair Maps pledge. One release the current maps immediately so that residents can see what is being proposed. 2, allow the public, not just selected individuals, to provide meaningful feedback before a vote is taken. 3, commit to a charter amendment to remove politicians from the map drawing process entirely. You have a choice and a chance to do the right thing here. You have a chance to show. that Cleveland is ready to move forward, to embrace progress and equity, and to lead with integrity. This is about the future of our city and the trust of the people who live here. Will you uphold that trust? Will you protect the people who are elected to serve, uh, who elected you to serve, or will you continue to cling on to that outdated backroom way of doing things? Clevelanders are watching, commit to fair maps and transmitter process in Cleveland respectfully.

Hello, uh, good evening, Council President, council members and all. While I am technically a Cleveland transplant moving to Cleveland as a child to Palestinian refugee parents seeking to build a better life. I consider myself a true Clevelander, having lived on and off with Cleveland and working within the city since I was able to first obtain a job at 16 and now proudly serving over 4000 refugees and immigrants who live in the city of Cleveland. I am a believer that whether a person has generational roots to Cleveland or is a newcomer, just arriving two days ago to rebuild their lives, the shared desire to preserve neighborhood identity is important to all regardless of how long they've been in Cleveland. The unique needs, hardships, and opportunities of a family living in Lee Harvard, while different from a family living in Little Arabia, the desire to feel included, heard, and properly represented is at the center of how this this process is conducted and why it matters. Many I served, mainly being Arab residents, couldn't engage in the prior meetings held with the consultant due to inability to use the app or language barriers, leaving them further underrepresented. It is clear this process is difficult for all involved. It's a process I'm sure that has been filled with passion, contention, concern, and even behind the scenes negotiations. Whether it's good, bad, nice or necessary negotiations, it is time that residents get a chance to see what council has so far created by releasing maps for public input. With the bulk of the population loss occurring on the east side and growing trends of new refugee arrivals and secondary migration. Making the west side of Cleveland more congested, it is imperative residents can weigh in on what will be their new wards to ensure transparency and shared responsibility that new ward lines are not only applied based on council's opinion and experience and expertise, but also the community members who live, work and play in Cleveland, experts in their own lived experience and lives within their wards. Redistricting and in and of itself can be a democracy protecting way. Of simply realigning representation, but it can also provide an opportunity for misalignment. I asked the map maps be released not to diminish you or your experience, but to reinforce the importance of community centered decision making. Let us right the wrongs made in the past, so we don't have to say, let's get it right next time.

My name is Luis Rivas. I'm a resident of Ward 12, a ward with a rich history of immigrant populace from both Europe and Latin America. Yet Ward 12 is also a ward that has been neglected and abandoned time and time again by its city and representatives. While I acknowledge the progress we have made, I'm deeply concerned that my community will once again be forgotten as our district is split into 5. You may think that this is an irrational fear, but I hope I don't have to remind you about the awful history and the reality of these processes. Especially on the east side and especially when it comes to drawing districts, frankly these processes are outdated and the city has lost touch with the needs of the residents in the community. 10 years ago when these maps were last drawn, I was 14 years old at that time I had no understanding of politics. And how they impacted my community now at 24 I have a very clear understanding of politics and historically how they have consistently failed the very people that they serve. Council Councilman Paena, you mentioned your outrage a decade ago when these maps were drawn, you called the process extremely unfair. And yet here we are again, another set of maps and another round of politicians drawing them, what will be different this time? Despite council's best efforts, Cleveland remains one of the most segregated major cities in the nation. I'll repeat that. Despite our esteemed schools of urban planning and politicians promising progress, Cleveland remains one of the most segregated major cities in the nation. My fear is that the redistricting of my neighborhood and Ward will once again result in in something that is far more concerned with the political careers of some. And the dismantling of communities for others. So far, what has the city offered in terms of community inputs? Are we content with these efforts? Are you actually considering these voices? I can't help but to compare the process to when you hand a little kid or a sibling an unplugged controller to give them the the illusion that they are playing the real game. In this case it's being played out behind closed doors the ass is simple, show us the maps. Speaking historically, how can I trust that you have my community's best interest at heart? The tools you've given us feel performative. Not meaningful engagement. Despite Cleveland voting for the ending of gerrymandering, here it is playing it out. I understand that legally 2 districts must go, but why is this the solution to splinter my district into 5? During the last council meeting, there was a comment about power, but let me remind you, as council members you hold incredible power. The question is how will you use it? Will you release the maps? You work within the system that has been communities.

Hi, my name's Anna Broan. I live in Cleveland. In November, a majority of Clevelanders voted to take redistricting out of politicians' hands at the state level, but council seems to have already politicized redistricting in the city. Particularly concerning was President Griffin's statement last week that some council members apparently asked him to break up Ward 12 because they think that council member Moore is not a team player. Ms. Moorer was one of the first people I met when I moved to Cleveland 3.5 years ago. I volunteered as a canvasser for then-candidate Rebecca More. One of the main things that people in her ward told me while I was canvassing was that they thought that her predecessor had become intransigent and unresponsive, and that council no longer represented their interests, so they elected someone else. Wanting a team player was not something I really heard from the residents at that time. Uh, but maybe, you know, team, not, not being a team player just coded language for being a woman. Uh, council council member Spencer has already announced that she's not running for reelection, uh, unfortunately. If Ms. Maurer is is gerrymandered away, then council will be ever closer to becoming a boys club. That's a pretty bad look for the for the city, for the council, and uh really Cleveland City council can't afford another bad look because it already has a pretty tarnished image. Just last week, in fact, a former member was charged in federal court with alleged corruption-related crimes, and just a few years ago, another member was convicted of corruption-related crimes. I wonder, were those guys considered team players? Mr. Griffin spoke of the alleged distrust that some members feel towards Ms. More, but the distrust that you should be really concerned about is the distrust that the people of this city hold towards this governing body. The fact is evidenced by the paltry 30% participation rate in the last municipal election. That's a really sad state of things. The, the, the examples that I just mentioned are just one contributing factor to this. Indeed, even this redistricting process, which was initially touted as being more transparent than previous decades, even this process has already devolved into an embarrassing spectacle because the council leadership seems to have chosen to use a proposed map to send an ominous message to a council member that they don't like because she dissents from the majority opinion from time to time. Give me a break. Come on, it's really, you can't be serious. The people of this city are pretty tired of this kind of nonsense, so you should really have some respect for the others and for the institution that you're supposed to represent like the other folks have said, release the maps and don't, don't, don't, don't target other members. Leave Ms. Mar and War 12 alone.

Good evening, counsel. City of Cleveland and well since. I'm here to um speak about. Ward 12 and Souther Village. Only thing I ask is for council to be fair with. War 12 in Saleh village. Myself, I've been a resident. In Ward 12 for 28 years. As you could see for me, I'm not 24, 25, 30, I am 68 years old. I'm not going nowhere. I'm not. My house that's on Harvard Avenue is paid for. I am doing this, doing this. Mr. Green, stand up. I'm doing this for my son. Only thing I ask is for y'all to do is be fair and solid village. I've been fighting all my life and guess what? I'm not gonna stop. And I'm not going nowhere.